Hood/cowl question

[Gio_84]

Hi guys

since the first time i have had the car, it smells a lot inside. after 10 minutes ride my clothes stinks. I don't know exactly which odor is, but I brought a CO detector in the car and seems there aren't exhaust fumes.

I tried a lot to fix the issue without results, and today I found something strange.

These 2 holes exit just on the cowl grille
 


and they are directly connected to the engine compartment between the hood reinforcement and the outer hood panel

If I blow air here, where indicated with the arrow, the air exits from the holes and bypasses the cowl seal so I think a lot of air full of engne vapor is sucked into the car.



how do you think? are there some other seal that are missing?

what is ths braket for? (red circle)

thanks in advance

Gio

[aussieta]

the serated spring i believe is part of the radio noise suppression
i hope i have not made myself look like a fool

[Wallington]

Yes, prevents build-up of static electricity during travel, apparently. It's more of a backup for the hood springs, many are missing.

Interesting re:fumes coming through hood holes. I wonder if your hood has more of a gap there than usual. The fumes themselves could tell you of an underlying issue unrelated to the seal which you may not otherwise be aware of.

[NOT A TA]

Yes, ground strap for the hood. Probably a quick fix when the factory found an issue, otherwise why make a part designed to scratch through your paint? Since it worked they just kept making cars that way? LOL My '70 has one so they knew from the early 2nd gens.

As for the smell. One possibility is due to the HVAC fan running whenever the engine is running. If you have an old mouse nest in the evaporator box or other part of the system the fan will make the cabin smell because it runs on low anytime the key is in the run position.  I've found some nasty stuff in the evap boxes.

Sooooo....turn the key to run without starting the engine and do some sniffing around the duct outlets, defroster vents etc.  Then turn the fan on high and sniff some more.

[Gio_84]

@ NOT A TA: The car has just been restored so the evaporator box is clean as new.
When the engine is off the air coming from the outlets is clean.

@ Wellington: yes maybe you are right, I'll further investigate in what causes smell, in any case is not a great idea that the air coming into the cabin passes through the engine.
To give it a try I will close this passage.

[firebirdparts]

Well, one question would be how does it smell under the hood?  You could certainly be cooking paint off or who knows what.   The hood design is all about being a slave to fashion; they wanted it to look clean.  When you're moving, the air pressure at the base of the windshield stops engine compartment air from entering, but when you're stopped, probably not.  You can see where that seal is somewhat useful.

I have to say that I haven't really had much trouble with that. 

[Gio_84]

Honestly I'm not really sure there's a smell under the hood, it's just another attempt to find out the issue.

[Wallington]

Looking at 77-81 Formula hood underside pics, the raised 'scoop' that runs the hood rear is probably twice as high as the flat hood styles. It still tapers to nothing around the rear bracing but would in theory have much more air scooping ability than others. The easy way to test would be to add some tape over the 2 exit holes that are inside the fresh air seal area. If the AC box etc is rebuilt it could also be all the sealant heating up with engine bay, but be inside the cabin ducting system. Good point re: pressure at speed vs standing.

[Gio_84]

yeah, it is the same things I wanted to do.. close the holes with some tape and test the car.

about the AC box seal, I don't think it's silicone smell, but my first thought was just about something that heating up with the car..

something that isn't changed before and after the restoration.