'74 Maverick

One of the first things I wanted to  do after getting the car starting and stopping like it suppose to was  addressing  the cowl leak. I removed the heater and driver side fresh air vent to evaluate the problem. I could not get over the amount of leaves and trash stuffed inside the cowl. After removing a small bag full of leaves by hand and using a shop vac I thought I had about 90% of the leaves removed, wrong...only got 50% if that much.  After driving a block or two down the road I turned around to head back home to vacuum more leaves. I did this 3 more times before blowing compressed air around the vent chimneys. I expected to find a rusted out cowl but I found only one 1/4" hole. I hit the rust with a wire wheel and painted on a couple good coats of Rust Bullet and Por15 putty took care of the rest of the problem. This sure beat removing the windshield and drill out spot welds to remove the cowl to get to the area for repair.

While the heater was out I decided to rebuild the heater box and replace the heater core. To my surprise the Ford part number was still visible on the heater hoses with the original tower clamps and the core was never replaced. The heater box had a broken corner around the cowl opening. I used Permatex epoxy to glue the piece back together. The driver side vent cable was broken so I made another mount from thin angle stock and used an aftermarket choke cable.

Leaves Removed by Hand

More Leaves

Original Heater Hose
     

New Heater Box Seal

Broken Heater Box

Prepping Heater Box

     

Cleaned & Clamped together

Epoxy Glued Together

Sanded and Painted

     

Ready to Repair Rust

1/4" Rust Hole

Preserved with Rust Bullet

     

Sealed with Por15 Putty

Scrap Angle Stock Making a Mount
     

 
Cable End   Fresh Air Vent Cable

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