S & S Limo style

Jonathan Murphy

PCS Member
Is it my imagination, or is this a non-standard rear window design? While I can't find a photo to back my theory, I thought that most Accubuilt limousine style coaches had square windows, not slanted ones.
16673a.jpg
 
Is it my imagination, or is this a non-standard rear window design? While I can't find a photo to back my theory, I thought that most Accubuilt limousine style coaches had square windows, not slanted ones.
16673a.jpg

Its not your imagination. I looked through my pictures and brochures of the years with that frontal styling and they have a slight angle, but nowhere near this much. Also, they are not as long as this, I would say roughly 5-6 inches shorter. The height appears roughly the same.
I cant copy my brochures at the moment, but here are a couple I have saved for comparison.

2004 S&S limo style 2.jpg

2004 S&S.jpg
 
If you look at the white and black Masterpieces John Royark pictured above, the rear of the black window frame on the No.2 side door appears more or less vertical while that of the white car slants forward. I recall noticing this change on these cars, I think somewhere in the 2000-05 model run, but Accubilt may have done it along w/ the updated '06-'11 (or '12?) DTS styling. Seems like the photos were posted in various places here, but I don't remember where! It was a subtle change that I didn't notice until I'd seen several photos of cars from this era.
 
If you look at the white and black Masterpieces John Royark pictured above, the rear of the black window frame on the No.2 side door appears more or less vertical while that of the white car slants forward. I recall noticing this change on these cars, I think somewhere in the 2000-05 model run, but Accubilt may have done it along w/ the updated '06-'11 (or '12?) DTS styling. Seems like the photos were posted in various places here, but I don't remember where! It was a subtle change that I didn't notice until I'd seen several photos of cars from this era.

Both pictures i posted are 2004 models, I forgot to mention that. If you look at the ones I posted with the one Jonathan Murphy posted you can see the drip rail trim is different on the factory limousine style, also the window is longer on the one he posted, going to the upkick in the trim at the bottom of the vinyl top. All the brochures I have it also shows all the limousine styled S&S having the drip rail run the whole length of the windows, and the vinyl does not meet the window edge. Even on newer models. That is why I think they were added later.
Does anyone know what year is the one Jonathan posted, or have any interior pics?
 
John R., methinks the white car Jonathan posted is a 2000-'02 and there was a running styling change in the limousine Masterpieces. The white car looks like a hole for the window was cut in a landau model (which is probably how it is still done) while the drip rail surrounding the limo window on your '04 Medalist and Masterpiece certainly makes it look more like the window was "planned." I haven't seen enough photos of these fwd Masterpieces together to remember exactly when the change was made but knowing your pics are '04 models narrows it down!
 
John R., methinks the white car Jonathan posted is a 2000-'02 and there was a running styling change in the limousine Masterpieces. The white car looks like a hole for the window was cut in a landau model (which is probably how it is still done) while the drip rail surrounding the limo window on your '04 Medalist and Masterpiece certainly makes it look more like the window was "planned." I haven't seen enough photos of these fwd Masterpieces together to remember exactly when the change was made but knowing your pics are '04 models narrows it down!

Did some more digging. Not sure why they would have done it this way, it dont make any sence, but here is a pic of a 1998 and it shows it the way as the pics of the 04's I posted. The second pic is a 2005, which looks like it may be like the one Jonathan posted (no top drip rail, vinyl meets window, and appears longer to the kickup trim), I wish I had a better pic of it, and the third picture, a 2008 is back to the old way. I cannot find any limostyle S&S pics between 05 and 08 to see how they are.
1998 S&S limo style 2.jpg

2005 S&S Masterpiece.jpg

2008 S&S Masterpiece.jpg
 
S&S only made the Masterpiece with forward slanted C pillar for three years: 2000-2002. In 2003, they reverted back to a rearward slanted C pillar, as was seen on 1993-1999 Masterpieces. This caused the coachlamp alcove to take on a trapezoidal shape. However, they did not carry this change over to the similar Victoria (same commercial glass, but lower roofline.)

A friend of mine ordered a 2003 Masterpiece but didn't care for the revisited rearward C pillar design, so he specified that his car be built as it would have been for 2002, and it was. So, there's at least one 2003 S&S Masterpiece out there that will be misidentified upon visual inspection as a 2000-2002.

Personally, I liked the forward slanted C pillar and was disappointed when they took that design away from the Masterpiece.
 
I love the limo style cars as long as they keep the height of all the windows the same. Don't like the rear side window being higher than the rest like some were. Oval windows are ok if they keep them low enough on the roof.
 
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