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B Body Inside Cowl Cleaning????

Hemi2Much

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I'm sure I'm not the first with this question or issue.
My 1966 Coronet had been sitting for 50 years collecting dirt and mouse poop.
As I was doing initial clean-up on the inside of the car, the further I dug into it the worse it got. There were mouse nests everywhere. My main issue is how to clean out the inside of the cowl area. There was a mouse nest up in the dash and that is what started the pulling of the dash apart. there was no heater box in the car so the cowl was open on the passenger side.
There was a vent box on the driver's side that was completely full of mouse nest.
I pulled the vent down and cleaned it out but as I stuck my hand up in the cowl area it was also full of everything from mouse nest to mouse poop and also dirt and grit that looked like shingle debris like you'd see in gutters. I have done everything from making a special bent tube hooked up to a shop vac to washing it out from the outside to washing it with a pressure washer to compressed air. I just can't see up inside the cowl area and I can only get my hand so far up in there. I'm afraid there might still be more debris in the cowl.
I even had a 2 Inch rubber hose that I taped up to my shop vac hose so I could bend it up into the crevises. That is how I cleaned out the bottom of the doors and the lower quarter panels inside the trunk. I just want to make sure I get that cowl area very clean.
Does anyone have any suggestions on a better way to clean it out?
Thanks, Jkent
 
What I've done is on the end where the fender will cover the cowl I've cut open flaps which allowed me access to clean the lowest areas of the cowl, I had access to access any rust issues & to completely seal the metal to prevent future problems... The picture is of my Falcon but the same thing can be done on Mopars...

IMG_0035.JPG
 
the other option is to remove the upper cowl completely......if you suspect the lower is rusted badly or on it's way out
 
I had the same problem. Thankfully mine was mostly dirt. Like you, I first pulled out what I could after removing the air boxes. Then blew what I could with an air hose. (What a mess) Then thoroughly flushed with a garden hose. (Another mess) Then I used an inspection mirror and flashlights to verify I had everything including the drain opening to the to the cowl area clear. It took a while but it was worth it. I can now open the outside vents while driving and not get all that crud blowing into the interior of the car.
 
I had about a basketball sized nest in my 66 Belvedere and got it all by blowing compressed air up one side under the dash while shop vacuuming the other. Over and over again. Finally got it all out. Took some time for sure. Of course the nest materials all came from the bucket seats.
Mike
 
This may sound like a lot of work but it’s what I done on my 68 RR. I removed both fenders and sprayed the water hose in the top of the cowl and kept putting the debris out of the two drain holes. Wash wash and wash again you will get it cleaned out that way. When the water is clear you should be good. Worked for me.
 
While I agree you can do a pretty good job blowing & rinsing the real advantage to opening the sides is you can visually see if theres rust hiding in the cowl, you can clean/treat & seal any minor rust or see an recognize the need to deal with more serious rust.... If all you do is clean it out real good & in a couple years water starts pouring into the front footwells cause rust was hiding in the cowl it's tough to fix once the car is painted.... Much easier to be pro-active & deal with it when it's not a big deal....
 
Remove the fresh air duct and heater box.
Reach up and remove everything hand by handful.
 
cut it off and sand sand blast everything :lol:

kidding of course, unless absolutely necessary....... this is how full on restorations start
 
Mouse urine is highly acidic and can eat through metal in almost no time.

Be careful, and good luck.
 
cut it off and sand sand blast everything :lol:

kidding of course, unless absolutely necessary....... this is how full on restorations start
lmao, you couldn't be more right
 
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