1966 Coronet 440 Interior Vent Question

[NateCoronet440]

Hello everyone, I am 16 years old and got a 66 Coronet 440 for a first car. I have been working hard trying to get the mouse smell out of the interior and have come to the interior vents. I believe that the air comes in from the cowl in front of the windshield. However, when I rinse down the cowl, it floods interior. I would think that there should be a bypass drain somewhere along the line, or else when it rained, I would think that the drivers legs would end up soaked. What am I missing? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
-Nate

 

[YY1]

Hey, story sounds familiar.

I bought my first Mopar at 16, a 66 Coronet.

There are vent "stacks" in the cowl.

They are shaped like coffee cans and the purpose is to let water exit the cowl without coming into the pass compartment.

Unfortunately that area doesn't get as good a paint thickness from the factory, and decades of water "erosion" and leaf matter cause the bases to be very susceptible to rust out.

Also unfortunately that is one of the most difficult areas to repair, and usually involves drilling out many spot welds and removing lead from the cowl to windshield channel seam (and likely removing the windshield).

I'm sure that's not what you wanted to hear.

If you can remove the plastic vent structure from the inside, you should be able to feel up in there and find out for sure.

68-70 is more difficult than 71 and up, as on those you can feel through the top.

A body cars can be felt through the vent "box" from the inside.

That's one of the very first things I check when looking at a prospective purchase.

There is a slim chance the leak is actually wiper pivot seals, but that should be a lot less water and should be able to be spotted with a flashlight under the dash.

 

[NateCoronet440]

Hmmmm.... Interesting. That really helps. Thanks for the advice. I will have to try taking that vent off and se what is going on.

 

[YY1]

...and we need pics of the car.

I sure wish I had that car back. WH23 440 model.

White with blue int. Poly 318 auto on the column, bench seat, A/C and power windows.

Never seen another one with those options and I've closely investigated every 66 440 I see for over 32 years.

 

[thequickster]

I've got a 67 Coronet 440 ,bought it at age 17, water gets in mine to when it would rain or when I would wash it, all I did was cover the vents with painters tape whenever I washed it... I don't have nice paint though so I didnt worry about the tape messing it up. Good luck with it.

-Thequickster

 

[YY1]

Fords have a terrible problem with the vent stacks and inner cowl rusting out.

I've seen more than a few mustangs and mid size fords with clear plastic covers clamped on over the vent grilles.

My 71 torino had that problem and I sold the car rather than spend 1/2 of what it was worth to fix it.

 

[NateCoronet440]

YY1-Your first Coronet sounds way cool! Mine was my dads car when he was in high school and originally had the poly 318 also but it had a knock. It was replaced with a variety of engines over the years but the last and final (what is still in it) is a mildly built 400. Also, I was able to find the little drain spots on the car yesterday and thankfully they were just full of mud-not rusted out.
thequickster- I was able to find the drain spots but they aren't very big so my floor may get a little wet also when I take it to the car wash. Painters tape is a good idea.

 

[Mike67]

Congrats on the car, I have a 67 I'm working on, some reason I've always been partial to the 66-67s..
You have a major problem though that you have overlooked, I'm hoping its an oversight and not a blatant disregard of the forum decorum... I would suggest that you rectify the situation asap!!! To avoid any retribution....
Post some pics Nate!!! Come on!!!!
Welcome aboard, really glad to have you here!
Theres a lot of guys with probably several centuries of combined experience here...

 

[NateCoronet440]

Ya just an oversight on the pix. Will try to get some soon. Don't have any good ones of it in its current condition. Thanks for the warm welcome. So far, everyone has been super helpful. This forum seems to be a great resource as this is my first time doing any serious work on cars. Thanks for the help!
-Nate

 

[Jeremiah]

In order to get the mouse smell out you will have to remove the heater box and clean it. Once you remove the heater box you should be able to stick your hand up through the hole into the cowl and clean all of the debris out. More often than not the crud is built up so high around the "dam" that keeps it from running into the car that it won't drain in the corners as designed. You can buy any of the jute firewall padding, heater box foam, etc. from a company called Detroit Muscle Technologies. If you need and heater box stuff shoot me a PM, I have several parts boxes to borrow from.

 

[Jeremiah]

In order to get the mouse smell out you will have to remove the heater box and clean it. Once you remove the heater box you should be able to stick your hand up through the hole into the cowl and clean all of the debris out. More often than not the crud is built up so high around the "dam" that keeps it from running into the car that it won't drain in the corners as designed. You can buy any of the jute firewall padding, heater box foam, etc. from a company called Detroit Muscle Technologies. If you need and heater box stuff shoot me a PM, I have several parts boxes to borrow from.

 

[NateCoronet440]

Jeremiah- I took the heater box out on sunday and I couldn't believe how bad it was. Mice had made a huge nest in it and it smelled absolutely terrible. Also, I cleaned out those cowl vents and they seem to be working great now. If I need any parts, I will keep you in mind! Thanks!
-Nate

 

[NateCoronet440]

Here are some pix. sorry for crappy quality.

 

[Jeremiah]

Nice car! Is is an original big block? Is it copper on black?

 

[YY1]

Looks like "YY1" to me.

 

[NateCoronet440]

No, not an original big block. It originally had a 318 poly when my dad had it as a kid. It was raced a little so several engines have been in it but this is the last one. 400- mild cam, 4bbl, headers, dual exhaust. It is copper and black. I will get some pix when my interior is back together.