Hi Everyone,
I'm in need of a set of replacement sunvisors for my '57 Brougham, which is at the last stage of fine tuning and sorting out driving issues, and this is the last part i've still been unable to source a replacement for.
If anybody else has luck with reproducing these Brougham-specific sunvisors, i'd be glad for any leads.
As a backup plan, i'm inquiring locally about 3-d printing a block of tinted clear material (acrylic or whatever gives the same appearance as the original) and having the block cut into the form and thickness of the original sunvisor.
From what I recall in a discussion somewhere in this forum years ago, nobody could figure out how to accurately reproduce the sunvisors. This was right before 3-d printing got advanced enough that the average person could use them, and materials for them got more diverse.
If there are other Brougham owners interested in reproduction sunvisors, I can look into the 3-d printing option more and produce a larger amount or at least request a breakdown from the company that made them on what needs to be done to produce the sunvisor "block" that can then be cut into sunvisor sized pieces.
I don't have any available reference pictures of the original sunvisors, although this website shows a similar 3-d printed material to what I'd like to get done for the reproduction sunvisors:
https://grabcad.com/library/layered-acrylic-enclosure-1
Thanks,
Nik
Try these folks. They made a set for my 1941 Series 63 Cadillac.
https://www.newstalgiaparts.com/
The visors on a Brougham are transparent and polerized. You look through them rather than under them. Not sure if you'd be able to re-pro them and have them function as OE.
You might try the Eldorado Brougham group to see if anyone has an extra set they'd be willingto part with, to get the look and keep teh function.
Glenn
Quote from: GBrown #8092 on December 07, 2022, 10:13:05 PMThe visors on a Brougham are transparent and polerized. You look through them rather than under them. Not sure if you'd be able to re-pro them and have them function as OE.
Glenn, this is indeed the problem. Anybody is able to cut a piece of colored plastic, but reproduce that polarization is the issue!
Similar visors were used on the '56 Eldo models (Biarritz & Seville); that characteristic was not reproduced.
I spent some time researching the visors and think I found a source for the material over a year ago. They are laminated strips which are then formed and cut and polished. Very labor intensive to create. Hopefully you have the chrome retainers and swivels as those are Brougham only as well.
If you want to give it a try Nik, I could take it on and see how it goes.
Quote from: David King (kz78hy) on December 08, 2022, 10:04:51 AMIf you want to give it a try Nik, I could take it on and see how it goes.
If you have a lead, i would be interested.
Before we start on that though, let me see what comes back in the next week or two from the 3d printing shop.
If I can get a big block of the material made, it might be more cost effective, even if it's not a 100% replica of the original as far as the polarization goes.
The one visor I have is warped out of shape, although gives a good reference on material, color and shape. Unfortunately the passenger side sunvisor and frame is missing, even though the swivel arm is still there.
They really put a lot of thought into those sunvisors, back in the design stage. Having grown up with vehicles that only have non-transparent sunvisors, seeing the lines act as blinds on the Brougham sunvisors, depending on the angle the sunvisor is at, makes me appreciate even more the effort Cadillac put into designing the Brougham.
Thanks,
Nik
Quote from: GBrown #8092 on December 07, 2022, 10:13:05 PMThe visors on a Brougham are transparent and polerized. You look through them rather than under them. Not sure if you'd be able to re-pro them and have them function as OE.
You might try the Eldorado Brougham group to see if anyone has an extra set they'd be willingto part with, to get the look and keep teh function.
Glenn
Hi Glenn, is the Brougham group you mention on Facebook, or is it still a chapter with it's own forum here at the CLC?
The lines are the laminations of the stacked plastic material.