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I've look through the TM's and haven't found anything. Maybe I'm not looking in the right place but, my trying to find how the cowl vent pan is attached to the cowl. Is it spot welded, or otherwise attached? I have felt up to the drain tube and the metal tube is rusted partially off, can I remove the assembly to rebuild it or forget about it? I've not tried the circus rubber man act to get up under the dash, getting too old and rusty myself.

The cowl vent drain pan is formed as part of the cowl's sheet metal and is not removable but can be worked on from above by taking out the vent, procedures listed here:

Click pic then select Full Screen

Here's a link to some photos I took of the drain we removed from my truck. I believe it was held on with six spot welds. We would up taking square steel rod of the proper size and forming the "gutter" in a minimum of eight pieces and then welding them together. I wasn't that bad. I was not there to photograph the process. Someone needs to make a repair piece for this.


http://apollosaturn.smugmug.com/M37/Cow ... 160_sZTWnK

Carter wrote:The cowl vent drain pan is formed as part of the cowl's sheet metal and is not removable

Well, I suppose I should have said not intended to be removed, anything is removable with the right tools and determination. Mine had a lot of rust pin holes so I filled them with lead.

Good idea about repair pieces being made John, maybe Midwest Military might be interested in doing that. Most every truck I have seen has the drain rusted out.

Looks like too much work with the cab fully assembed. I just won't drive in the rain much.

Thanks for the details.

CT

Yeah.
Since mine poured water onto my dash wiring and into my transmission.
I covered the damn thing with gorilla tape.
I couldn't believe it was designed to short out the electrical system and wreck the tranny on a piece of military equipment it makes antique tractors look cleverly thought out.

billy wrote:Yeah.
Since mine poured water onto my dash wiring and into my transmission.
I covered the damn thing with gorilla tape.
I couldn't believe it was designed to short out the electrical system and wreck the tranny on a piece of military equipment it makes antique tractors look cleverly thought out.

Except that these trucks weren't designed to still be in use 66 years after their initial conception. Within their intended service lives (maybe 15 years), the cowl vent design probably lasted just fine. It's only after hard use, minimal to no maintenance, and (for most) sitting outside in all weather long beyond their intended service life that corrosion around the cowl vent is a problem.

I love having the working vent in summer even with the cab off. the floors get a bit warm in summer. helps keep the driving more enjoyable.

Kaegi wrote:I love having the working vent in summer even with the cab off. the floors get a bit warm in summer. helps keep the driving more enjoyable.

Yeah the floorboard is an oven.
I broke down and opened mine up yesterday. I stuck a hose on the drain and poked it through the floor levers rubber thingy

Remove the four 1/4-turn screw clips that hold the instrument panel in place, and then you can remove the cowl vent from inside with a 1/2" ratchet or wobble head ratchet wrench (what i used today). didn't have to crawl underneath the dash at all, very nice easy access route

isaac_alaska wrote:Remove the four 1/4-turn screw clips that hold the instrument panel in place, and then you can remove the cowl vent from inside with a 1/2" ratchet or wobble head ratchet wrench (what i used today). didn't have to crawl underneath the dash at all, very nice easy access route

That's good.
I hate crawling under there so much i will let dangerous conditions go unrectified.

Remove the instrument panel (the screw in each corner is captured, and only goes 1/4 turn, so nothing to lose, and you won't wear your wrists out) and you get a very good view of everything happening under the dash.

We CNC machined a replacement vent drain a few years back, 2011 I believe. The one we built was installed in the blue M37 that sold last February at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. You can see that truck on our website in the photo gallery. If you scroll through the pictures of that project, you can see the rust damage in the cowl, everything in the area was obliterated. We fabricated everything in the area in our body shop including sheet metal panels to repair it.