Rear Hatch Louvers

[KiraK]

Thanks much for the help! I searched the site, but found nothing regarding discount codes. Your assistance is very appreciated! 

K

The lil z lady

[ramsesosirus]

I did some silicone and rubber gasket work to the louver to minimize the clanging noises.  Sorry for the color filter, I was playing with Photoshop and lost the original...

I'm not sure what "type" of louvers I have, but I kind of like it.  It has two slider hinges on the bottom, so I can lift it up to clean, etc...   

But it is drilled into the hatch in all 4 locations.  Not sure there would be a way to install without drilling. 

I actually removed the louver once, since I do like the smooth look of these cars without them, but the condition of the paint underneath the louver brackets was not good.  So I painted the louver and put it back on.

Definitely helps with some sort of privacy and heat reduction, and is awesomely retro for this generation of cars.  I like mine, not a fan of the other, more "square" style though.

[Sean240Z]

Over the winter, I restored my aluminum louvers. Above is a pic, before I restored them. They are the screw in type, with the hinge at the top and barrel latch at the bottom. They were installed by a previous owner, I like them and they are my preferred style of louver for the 240z, but I wouldn't have installed them myself (don't like the idea of putting screws into the hatch).

 

The louvers rattled A LOT, and once removed and weatherstripping pulled off, it was easy to see why. The outside frame was cracked, clean through on the right side, and the center spine was cracked through, both above and below the middle louver. The only things keeping the louvers together was the left side of the frame and the weatherstripping! Over time, the rivets get lose, allow the louvers to rattle, leading to fatigue and cracking, which allows more movement, rattles and cracks, etc...

 

I took the louvers in to a local shop, and had the cracks welded (not entirely pleased with the welding job, but the cracks are fixed);

I drilled out the rivets along the center spine and replaced them;

I applied black caulking on the underside of the horizontal slats at the center spine (the idea being to further reduce any movement between the center spine and horizontal slats, the caulking can't be seen when the louvers are installed);

Repainted them in satin black;

Polished the hinges (would have liked to replace the hinges due to some corrosion, but couldn't find a good, chrome replacement);

Modified some door weatherstripping I had in the garage and installed (1st used weatherstrip adhesive, but wasn't happy with the adhesion so used more of the black caulking and clamps, instead).

 

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with the results. The louvers no longer rattle at all! The trunk closes with a thunk, and my 240z sounds SO much better put together over rough roads. Truly, I can't believe the difference this has made in the driving experience!

 

So if you have louvers installed, and they rattle, they can be fixed to eliminate the rattles. I'll let you all know how the repairs stand up, following a season of driving.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Classic Zcar Club mobile

 

[dmorales-bello]

Nice job Sean. Did you take any more pics you could share?

[Sean240Z]

I took a few more pics of the "finished" product as I didn't take any during the overhaul.

 

Here is a pic of the finished louvers (needs a wash).

 

Here's a pic of the underside of one of the louvers with the black caulking applied. Taped up before I caulked, smoothed with finger and removed excess.

 

Drilled out and replaced all the rivets on the centre spine.

 

Here you can see the globby weld job on the centre spine. The first time they welded up the spine and ground back the weld, it cracked while I was moving it around to prep for paint. Second time they welded the centre spine, they did not grind back the welds. Lots of material there now. I had to grind back some of the centre spine as they slightly misaligned the louvers when they welded them.

 

I wanted to buy some new weatherstrip from McMaster-Carr but they won't deliver to Canada! I ended up cutting the metal off some door seals I had in the garage. I had to cut slits in the top corners and remove some material to make the 90degree corners.

 

I also had to join two pieces as I had to remove the weatherstrip corner.

 

At the hinges, I removed some material on the backside to allow the weatherstrip to sit flat on the louvers.

 

I used weatherstrip adhesive the first time (yellow) but I wasn't happy with the adhesion. I decided to use black caulking to stick the weather strip and clamp in place (much better). I still need to clean up the extra yellow adhesive.

 

As with most of my projects, if I had to do this job again, I think I could do a better job with the weatherstrip, and I'd find a better shop to do the aluminum welding. Overall, I'm extremely happy that the louvers are now quiet and freshly painted.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Classic Zcar Club mobile

 

[siteunseen]

I have those same hinged and barrel bolt louvers that came on my 280.  Do you think they're the same for a 240?

I like them because of the period correct aspect and the ease of raising them to clean the hatch glass.  I'm wanting them on my 240.  What do you think on fitment?  

Thank you for an opinion.

[wheee!]

I have a set too. I also have a set of the interpart brackets and mounts but no interpart louvers. I really don't want to drill my restored hatch.

[Sean240Z]

Siteunseen - Given the rear hatch is pretty much the same 240 thru 280, I'd guess that the louvers and hardware were the same.


Sent from my iPad using Classic Zcar Club mobile

[siteunseen]

Thank You! 

I need to restore them, faded aluminium BAD but they look really cool for that era car. Add some curb feelers and I'm back in the '70s.

[psdenno]

57 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

Thank You! 

I need to restore them, faded aluminium BAD but they look really cool for that era car. Add some curb feelers and I'm back in the '70s.

Don't forget a CB antenna to complete that 70s vibe   

Breaker, breaker, this is Z-Dog lookin' for Smokies.

Dennis

[siteunseen]

4 minutes ago, psdenno said:

Don't forget a CB antenna to complete that 70s vibe   

Breaker, breaker, this is Z-Dog lookin' for Smokies.

Dennis

Breaker breaker good buddy. This is "smokie too muchie"  looking for Z-dogs with onion rings and ranch dressing. 

Then a dumper for these wizz jugs.

 

[sweatybetty]

28 minutes ago, siteunseen said:

Breaker breaker good buddy. This is "smokie too muchie"  looking for Z-dogs with onion rings and ranch dressing. 

Then a dumper for these wizz jugs.

 

daves not here