It's not the weight of the chrome that made the '67 grille more expensive to
produce, it was several other factors.
One is the fine texture, which means there was more finish work to perform,
and on (as well as between) more tiny surfaces.
And another is the number of pieces. Not counting the body-color panels, there
are ten chrome-finished pieces plus the IMPERIAL block letters, plus a black
frame for those letters, plus the intricate parking/cornering lamps, which
have double lenses on the outer faces.
The '68 grille is only four pieces (I think... never took one apart... please
let us know, 68 owners!) plus the simple lenses of the concealed cornering
lamps.
The glare things, as Mark noted, were mostly for safety. In fact, the '67
brochure touts the first-year use of "low-glare windshield wipers" (which wore
argent matte-silver paint instead of chrome), even though the wipers
themselves rest atop a very bright windshield molding that faces straight up,
ready to reflect glare on its own. While I am sure the textured plastic
A-pillar trims were cheaper than the chrome, their savings was probably a side
effect more than a goal.
Chris in LA
67 Crown
On Mon, 29 Jul 2002 15:05:47 -0500 Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Argh. Cheaper grille? That's a lot of heavy duty chrome on those 68s .
. . hard to see how it would be cheaper than sheetmetal.
I believe the painted surfaces on the inside of the '68-- like the black
covers on the insides of the "A" pillars-- were due to safety
considerations, not cost cutting. The black cut down on glare and
reflections in the windshield which could blind the driver (that is also
why the top of the sunvisor was black, and the back of the mirror). I'm
not sure if this was federally mandated at this time, or if the car
companies did it on their own to try to comply with (appease) the feds
or what . . . but you will see that chrome & bright reflective surfaces
started disappearing from most cars' interiors at around that time.
(I'm sure Chris H will know the law on this!)
I can't see any other reason for the lack of the paint buffing other
than what you say, unfortunately.
Mark M
Mike Pittinaro wrote:
> Once, yes. "Inside, an antiqued bronze finish
> replaced the wood veneer..." Also, they seem to
> diminish the '68 as a cost-cutter's attempt at making
> the '67 profitable. Things like the cheaper grille,
> painted interior trim instead of chromed, and the lack
> of a body paint buffing operation were mentioned.
>
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