Imperial Home Page -> Repair ->Body -> Glass -> Windows
Question from Tim:
The glass on my Imperial is so dirty for so long it looks cloudy. Is there something I can use to make them clear again? I tried some super fine steel wool but that hardly touched it.
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From John:
Take SOS or some other soap filled steel wool pad, and use lots and lots of water, and wash your dirty window. You want the water for lubrication so you do not scratch the window, just float the dirt away in the soap and water.
From George:
It sounds like you might have one of two possible problems. One could be calcium build up on the glass. This comes from really hard water being allowed to dry on the surface. VERY carefully try something like CLR which you can get at the grocery store for calcium deposits in your shower. KEEP IT OFF THE PAINT. The other possibility is the plastic between the glass layers has gotten air in it. in that case glass replacement is the only recourse.
Question from Greg:
Unfortunately I am going to have to rechrome the frames around the windows in my '65 convertible. Has anyone gone down this road before and removed the glass from the frames? What's the procedure? I have removed the screws at the base of the frame (3) but I am hesitant to continue without consulting the List to see if someone has done this before. Obviously, I don't want to harm the glass in any way but it has to come out if those frames are going to shine again! I have four 'regular' windows and two vent windows and they all need the glass separated from the frames.
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From Kenneth:
There's probably a glass man in the area to take the windshield out and your rear windshield. They guarantee their work and if the glass breaks, it's free! The doors and wing unbolt. Use a good screw driver and ratchet. Also, WD40 is important.
From Paul:
I don't personally have any experience with this procedure.
I am sure that any good glass shop can explain how those frames and windows come apart. Years ago someone (actually it was a mad "ex") smashed all of the windows out of a friend's 1964 Crown Four Door. I gave him my spare set of side windows to install into his car, and a friend of mine who worked in a glass shop (no longer in touch with the friend) put all new glass in the other set of frames. I still have those windows in my garage as a spare set.
From Eric:
I recently replaced the side window divider rubber on my '63 Crown Four-Door. As I recall, I undid the couple of screws on the top of the side
window frame and lightly banged the edge of the frame so that I could feed in the rubber divider seal easier. I think the frames come apart readily w/o much manhandling, just some soft rubber mallet type of hammering will suffice to seperate them from the glass.
Question from Donald:
How do you best remove the stuborn film on old auto window glass which I guess is plasticizer which has bled from vinyl and rubber material.
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From Bob:
I've found a home made solution of about 5 tablespoons of vinegar in a pint of water with just a drop or two of dish detergent in a spray bottle works well on auto or household windows (especially those that are rain spotted). I used newspaper to clean the glass and a clean newspaper to dry it. Works better than any prepared solutions of any I've tried.
From William:
Bon AMI cleanser and/ or #0000 Steel Wool and glass cleaner.
Question from Mark:
When it rains, a small puddle develops on the floorboard of my '70 NYer. It is located on the driver's side, approximately where your left foot would be, or right next to the kick panel. You can't actually see any water, but if you touch the carpet it's soaked and the car is beginning to get that musty smell.
I guessed that the leak was from the windshield and taped up the edges of the windshield about 2 weeks ago before I went on a trip. Well, that didn't help. So I'm going to fill in with some silicone sealer, but I'm still just guessing at this point.
It appears to be coming from behind the plastic kick panel. I am guessing the leak is directly above that point. Is there a systematic way of tracking these things down?
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From Kerry:
I took mine by a glass shop and they shot it full of urethane. Solved the problem. I did have the trim off already but they did not charge me a dime.
From Elijah:
First, you might want to remove the interior trim around the windshield and also the kick panel on that side. Then close the door (obviously!) and put a garden hose on the roof so that water will run down that corner of the car. Let it run for a while, then get inside (from the passenger side!) and see where the drip is coming from. It could be around the windshield, but it could also be along the drip rail or even around the side glass.
From Rob:
Not sure if this will help, but I know some people complaining of similar problems, it turned out to be those foam seals around the windshield wiper motor. Wasn't anybody with a C-body or Imperial though. It's hard to track the leak because it will run down against the trim and drip to the easiest place.
From Bill:
Sad but true ..but it's actually the door weatherstrip seal. The water follows the door down then slides behind the kick panel (follows the kick panel molding and the molding around the door). I have a '71 Newport with the same trouble. I keep my car mostly dry so it's not really a problem but on occasion, hard rain and voila...wet floor. The old weatherstrip is pliable still but shrunk.
From Dan:
I had a 1983 E-Class that did the same thing. It tried tons of things. The floor ended up rusting thru before I found the leak.
The leak was at the top edge of the plenum (where the heater pulls air in, and the wipers are) on the driver's side.
