Flow-Through Ventilation Question

[Jetaway]

Good Evening,

My Z is a 1972. I've always assumed, or perhaps "had faith" is a better description, that the 'Z' emblem on the rear pillars concealed ventilation holes. (If not, seems like a heck of a lot of sheet metal work for no reason.) I've also assumed that a PO had redone the interior using after-market parts. Recently I had the right rear interior panel off to work on the evaporative canister and that exposed the backside of the Z emblem. So to speak. On the interior sheet metal and directly behind the Z emblem is a painted square maybe six inches on the side with an X-shape stamped into it. However, one thing I expected to find, but did not, was a connection or pathway between the cabin and the concealed ventilation hole.

I didn't take off the interior panel going towards the front of the car, but after a bit more searching I found an opening created by a manufactured gap (that is, meant to be a gap) where the interior sheet metal terminates near the top of the canister. So, I guess that either by vacuum or pressure air could be drawn around the 'Z' emblem and that in turn would move some air through the cabin.

Well, not quite, at least not as far as I can tell. The interior panels (a thin, fairly stiff molded plastic) wouldn't allow for any air passage through them and they match up so tightly that I doubt much more than a minuscule amount of air could get through the cracks given the low air pressure differential. There is nothing in the panels (anywhere in the car) that could serve to vent air one way or the other.

So, has my faith been misplaced? Are the 'Z' emblems mere ornamentation lacking even a bare shred of function? Or are these, presumably after-market, interior panels close, but not exact replicas of the originals and one of the differences is the lack of any provision to vent air from the cabin through the 'Z' emblem passage? If the latter (faith kicking in again;)) where was, or were, the passage(s) allowing for air exchange?

Chris

Waiting with a new blade in a safety holder, which doesn't seem to stop me from going "Oh, damn. Any second now. Yup, there it goes. Thought so." several times a year.

[EScanlon]

The interior of the Z is anything BUT hermetically sealed.

Unless your rear plastic panel parts do not have speaker holes, then that's one way that air gets behind the plastic panels. Otherways, the gap at the front/top of the overhead light panel as well as the gap all around the edge of the headliner, the gap at the edges of the rear quarter windows and the gaps between the plastic panels.

So, Yes Chris, the Z emblems at the C pillars DO vent the interior of the Z. Hopefully this restores your faith.

FWIW

E

[Bonzi Lon]

For those that don't know, didn't see or realize, the round quarter badges are Left & Right. There are small gaps on the badge that needs to be toward the back of the car for it to vent properly.

Bonzi Lon

[Jetaway]

The interior of the Z is anything BUT hermetically sealed.

Unless your rear plastic panel parts do not have speaker holes, then that's one way that air gets behind the plastic panels. Otherways, the gap at the front/top of the overhead light panel as well as the gap all around the edge of the headliner, the gap at the edges of the rear quarter windows and the gaps between the plastic panels.

So, Yes Chris, the Z emblems at the C pillars DO vent the interior of the Z. Hopefully this restores your faith.

FWIW

E

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the speaker holes. Still, since they are aftermarket, I'm going to go ahead and cut a larger hole into the panel closer to the Z emblem.

Re: Bonzi Lon

I'm not going to take the emblems off to check, so I'll be using faith that they haven't been switched L to R at some time.

Chris

[26th-Z]

This is what the inside of your fender should look like. A 'v' shaped cup over the round hole. There is no top on the cup and it points up so that water doesn't get into the car. Yes, the badge is directional from side to side and visible from the outside if you know what to look for. I can't remember and I can't find a picture easily, but don't the cars with quarter vents have punched vents in the interior panels? They look just like the speaker vents but they are up at the vent hole? I thought my interior panels without any vent holes were unique to the hatch vent arrangement. BTW the flow through ventilation designed for the Z is positive pressure from the cowl and the quarter holes are the exhaust vents.

[EScanlon]

Chris mentions the air vent holes, and without going to the car to verify, if memory serves, there is supposed to be a set of vent holes right above the shock tower that look like a pair of speaker holes. It makes the rear plastic panels appear to have TWO sets of speakers behind them, when only one is for the speaker and the other is for the ventilation.

The earlier series (Series I - with the vents in the hatch) did not have that vent nor the holes in the plastic panels. It may be that you have an earlier series set of plastic panels. If your panels don't have the vent holes above the shock tower, you might consider seeing if someone will swap you. The earlier panels didn't have the right "bulge" for the evaporator tank and possibly the hatch air shock (Don't recall specifically on the hatch support).

Also, in the picture he posted, it should be noted that the interior metal support that hides that "V" is not there, that picture is from a vehicle being repaired if memory serves.

FWIW

E

Edited May 6, 2011 by EScanlon

[JLPurcell]

The Series 1 cars had the vents behind the quarter emblems at some point they started sealing them. I do not know when that was but on my 72 they were sealed and did not vent. Chris, do you know when they started sealing them?

JLP

[EScanlon]

Jerry, you've inverted the sequence.

Series I are the ones with the CLOSED C-pillars, i.e. no vent hole, a "240-Z" emblem and the Vent Grilles in the Hatch Sheet Metal. Their "outlet/inlet" was the flap on the inner hatch upholstery itself, and they had the drain hoses/holes at the bottom of the hatch. Those drain holes got plugged for the Series II, but were sitll there.

Series II are the ones with the "Z" round vent emblem. These are sided, the RH side one, as you look at it on the vehicle will have gaps in the outermost edge of the metal at the 12, 6, and 9 o'clock positions. The LH side, on the vehicle has the gaps at the 12, 6 and 3 o'clock positions. Both emblems have cutouts around the center circle with the "Z".

E

[JLPurcell]

Interesting, my 72 had dum-dum, (body putty), from the factory sealing the vent hole behind the emblems. When I inquired about it in 76 I was told that the factory, for some unexplained reason, had started sealing the vents.

Anyone have further on this subject? I am now, as I often am, confused.

JLP

[26th-Z]

I've never heard of that, Jerry. The round quarter vents to my knowledge were always an open vent to the inside of the car as opposed to the hatch vents which had a backdraft flap. I might guess that with a pressurized air-conditioned interior, the vent should be closed. Perhaps that's why the dum-dum?

[JLPurcell]

Chris, you are probably correct. My 72 did have dealer installed AC. That could have been part of the installation to remove and seal behind the vents.

Possibly a mystery solved. JLP

[Jetaway]

Well, of course I went ahead and put the interior panel back on before reading the more recent posts.

The picture posted by 26th-Z doesn't resemble what I saw at all. However, EScanlon noted that the picture was of a car under restoration and was missing a metal support. If this metal support is a piece of sheet metal extending back to the expansion tank, then it all makes sense.

My 1972 had, presumably, dealer-installed air conditioning. I'm not sure why they would block off the rear vents with that option. Generally you'll only be using recirculate when getting into a hot car before switching over to fresh air. And then there's winter.

The interior panel didn't (does, now, thanks to Mr. Blade) have a hole up near the Z-emblem. It does, however have the speaker holes and is formed for the evaporative canister.

Finally, I can now rest relieved knowing that the Z-emblems are correctly installed. Seriously. You wouldn't believe how the PO had the ventilation controls hooked up.

Chris