Disagree all you want to, but Chrysler's fix for leaky windshields was never to
"stuff Venetian blind cord under the bottom of the windshield...etc". The
procedure for resealing a windshield is very specifically outlined in the shop
manuals. If anything, a heavier weatherstrip would have been called for and
would have been easily obtainable when the cars were new.
I do know that leaky windows were a problem, but more because moisture was
attracted to the headliner inside the car and tended to travel on it and leave
massive ugly water stains.
Funny that you should mention that your hood flew open on you '57 Mopar. I knew
two people who had that happen at high speed on '57 Chrysler New Yorkers. One
of those people was my boss when I worked at Seafirst Bank in the middle
1980's. He was driving his father's car, and his father loved that Chrysler,
but did complain that it required a lot of repair.
Paul
In a message dated 11/11/2003 6:29:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
Rollin.Bard@xxxxxxxx writes:
> I would like to respectfully disagree with some of my fellow Imperial owners
>about the 1957 models. Although I was only 15 years old, I can remember my
>father's fingers bleeding from trying to seal the windshields of those cars.
>Chrysler's fix was to stuff Venetian blind cord under the bottom of the
>windshield and then squirt liquid rubber sealer. The windshields were not big
>enough to fit the opening and normal sealer would break when you would go over
>a rough road and the windshield would jump up and down. That was an
>engineering and design problem, not assembly.
>
> The second poor design was the air conditioning. The glass area of a 57
>Imperial was much greater than a 56 Imperial. In the summer, the greenhouse
>effect would overpower the A/C capacity. Evidently they used the same system
>as the 56. We had a name for it: warm air conditioning. I remember we took
>a vacation through Arizona in August of 1956 in a 56 NY. The air conditioning
>was so cold in the back seat that my mother had to wear a sweater. When we
>stopped for fuel, the attendant looked in and saw her with her sweater and
>just shook his head. He was suffering with 120 degree heat.
>
> But we did sell a lot of them. I drove a lesser 1957 MoPar in college and
>then drove it to Detroit where I got my first job-with Chrysler in CenterLine.
> The only trouble I ever had was the hood flew up on the Southfield Freeway.
>
> Bottom line-a manufacture's reputation for quality lasts a long time. Why do
>you think Chrysler was the first with a 5 year-50,000 mile warranty? Even
>today they are the only one
> of the Big 3 with a 7-70.
>
> Rollin Bard
> 66 LeBaron
> 00 Town and Country
> 04 Concorde Limited
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