What's this stuff on my cowl, and do I need it?

1 Plate without the SN. It tells me the colors of the car are green and light green, which it is. It tells me it is a coupe, and it is.

2 Not sure, guessing fresh air intake?

3 I have no idea.

4 Windshield wiper motor, vacuum variety. I suppose I need to keep that.

5 A wire entry point...but which wires?

6 I believe this is a heater. It could also be a cooler. Either way, this is forevermore a fairweather car so it's will be erased.

7 I have no idea, please advise.

8 Brake linkage.

9 Steering.

10 Master cylinder? I just bought a scarebird kit, but I'm thinking of keeping this. Any thoughts?

 

1 Why not
2 Vent??
3 voltage reg, if your cool and running a pre '70ish alternator you need one
4 Vacumn wipers pretty much useless on a warm engine
5
6 Heater stuff
7 Horn relay Need it depending on wiring

 

BTW. That area of the car is the firewall. The "cowl" is the area that surrounds it.

 

If you don't know most of those items, maybe you should have someone help you work on the car.
Are you planning any upgrades?

 

Number 2 is a fresh air vent that had a hose connecting it to the Inner fender panel. Just like the one on the OTHER SIDE.

 

Nah...you don't need any of 'em, especially #'s 8, 9 & 10...just hack 'em off....

 

Fresh air vents are your friend, fair weather car or not. Especially in NC. You really need to step back and figure out what motor is going in the car and where you want to be before you go any further. Planning will save you a lot of headaches in the future.

 

I'd keep all the numbered stuff and get rid of everything else.

 

3. is voltage regulator
5. is the wiring bulkhead/speedo cable exit (all the wire go though here to get to the front of the car).
6. heater core/blower motor
7. horn relay

 

#6 is not only the heater, but the blower for fresh air as well.

#7 is a horn relay and for the older cars without fuse blocks (like yours), a lot of the supply power for the interior is connected to the pos terminal on the horn relay. Horn relays can withstand a lot of current, so that's why the run the main power to there and use it as a junction block.

 

Cut it all out, get a chrome firewall and put as much billet as you can under the hood...... Then I'll try not to throw up on it if I ever see it in person.
Cleaned up, repainted and detailed, that stuff all has character, man. Much cooler than the repulsive "smoothie" look, so popular these days.

 

#8= throttle linkage, Get help!!

 

this guy really tring to build a car? please say hes like 14 or somthing!

 

couldn't have said it better!!

 

Okay, guys...Back it out an inch.

Reverse Halo- Get in Touch with Z-Man. He is an experienced builder, a helluva nice guy, and has outstanding taste in beer. While I doubt You will be able to drag him to Charolette, I betcha he can help You out. You need some new buddies to help with this project (and you came to the right place)-or sadly, You will never finish this car.

#1 is a trim tag. -sometimes, it is all you have to go by as far as vital info goes. You can remove it, but don't chunk it.

#2 Fresh air vent. these are Your FRIEND.

#3 Voltage regulator. Junk.

#4 yep. wipers...vaccum operated. You will likely replace this unit with an electric one...or not at all.

#5 wiring bulkhead. the crap hanging out of it is for the guages and ignition. You can fill this one, but may want to keep the bezel and re-locate it to a different position.

#6. I am sure this is a blower motor for heat. You probably have one under the seat, too.

#7-Horn relay. It doesn't need to be there, but You will still need one.
Oldsmobile used them up to 1973.

#8-throttle linkage- You're gonna want to keep that. It does "important stuff".

#9. Yep. also does "important stuff"

#10. By all means keep it! It will do a fine job of keeping loose paper weighted down, or perhaps it can hold a door open, or keep a car from rolling...if placed behind a wheel.

stay the course, study alot, and keep asking questions.

Lux

 

Depending on the direction (MONEY)you plan to take with the build and how much aftermarket stuff-vs-original stuff you plan to use, will determine what you keep and what you get rid of. Me, Id get rid of most all of it but the steering, the vin plate, and the heater unit, put a reliable (think cheap here) small block in it, an aftermarket wiring harness. Personally, Id put an aftermarket Heat and A/C (not cheap, but really easy to do), and a electric wiper motor in it, but really not necessary at all on either. That throttle cable is possibly stuck, and the aftermarket ones are really easy to install. I imagine you can also get a repo cable if keeping it stock.

