Usually a car's C-pillar -- the roof support immediately forward of the rear window ("backlight") -- becomes narrower with height. This is due to the interaction of the downward curve of the roofline towards the car's rear and the shape of the aft side window that usually curves down at a greater pace. A BMW-style "dog-leg" side window profile even further creates an upwards convergent C-pillar profile.
This was reversed on the redesigned standard-size 1965 Chrysler Corporation two-door hardtops for Plymouths, Dodges and Chryslers. The bodies are essentially the same, so Dodges are dealt with here.
An interesting effect of a C-pillar that's narrow at its base and widens with height is that, combined with a thin roofline, the car's passenger compartment "greenhouse" seems visually lighter than if the C-pillar narrowed in the conventional way. The images below are of cars for sale unless otherwise noted.
Gallery
Dodge Monaco, top of its 1965 line.
Monaco, Polara and Custom 880 Dodges had 121 inch (3073 mm) wheelbases, whereas entry-level Coronet's wheelbases were 117 inches (2972 mm). The bodies differed slightly, the larger cars having smaller, less-wraparound backlights that resulted in wider C-pillars.
Rear quarter view. The vinyl roof covering on this car largely conceals the sculpting on the pillar and roof.
Here is a Polara hardtop with an unadorned roof. You can see the slight fold of the C-pillar sheet metal that continues across the top, creating a subtle kink in the roofline.
What appears to be a factory photo of a Dodge Coronet 440 hardtop.
Side view of a Coronet 440. The wrapped backlight results in a narrower C-pillar base. This pinching of the base comparatively widens the top of the pillar, giving the greenhouse a heavier appearance than seen on the senior Dodges above.
Rear quarter view. It's pretty hard to see, but there is a fold across the roof as on the larger cars, but here it's anchored where the aft side window frame kinks downward. As best I can tell, there is no fold on the pillar itself.
A 1963 Mercury Monterey hardtop with a "Breezeway" reverse-angle, roll-down backlight. Here too the C-pillar has a reverse taper. But the pillar is so wide that the greenhouse is not visually lightened very much, as was the case with the Monaco and Polara.
I think the reason for these was to have a faster rear side window opening while maintaining back seat headroom without the expense of having the base of the rear window farther back, necessitating a shorter trunk opening. So it was a way for Chrysler to follow a current trend on the cheap. I never liked either the mid sized or full sized versions.On the intermediates the C pillars blended into the bodies on the rest of the line, but this hardtop roof made for a division with the body, with the roof perched somewhat awkwardly on top.
ReplyDeleteDonald,
ReplyDeleteDo you know whether the reverse C-pillar was styled under Exner's guidance, or was it Engels'? Exner was fired and Elwood Engels hired after Chrysler went through their '62 downsizing debacle. The first model year Engels is given credit for is the '65 lineup. But I've understood that Chrysler developed the styling of their cars several model years in advance, so it could be possible it was an Exner idea?.. or was it purely Engels'?
Cheers, - Art
Art -- I'd say that pillar design was done under Engel, not Exner.
ReplyDeleteA couple years ago I wrote a post titled "Vigil Exner's Final Themes for Chrysler Corporation." To find it, type in "exner" (without the quote marks) in the search box, and the post should appear on top (though you might have to scroll down if your computer works differently than mine). It shows pictures of some Exner full-scale styling models of cars intended for early '60s production that didn't make it. None have the C-pillar under discussion here.
I always thought the reverse taper c pillar looked funny. never really liked them. The 67-68 plymouth furys I thought looked a lot better in their 4 door versions, the only two door I liked was the coupe with the sedan which was often used by highway patrol back then.
ReplyDeleteI hated these reverse taper c pillars. If you look at 1965 2-door New Yorkers with a parallelogram C-pillar the effect is quite good. IMHO the reverse taper C-pillar ruined the styling of 1965 and 1966 2-door hardtop full-sized Dodges, Plymouths, and Chryslers. (1966 midsized 2-door hardtops were okay with their somewhat different rt design. I probably would not have even gone there.)
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