The plenum is basically a box, and the edges are SUPPOSED to be sealed with that factory 'goop' that they use (like in the trunk).
Well right at the edge where the vertical part, and the horizontal part meet, the 'goop' was missing in a SMALL area. (Bad, bad, assembler- 50 lashes.)
Water would seep in and dribble down inside the kick panel area, and soak into the carpet.
It was just a small spot that was missed, but that's what it was . . .
From John:
I've seen it suggested that building up the weather-strip with a shim of some sort underneath will help with this problem. Probably, some thin rubber fastened with weather-stripping adhesive under the weather-strip. Also, make sure there's nothing blocking the area near the lower corner of the windshield pillar where the water drains down.
Question from Don:
How do you best remove the stubborn film on old auto window glass which I guess is plasticizer which has bled from vinyl and rubber material.
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From Chris:
With a few critical ingredients: patience, numerous absorbent cloths (like cotton diapers), a good window cleaner (not a multi-surface product designed to make your toaster shiny), and cool, cool glass. Don't let the car near the sun... Use liberal amounts of glass cleaner (cover the hat shelf, dash, etc., with paper towels to keep 'em from getting soaked)... And change your cloth frequently... in fact, use one to "wash" the glass once you've applied the cleaner, one to mop it up, and a third to "polish" it clean.
Another trick: Get a good squeegee and remove the glass cleaner that way. Just be prepared to keep mopping up the drips as you go, so they don't mess up your interior.
I have tried so many glass cleaners and find that the cloths I use, the procedure I follow, and the glass being cool and away from the sun are the keys to streak-free windows.
Try it!
From Erik:
Call me old fashioned, but I still love the old newspaper soaked in water or washer fluid trick. Just take some ordinary, black ink imprinted newspapers, soak them well in washer fluid and clean away. I sell car cleaning products, among other things, for a living, and I have still to find one that beats the old fashioned way.
Question from Chris (1957):
On a four-door hardtop, does the door glass interchange for '57, '58,and '59? I am grabbing a '59 soon, and all the door glass is smashed out. I do know where there is a 57 4dr HT sitting in a bone yard with good door glass, but don't know if it will fit.
Reply from Philippe:
Yes, same door glass from '57 to '62. Front vents from '57 to '59.
Question from Tony (1958):
Does anyone have a suggestion on getting the rear doors on my 58 to open? I've pushed, pulled, tugged, kicked, ranted, and raved and they still don't budge. When you pull the handle on the drivers side door it feels like it's doing something but on the passenger side it doesn't even feel like it's connected to anything. Same thing from the outside. I even made an attempt to take the interior panel off but it seems to be impossible without first getting the door open or destroying the panel.
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From John:
If the window will go down, lower it & spray WD-40 down inside the door & try to soak the heck out of the lock mechanism. Do the same between the door & the body where it engages the striker. Most likely, your best results will be trying to open it from the inside. Be sure the inside handle is actually connected to the lever. I believe they used an Allen head set screw to hold the handle on. In '60, they went to a Phillips head bolt. I've had this problem a number of times on '60-'63 Imperials & these procedures have always worked for me.
From Doug:
On my coupe, the driver's door has to be lifted slightly to open. The passenger door opens effortlessly. The sag on the doors might be alleviated by replacing the hinge pin and bushing. Also don't lose your head and damage your beautiful door panels, they might be as hard to replace as my rusty unobtainable panels.
Question from Jon (1966):
I'm tryng to follow the Service Manual instructions which has as step 3 (after removing door panel and water shield) to "raise and remove glass from regulator." Sounds simple enough but . . . HOW??!! No diagrams, I can't see any screws/bolts/clips holding it on. What's the trick here please? I really want to get these things working and the next steps look easy once I get the darn glass removed. HELP!
Reply from Paul:
In the Imperial Service Manual there is a separate set of steps on how to remove the window glass from the door. I believe that it is a few pages ahead of the steps on how to remove the window regulator.
Question from Demetrios (1967):
I am wondering if the side glass for the Crown 4-door will fit my LeBaron. It is also a 4-door hard top, but the roof line is higher. I
was wondering if the side glass is by any chance interchangeable (I know the windshield and rear glass is not).Replies:
From Dick:
Nope, sorry, I don't think so. You may get other responses, and don't take my word as guaranteed, as I'm remembering something others have said, not based on personal experience - I've owned only Crowns.
From Bill:
If I am not mistaken, do not think the Crown glass will interchange with the LeBaron on the '67 and '68 Imperials. As you mentioned, the roof line on the LeBaron is higher than the Crown, also the rear door glass is of different shape or angle at the rear of the glass.
It might pay to measure the glass from both the Crown & LeBaron, just to be sure. Be sure to check the angle of the rear door glass, am sure it is different.
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