What does the cowl vent do?

I really want to know what the cowl vent does because I most likely made a mistake and put expanding foam into it. I just got really tired of it leaking and didn't have a welder like some of the people who sealed their cowls. Can someone please explain to me what it actually does?

 

Allowes fresh air into the heater/ac box as well as into the car on non ac apps. Also rots floor pans...

 

So if I just ran the A/C on max all the time, would it work?

 

Expanding foam holds water it is likely to make it rust worse.

depending on how much foam you got in there there is a chance the vent into the interior is not blocked completly and will allow some fresh air to flow through for the defrost and normal heat and a/c operations.

 

Leak water!

 

I always thought it was a path for hot underhood air to escape, if not imma fill that sucker

 

Nope, strictly the air intake to the heater. You can get a way with sealing the vents on the top of the cowl and it will still draw in plenty of air through the large drain holes(behind fender,ahead of a-pillar) in either end assuming they arent plugged with leaves. The top of the cowl is the safest place to draw air from though.

If you block the heater intake and run on re-circ(max AC) the windows will fog up and wont defrost. You cant defrost windows on re-circ it just circulates the damp air.

 

Awesome, thank you for the info! I want to start shaving a couple choice pieces on the car so I think I'll be doing the cowl vents as well

 

Anyone know the percentage (roughly) of Mavericks/Comets that the pain in the a$$ cowl leaks compared to Mavericks/Comets that don't?

 

Since Ford never thought of treating the bare metal inside of the cowl, I would guess it's rare to find one that doesn't leak anymore.

 

goon,shave dem wipers,cover the cowl and dont drive in the rain.problem completely solved

 

Several years of Mavericks have galvanized steel in the cowl. I am not sure what years. Those don't rust.

 

Hey I got something rare about my Grabber!

 

Cowl Sealing and Defogging

Hello Darren:
Concerning the defogging question ... We've performed cowl sealing on six cars now and never encountered the problem you've described.
All six cars defogg just fine ! We have installed Vintage Ac/Heater under dash units that have no provision for drawing in "Outside" air and they all work great. I recommend the cowl sealing to cure the "wet feet , and rusting floors" problem on these type cars. I wouldn't worry about the defogging issue. It will be just fine . Cometized CAMEO

 

Mine has a galvanized coating on the outside face of the cowl where the wipers and vents are. You could see it after I took the paint off.

Nothing on the internal metal though.

Ask me how I know