Keep leaves out of rocker panel?

[70chevykidd]

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions to keep them out?
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[vectorit]

Check out the vendor catalogs for the screens "leaf catchers", they are typically sold in either black painted or stainless.

I have the black painted ones, and they install rather easily and look good.

[70chevykidd]

I have no clue where the leaves come in from or I would come up with a rig to stop it lol
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[VA72C10]

out of the rockers or the cowl? In the rockers I've seen plugs where the hole is in them...

in the cowl under the wipers that make leaves fly into the cab when you open the cowl vents?...well that's what those screen things are perfect for

[70chevykidd]

In the cab i'm just crusin and without notice my brother opens it up and whoosh a slew of leaves come at us lol first time it's been open at 40 mph lol
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[vectorit]

Yea, the leafs are coming from the kick panel vent and they originate from the cowl vent where your windshield wipers are.

See about what I posted above, and then when you install them get a shop vac with a long vacuum tube and get as much trash out of there as you can. Since that's how rust starts after the trash gets wet, and sits in there packed up against the sheet metal.

[70chevykidd]

Think I could just use some rigged screen door mesh? Paint it nice and call it good as I'm in high school and barely make enough to get the10 mpg beast around! Lol
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[VA72C10]

Originally Posted by 70chevykidd

Think I could just use some rigged screen door mesh? Paint it nice and call it good as I'm in high school and barely make enough to get the10 mpg beast around! Lol
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You can get expanded metal gutter guard from Home Depot or Lowes fairly cheap...maybe see if they have one that's missing the clips for the gutter and if they'll sell it cheap...you can simply lay it under or epoxy it to the underside of the wiper cowl....two will cover the opening....

or see if you can find any scrap expanded metal if you have a metal yard anywhere close by....

...screen might work as well if stretched and epoxied in somehow...

[slammed427]

You could prolly rig something up, not too sure how it'd look though
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[70chevykidd]

I can make most rigs look fairly nice for the resources I have lol thanks for the input guys you're all awesome!
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[VA72C10]

be sure to post up some pics....and some rattle can black can always make whatever you install pretty much disappear under the wiper cowl....

[vectorit]

I am sure using screen for window's or doors would work just fine. Just get the metal type and paint it so it doesn't rust, since the plastic type will eventually rot away from exposure to the elements.

[70chevykidd]

Was thinking a chrome rattle can we have lying around or black and I'll be sure to put up pics when I get the chance.
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[special-K]

Get aluminum screening. You can paint it and also mold it so it will fit. Another choice is plaster lathe from the hardware store or building supply. Lowes has it. It will need paint to keep from rusting. It's real stout and about the same pattern as the $50 grilles sold by LMC.

[Luvlegs]

just used some aluminum screen and hot glue gun - going on 3 years now. Notice the leaves that were just waiting to get it - I hadn't even finished yet!

[treveiger]

interested, free bump

[68 IRON]

Originally Posted by 70chevykidd

Think I could just use some rigged screen door mesh? Paint it nice and call it good as I'm in high school and barely make enough to get the10 mpg beast around! Lol
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I hear ya on that one!! We're all lookin to make do with what we have. I'm gonna try it now that I've seen it. Looks good and functional. We bought our 68 in August and when we cleaned out under the cowl, we collected one five gallon bucket of leaves, needles and a mouse nest (that area holds a lot)! Anything to keep that area clear is a very good idea. Its tough to drive when you have a bunch of leaves blowin around your head!

[special-K]

Yeah,it was a ritual for 35 or more years for me. Every spring,the first day I open the cowl vent I had to remember the eye protection. First you hear them starting to shift around,then a piece or two,then it's like late autumn all over again with leaves blowin' at ya like a dang cyclone.

[ChevyLvr4Life]

I used aluminum screen also, worked really well. I attached it with liquid nails. Did mine last summer, so far so good.

[treveiger]

Some great ideas

[PanelDeland]

I really agree with the clean it out good comment.I cleaned on mine for a good while and drove it a few days with the vents open to blow it clean and dry.I kept at the cleaning until a water hose stuck down in it flowed freely thru the drain in the bottom,then I screened it off.

[pritch]

I remember reading here that one guy cut access doors into his vent plenum, of course he had to remove his fenders to get to them.

[AirSpeed]

I just bought a set of black ones from LMC, they fit perfect and are easy to install. I think they were about $29, well worth it for the ease of instalation. The first time I took my cowl off I ran a water hose down each side, I wanted to make sure it was clean, I couldn't believe all the sand, dirt, mud, leaves and all the other crap that came out. I thought my shop vac had cleaned it out but I was wrong. If you can pull your carpet back and maybe park sideways on an incline so the water drains out, it would be worth it to rinse the vents out with a hose.
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[emil77]

Originally Posted by AirSpeed

I just bought a set of black ones from LMC, they fit perfect and are easy to install. I think they were about $29, well worth it for the ease of instalation. The first time I took my cowl off I ran a water hose down each side, I wanted to make sure it was clean, I couldn't believe all the sand, dirt, mud, leaves and all the other crap that came out. I thought my shop vac had cleaned it out but I was wrong. If you can pull your carpet back and maybe park sideways on an incline so the water drains out, it would be worth it to rinse the vents out with a hose.
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Hi,

Did you purchase these ones? http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=82 Did you ask for black, because they only have steel or stainless as their options. How hard was it to install? Is it easy to remove the cowl?

[AirSpeed]

Originally Posted by emil77

Hi,

Did you purchase these ones? http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=82 Did you ask for black, because they only have steel or stainless as their options. How hard was it to install? Is it easy to remove the cowl?

Those are the ones! I got the black ones, they look great. They fit perfect, the cut outs lined up perfectly and they were a piece of cake to install. When I got mine I didnt notice the set of screws they include, I used some masking tape to hold the screen in place then I set the cowl down and replaced all the both bolts and the stainless screws that hold the cowl in place.
removing the cowl is EASY, remove the wipers, open the doors and remove the one bolt on each side, remove the screws under the rear lip of the hood and the screws that go through the cowl. It takes about five minutes at most.
I bought the cheap little wiper removal tool that LMC sells for $5, it makes the job so much easier, I dont know if you have ever removed the wiper arms before but it can be a chore, specially if you dont want to scratch the paint. The tool is a god send!
I dont know where the included screws go through the screen, as I said I didnt see them until after I installed my cowl. One thing I did while I replaced the cowl was to shim it up to match the rear edge of the hood, before I removed the cowl it was a little lower than the rear edge of the hood. I used a couple of washers to shim up the cowl, it looks a lot better now.
I would strongly recommend buying the little wiper removal tool, you will be amazed how well it works! The screen looks really good, it looks factory. I hope that helps!