[Prairie Kid]

what is the function of the cowl? it just seems like a way to guarantee collecting water into the kick panels.

what is the purpose of having the cowl open allthe way doen through to the kick panels?

 

[nova656567]

Intake of outside air for heater & kick panel vents.

 

[SouthBay2s]

Early Mustang's had horrible cowl rot problems. Someone started making a simple, clear, Lexan cowl cover that used some ingenious hardware to attach it over the cowl. You could add and remove it as weather conditions required. If you are worried about water and dirt collection in the cowl it would be worth looking into either to see if it works for a Nova or for a template to fab a custom one. Note that cowl panels are bolt-on on Ford of this period.

 

[Prairie Kid]

my main concern is i want to put speakers where my kick panels are, and i dont want to worry about water, I think im going to just make a separate, sealed housing for the speakers to be safe i guess

 

[SouthBay2s]

People do that all the time, but your concern is warranted (IMO). I think you would be fine as the car was designed to channel water away from that area as long as there are not blockages or rot. Hopefully others chime in with their thoughts and experiences.

 

[EARLYIIS]

The area just below the windshield is under higher pressure when the car is moving. that is part of why the air is brought into the car in that area.

Not sure about the third gens but on the 1st gen cars the water is supposed to drain into the rockers and out of the rocker drains. Doesn't work so good when it all plugs up with leaves and such. Also the 1st gens were advertised as having air dried rockers. They expected air to come in at the cowl, down through the kick panel area and into the front of the rockers.

As far as the speakers. Just a thought but don't they have water resistant speakers for boats? Maybe that plus a separate housing both would be extra good.

EarlyIIs