Early Z venting when replacing a veted hatch with a non-vented one.

[hls30.com]

I am going to be replacing the vented Hatch on Larrys car with a non vented hatch because the steel under the paint is simply too far gone to repair(as is the hood,and both will serve as absolute proof of condition for the pending litigation), and of five hatches I have looked at, all are pretty useable on the outside at but seriously eaten up on inspection with a mirror/borescope. I have found a later non-vented hatch that is suitable.

Composite from John at BetaMotorsports-no rust issues ever!.

John has sent me a wealth of pictures, and I am going to the chosen paint and body shop to show them the composit pieces and get their take before ordering.

Anyway, Larry asked me: If you replace the vented hood with a non-vented version how will the car vent?" My answer was either to put vents in it to replace those lost in replacement hatch, or crack the windows. Larry had a great question I had not thought too much about.

I realize the cars are not sealed well-this one especially-fumes like you can't believe-but other than actually recreating a vented hood from one that is not, has anyone done anything to vent a moving car(other than rolling down the windows) when giving up the hatch vents?

The current plan is to paint the area that the hatch grills cover flat black and to shave the mounting tabs off a set of grills and attach them with emblem tape so the the grill appears to be vented and match the car. This plan is to aleviate the possibility of fumes finding their way past Als idea of restoration where the internal plenum and associated parts are just "thrown in there"; because of broken/missing parts the plenums are not installed even close to correctly, and I am sure that is contributing to the exhaust in the car-though I have not examined the floor/hose/taillight seals yet.

Will

I have a full set of NOS pieces(other than the hatch) so I can reproduce them if necessary, and the only part of reproducing the hatch opening that I see as an issue is forming the stiffening flanges at the top(closest to the glass) because of limited access to the area for appropriate tools.

Thoughts, ideas, brainstorms...

Will

[DougN]

Maybe a stupid question, but why couldn't you just cut slots into the new hatch and mount the vents? You could cut and bend the lips, drill the holes for the vent covers and you would be very close to the original hatch. I don't think eliminating them will have much effect on fumes coming into the car, as they will find there way in if there are any gaps regardless.

[hls30.com]

Doug,

That isn't a stupid question-as I said: "I have a full set of NOS pieces(other than the hatch) so I can reproduce them if necessary, and the only part of reproducing the hatch opening that I see as an issue is forming the stiffening flanges at the top(closest to the glass) because of limited access to the area for appropriate tools." I am simply looking for alternatives.

With the depth of ability, skill, and interest here, I believe someone will have already "been here and done something about that!"

I am going to address every gap individually. There will be no point of entry in the rear of the car and under the hood left un addresses. We have several threads about replacing rear fuel/vapor hoses and sealing the exhaust out.

I will re-read through all of those and I come up with something new, I will post it as well.

Will

[five&dime]

Don't the early vented hatches also have the defrost lines opposing? i.e one vertical and the other horizontal?

if so, I suppose only a concourse judge would really pay attention to that difference anyway

Edited December 16, 2008 by five&dime

[Arne]

Maybe a stupid question, but why couldn't you just cut slots into the new hatch and mount the vents? You could cut and bend the lips, drill the holes for the vent covers and you would be very close to the original hatch. I don't think eliminating them will have much effect on fumes coming into the car, as they will find there way in if there are any gaps regardless.

And..

Doug,

That isn't a stupid question-as I said: "I have a full set of NOS pieces(other than the hatch) so I can reproduce them if necessary, and the only part of reproducing the hatch opening that I see as an issue is forming the stiffening flanges at the top(closest to the glass) because of limited access to the area for appropriate tools." I am simply looking for alternatives.

Will, I read Doug's comment differently. I think he's thinking about not trying to duplicate the formed opening, but simply slice a few (2 or 3) slots under each grill. Use a carbide wheel on a Dremel or die grinder. A couple of small slots should maintain most of the strength there, and be much simpler than the formed factory openings.

Don't the early vented hatches also have the defrost lines opposing? i.e one vertical and the other horizontal?

The defroster grid changed from vertical to horizontal much later - part way through the '72 model year, IIRC. And all you'd have to do there is use the earlier glass anyway.

[hls30.com]

Arne-I missed that-too close to the project I guess...

That would work too. I just want to get together a bunch of options so that I can choose the best one.

[geezer]

I'd suggest getting the word out to as many Z parts hoarders as possible. Someone will have a suitable condition vented hatch on hand on a parts car or a spare. Much easier to solve the problem by using the correct pieces, even if it forces you to wait.

[hls30.com]

Ron, that was a side purpose of this thread, the paint and Bodywork Man(quite a find by the way) doesn't want the car for a month-so I will be correcting the electrical issues, the heater control issues, the AC issuesl, and insulating the cloor and fitting the carpet(to be removed once fitted)before painting.

I am going to talk to the painter today about 2:30est to finalize the details, get the car on his schedule(with a fat deposit), and sort out whether he will accept Composite parts or not. When I mentioned them on the initial interview, he hemmed and hawed about using them. But this guy is "the Man" he does body and paint on a first in first out basis, he has painted more winning show cars than you can count, most recently, the overall winner at the Hilton Head Concourse this year.

Will

[Mike B]

Will,

I don't think I would want to use a composite hatch unless I was building a race car. For a driver, wouldn't this have a lot more potential to get cracked or damaged with frequent opening and closing? Also, wouldn''t it hurt the resale value later on?

Also a thought regarding the flanges on the stock series 1 hatches - could part of the purpose (at least for the top flange) be to channel away some of the water from the vent holes? I'll have to take a look at a spare hatch I have tonight to refresh my memory of what is looks like under the external vent trim piece.

-Mike

[AZ-240z]

I'd suggest getting the word out to as many Z parts hoarders as possible. Someone will have a suitable condition vented hatch on hand on a parts car or a spare. Much easier to solve the problem by using the correct pieces, even if it forces you to wait.

I agree with Ron. I would not be surprised if someone on this site has a nice spare, or, I frequently see examples surfacing on ebay, depending on your time horizon.

Another thought is used parts suppliers out here in the southwest where rust in not as large an issue as compared to the southeast. Although pricey, www.zcarsource.com shows some available.

I would much rather find the correct part, if at all possible, rather than hassle with re-engineering a newer part.

Best of success

Dan

[hls30.com]

Well, the painter just vetoed the composite panel. He said he would be happy to handle spoliers, vents, etc, but he has been bitten too many times on painting/fitting composite body panels.

Will