1932 Cowl Gasket/Seal

R

ReggieK

Senior Member
Has anyone had any problems with the cowl gasket/seal being too thick, or too dense, so as to keep the cowl door from coming down and fitting? If you take the gasket out and close the door if fits perfect, I am thinking about trimming an 1/8" off to see if that will help. Or does anyone sell one that fits? Has anyone had this problem? All parts came on the car originally, so I know they fit at one time. The original gasket was unfortunately trashed. Any help will be appreciated.
Reggie
 
Drake's cowl vent gasket is too thick to allow the vent to close completely. You have to trim material from the underside. C&G shows one for the '32 as B-35275, $17. It is used in the '32 cars, and '32-'34 pickups. I'm not sure of the thickness, but you can measure yours and they will compare it.
 
The problem is both the thickness and firmness of the rubber.

I slice them in half and end up with two for the price of one in theory although it isn't easy to the cut the rubber so one usually ends being too thin.
 
Vintique's latest one (yes THAT Vintique) seems to be a little thinner than most repro's (including the "older" Vintiques). It also has a tiny lip on the edge to help with sealing. We have sold a few and none have come back, not that that means anything. Unfortunatly Vintique seems to be currently out of stock but I expect this is an item they will re-run.
 
I have what I always thought was an original, I've had it since the late 60's, it's now as hard as a rock. Measures about 7/32" thick, has sharp corners on one side and radiused on the other. Has "Champion" molded in on the radius side. I have bought several 5 years ago ( all different). One is from Vintique it has the rib molded in and is a little over 1/4" thick @ $15. from LeBaron Bonney. Another came from Steele is 7/32" thick, has all four corners sharp, the material is quite soft and spongey compared to the others, says "made in the U.S.A." on the package. and was the most expensive at $35.00. The last one seems like the best, It came from Drake, says made in the U.S.A. on the package. has the radius on one side, is 7/32" thick
the material seems softer than the Vintique, but not as soft as the Steele. I don't know what his price is for them, since I bought on Ebay for $10.
 
xix32, Thanks for the information, I will try Steele tomorrow, they are about 15 miles from me. If they have what I need and no trimming, 35 bucks would be a bargain. I could drive over and check the thickness and pick one up.
 
Karl Wescott said:
Vintique's latest one (yes THAT Vintique) seems to be a little thinner than most repro's (including the "older" Vintiques). It also has a tiny lip on the edge to help with sealing. We have sold a few and none have come back, not that that means anything. Unfortunatly Vintique seems to be currently out of stock but I expect this is an item they will re-run.
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Karl, The one that I have is by Vintique, it has the lip, which I first thought would be a great feature, only problem it is too thick and too dense. I am going to check with Steele tomorrow and see what their's looks like. Thanks for the information.
Reggie
 
Is it hard to remove the cowl vent to remove the gasket old gasket fit a new one.
 
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The hinge mechanism comes up from inside, the area where the gasket goes is open. Like Bader said, the gasket goes over/around the door and into the groove.
 
ReggieK said:
xix32, Thanks for the information, I will try Steele tomorrow, they are about 15 miles from me. If they have what I need and no trimming, 35 bucks would be a bargain. I could drive over and check the thickness and pick one up.
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ReggieK, did you ever find a good cowl vent gasket?
 
motordr said:
ReggieK, did you ever find a good cowl vent gasket?
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Yes I came up with one that worked for me. I used a Vintique and set 3, 2 liter bottles of water on the cowl door to help compress the gasket, left it on there for a couple of weeks, seems to have worked well. ordered two more for spares, but not likely to need them. I also placed it in the oven for 1 hour at 125 degrees before installing. Sorry for not reporting back sooner.
Reggie
 
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