shockingly, i own a 75 valiant.
for some time, i have had serious electrical problems because the fresh air intake box, located beneath the cowl, has been leaking. I have refused to repair the (minor) floor, replace the carpet, or anything else until i finally got this solved.i found a really good thread on the subject on FABO, explaining both the problem and the fix. there are two big holes stamped into the base plate of the box, where the air vents feed the fresh air. leaves, dirt, etc. will collect in this area, and, not being painted like the rest of the car, start to turn into swiss cheese from the mud holding on to the moisture. the problem is, the entire car is basically built around this box, and it is a BOOGER to tear it apart and put it back together, although it can be done and the above-mentioned thread on FABO shows how to do it beautifully. however, literally disassembling your car, especially on a 4 door driver, is daunting, to say the least.
i took it to a buddy's shop, and after explaining the issues, he had an idea. he took the air vents off, then shoved one of those snap-on cameras on a stick with the flexible head up into the air box. guess what? mine was not rusted! (you can see quite a bit of the box when you look down through the cowl grill, but not all of it). he continued with his idea, which was based on his belief that my problem was a failure of the factory seam sealer.
he taped off the grill, completely. he then improvised a big "double boiler" by putting a big pan of water on his propane fish fryer, and then slowly heated a can of white roofing sealant until it would flow like paint. he then poured this into the grill, with the car on the lift. when the "paint" began to pour though the drains, he then tilted the car on the lift in both directions, to assure total coverage.
he made sure that the drains would not clog, and let the car cure for several days. he then tested with water for leaks. HA HA!!! NONE!!! this repair cost me the grand total of $187, and actually worked. thought i would share this with the rest of you, since i realized i'm not the only one out there with a great car that sadly doesn't have the same market valure as some of its brothers and cousins.
