Dart question

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moparbros

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The front cowl I guess its called. The panel right under the windshield and behind the hood that looks a cheese grater. Can I cut that out and weld in a smooth piece or does this cause any problems?
 
No real problems except no fresh air inlet for the vents or heater.
 
Other than opening the windows, that is the only place air can get into the interior. I would not recommend your modification.
 
moparbros said:
But I will still have recirculating air from inside though right?
Click to expand...

Right.

"Other than opening the windows, that is the only place air can get into the interior. I would not recommend your modification."

Only place fresh air can get in.
 
If you did, I would also suggest removing the doors on the vents, if not the entire vent structure that bolts up to the cowl. That way there's actually air to circulate through the cowl to the heater when its running.

Hopefully you've got A/C or are planning on adding it. The amount of air that you can move through those vents is pretty incredible. It's a noticeable difference opening those vents, even with the windows down. Definitely makes things more pleasant in the cabin. They're also super helpful if you want to circulate air and still have the windows up, like if you get tired of getting blasted by air from the open windows on the freeway. My new favorite trick on my Duster is to open the cowl vents and crack the rear pop-out windows and leave the windows rolled up...
 
If the "defroster" mode is valuable to you in your climate, you may want to take a second look at blocking things off also? I did something similar on a brand X car and driving in the rain or very moist conditioned required a towel on the seat next to me for wiping purposes, especially at night. Might not be the case in your situation, but keep all the scenarios you'll encounter in mind.
 
OldmanRick said:
If the "defroster" mode is valuable to you in your climate, you may want to take a second look at blocking things off also? I did something similar on a brand X car and driving in the rain or very moist conditioned required a towel on the seat next to me for wiping purposes, especially at night. Might not be the case in your situation, but keep all the scenarios you'll encounter in mind.
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Thank you.
That's what I was trying to figure out how to explain.
Recirculated air does not work well for defrosting windows.
 
What might be cool is to make a flat panel like you describe but hinge it and put a vacuum motor or electric actuator on it to open up on fresh air settings....
 
mguner said:
What might be cool is to make a flat panel like you describe but hinge it and put a vacuum motor or electric actuator on it to open up on fresh air settings....
Click to expand...

All the old cars came this way, 50's and earlier anyway. The fresh air vent was typically recessed, with a flat cover that was sealed with a gasket around the edges and controlled by a lever under the dash. Kind of like the air grabber scoop on the roadrunners, just manual.
 
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