1966 Barracuda Rear Window Defroster?

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FastbackJon

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I found a '66 Barracuda at the junk yard. The car had been rolled and the rear window is busted. I noticed on the passenger side under the back window there's a slit that looks like it is for a rear window defroster. Is that standard? There's no defroster down there. I thought it was interesting.

Would it have been a small electric heater with a blower motor?
 
That side has a provision for a 6X9 speaker. I think that slot may be there for the sound to escape. My car has no rear defrost and no speaker in that space. Anyone else have rear defrost?
 
IIRC, it's a 6x8 hole, not a 6x9.

The blower motor is attached to a 6x8 plate.

I've never seen an A body, much less a fastback body with a rear defrost.

My 66 Coronet has the slot, but I've never seen a 66 or 67 with rear defrost, either.
 
The slit (1" wide by 8" or so long) right next to the glass sealing gasket is what you're asking about? It's been quite awhile back since I seen it to be accurate, but with the holes in the lower 1/4 panels......the smoke from burnouts would roll like a freight train right through it!

I have not come across any in my years of browsing that had a blower fan or even duct work anywhere there.
 
The hole fits a 6x9 speaker perfectly (ask lilcuda, I put speakers in that car in the early 1980s). I have seen ONE rear window defroster and they are NOT heated...
 
I was looking for a box of carb to trans linkage I bought in the back of the green car and noticed a piece of black tape curling up. I peeled it off to find the slot you all are talking about. I was wondering why it was there myself!
 
FastbackJon said:
I found a '66 Barracuda at the junk yard. The car had been rolled and the rear window is busted. I noticed on the passenger side under the back window there's a slit that looks like it is for a rear window defroster. Is that standard? There's no defroster down there. I thought it was interesting.

Would it have been a small electric heater with a blower motor?
Click to expand...

Interesting that you would ask about defroster, last week I was parting out a 1966 Barracuda and found the defroster where the speaker usually fits. I am restoring a Formula S and it doesn't have this option. It will be a nice option for my Formula S restoration.
 
I've sold a couple of those units, they are rare, but not that rare! There is a metal grille cover that goes over the hole, with studs that protrude through the motor plate itself to hold the unit into the hole! There is also a piece of ductwork that goes from the motor up to the slot that blows on the rear window!! Maybe I can find that link from the last unit I sold here, it wasn't that long ago!!
 
Jim Lusk said:
The hole fits a 6x9 speaker perfectly (ask lilcuda, I put speakers in that car in the early 1980s). I have seen ONE rear window defroster and they are NOT heated...
Click to expand...

My 64 had one. Still have it. Just like Jim said. It worked like a champ. Grill is the same 6 x 9 speaker.
 
I bought a defogger fan, hose, and disharge grille from someone on this site. Within a couple of days, someone else posted a complete system (shown below), including the inlet grille. His stuff looked brand new! Anyway, that's what the grille looks like.

View attachment defogger inlet.jpg

From what I've seen all the hardware goes for about $50. Then if you want the 2-speed switch with the "Rear Air" nameplate, that goes for another $50. Sometimes you can get the complete wiring harness.

Actually a small electric heater would have been a good "factory" idea. You could add one. I would estimate a small heater to raise the inlet air temperature about 4 degrees would use about 2 amps (in addition to the defogger fan). Eight degrees would take 4 amps. You would need to provide wire and fusing for this amperage.

What you want to do is heat the inside surface temperature of the glass above the dewpoint temperature of the air within the car. New cars do this with a heater embedded in the rear glass -- and they don't use a fan.
 
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