Door flippers on coupes

[Cadman-iac]

  I have a question for our members, as I'm unsure about this. What years did GM use the door flippers on? I know that the 54 through 56 years had them, but was it used any earlier than that, and any later than that?
I was just looking at someone else's post about a 53 parts car, and I thought it looked like it had flippers on it. But it's hard to tell as I'm only using a phone.
Thanks in advance for your input.

  Rick

[Cadillac Jack 82]

I believe it started in 51 or 52?  It went on until 60 if I'm not mistaken.

[Cadman-iac]

Thanks Tim, I wasn't sure if I was seeing a flipper,  or if the car was missing a molding, it was just too hard to see on my phone.

I know from past ownership that the Chevrolet line used them in 55,56, and 57. I don't believe they had them in 58, although I admit I haven't seen a 58 coupe up close and personal like. And the 54 coupe I had as a kid didn't have any.

So Cadillac pioneered this feature,  that's interesting.

  Would anyone who has a car of any year with the flippers on it mind posting a picture of it here? I'm very interested to see how they changed during the time they were in use.
Thanks again,
Rick

[TJ Hopland]

What are they?   Seems like they were apparently on enough cars I likely have seen them but maybe didn't know they were called flippers. 

[signart]

Kinda grainy shot, '53

[Cadman-iac]

  TJ,
  They are flip up moldings that cover the top of the vent window and door glass when the doors are shut to give the car a sleeker appearance.  But when you open the door, it "flips" up and out of the way, allowing the vent and door glass to move outward without interference.
The vent window frame is what controls the flipper by means of a small lever mechanism on the flipper itself. The vent frame will contact it as it's closing and it causes the molding, (flipper), to drop down over the windows after the door is closed. The flipper is spring loaded to be in the open, or up position unless the vent frame is pressing on the lever. At least that's how it works on the 54 through 56 years of Cadillacs, and the 55 to 57 Chevrolets.

[Cadman-iac]

  Art, thank you for your picture. That makes me feel better about my vision now, lol !!

[TJ Hopland]

I have seen them on Pontiacs too so presumably Olds and Buick also had them in the same era?    Did any other brands do it?   Why did they all stop doing it apparently around the same time?   Other than being a sort of complex mechanism compared to just a gasket seems like besides the better look it could have maybe also been a better seal.

[Cadman-iac]

  Yes, all the GM lines used them during this time frame, although I don't know how many years each one did it. It seems that the popular ones are the 55-57 Chevys, Pontiacs, and Cadillacs from 54-56 that I knew about. I'm sure that others are just as popular, I just didn't know they existed.

I think that they quit doing it because of changing body styles. Rooflines became more curvy, or arched, and you can't flip a curved molding. That's what I believe caused their demise anyway.
There may have been other factors too, like problems with the flippers getting out of adjustment and being caught behind the door, bending them and rendering them useless basically.

One irritating fact about these is that not all of them are the same. The Cadillac and I'm guessing Olds and Buick as well are longer than the Chevrolet flippers, even though they look almost identical. The Chevrolet ones are about 3 inches shorter than the Cadillac ones of the same years. And what's really irritating to me is that I have a big collection of Chevrolet flippers that do me absolutely no good on my Cadillac. However some of the hardware is the same between them. The springs mainly. I would have to look again at them to tell you if anything else is the same.

[dn010]

Year 1957 Cadillac coupes have the flippers as well, I always assumed they were there to help with keeping water out. The sedan doesn't have them.

[Cadman-iac]

Year 1957 Cadillac coupes have the flippers as well, I always assumed they were there to help with keeping water out. The sedan doesn't have them.

They do help keep the rain and dirt out, but not as effective as the weatherstripping used on other models.
The flipper assembly is a "U" shape that fits down over the door glass when the door is closed. The half that mounts to the roof is an "L" shape, and the part that moves forms the other leg of the U.
There is a rubber seal between the base of the flipper and the roof where it's attached, but the only thing in between the inside and outside of the channel the flippers create when down, is a fuzzy strip on each side. The springs are not really strong enough to apply enough force against the windows to make them a very effective water seal. And then you have the wind noise as well. But isn't that part of the charm of an old car?

[signart]

They actually cut down the wind noise associated with a "hardtop"... a lot.

[fishnjim]

Found on the period Buick and Olds also.   Not sure which division actually was first.   Cad typically is the ground breaker in new items, but not always.   The divies acted more independent back then.   Now it's platforms, alpha bodies, etc.   They weren't all that well received and malfunctioned occasionally.   I kinda like them. 

[signart]

It appears Buick-Olds-Caddy shared the same roof line in '51, '52, and '53 in the hard top coupes, so this would be the beginning of the window flippers. Chevy and Pontiac for '51 shared the roof lines with the '49-'50 coupes. Chevy-Pontiac had their first flippers in '52.

[Cadman-iac]

 Thanks for the information Art, that's interesting.  The 54 Chevrolet I had must have been a sedan instead of a hardtop,
because it definitely didn't have flippers, or I would have remembered that. It's been too long and the memories are fuzzy.

  I've never really paid much attention to the early 50's hardtops, but I haven't seen very many either. I'll definitely have to start looking closer at the ones I do see.
I don't know why, but I had always been under the impression that the flipper option was just used for a few years in the middle of the 50's, not the early 50's.
Very interesting indeed. Thanks to everyone for the information.

   Rick

[signart]

Yeah, the pre "Tri-Five" Chevy's are in the same boat we are in with our Caddy's, no respect from the reproduction industry. None of the flippers, hinges etc. for the Tri Fives interchange with the '52 & '53 Chevy coupes which have a sea of parts suppliers for any and everything.

Luckily, the flippers on my '53 operate perfectly and I'm wondering if I should lubricate them. Anyone aware of a maintenance bulletin or service instruction?

[Cadman-iac]

 Hey Art,

  I haven't ever found any kind of lube on any door flipper. I've got probably 20 of the tri-five Chevy ones in various conditions, and I've taken a lot of them apart for parts or to fix them. Not one had any lubricant in the pivot channels.
I've got several sets of the Cadillac ones too, (none worth using), and none of those  have anything to lubricate the pivot points either.
I think the engineers figured that since these are made of stainless steel and they're completely straight so shouldn't bind, that no lubricant would be needed.
  I believe that myself anyway. But the lack of information about them doesn't help either.
The problem with lubricating one is that it will attract dirt, and then it will start to bind. I honestly don't think it's a good idea to put any kind of lube on them.

  Rick