As well as these things ventilate, it's surprising to me that many have closed them off. Does look good though, but I'd rather have the airflow. The 32 has an operable one and the only problem with it - and it isn't too big a prob - at low in-town speeds the hood louvers dump hot air right down the cowl vent. At medium - 35-45 mph - speeds it's not bad and once you're at highway speed airflow over the car changes to the extent that not much hot air comes out of the hood louvers. With that in mind I have a solid hood top on the 31. And of course, with the cowl gas tanks, not too many vents found on 31 cowls. Since I have a no-tank cowl top and there is room, I'd like to put a working cowl vent into the 31. The best bet would probably be a 32 vent. If ... big word that 'if' ... someone has a 32 cowl vent they'd like to part with I'd be interested. If the later Fords have a similar sized vent, maybe one of those would work. For reference, the 32 vent flap is rectangular and 5 x 14". I believe the later fat fendered Fords have a polygonal almost rectagular shape to them, but if the cowl curve was the same - or even close - one of those could do it.
The cool thing about the later ones is that most of them have a screen - I pick up all kinds of stuff through my 33 B cowl vent...
with no hood I don't open the cowl vent or windshield much on my coupe either. I wonder what other vents could be made to work? maybe with a little creativity something like a Chevy truck side vent could be used? Paul
brookville roadsters offers a replacement patch panel with the opening in it, and you can buy all the hardware also from them, i think it'd be coll to have one where there usually isnt.
Nice to be able to open the windshield on an A but the bugs and slow birds come in. A cowl vent would be a good idea. I loved the one on my 47 ford. Can't see why guys fill them. Nutz
C9,, good timing as I was going to ask about the same thing.. I would like to put one in my sedan.. So if there is any extra one out there I would also be interested in it... titus, thanks for the tip.. I just got the latest catalog in and will have to look in there for it
30-31 A you could prolly put a couple of them on the sides of the cowl. Been done before and doesn't look bad
I put one out of a 32 Chevy in my pop's RPU. Fit like it was made for it. I talked a guy that I was chopping his car into filling the vent Check the swaps and local rod shops. Clark
Another trick is to leave the gas filler in place. On nice days put a carb scoop on the filler to suck air in. In bad weather put the gas cap on. Clark
The 32-34 trucks are the same also. They have gotten pricey lately. Some of the coolest vents I've seen, are the cowl vents in the sides of the cowl. Big cab over trucks had them. Didn't Studebaker have them on their cars some years? I remember a nostalgic Deuce 5 window with them and always loved the novel idea.
Ya all know........the OTHER brands,(Chebby,Dodge,Plymouth,etc.) used cowl vents that could prolly be had, a WHOLE lot cheaper. AND the added benefit of using one of these,is........nobody ELSE is going to HAVE one.Might even find one that looks a lot better than old Henry's ....... Just a thought.........
the scoop on the factory tank is not a bad idea.. I did plan to leave mine if I did not use a cowl vent...
My buddy is running a cast aluminum carb scoop (facing forward) over the old gas filler hole on his "A". He loves it now that he mounted the bug screen. It seems that he didn't like being stung by the pissed off yellow jacket that shot down the tube, bounced off the floor and landed into his lap! I almost removed the vent in my '35 pickup and am now very glad that I didn't. It gets pretty hot in my cab during the summer. However, I have not noticed any more heat being pushed down the vent after I louvered my 1/2 hood.
I was thinking about using one from one of the 32/33 pickup cabs I had, then someone made me a deal on 3 of the cabs and the 4th went to my brother. Never actually checked the crown, but it looked close enough to work. Might check into the Brookville setup, but now that we've mentioned it here, it'll be on thousands of coupes before I get to doing mine. Oh well.
the 32 -34 pick vents are pretty much the same as 32 pass, i have found there are about three differnt(maybe more) actual vents and mechinisms,not sure as to why or what ,but that problem exists popped the vent out of my 5-w after melting the lead and bought a vintique hinge assy. of course it was made for one of the other models of doors, had to modify, still doesnt work like it should but it works... maybe try a big truck wrecking yard has to be something remotely cool on at least one of the many years and makes of semi trucks out there?
For anyone who's contemplatin' the F-1 cowl vent I just went out and measured Clarence. The vent is (approx.) 19 5/8" wide; is rounded on the front to match the rear of the hood; is about 5" "long" (front to back) right in the center; about 4 1/2" "long" at the ends; and the rear two corners are rounded with a radius of about 1 1/2". The crown is about 3/8" higher in the center than the ends. Honestly, I don't believe that this would make a good candidate for an "A" vent. As usual, though, I could be wrong...
Openable air exhaust vents on the sides of the cowl, in the position they are on a '50 Studebaker that open at the rear like early Chevy hood side vents would let air OUT of the cowl area with the circulation effectively the same but without sucking in hot engine air. I'm convinced that the trend of welding up cowl vents followed the louverperforations of hoods and the heated ar they caused.
Thanks for all the info guys. Just have to start looking I guess. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ [ QUOTE ] Openable air exhaust vents on the sides of the cowl, in the position they are on a '50 Studebaker that open at the rear like early Chevy hood side vents would let air OUT of the cowl area with the circulation effectively the same but without sucking in hot engine air. I'm convinced that the trend of welding up cowl vents followed the louverperforations of hoods and the heated ar they caused. [/ QUOTE ] Maybe - to both. With a top on, the interior becomes a low pressure area and will suck air in from just about anywhere. One good example is the door gaps, front and rear, where hot air from the side louvers gets pulled in. I think the side cowl vents would pull the hot air from the hood side louvers into the cockpit. As far as welding the cowl vent closed and smoothing it off, I think it was just a custom trick. Hot air entering off the hood top louvers could have been a problem for some, but keeping the vent closed until at highway speed works for me. The very best thing you can do in these little cars is to insulate them well. Specially on the firewall. As well as seal off throttle and hood latch rods, wiring ingress etc.
[ QUOTE ] the 32 -34 pick vents are pretty much the same as 32 pass, i have found there are about three differnt(maybe more) actual vents and mechinisms,not sure as to why or what ,but that problem exists [/ QUOTE ] Yes I tried to use a p/u vent in my roadster. (an early production) It bolted right up but wouldn't seal correctly. The one from the roadster had obviously had some hammer and dolly work to adjust the angle of the mounting flange. You may want to get a matched set from the same donor if possible.
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