Topic: Creative ways to clean leaves and debris out of '65-68 Cowl?

[drummingrocks]

Hi guys, I recently bought a '67 coupe that's in pretty decent shape.  Before the PO bought the car, it had been parked under a tree.  From the first time driving it, I knew the cowl had to be pretty full, as it was blowing leaves out of the fresh air vent on the driver's side, and the heater blower would barely turn because of the leaves crammed around it. 

I was able to take the heater box out and clean it, but I still had leaves blowing out of the driver's side vent.  I decided to take it out and see what the cowl looked like under the dash.  With the vent out of the way, I can carefully snake my hand up into the actual cowl itself, and I can feel that it's full of trash around the driver's side cowl hat.  I can barely get a vacuum into the area, and I've removed what I can with that, but there's still some areas I simply can't get to. 

What methods have y'all used to clean out this area?  The cowl, surprisingly, isn't rusty at all (and I don't see how, given how much trash was in the cowl itself).  I've removed maybe 50% of the leaves and dirt with the vacuum, but I can't seem to remove any more.  Anyone have any ideas?

[Toploader]

Just a heads-up if mice droppings are involved in this case or similar cases. This is from a letter I read in the Auto Restorer magazine (October 2013):

Use Caution With Rodent Nests and Droppings
I read an article recently in Auto Restorer that caused alarm ("Ruby, the Farm Truck, Pt. 6," May). In the article someone was cleaning out a glove box full of mouse dung. It showed a shop vac sucking out what appears to be mouse droppings. The exhaust on the vac could be shooting (atomizing) viral particles all over. Be advised, this type of cleaning procedure is a dangerous endeavor if you are not prepared. Hantavirus lives in mouse droppings. Go to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) for recommendations. Hantavirus (HPS) is very dangerous and can be fatal. This happened near my hometown a few years ago. A young woman sweeping mouse droppings in a garage died 10 days later. Use this link for more information: http://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/. I might seem overly sensitive but I worked in a hospital lab for 30 years and my wife is a microbiologist. I have retired from clinical hospital lab work but it's still with me. Michael McNamara Wenatchee, Washington

Safe clean-up procedures can be found on the mentioned website.

[jwc66k]

I use my air compressor with an 18 inch extension air nozzle. There should be a rubber plugged access hole partially covered by the fenders on each side. Remove the plug and stick the nozzle in. Plug the vent and heater holes too and let the stuff come out the cowl. It's a tedious task.
Jim

[Rsanter]

Compressed air an water...alternating between them

Bob

[livetoride60]

Pulled the big stuff out by hand (reaching up over the lip of each vent).  Then rigged up a 3/8 inch or so hose to ny shop vac & ran upover the lip to get the rest.  Didn't want to take my fenders off, but would have used the plug Jim mentioned if I did.  Tedious job no matter what.

Nasty stuff on the mouse droppings.  I always use a hepa filter on my shop vac, but that may not be good enough for a virus.  We had a neighbor in his 40's pass away a while back due to complications related to an infection he contracted from bird droppings.  He was working in the attic of a Victorian era home he was restoring.

[jwc66k]

Compressed air an water...alternating between them
Bob

With the early Mustangs' cowl problems, I avoid water there as much as I can. That's why I use air as a first choice.
Jim