When Mt. St. Helens exploded in Washington state (some 20 years ago, was it?), there was a lot of ash piling up in nearby communities. I recall news reports at that time saying that some locals had used women's nylon stockings to cover their air intakes to keep their vehicles running.

I think this was also mentioned in news reports in connection with military vehicles in the dusty desert conditions of the first Gulf War.

I don't know if this works, but it is interesting.