Re-do the brakes totally! New or rebuilt M/C and new wheel cylinders, new rubber flex lines. Dont skimp here. They are the second most important part of the car, with steering being 1st!

If your just rebuilding the original motor, then youll need that voltage regualtor and relay block, just rebuild the wiring.

Dont smooth the firewall, those reveal lines look great when cleaned up. Just fill the holes you dont need.

 

They should make it mandatory that you PASS an apptitude test before being allowed to buy tools.
Does he have any Mechanics Manuals that will explain this shit? Here's goes another car destined for the junkyard. Newbies, give a man a wrench and he thinks he's Chip Foose.
Aren't Newbies fun to watch?

 

Yep! And when they come here and admit they don't know everything, they get crap-attitude answers like yours. I wish I'd been born with all-encompassing knowledge like you!

Man, I hope I don't run into anything I or my friends can't figure out.

Deano

 

damn guys... so hard on people.

the guy is asking questions because he wants to learn... im sure none of you were born with the infinite wisdom of cars. you had to learn by asking questions and getting your hands dirty... just like this guy.

dont take it to hard Halo. some people like to make you feel bad in order to make themselves feel better. and others are just bustin' yer balls. you will figure it. dont be afraid to ask questions.

 

X2 on this one Halo. Also good to remember that the number of posts a person has doesn't always translate to knowledge! Go to egay and get yourself a manual on your year car. It will help you the most at this stage of your build.

 

Thank you, Mr. Blue!

I have a few thoughts on this. Take what you will.

• You can get plenty of good help here. There is the communicating by distance issue- it's much easier to talk about these kinds of things when you're staring at them.
• I suggest you start with a good assessment of what you want to do, and discuss it here. What are your overall plans for the car? Does it have mostly complete engine, transmission, brake, driveline, and electrical systems? Would the stock equipment be worth using, at least temporarily? Would it be a better approach to replace the stock equipment?
• I suggest you come up with a plan to get the car driving safely in a reasonable timeframe, as in make it as likely as possible that you'll have the reward of driving it in a year or three. I wouldn't take it all apart, I'd start with a certain system (maybe the suspension) and get it mostly figured out and done, first. And I would do things like keeping one side together for a reference while dealing with the other side (of the brakes, for example).
• What kind of help, money, time, tools, space, et cetera do you have for this project?

Thanks,
Kurt

 

Hey Deano,
He brought his question here. He made himself fair game. I've had to ask a questions before too. And, I got a rashing of shit. But it also taught me to think first and read about my project at hand and not turn it into a steaming pile o' shit. You take apart too much and it will be years before this car ever sees dailight again, if at all.
But this is what happens when a new guy gets a car and some tools and doesn't read about his car first.
So please, go buy a manual and read. You'll be alot happier. Then tell us how it's going. What kind of car is it anyway?

 

Some questions for reversehalo:
1. what kind of car is this?
2. did you take it apart or did it come to you in that condition?
3. what do you want to end up with?
4. are you 14 years old? I was when I started thats a good thing!
5. are you fearless?
6. do you have basic hand tools?

 

MY car? Now you're asking me about MINE? What does my car have to do with the OP's question?

For the record, it's a 53 Plymouth, flathead 6 with a 3-speed and it gets driven regularly. What's yours?

And as for your answer to the OP, if you wanna be an asshole, go ahead, at least he admits he doesn't know it all. I'm just waiting for the day YOU ask a question ... I hope memories are long.

Deano

 

Get off the dudes ass. He didn't know, so he asked. You cocksuckers are whats giving the HAMB a bad name. Fucking internet car bullies.

 

man
some of you guys should practice what you all preach
read the dudes profile
1950 cad
no motor or trans
it also says 50 cad at the bottom of the post
some of you cool guy chachis need to at least READ the damn post and profile before trying to gain some cool points buy flaming dudes
Im in wilmington man, PM me, I dont know much about cads but have a dude local that does.

 

Everyone's a badass when they're in thier living room. If I had a nickle for every time I got "You're Lux Blue? But You're so Nice ..."

Suffice to say, I don't look like my pleasant demeanor.

 

That's a priceless quote from someone who clearly doesn't know the history of the HAMB. Someone should kick his teeth in.

 

Thats what I'm talking about.

 

read his profile, he's 40 and its a 50 cad, maybe its a test to see what we know? ha ha "no such thing as a bad ?"