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Hi All,
Been a while since I've been online for mailing
list stuff, so I just wanted to get on and say hello, Happy Holidays, and pass
along some potentially helpful information.
I picked up a '90 Imperial (okay, so it's just a
K-car with a superiority complex) to use as a driver a few weeks ago. It
had been hit in the passenger side, so I picked it up cheap. As luck would
have it, I scored a '91 parts car a few days later, and managed to get the '90
up, looking and running good. It may be just a dolled up k-car, but I
figure driving a FWD Imperial is better than driving no Imperial at all during
the Michigan winter. And 28mpg doesn't hurt my feelings, either.
Only problem is now it's getting to be such a nice car, I want to park *it* for
the winter too!
A couple weeks ago the heat quit on the way home
from a friend's house about an hour away. Winter came early here and it
was a very, very cold ride home. I dug the FSM manual out and ran the
diagnostic, and discovered the blend door actuator was faulty. Of course,
I had sent the parts car to it's final resting place only a week earlier...
to make a long story short, I finally pulled the faulty blend door
actuator out, and discovered the cover opened easily (the FSM says the unit is
not serviceable). There are a couple sets of contact points that run along
a wound wire resistor (looks alot like the one found on a fuel tank sending
unit). I cleaned these contact points and the resistor wire with a pencil
eraser, reassembled the unit (and dash) and it works!
Anyway, a niece's boyfriend (who happens to be a
bodyman) was laid off from his job for a few weeks in the fall, and we finally
have the '68 looking pretty good. So nice, in fact that I felt guilty
leaving her outside again this winter, so she's crammed into a small space in
the shop. I continue chasing roving problems on the '63 - it just seems
that everything is worn out. My 17 year old afternoon mechanic managed to
turn a simple front wheel cylinder replacement into a 4 week ordeal, (I think we
replaced everything but the brake pedal pad - ask him for the time and he'll
build you a wristwatch) and the brakes still aren't quite right - in addition
the car now seems to wander quite a bit, so she's parked until I have the
time for a good look underneath. The '81 continues to await time to
deal with the fuel system. Despite all of Dick and everybody's help, she's
still down. I was going to have the kid pull the gas tank, but he
graduates in June and I don't want the job left half done. :P
My 14 year old daughter (some of you met her at
Carlisle or the Nationals) has decided that the '68, '81 and '90 are just too
square-ish, and the '63 is too bulbous - there's just no pleasing some
people. She thinks her first vehicle should be a truck.
Sheesh.
Anyway, I just wanted to pass the ATC info along
for any other K-Imperial owners (they're actually pretty nice for a driver)
and wish you all a Merry Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanza), and a happy and
healthy New Year.
Thanks for all the help and good information (the
website has become a great resource for not only Imperials, but other Chrysler
brands as well) over the years.
Thanks,
Steve Charette Imperial Services 1963 Custom 1968 Crown
1981 Coupe
1990 Sedan
(and maybe a '75 that's for sale a couple miles from here that's
looking pretty lonely right now)
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