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Posted By Discussion Topic: Cowl Vent Seal Adjustment & supereal post     len47merc 08-21-2017 @ 5:30 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Gents - note the below post found while performing a search on adjusting the cowl vent when replacing the seal, and a cut-n-paste reply by supereal from the same post: https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=18&Topic=6890&srow=11&erow=20&keywords=vent%20gasket And posted by supereal: "If you have replaced the vent gasket, be aware the many of the repros are too thick and stiff to allow the vent cover to go "over center" and properly lock." This is the EXACT problem I am having after replacing the original, dried-out, cracked, leaking vent cowl gasket with a new one from Drake - that being the gasket (now) appears so thick in the rear that the front of the cowl vent will not make contact with the front of the seal - an ~1/16" to 1/8" opening between the cowl vent top and the seal is visible across the front of the seal, and the front of the cowl is not flush with the cowl itself when locked closed. I didn't see this one coming unfortunately and the seal is well 'adhesive'd' in already. Loosening all 4 bolts and the Marsden nut in the center for the cowl and pushing up the rear of the vent to the maximum of the 5 hole openings is inadequate to correct this condition. Hate to have to destroy this seal to remove it and go with another - sooo --- What to do? Given supereal's post from 2014 (which I wish I'd seen and/or recalled before permanently installing the seal) it sounds like I may be sol but perhaps there is some other non-intuitive adjustment to address this that I am not seeing. Thanks in advance for your help - Steve sarahcecelia 08-21-2017 @ 6:42 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1187 Joined: Mar 2013 I have the same problem with mine and it couldn't be adjusted to fit. They seem to make that gasket twice as thick as neccessary! I'll be very interested to the responses to this thread that you offered about it! Regards, Steve Lee TomO 08-21-2017 @ 7:24 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 I replaced mine in 2005 and did not experience that problem. They have redesigned the gasket since then. The gasket should fit in the opening and be just barely below the surface of the cowl. When the vent cover is closed, it sits just above the the surrounding cowl. As the gasket ages, the cover will align with the cowl. The way that I adjusted it was to loosen all of the bolts holding the cover to the hinge. Close the vent hinge to the point where it is just before locking the vent. Then have someone press down hard on the cover to seat it on the gasket while you tighten the bolts. If you still cannot achieve a good seal, try the seal from Metro Moulded Parts. They may still have the old design. https://metrommp.com/?f=product_list_for_vehicle&search_year=1946&search_make=MERCURY&search_model=MERCURY&search_submodel= Whe the car is garaged, leave the cowl vent open to allow the seal to retain its seal when closed. Tom len47merc 08-21-2017 @ 11:07 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Thank you Tom for you tips, advice and image. I wish I had your library of catalogues - I've saved every image you've posted in that regard to a file folder on my hard drive for future reference. This is another good one to have. After following your advice and still not being able to achieve a flush seal I bit the bullet and, using a nylon Eastwood spatula, removed the Drake seal with minimal (though slightly more than superficial) damage. Still in one piece, just minor bits and bobs here and there did not release and stayed attached to the adhesive. I was able to remove the 3M adhesive from the seal and the cowl using - you guessed it - 3M Adhesive Remover. Upon closer inspection, which for repop parts I should have examined and found before install, the outer rear portion of the seal was found to be ~30% thicker across the middle 2/3 of the seal than the front portion of the seal - a manufacturing defect. Additionally, the vertical lip that surrounds the opening in the cowl is also more than questionable, being quiet uneven and shallower on the driver's side - another manufacturing defect. Drake is standing behind their product and is sending a replacement. I'll update you all on the results when it arrives and is installed. Steve supereal 08-21-2017 @ 2:50 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Thanks, Steve. Like so many others, I found that the cowl vent wouldn't close flush with the body. I assumed the original seal had been flattened over the years, but tinkering with the linkage didn't help. The vent is secured by the linkage going "over center", but that will not compensate for a seal that is too thick. I obtained another seal, and using my belt sander, I reduced the under side of the seal until is was slightly below the surrounding level of the body. It now snaps down into place, and doesn't leak air or water. len47merc 08-21-2017 @ 5:48 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 supereal - I made a jig out of a couple of pieces of household/cabinet trim flashing and planed them down to the thickness I wanted (or estimated to be correct), nailed them to a 2" x 10" board the appropriate distance apart, placed the thicker part of the defective seal between the planed strips and secured the seal on both ends. Then using the belt sander reduced the thicker, rear part to within +/- 0.002" of the front of the seal (versus the 0.070" - 0.085"+ it was originally) and decided to try it as a temporary seal until the replacement arrived. Had my son hold it down per Tom's process, buttoned it up and tried it while he shone his pocket flashlight across the front edge of the cowl vent in the darkened garage. Before (with the unsanded seal) I could actually see his LED bulb from under the dash through the gapped front of the cowl vent, after 'shaving' the rear of the seal and reinstalling, it clearly made the 'over center' move, no light could be seen at all and he and I both could see the front of the cowl was compressing the front of the seal. Also the top of the cowl is now flush with the cowl itself on all sides. If the replacement gives me similar trouble I'll move on to Tom's other recommended source and return the Drake seal. Will try to update later when the replacement seal arrives. Really disappointing to never know which supplier has the best quality part to accurately fit each application. Seems like a cr*p shoot at times. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 8-21-17 @ 5:50 PM len47merc 08-24-2017 @ 4:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Drake over-nighted 2 - yes two - replacement cowl gaskets to me. One to replace the defective unit described above, and another for '37-'38 cars and trucks which they stated feedback from their customers indicates works well to eliminate the problem described above on the later models. Hmmm... Quite impressed with their customer service on this. The replacement for the defective gasket looks much better and measures out with a mic consistently around the perimeter. As well, the elevated lip that seals around the cowl opening is consistent in form and height around the full perimeter - both issues of which were problems with the first gasket received. Think this will work fine. Just dropping it in around the cowl vent and testing it shows it will very likely be plug-n-play and seal well with the cowl vent clearly making the 'up-n-over-center' move easily with this one. Install tomorrow. Glad to put this one behind. Thanks for all your help guys - Steve

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