Moss Polished Engine Bay Cover

Moss Polished Engine Bay Cover - Cowl Wiper Plate

[2/7/2007] Reviewed by: Daniel Born - born_daniel@yahoo.com

Applicable to: '90 - '97 1.6 liter 1.8 liter

This polished plate covers the unsightly wiper mechanicals and shows a nice heater air intake grille when the hood is opened.

In my opinion, it's not worth the money or trouble. It looks nice when first installed and is still shiny and spotless but: You need to rip out the OEM rain guard on the heater air intake (that black plastic part on the right-hand side) and the replacement part supplied is sub-par. It's a simple bent metal plate that's meant to hold using double-sided tape. If not installed correctly, you could end up with a water infiltration problem. The cowl wiper plate itself does not take into account the clearance required by the wiper arm's movement (the one attached to the wiper motor) so it gets pushed up slightly (which ends up pushing up on the hood) when you operate the wipers. I fixed the problem by using a hammer to put a bulge into the plate. The plastic "metal colored" c-shaped strip which is supposed to hold the front of the plate against the car's firewall/cowl lip will become soft with engine heat and will end up slipping off so the plate will be loose enough to vibrate. Pushing back the strip in place will only last for so long before it comes off again. The plate doesn't stay clean for very l! ong and due to very little clearance, the windshield washer hoses that are trapped between the hood's underside and the plate will leave marks on it. I also had to put some tape in key places to protect the car's painted parts against rubbing on the plate and no doubt would eventually develop some surface rust.

If your Miata is a show car that hardly ever sees the roads and rain, it's a nice appearance enhancement part.

Over 30 minutes to remove completely