Chrysler Imperial Project Seduces With Potential Madness

"Ran When Parked!" Well… no.

There are some projects that you want so badly to start on, but common sense keeps getting in the way, despite all attempts by the car-guy aspects of your psyche to do an end-run around said common sense and appeal directly to the emotional parts of your brain. This is one such car.

"Sure, it's big enough, but look at the location!"

In short, I want it. I want it so badly I can almost taste it. I have visions of how amazing it would be for a boulevard cruiser. I have debated with myself over whether it would be worth it to spend three times the amount on gas that I spend now to take a road-trip. (The answer was a resounding yes.) I have envisioned how it would look with a high-gloss paint, a mild suspension drop and an upsized set of retro-style wheels, and found it to be fantastic. I have envisioned what it would look like brought back to bone stock, and while not quite so fantastic, found it to be more than appealing enough. I have contemplated the logistics of trying to haul it, extract it from its prison, and find a place to work on it, and found it all to be an effort I was willing to undertake.
The dilemma, however, was sheerly in the scale of the project. There is something intimidating about taking on a project that is this BIG. You know the costs for paint and body work will be astronomical.
Room for you, and 19 of your closest friends. The appropriate currency for the jukebox will, of course, be required, as will a sense of expediency.

The engine is enormous, and housed in an engine bay that could take at least three modern engines, possibly four. The upholstery would require so much vinyl and velour that the pelts alone would put both animals on the endangered species list. The fuel required would doubtless be able to power almost… one… modern Hummer sport ute. Or perhaps not.
It certainly is do-able. The scale of the project is so vast as to be almost inconceivable, but it’s not impossible. After all, there are people out there who have restored WWII bombers all by themselves, and they’re only slightly smaller than an Imperial.
Perhaps the worst part was the phrase from its current owner when trying to convince me to take the project on. “Oh, come on, I’ll give you a hand! How hard can it be?”
Absolutely true. How hard CAN it be? After all, everything becomes easier with the generous application of copious amounts of money.

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  1. Paul_y Avatar

    That's not a project car, that's an apartment.

  2. raffo Avatar
    raffo

    I think that this one might be a better starting point: http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/dealer/chrysl
    unless of course you are are masochistic.

    1. rocketrodeo Avatar

      Man, that's a screaming deal for a tidy Imperial. Having done (been done by, really) a couple of ultimately futile restorations, this tempts me WAY more than the woods project.

      1. M44Power Avatar

        Amen! That thing had me looking for something to sell. Awesome price. I do like how they have no pictures of the driver's view of the IP. Probably because there is no driver involvement needed.

    2. soo΄pәr-bādd75 Avatar

      Wow, that is one sweet ride, and the price is RIGHT! Love it.

  3. Tim Odell Avatar
    Tim Odell

    Put a Hooniverse bumper sticker on it and we'll fund the whole thing*
    .
    .
    .
    *"The whole thing" meaning the bumper sticker, of course.
    Everyone needs a good hopeless project.

  4. Buickboy92 Avatar

    DO IT! It will be worth it in the long run! plus you are saving an automotive and Chrysler icon!

  5. ZomBee Racer Avatar

    Clean it up, get it running, throw on a set of glass-packs and start driving. There's no reason to take it all apart just yet. These make great cruisers even when rough around the edges. I've got a late 60s large Chrysler C-body that is always a hoot to drive. How can yo say no to these magnificent beasts?
    Maybe I'll work on "Sharky" this weekend. Needs a tranny seal and a new tire. And an exorcism.

  6. BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ Avatar
    BЯдΖǐL-ЯЄРΘЯΤЄЯ

    Imagine the amount of dead hookers, or in your case future ex-wifes, can fit in that trunk.

  7. engineerd Avatar

    I'm just thinking that the price of paint and vynil/velour won't be too awful bad. I mean, after so many gallons and yards of material you should start getting a bulk discount.

  8. P161911 Avatar

    As the former owner of a 67 Imperial Convertible in only slightly better shape than this one (mine ran and could be driven on the street, but didn't look much better), I say GO FOR IT! Of course the engine and transmission are about the only common Mopar parts on this car. You would probably have about as easy a time restoring a Monetverdi.
    I'm pretty sure that this has the torsion bar front suspension, so your lowering idea is just a few turns of the wrench away for the front and a couple of bags of sand in the trunk away for the rear.
    Imperials DO NOT use vinyl! The use LEATHER. For most years the Imperials were the most expensive American made cars. This car probably also has real wood on the inside.
    I always wanted to swipe one of those "Maximum Occupancy" signs from a restaurant for my Imperial. I figured 99 people was about right.
    Marriage and sanity got in the way of my restoration plans. I ended up selling the car for parts. When the buyer was loading it on the trailer there were some serious worries about the car breaking in two from the rust (67 and up Imperials were unibody). BUT even after sitting outside for 3 years without so much as being turned over the 440 fired right up with a jump and it drove onto the trailer!

  9. dukeisduke Avatar
    dukeisduke

    The front end appears to be straight, which is a good thing, since, like on a Lincoln Continental, the fenders and front end are a single unit, and a nightmare to repair. That looks like a '64; I like the later ones (like the '66) that have the glass covers over the headlights. An aunt an uncle of mine had one of those, followed by a '68 Crown coupe with a 440. Nice cars.

  10. Jo_Schmo Avatar

    I say swap in a nuclear reactor from a decomissioned Soviet sub.

    1. engineerd Avatar

      What a fantastic idea! Just don't rip off the fuel from a group of Libyan nationalists.

      1. Impalamino Avatar
        Impalamino

        "they wanted me to build them a bomb, so I took their plutonium and, in turn, gave them a shoddy bomb casing full of used pinball machine parts!"
        RUN FOR IT MARTY!!