<VV> Wagon Exhaust Cutout

[Vairtec at optonline.net]

At 06:20 PM 11/19/2009, Smitty Smith wrote:

>Smitty Says;  I may be wrong on this but I would bet not.  All 
>wagons had a cutout where half of it was into the grill and half 
>into the bodywork.  Same as 1960 cars.


Smitty's understanding is correct -- all 1961-62 Corvair wagons had 
the rear exhaust cutout, like the 1960 cars.  But do you know why?

Answer:  The exhaust outlet was moved from straight-out-the-back in 
1960 to out-the-side in 1961 because of the addition of the 
direct-air heater.  A straight-out-the-back exhaust might allow 
exhaust fumes to be aerodynamically drawn into the engine compartment 
and from there into the heater.  But the wagons, having the engine 
air inlets on the sides of the vehicles, needed to have the 
straight-out-the-back exhaust.

What about turbos, you say?  Yes, the turbo exhaust exits the rear of 
the car but it is considerably closer to the side of the car than the 
1960 exhaust, and has a tip aimed downward and outward.  This was 
enough to keep the fumes out of the engine compartment while 
satisfying the marketing need for a nice fat visible exhaust pipe on 
these top-of-the-line models.

Smitty's wagon, having an exhaust located on the side like any other 
1964 model, would seem to offer the potential to permit fumes to 
enter his car's heater.  But that might lead to brain damage, and we 
have no evidence of that in his case... do we?  [ grin! ]

--Bob (likely brain-damaged himself from 49 years of Corvair direct-air heat.)