Cowl Panel

[EFF 83]

I thought it would be neat and not too common to have a smoothie cowl panel (shave the vents). So I went to the junk yard and pulled one cause I don't want to ruin my stock one. I plan on using fiberglass and bondo. Anyways, why are the vents even there in the first place. I thought they were to stop water on the hood from blowing onto the windshield. My dad told me that it is a vent to circulate air through the cab. If my dad is right, and I shave the vents, will my air/heat work properly?    


 

[jimfulco]

Those vents are for the air intake for you heater & a/c.  You might try blocking them with tape or something & see if it still blows as hard.

Edited by: jimfulco at: 5/29/03 1:10:40 am

[84 silverado]

the only real problem you'd have with no cowl panel would be no outside air getting to the heater/ac box. You'd have to run it on recirc all the time and if it rains, it'll steam or fog the glass up real bad. There are several companies that make fiberglass cowl replacements for the later model trucks. I'm sure you could find it for these trucks too. Also, don't just bondo and glass it in. It WILL crack and look like heck. Cut the slots out of the panel, make a sheetmetal patch for it and weld it in place. Then it'll only take a small amount of magic putty to smooth it in and make it look right. Overall it will look better and will also take less time.