Trivia # 35 - All About the Windshields

[Jason Edge]

Keeping the trivia "glass related":

- How Many Different Windshields Were Used On All 1963 & 1964 Cadillac Body Styles? 

- What were the two main differences or subgroups of windshields? Hint, one was sort of related to the last trivia question.  Need specifics.

- EXTRA CREDIT: Most of the windshields offered only fit the 1963 & 1964 model years.  There are two that spanned others model years.  Which windshield would that be and what are the model years?

  

[Jason Edge]

This one may have been to obtuse I so I will spill the beans?

There were 8 windshields used.

1963/64 Coupes (6257/6357)
1963/64 4 Window Sedans & Convertibles (6239, 6339, 6389, 6267, 6367)
1963/64 6 Window Sedans (6229, 6329, 6039)
1963/64 75 Series & Commercial chassis.

BUT WAIT... THAT IS ONLY 4 --> They each came with the optional soft ray tint or clear. Also cars with the optional soft ray tint, would have a tint bar at the top which were two colors - tan and blue/green depending on the exterior of the car.

WHAT ABOUT EXTRA CREDIT? ---> the 75 Series (Limo) was the same 1959 to 1965.  This would have also fit the 1959 to 1964 Commercial Chassis body styles. And since this windshield came with tint or no tint, there is your two! 

FOR AN EXTRA FUN FACT: Just to note I had been parting cars out a couple of years before I realized the 4 Window Sedan windshield is the same as the convertible windshield ... but there it was in black and white in the Master Parts Book!!!

[Kurt]

Wow, it's amazing how many p/n#s they had back then. But wait, if there was a tan tint bar AND blue/green tint bar, wouldn't they have to be different p/n#s too? Which color cars had tan & which had blue/green?

[Jason Edge]

I misstated one thing in the post above - only cars with the optional Soft Ray tint had the tint bar at the top. This is noted in both the spec manuals and dealer data book.

As far as the color of the tint bar, from my sample of about 65 1963/64 Cadillacs, tan was used on cars with red, gold, tan (bahama sand) exteriors or white or black cars with interiors with these colors.

The blue green upper tint bar was used on basically all the other colors, blue, green turq. and again white or black cars with interiors with these colors. 

There are 8 part #'s listed in the Master Parts Book (see below), but it seems there should be 12 total (2 for each Soft Ray glass) for each color bar. ... so the question is was the tint bar applied at the factory, or some extra notation taken at time of ordering? 

Here is the master parts book listing:

Windshields Used in 1963 and 1964
1959 thru 1964-75,CC; 65-75                    Part # 480 3872 - Clear
1959 thru 1964-75CC; 65-75                     Part # 480 3873 – Soft Ray

1963 thru 1964-6039,6229,6329              Part # 489 7110  - Clear
1963 thru 1964-6039,6229,6329              Part # 489 7111  - Soft Ray

1963 thru 1964-6257,6357                       Part # 487 0527 – Clear
1963 thru 1964-6257,6357                       Part # 487 0528 – Soft Ray

63-6239,67,6339,67,89; 64-6239,67,6339,67      Part # 487 0523 - Clear
63-6239,67,6339,67,89; 64-6239,67,6339,67      Part# 487 0524 – Soft Ray

As an example of the two color bars
Here is an example of the 4W Sedan & Conv with Blue Bar then with Tan Bar: