Anyone take off one of the vents on a 54 ,I have to replace the seal and paint under there will be grateful for any tips .I have sprayed the bits under the dash with some lube to help with taking it apart without breaking any bolts .
If the 54 cowl vent is the same as the earlier trucks, it's pretty simple. There are two small carriage bolts on each pivot bracket, and another two on the linkage that operates the vent. These are pretty easy to remove or just break off by tightening them. Here's a pic of the pivot brackets when I replaced the shoulder rivets on the pivots. If you need some shoulder rivets if your pivots are seized up I can send you some.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Thanks Kevin ,I am hoping that everything comes out without breakage the vent moves freely .I will let you know how it comes out .Good job at getting those rivets on under the dash wow that looks like fun.
Last edited by KEVINSKI; 03/25/20262:31 AM. Reason: More imfo
It wasn't too bad. I did have one bolt break when I pulled mine out. Had to drill out the holes for the rivets to fit the slightly larger than original ones. I did need another set of hands to buck the rivets while I used an air hammer to set them. The bolts are pretty standard carriage bolts, just a bit small. I think 3/16" dia.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I resisted doing the removal for a long time concerned about the prospect of breaking bolts. In the end I could not find a way around it so I took it apart and was surprised that it came apart without any problem. It's a little tricky to get it out and back in place but I'm sure you can handle it.
My experience with this went well, I sprayed Kroil on the fasteners and let it sit. One thing that proved to be very helpful was to take a paint marker and make a line across everywhere there was "adjustment". After refinishing the cowl cover and replacing the seal, I just matched everything back up where it was at using the paint marking as a guide to reassemble. Worked great.
Ron - - Dusty53 1954 Chevy 3604 In the Gallery Forum "You can't dance with the Devil and then wonder why you're still in Hell." "They will forget what you've said, and they will forget what you have done but they will never forget the way you made them feel."
One other thing that I found. I bought a "deluxe" gasket for the cowl vent and was NOT happy with the fit. With it in place, the vent sat way high, and the gasket did not compress at all. Dumped that and went with the standard foam gasket. Here's a pic or two. I definitely wouldn't recommend the "deluxe" gasket.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Thanks guys I hope to get in the garage tonight to see if it will come out ,Ron good idea I will markwere the adjustment is .Kevin I think my seal is the delux so hope it fits I will try it before I clean it up in case I need to order a flat one .
Success , a little challenging getting under the dash but everything came out okay 👍.I was also happy to see just a little bit of surface rust under the old gasket so looks solid.Another bonus is I checked the fit of the gasket I have and it fits good ,If I remember correctly the 54/55 has a little different shape vent but I could be wrong.
Kevin, looks like yours was a bit harder to get at given you weren't working with a bare cab like I was. And yes, the 54/55 cowl vents are slightly different shape than the earlier trucks. If your gasket fits well, that's good. Is that second picture of yours with the new gasket in place? If so it wasn't too thick like mine was.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Yes picture is with the new gasket just to try it the picture of the vent closed has the new gasket in and it fits flush on the passenger side and a little high on the drivers side but it should level out when I get it cleaned out
My replacement gasket is the thicker, harder version Kevin referenced and as a result my vent does sit high but that is the way it is going to stay (at least for now).
