should i keep the center cowl vent thats in the middle behind the hood or fill it in with a 16 gauge patch panel.dad said in the earlier years it did leak he named it the foot washer cause it would run on your feet when it rained.i know i can get a rubber gasket that is made to seal the vent to cab but what if it leaks there will go the carpet,what have others done.

 

I kept it in mine. I don't have AC, and it's kind of nice to have the air blowing in through there. I don't drive it in the rain....unless I get caught out in the middle of nowhere while I'm on a cruise That being said, I couldn't tell you if it would leak or not. But, I do have a new gasket in there and it seems to seal up ok.

 

Mine still has the vent.. The handle/lever is old and nearly impossible to open or close.. i think its slightly open so when i wash it or it rains, there is some drippage in the cab.. that will be one of my future projects to fix.. I like the way it looks so I'm going to keep it.. Will probably get a gasket/seal and a new handle/lever..

 

The handle can be adjusted. If it is adjusted correctly, and it is not bent, and the gasket is in place and good, it should seal tightly. We never had a problem of the cowl vent leaking on my dads 55, and we drove it in all types of weather.

 

I never had a water problem and the vent gasket was never change and i used the vent often to remove the heat from the cab. A big block can sure heat up things abit especially with no insulation to stop the heat from transfering to the cab. I would keep the vent.

 

My "cowl vent" is there and functional. The handle looks new (just like everything else inside). The gasket looks new too. I love it open on nice warm days.

I have not had it out driving in the rain yet (waiting on wiper arms to come in), but I have never noticed the carpet being wet after a rain.

 

They're designed not to leak when installed properly, and aligned properly. If there's a leak, then there is a problem somewhere, and it should be able to be fixed pretty simply. Even though these trucks are a little more than a half century old, they were sealed up pretty well for their day. A few holes in the dash, and they were covered by the firewall cover/insulator, and a few other holes that had some form of gasket, or covering over them. If everything is fiting properly, and aligned or adjusted correctly, then you shouldn't have any problems with leakage from any where that I can think of. If you do, then you have something misaligned, or a gasket in wrong, or a gasket that's bad or even missing. If the cab is not on the mounts right, it can cause other things to be misaligned, if the front end alignment rods are bound, it can cause enough of a tweak in the cab to cause a misalignment some where. Make sure you have good gaskets, and make sure there is still body sealer where it needs to be, and the inside should stay dry (aside from high levels of humidity).

 

I drive mine in Western Oregon every day and never get a leak there, I use it in the summer, Id keep it.

 

I would never think of getting rid of the vent. There is something so nostalgic and just overall cool about the "old school air conditioning". When I first got my truck it was stuck and what not. I just climbed under there pulled it apart, sanded and repainted parts, realigned, and put on a new seal. I drove in the rain once and not a drop.

Popping it open along with the side windows is rad on a spring/summer day. Ehh just my 2 cents.

 

Mine doesn't leak and has been converted to power operation.

 

keep it their cool and in the summer their cool

 

I use mine almost everyday, no leaks, love it....Bob

 

Keep the vent! Those vents work great. I would have fried coming crosscountry in the late 70's without it. I am installing air but am keeping the vent.

 

ok ill keep the vent i guess new rubber and adjustment should seal it up good.

 

Keep the vent; it's one of the cool, unique parts on the truck. Why make it look like everything else by removing it?

If the truck didn't come with one, there'd be a whole bunch of guys adding them, just to be different, and NoLimit would be making the kit, eh?

Paul