Back window on truck question.................

[lonejacklarry]

I'm really bored with mostly staying home due to the current circumstances.  This morning it hit me:  I wonder if I could fit (and that is after I found one) a '57 Dodge 1/2 ton  wrap around

rear window into a '54 Dodge 1/2 ton.  I realize that a bigger hole and a bigger weatherstrip would be required.

 

The question is whether the back of the cabs contours are the same.  I don't have a '57 around here but the pictures I've found look like there is no difference.

 

Any expert opinions out there?

 

[JBNeal]

You could probably make it fit but it's a lot of work making that pinch seam just the right size for the window seal to work...I looked at a '60 V8 fleetside with the big rear glass up near Amarillo a few years ago, a nice original, but I was struck at how little structure the cab and hood had.  All that glass gave excellent all-around visibility but the A- and B-pillars looked flimsy, and there was the typical floor rust because of the leaky windshield/A-pillar areas, so I passed on that beaut.  So to make that big back glass fit, ya gotta cut out a chunk of steel that might compromise the roof integrity when flying down the highway ?

[Dave72dt]

If you can find someone with a 57  wrap around, have them measure the window width  side to side  at the closest points to the B pillar.  If it's the same as your 54 cab plus an inch or inch and a half, it can probably be made to fit.  Did they do the corner windows in a 54?  Next problem is finding that big window, preferably from a rotted out cab that you can cut the window surround from and splice into your cab after making a template of both cabs to check contours.  Otherwise, it's a whole bunch of metalwork to form a surround to match to glass.  Another possible option is to check the other brands.  They all had a big window option at some point.

 

Since you can't change the shape and size of the glass, think carefully before you make the first cut.  Be sure to post pics if you do.  This could get really interesting. 

[Los_Control]

What you do is cut the window & surrounding window frame from a donor car.  Then you modify and add the new metal frame with window to your car.

 

You do not take the glass and make a new frame for it. I suppose you could ... those that have done it probably would not do it twice.

 

No I have never done it before. Watching a few vids with chopping tops on cars, lots easier to cut the metal + glass out of another car and then graft it into your project.

[Dave72dt]

I see a 54 can come with corner windows so it may be as simple as removing the partitions between the corner glass and the rear glass, adding in seam sections so weather stripping has something to seal against if overall glass measurements match.  If yours does not have the corner glass, the job is much more difficult.

[lonejacklarry]

Thanks for the suggestions.  Finding a '57 for salvage has proved impossible.  I guess my only unanswered question is if the contours at the rear of the '54 and '57 are the same.  The only way I know of is to buy the glass and see if the contours are the same.  If not I have a pricey (and worthless to me) piece of glass.

[Merle Coggins]

If it was a C-2 series I would think it would be close to the same profile. As I understand it the cabs didn't change much from the late C-Series thru at least '59, maybe into the '60's.. But there was a significant change between the early C's and later C's. 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Merle Coggins

[lonejacklarry]

Thanks, Merle, that is what I needed to know.  

 

[CO54]

On 1/12/2021 at 8:35 AM, Merle Coggins said:

If it was a C-2 series I would think it would be close to the same profile. As I understand it the cabs didn't change much from the late C-Series thru at least '59, maybe into the '60's.. But there was a significant change between the early C's and later C's. 

I'm learning that! Mine is apparently a very early C series.  My entire drive line was built between May '53 and September '53.

[JBNeal]

Fun Fact:  the C-3 cab was used on large trucks like the original Big Horns up to '75...although the Big Horns did not have the wraparound rear glass, they did have a larger rear glass than the C-3 ??

 

 

My B-4 Spring Special was built August '53, but I'm guessing that the early '54s had leftover '53 parts as needed...a common practice for OEMs, using up inventory to reduce overhead costs ?