Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

[Scott Liggett]

Has anyone done this? After driving to Norcal in blazing heat; it would've been nice to have some air coming in the foot well vents. Unfortunately, the air that came out was so hot, I was getting scorched feet so I had to keep them closed. I think the Dynamat stuff is not useable to do to water getting in there.

Any ideas?

I've also been toying with the idea of installing a Nascar style air cleaner to get cooler air from the cowl, but with the heat in there now, I doubt it would helpful.

[Loren]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

There's s'posedta be a rubber seal at the top of the firewall that the hood seals against, which keeps eng. compartment air from spilling over the top there and into the cowl/interior. Sometimes there are also side seals around the cowl opening.

Plumbing the intake into the cowl may also mean blocking off the footwell vents for fire safety, I wouldn't do it on a driver. Did the Imp have AC?

[squirrel]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

yup, sounds like some sealing isn't there or isn't working...

[CDMBill]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Can the cowl area be divided for the cowl induction vs. the vent inlets. The cowl induction setup I put on the Mustang with a cowl hood makes a big power difference. The EFI data log shows 30-50 degree drop in inlet air temps down track. Years ago I fabbed Trans-Am style deal on another car which also worked out well as indicated by the trap speeds.

I used a foam block strip to seal off the engine heat in both. You can probably buy factory replacement hood seals. I don't know that I'd worry too much about a fire getting from the engine compartment to the passenger compartment as the factory rubber hood seals wouldn't slow it down much if its headed there anyway.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

The seal is still there and in good shape. I don't think the back of the hood sticks up enough to allow hot air to spill over. I'll have to check it out.

[MadmanMark]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

I went this route and have the astroventillation ducts connected to the AC. I got my box from Air Inlet Systems, but it needed some mods to fit around the windshield wipers. The box didn't seem to add any power, but it helps keep things more consistent on long drives where underhood temps get up there. Since this pulls the air from the cowl area, I think you'd need to have the seal entirely sealed to keep the hot stuff out.

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Check to see if the pinch weld on the firewall is rusty. That is the lower border of the cowl vent plenum and if its rusted out you might be ramming engine bay heat into the cowl that way. I know you've also been side swiped so I'd make sure the chambers on either side of the car don't have a hole in them. I had to route my EFI wiring harness through both of mine so I'm going to be making an RTV plug around the wires in the grommets once I'm sure they are staying put.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Nope, no rust. No holes.

[BigBlockMopar]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Aren't you afraid your heaterhoses will either burn through because of the headers, or wear through because one of them looks to be very near to the upper control-arm?

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Yeah, I need to shorten them a little. But they aren't touching anything at the moment, just very close.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

I looked over the car today and the hood back is about 1/2 inch higher the cowl vent cover behind it. Is that enough to allow heat to spill over?

[CTX-SLPR]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

put something ontop of the cowl seal and see if it is sealing up. I don't think it'd be the issue though as the pressure should be higher on the cowl instead of under the hood. Your 65 is a ladder frame not an X isn't it?

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

Yeah, it's a ladder frame. first year. I was thinking using duct tape across the back of the hood and hit the hwy to see if the air is cooler.

[BOWTIE6872]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

your headers run right under the vents..
enough so, that it heats the air running through them..
build a head shield..
had this issue with a 75 cutlass.. in the late 80's
j/y verter heat shields work great. if you can find some..

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Any way to keep engine heat out of cowl vent?

The headers aren't near the vent system at all. Under the driver's feet. Impalas are very wide cars.