Door lock link

[redfalken]

I've always heard the rear bumper seal is there to prevent rocks from flying up and bouncing off the inside curve of the bumper, trashing the paint on the rear panel. Even small gravel or grains of sand can get going pretty fast when you're clipping along at 60 mph and then bouncing off that chromed steel. Just like a media blaster.

But I don't know this for a fact. Probably could also help with the dust buildup if you travel dirt roads.

[ew1usnr]

I've always heard the rear bumper seal is there to prevent rocks from flying up and bouncing off the inside curve of the bumper, trashing the paint on the rear panel.

The corners of the rear bumper are two little air scoops.

IMG_0431.jpg

I have wondered if it would make the car more streamlined if those scoops were sealed against the body. But then I considered that the car is creating a vacuum behind it as it moves at highway speed. The air being scooped by the bumper will empty out behind the car and reduce the vacuum. Maybe the Ford designers actually considered this when they designed the aerodynamics.

[Luva65wagon]

Then what you are really saying is Chip Foose is ruining the aerodynamic design Ford and other car makers intended!

Actually I think a lot of it was to keep under-car fumes from getting translated upward. I know on a wagon you can't drive around with the rear window open - even with this added. I do have these on both the wagon and Ranchero, but don't have issues with leaves. You need to drive them, or at least have them outside, to have that sort of issue.

[ew1usnr]

The corners of the rear bumper are two little air scoops.

While speaking of air scoops, I thought that it might be nice to have a cowl vent air scoop. It would keep leaves from falling into the cowl while the car is parked and would increase air flow through the vents while moving.

Cowl vent air scoop.jpg

I tried explaining it to another engineer friend at work. I started laughing though and had a difficult time finishing, while describing a mass of hurricane velocity air whooshing through the vent ducts "WHOOOOOOO" while driving at 80 mph.

"High Flow Air Scoop in Smoke - Increase the efficiency of your heater and air conditioner and improve airflow through your vents. Available in dark smoke or chrome, easy installation with no drilling required."
See: http://www.quadratec.com/products/13006_11.htm

The commercial examples use double sided tape or adhesive to stick them to the cowl. If I were to make one as an experiment, it could be made out of ABS sheet plastic. It could have "L" brackets on the right and left to lock it into the cowl vent. It would have to made with a curvature to match the curve of the cowl vent. It is something interesting to think about.

[Luva65wagon]

That's something I really liked about my '56 F100, the cowl vent scoop. On hot days this was the best thing ever! Maybe you could come up with this scoop and make it a quick-release thing using some sort of quarter-turn fastener.

This is not a picture of my ex-truck, but it is the same:

defcba05.jpg

The actual air intake for the heater was on the passenger side just in front the door. Many folks fill this in with a patch panel, which I've debated more on the Falcon than I ever did on the truck:

06-14-2010-704-small.jpg

On the Falcon most of us just use the magnetic cowl cover now to keep crud out, but then forget to pull it off and wonder why the heater doesn't work very good. Ask me how I know.

[ew1usnr]

That's something I really liked about my '56 F100, the cowl vent scoop. On hot days this was the best thing ever! Maybe you could come up with this scoop and make it a quick-release thing using some sort of quarter-turn fastener.

Hello, Roger.

That was a good idea about the quarter turn fasteners. "L" brackets on the right and left will not work because they have to be rotated while inserting them. The opening in the vent grill are only 3/16" wide and only allow for a tiny bit of "rotational radius".

Here is a commercial example of a clear plastic cowl vent cover:

Cowl vent cover.jpg

They say: MUSTANG SCOTT DRAKE COWL COVER 1965-1966 ACC 16741 65 “The low-profile design cowl cover simply sits on top of the cowl vent grille. It mounts by pressing and twisting the spring loaded tabs down through the vent bars. This cover can be easily installed or removed in minutes.”

The spring-loaded quarter turn fasteners they use are exactly what I need.

I did a google-search and saw this "quick release quarter turn fastener" that looks kind of like what they have on the Mustang cowl cover. Maybe Lowe's or Home Depot has something like this.

Quick release qurter turn fastener.jpg

This might work: a 1/8" toggle bolt at Lowes.
See: http://www.lowes.com/pd_326597-10457...d=3385762&pl=1

One-eighth inch toggle bolts.jpg

[redfalken]

I got something like this and was able to get several out of one sheet. $12.50 w/free shipping

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-x24-Blank...sAAOSwHjNV-1dV

I bought it in red but would actually advise getting some bright, obnoxious, contrasting color so you are more likely to notice you should remove it. Like Roger, I'm usually going down the road 30 mph before I realize I forgot!!

[ew1usnr]

That's something I really liked about my '56 F100, the cowl vent scoop. On hot days this was the best thing ever! Maybe you could come up with this scoop and make it a quick-release thing using some sort of quarter-turn fastener.

Hello, Roger.

The cowl vent air scoop is coming along.

I sort of made my own quarter turn fastener from a 1/8" toggle bolt. The toggle wings would not fit through the vent louver slot, so I used just the hinge-pin nut from toggle wings. I burred the thread below the nut so that it would not come off.

IMG_0442.jpg

The side supports are attached to the cowl vent.

uprights.jpg

I have the air scoop top cut to size, but it has not been glued to the side supports yet. This is made from 1/8" thick textured black ABS plastic.

quarter.jpg

side.jpg

[Luva65wagon]

Dennis,

I suspect the center-back of this vent will want to lift up and may tear the thing to pieces. Wind drag is a powerful force than increases exponentially with speed. It may go POOF!

Just a thought.