I don't know about Imperials, but given how my Fury is, I can only assume
that the Imperials got at the minimum as good a top as the medium price
range Fury.
I replaced my top in the Fury a couple years ago, after purchasing it from
Hydro-E-Lectric out of Florida, and I added the glass window which is made
from PPG Herculite glass. Glass is laminate, at least glass in cars is, and
the glass in cars is extremely different than house glass. Especially the
windshield which is different than the door glass on most older cars due to
it not severing your jugular or carotid when your head goes through it
during a wreck.
Glass is a kind of plastic with the actual 'glass' material in between
layers of this plastic. This is what he probably meant. What he didn't
tell you is that the laminate 'de-laminates' differently between glass
companies. Usually if something flexes it'll cause the stufff to separate.
Look at an old 40's car in a junkyard or field and see the bubbles on the
window glass (usually side windows). It would be worse on a glass window in
a convertible top due to the top folding up and down regularly (more often
in Hawaii, less often in Alaska). If you have an old top on an old car,
this would be a problem.
However, and some of us have dashes to prove it, vinyl is not durable when
it hit the sun, and the sun hits the top more often than it does the dash.
Therfore, it's more likely than not that you don't have the original top.
The glass is usually sewn in, you conceivably could replace the glass by
cutting the stitching and putting in a new glass. 99 bucks for a rear
window on a convertible is probably a whole lot cheaper than going through
that.
The top is composed of 2 sections, the top itself, and the window. The top
section is composed of 3 parts, and is primarily attached via a tack strip
in the final bow of the top. It's then folded over and either stapled or
glued to the frame. The window section is an entirely independent section,
and sometimes they are stitched to the top itself, and sometimes they just
attach with the zipper and a tack strip located at the back of the well
(it's what your well liner snaps to). A good shop can replace the curtain
(rear window) only if the top can support it. However, if the top is old,
it would be easier to change the whole thing as sometimes the vinyl rots to
the point where the new stitching puts too much strain on the top itself and
the entire zipper rips free, thus folding the curtain down into the well
involuntarily.. Been there, done that.
This is what I would do, and I know nothing about what the current condition
is, so it's something of a worst case scenario:
1. Assess the strength of the top. I do this by unzipping the curtain and
seeing if a stitch pops on the zipper.
2. If the stitch pops, don't mess with it and replace the top and get a
glass curtain.
3. If it can hold it, call the top supplier and ask for a sample of your
color and grain of top. Top grains vary, especially if they were changed
out, so your Imperial's 'stock' grain vinyl would look pretty stupid behind
an aftermarket grain. Also, and this is important if you have a colored
top, match the color to your top. Dark colors fade, whites yellow with
exposure.
4. If it's a relatively new top and you can live with slight variances, ask
what the rear window glass is made of. You WILL be happier with glass for
it is easier to clean and doesn't yellow. PPG Herculite is a good glass
because it can flex without delamination. If they don't have PPG Herculite
but some other company, look it up on the internet and find out as I'm not
familiar with others.
5. Don't use armor all on it, it's too full of silicone. I wash mine with
soap and water and a soft brush. If I knew of a protectant that was
silicone free, I'd use that.
Hope this helps some. I'm not too familiar with the Imperial line, but most
of this is rudimentary stuff that applies to all convertibles, and was
learned through experience.
Ray Funke
69 Fury 3 ragtop
70 Imperial LeBaron 4dr HT
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network