Tinted glass on Prewar Packards?

[West Peterson]

All of the original glass in my 1940 Packard is tinted. It has been suggested that the inner film has "aged" to this color, but I really don't think so. My car has been indoors for practically its entire life. It is a very light tint, in fact I didn't even know until the glass shop pointed it out to me while replacing a few panes. I'm wondering if Packard used tinted glass on cars equipped with air conditioning, which mine is. Any and all thoughts are welcome. The glass is dated May 1940, and my car was delivered in July (the highest known serial number for this body style... 1808 Touring Sedan).

[West Peterson]

In comparison, here is a vent window from a 1938 Packard.

[packick]

Fred Mauck, who passed away several years ago, and who I believe was a Packard expert, once told me that prewar Packards NEVER had tinted windows.  And I believe the Packards International judges deducted points if a prewar car was shown with tinted windows.  But then again, I have also heard the expression, "Never say never."

[1935Packard]

Interesting question.

 

I don't have anything informed to add, except that a bit of googling suggests that "EZ Eye" was the Safety Plate marking for tinted car windows, introduced around 1940.  http://www.solarcontrolfilmsinc.com/the-history-of-window-tint/    Here's an image of a 50s Buick tinted window with that marking:

 

 

Given that your window seems to me to have the standard Safety Plate marking, not the EZ Eye marking or something similar, that may suggest that it wasn't tinted originally.  But I'm just speculating, and I don't really know.

Edited October 19, 2018 by 1935Packard (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

From what I can find, the term E-Z-Eye did not come about until the early 1950s. I'd be interested in seeing other original markings from late '30s or early 1940s Packard glass. Mine has a "V" on the top, and I'm wondering if others have the "V."

[West Peterson]

Apparently Fred Mauck was forgetting about the Brunn-bodied Packards (and Lincolns) that contained tinted glass. Although I guess that could be argued as not really being "Packard." Nevertheless, tinting did exist at the time, and I'm really curious if Packard may have kind of quietly experimented with using it on the air-conditioned cars.

 

[edinmass]

FYI

 

 

Pierce Arrow used green tinted glass all around in the mid thirties to the end. CCCA judging rules call for MANDATORY deductions for all other cars. I have seen a 1933 Pierce with tinted glass that looked very old........no idea if it was available then.

[K8096]

Here's one from the windshield of an all original 1940 Packard 180 club sedan sold through Earl C Anthony.  Looks like the glass was made in October 1939, whereas yours was made in May of 1940.  This is a non air conditioned car.        

 

Edited October 22, 2018 by K8096 (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

Great! Thanks. If you hold a piece of white paper up to it, does it have a blue-green tint to it?

[K8096]

Yes, my glass appears to have that blue-green tinit to it as well.    

[West Peterson]

I'm getting other reports from guys who own cars with original glass. Apparently Packard DID make cars with tinted glass before the war. I'm thinking that the "V" may be the indicator, and not air conditioning.

[West Peterson]

Also, Packards from 1941 seem to have glass made by PPG, rather than Libbey Owens Ford.

[Joe Block]

Nice read. I check my  1940 160 sedan  this week.

[John_Mereness]

The 1932 Rolls Royce Phantom I Dover Sedan (built November 1932) that I had parked next to you two years ago at Dayton Concours had a green tinted divider window - it was delaminating on the edge really bad, but when I took it out to replace and laid it on the garage floor my sister walked by and said "that is interesting it has tinted glass."  I then took it to the glass shop the first words out of their mouth was "how close do you want the tint."    A lot of people would say the tint was wrong and it was heat/light damage, but my opinion was the delamination (that was not present on any other appearing original glass on the car) was caused by some sort of coating or different formula for making the "plastic" lamination middle layer. 

[John_Mereness]

The 1941 Cadillac 60 Special Fleetwood also had a slight green tint to it's glass (much more subtle/pale tint though than my 1955 Buick Roadmaster with E-Z-I glass).

Edited November 3, 2018 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[West Peterson]

I've come to a present conclusion that tinted glass was used quite extensively on prewar cars, and the reason that many came to the conclusion that tinted glass wasn't used is because the tint was so slight that until you took the pane out to replace, you wouldn't realize it.

"That is my theory, it is mine and belongs to me, and I own it and what it is, too." — Anne Elk