What are these for?

[J-440]

 I don't have a pic but was wondering why some old cars were equipped with what looks like a door jamb "vent"?  Right above the door striker on some cars I see a type of vent.  My 68 doesn't have them but what about the E bodies?

[polywideblock]

don't mid 70's b body's( Cordoba ) have them   ?     don't know what there for but  


                                       

                              this what your talking about 

[J-440]

 Yep, that's them.  Does air circulate through the rear of the car for some reason?

[green69rt]

I'm going to make a guess.   I think modern cars have some kind of vent like that that lets air from inside the car get out.  Why?  Because modern cars are designed to have AC and to have the windows closed all the time.   Ever notice how a car may boom or thrum (?) when the windows are down at higher speeds.   That's because they are designed to run with the windows up for good air flow (streamlining.)   Older cars didn't have AC as standard equipment and so were designed to run with the windows down for ventilation.  

The little vents in the door, on some cars,  are so AC air can flow through the car to keep the air fresh inside with the AC on and the windows up.  Look on a modern car and I bet there is a vent somewhere from the inside to the outside..   Just to make sure I wasn't blowing smoke I went out and checked my Colorado and found the outlet vent between the cab and the bed.  I couldn't find it on my wife's Acura so maybe it vents through the trunk .   Thinking why they are in the doors of some cars and not others,  doors with two door seals (inner and outer for wind noise reduction, like my wife's Acura) have no place on the door to put a vent so they go somewhere else.

Ok, that's my story and I'm sticking to it....

[csx4590]

If you have a fairly airtight vehicle (windows up), possibly so when you shut the door, the vent allows the pressure to be lowered so it does not break a window???

[oldcarnut]

If you have a fairly airtight vehicle (windows up), possibly so when you shut the door, the vent allows the pressure to be lowered so it does not break a window???

I think your in the right direction but more so for the door to close completely without slamming it.  The window would take a lot of pressure to break it that way.

[tan top]

If you have a fairly airtight vehicle (windows up), possibly so when you shut the door, the vent allows the pressure to be lowered so it does not break a window???

I think your in the right direction but more so for the door to close completely without slamming it.  The window would take a lot of pressure to break it that way.

yep , that's my thinking too

[Paul G]

I believe that the car will have air flow through the passenger compartment at all times. Even when the HVAC system is off, you can feel air coming out of the vents when at speed. That air must have an exit path out of the passenger compartment or it can not pass through. Why they are that way I do not know? 

[Dino]

It is indeed to relieve pressure when closing the door.  Many cars also have rubber flaps in the back that go one way to let the air passing through the car out.  Chargers don't need those, there are plenty gaps for air to escape.

[Hard Charger]

they are for cabin airflow.

remember years back some cars would pressurize (or depressurize) and pop there glass.

[sob]

These vents are to allow air circulation to the trunk area.  In the 80's Chrysler did not put them in the rear of there four door cars particularly one line of car. What they found was condensation in large amounts in the trunk area. In winter the trunk would have icicles hanging from the trunk lids and ice on the floor of the trunk. I know this for a fact as I spent a month installing these plastic vents in the frame of the latch part of the back doors of the cars. This was done on a recall notice from Chrysler I cannot remember what line it was of car but I do  know that some cars had a least a quarter inch of ice on the floor of the trunk

[Mopar Nut]

It is indeed to relieve pressure when closing the door.  Many cars also have rubber flaps in the back that go one way to let the air passing through the car out.  Chargers don't need those, there are plenty gaps for air to escape.

Charger's have them behind the rear side glass along the drip rail.

[Dino]

It is indeed to relieve pressure when closing the door.  Many cars also have rubber flaps in the back that go one way to let the air passing through the car out.  Chargers don't need those, there are plenty gaps for air to escape.

Charger's have them behind the rear side glass along the drip rail.

You are right, I forgot about those.  My car still doesn't need them though, I have plenty air rushing passed the vent and roof rail seals.   

[Mopar Nut]

It is indeed to relieve pressure when closing the door.  Many cars also have rubber flaps in the back that go one way to let the air passing through the car out.  Chargers don't need those, there are plenty gaps for air to escape.

Charger's have them behind the rear side glass along the drip rail.

You are right, I forgot about those.  My car still doesn't need them though, I have plenty air rushing passed the vent and roof rail seals.   

Mine too, who needs air conditioning.