Astro Vent - rear deck/compartment
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 488
Likes: 0
From: Australia Victoria
Astro Vent - rear deck/compartment
How important are these vents?
I have a non air 1970 vert.
Previous owner has siliconed these vents for whatever reason and I am trying to decide to remove them (like in air cond cars) or to spend the time/money to restore them to operational again.
Is it worth the effort? Are they important?
I have a non air 1970 vert.
Previous owner has siliconed these vents for whatever reason and I am trying to decide to remove them (like in air cond cars) or to spend the time/money to restore them to operational again.
Is it worth the effort? Are they important?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 971
Likes: 7
From: roanoke va
I can not say how efective they are at venting the air from the cabin, but how do you think you are going to remove them?
On my 72 a/c coupe the vents are there but they had factory metal block off plates installed under the rear deck. The top of the deck is open under the grills and the water goes into the tray and it also has two small drain holes at the rear window to catch any leaking water thru the gasket and then lets the water drain thru the wheel wells.
I don't know if you want to get into removeing the catch tray that the rear vents drain into or not, but just letting you know that most parts of the deck vents were present on a/c cars but blocked off with metal plates.
It sounds like a lot of work for little gain, plus I have alway thought the drains were a good way to divert water off the rear deck and keep water leaks down. I don't know if this was part of the reason for these grills or not.
On my 72 a/c coupe the vents are there but they had factory metal block off plates installed under the rear deck. The top of the deck is open under the grills and the water goes into the tray and it also has two small drain holes at the rear window to catch any leaking water thru the gasket and then lets the water drain thru the wheel wells.
I don't know if you want to get into removeing the catch tray that the rear vents drain into or not, but just letting you know that most parts of the deck vents were present on a/c cars but blocked off with metal plates.
It sounds like a lot of work for little gain, plus I have alway thought the drains were a good way to divert water off the rear deck and keep water leaks down. I don't know if this was part of the reason for these grills or not.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 393
Likes: 0
From: Holcomb Mississippi
astro vents
I am in the middle of repairing mine. I don't know if they are that important for air flow or not but I can't stand to have them not work (mental problem). Anyway, they are simple to remove and clean. There are three screws on the driver's side vent that hold it in place and about 4 on the passenger side. They are also secured with some sort of gasket that was very sticky. These are operated by an actuator that is supplied by a vacum hose attached to a metal pipe that runs over the rear wheel hump, along the wall behind the passenger seat and then under the emergency brake console and then under the center console and then back to a vacum hose that is attached under the center console. It closes the vents when heat is turned on. This may be more info that u were looking for. But so far, this has been real easy to remove. Im just waiting on gaskets etc from Doc's Rebuild.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,242
Likes: 12
From: Kalispell MT
The previous owner may have siliconed the vents closed to keep water out of the rear inside deck. If the drain tubes in the boxes get plugged and the seals are bad, leaking water inside is the path of least resistance as the bottom of the vent door is only like 10mm above the box bottom.
I too used the Doc Rebuild parts to repair mine, but then I rarely drive with the top up so it doesn't really matter.
I too used the Doc Rebuild parts to repair mine, but then I rarely drive with the top up so it doesn't really matter.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 31,278
Likes: 4,372
From: Westminster Maryland
Hi,
I don't think the vents were designed to cool the car in any way. They took the place of the side vent windows that Corvetes had up till 67.
I think they were meant to change the air in the car with the windows closed since if you open the side windows even a little bit you get wet if its raining because the roof panels had no rain gutter. (More people smoked back then)
Regards,
Alan
I don't think the vents were designed to cool the car in any way. They took the place of the side vent windows that Corvetes had up till 67.
I think they were meant to change the air in the car with the windows closed since if you open the side windows even a little bit you get wet if its raining because the roof panels had no rain gutter. (More people smoked back then)
Regards,
Alan
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 3,334
Likes: 4
From: Midland TX
The vents are there to allow you to get airflow with the windows rolled up. The air coming through the dash vents can flow out the rear astro-vents. This allows you to get fresh air into the cockpit and leave the windows up so you don't get wind buffeting inside while driving at higher speeds. You can get cooler outside air inside the car.
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Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,557
Likes: 0
From: Ridgeway VA
The "REAL' Story. From my 1970 Owners Manual - " The one-way check valves, mounted in the vertical wall of the luggage compartment assist positive air flow by reducing internal vehicle body pressure. The valves direct inside air outside through grilles located in the rear deck". Reducing internal body pressure - what that means is if you are going 160 mph the "G" forces become equal. Astro ventilation was discontinued in late 1975. After that the vents were sealed by the factory. Here's another interesting tid bit from the 1970 Owners manual - no, I am not making this up. "Pre-Collision Positioning" - driver should lean forward, grip the upper rim of the steering wheel and rest arms on the wheel rim with elbows out. Then bend head forward (just before the other car hits you) to rest forehead on back of hands. Of course today all this data is glued to the inside of the car - like - "Before sitting make sure you are not sitting on something that will distort your vision."
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 3,557
Likes: 0
From: Ridgeway VA
Mike - "body pressure" that's a quote out of the 1970 manual so it has to be true. Astro Ventilation was part of the advertising lingo back then. My kidding point is that you would not have any "body pressure" (human body or car body) unless you were seriously going super fast.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 15,892
Likes: 42
I did and there's nothing major I didn't already know. G-forces are related to bodies (with mass) being affected by gravity and/or motion. Nothing to do with air pressure or differentials in air pressure.
A car going a constant 160 miles an hour in a straight line (while on Earth) is subject to 1G. Same as a car standing still.
Windows open or closed or Astroventilation has no bearing on the G forces affecting the car.
I think you're confused.
A car going a constant 160 miles an hour in a straight line (while on Earth) is subject to 1G. Same as a car standing still.
Windows open or closed or Astroventilation has no bearing on the G forces affecting the car.
I think you're confused.
