[Woody Fran]

Silly question but here goes.... To clean out the cowl, I'm guessing one of those flexible grabber gizmos with the syringe-type handle and the three retractable claws on the other end, and a whole lotta time while not scratching the heck out of the cowl grille...... Does someone have a better suggestions\method? Thanks

 

[redrag]

i would remove the grill

 

[charles jahnke]

doesnt come off without removing all spot welds and windshield ? if its a nest problem the drains are on the fenders side of cowl may have to remove them to blow and grab it out

 

[Woody Fran]

i would remove the grill

Unfortunately this would be fine if I was stripping down the whole car or front end, but that's not the case

 

[Woody Fran]

doesnt come off without removing all spot welds and windshield ? if its a nest problem the drains are on the fenders side of cowl may have to remove them to blow and grab it out

Understood, unfortunately I'm not removing the fenders so can't get to these. I guess I'm just up against a long tedious amount of work. Looks like the cowl hasn't been cleaned out in 60 years

 

[Action]

What year Fairlane?

If the grille can not be removed, flushing with water of blowing with air may be viable options.
Hopefully there is not excessive amounts of rust requiring metal work.

Action

 

[Woody Fran]

What year Fairlane?

If the grille can not be removed, flushing with water of blowing with air may be viable options.
Hopefully there is not excessive amounts of rust requiring metal work.

Action

It looks like there's sixty years of leaves, pine needles, etc. in there and my concern is that if I wash that down the cowl drains, it's going to end up clogging up the front fender\body drains and just cause a build up\dam in there to hold water and rust things (not that there's probably a ton of stuff there already that washed down there). It's a 64

 

[Action]

OK looking at pictures on the net the wiper arm passes through the grille.
How is the wiper transmission replaced?

Action

 

[Woody Fran]

OK looking at pictures on the net the wiper arm passes through the grille.
How is the wiper transmission replaced?

Action

Yeah I looked at that but it's just a small hole through the firewall\cowl back face that's not that big a help at all. I think I'm just up against the original method and lots of cussing as I go along (LOL!). I know that if I were to remove a fender and do it the right way that will start the snow ball that will end up having me disassemble half the car to take care of all the other things I find and put the car out of commission for half a year (just going on past experience). But thanks

 

[Action]

I got into the MPC to see about how the parts are put together.
There is not a drain like a hose or a channel. It appears the liquid goes over an edge and drops down. Maybe to the fender.

I was going to suggest removing one fender.
You will need to support the hood as the hinge bolts to the fender on most models.
The front is where most of the labor will be. Headlights and radiator grille

Yeah, job creep it is real. And hard to resist, IMO.
I might be inclined to remove a fender. Do as best as possible. Take pictures of other work needed. Then reassemble.
However those leaves and debris would not sit well with me.

I have considered that on my Mark III for a different reason. I did remove the hood hinge & support with out removing the hood. However, being a Lincoln, there are far more parts to deal with than what is on a Fairlane in removing the fender.

Action

 

[Woody Fran]

I got into the MPC to see about how the parts are put together.
There is not a drain like a hose or a channel. It appears the liquid goes over an edge and drops down. Maybe to the fender.

I was going to suggest removing one fender.
You will need to support the hood as the hinge bolts to the fender on most models.
The front is where most of the labor will be. Headlights and radiator grille

Yeah, job creep it is real. And hard to resist, IMO.
I might be inclined to remove a fender. Do as best as possible. Take pictures of other work needed. Then reassemble.
However those leaves and debris would not sit well with me.

I have considered that on my Mark III for a different reason. I did remove the hood hinge & support with out removing the hood. However, being a Lincoln, there are far more parts to deal with than what is on a Fairlane in removing the fender.

Action

Yes, I did come across a video on the internet when searching this of a 65 Lincoln I think that had grilles that attached from above (what a practical and novel idea), but that just makes too much sense..... I agree with you that this is troubling, but I have waaaaaay too many other projects on this that need my attention first so I'm going to have to go the slow-mo version for now and table the bigger job till next winter. It's also garage kept so I would be more concerned if it was an outside storage for further water retention.

 

[POWERBAND]

'61 Comet was intact but vermin packed when rescued. Only removing fenders allowed for opening cowl for cleaning and is a nin-visible repair area . Other half is bottom of fender where it drains to - behind vertical splash skirt.at rocker....

...

 

[Action]

Yes, I did come across a video on the internet when searching this of a 65 Lincoln I think that had grilles that attached from above (what a practical and novel idea), but that just makes too much sense.....

All full size FLM products of the era have a grille fastened by hex head screws. And sealed from the windshield with black mastic kind of stuff.
I do not have as much experience in smaller vehicles.

Powerband, thanks for posting those pics. Based on the MPC this is what I would expect to see.

I would assume if enough debris dropped out of the top it could set on the lower rear of the front fender and cause rust from the inside out.

Action

 

[Woody Fran]

'61 Comet was intact but vermin packed when rescued. Only removing fenders allowed for opening cowl for cleaning and is a nin-visible repair area . Other half is bottom of fender where it drains to - behind vertical splash skirt.at rocker....

...

Yes, this will be my "last resort" as I know once I remove a fender, it's all down hill....... LOL!

 

[Woody Fran]

All full size FLM products of the era have a grille fastened by hex head screws. And sealed from the windshield with black mastic kind of stuff.
I do not have as much experience in smaller vehicles.

Powerband, thanks for posting those pics. Based on the MPC this is what I would expect to see.

I would assume if enough debris dropped out of the top it could set on the lower rear of the front fender and cause rust from the inside out.

Action

Yup, I'm pretty sure that's the culprit for probably all front fender rusting in that exact point on the rear bottom of the fender. They should have realized this and installed a door at the bottom of the inside behind the side panels for cleaning these areas out.......

 

[charles jahnke]

yes your first picture shows the drain i was gonna go out and take a pic for you but that is very close

 

[jimmidan59]

Silly question but here goes.... To clean out the cowl, I'm guessing one of those flexible grabber gizmos with the syringe-type handle and the three retractable claws on the other end, and a whole lotta time while not scratching the heck out of the cowl grille...... Does someone have a better suggestions\method? Thanks

What car are you working on?

 

[Action]

What car are you working on?

Good question, I asked the same thing.

This is being posted in the Fairlane forum and kind of hidden at the end of post #7 OP states it is a 64

Action

 

[Woody Fran]

What car are you working on?

64 Fairlane

 

[Iowan]

If I remember correctly there is an opening on the sides of the cowl, it might be possible to get at these with an air blower although it might be one you have to fabricate to have the correct angle and clearance. I hope you have a good ( large ) air compressor because you will need all the air you can get. Blowing air from the sides and center and possibly the vents under the dash will free up and break down the materials so they can be blown out.
Believe it or not this is something I would go through every time I painted an old Ford…

For an air blower I made mine from a male and female air nipple, on one of the nipples I would weld a peace of 1/4“ brake line on the length I saw fit and bend as needed..
If needed you can flatten the opening slightly to give it more air velocity…