Re: IML: Question of the Day

[Kenyon Wills <imperialist1960@xxxxxxxxx>]

What cars would I want?

I'm currently working on an Imperial collection.
-One from each body style, 53-75.

Also (not me in that photo):
http://brokenwings.net/holly/motorcycle_superhawk.html
And:
http://www.superformance.com/
And:
http://www.hodgescustomhaulers.com/haulers.html



Why Imperials?  

Just worked out that way after an initial purchase of
a '60 and subsequent heightenened awareness of 'em,
and as long as you don't have a sweet tooth for
convertibles or completely restored fin-cars, they're
delightfully inexpensive to get.  The LeBarons are a
hell of a car, and nobody pays them much attention
(compared to the verts and finned cars and '57
chevvy's).  How can you argue with a loaded, top of
the line car with tremendous and unique styling
features, Chrysler engineering excellence, and near
crash invulnerability for $1500 a shot?

I got side-tracked on a Model T but sold it after
almost breaking an arm (twice) starting it.  Decided
that I didn't need to go through two mechanical
learning curves at once and wanted to finish my
Imperial restorations without the fuss of a Pre WWI
FORD product.



How:

I bought a 1960 some years ago.  The story is here:
http://imperialclub.com/Yr/1960/Kenyon/Page01.htm

It had a cracked windscreen.  I went to look at a '63
with the intention of swapping the screens out.  '63
was too nice to part out, so I sold the '60 and had
regrets within 30 seconds of accepting cash.  Drove
the 63, but it just wasn't the same despite being a
really decent automobile.

Sold the 63 later and went on a quest to get another
60.  A 73 fell into my lap for a little more than the
cost to drive to get it.  Nice car.

Fell into a '70 from Doc that was too good to pass up.

Then another club-member had their car toss its
cookies and need an engine.  I bartered doing labor to
install another engine for a 50% stake in the car, as
that wasn't in their skill set.  I drove it once -
it's REALLY nice - have to get around to borrowing
back "my" 50% of the car sometime, but with so many
carb throats to feed, who has the time?  The other
person garages it, feeds it, and pays the insurance
nut on it, so I'm not complaining.  It really is a
nice car.  Just living somewhere else, and I visit
when the thing hiccups and have agreed to tow it home
if it breaks down someplace (which it thankfully
hasn't).

Next a '62 presented itself locally for $900.  It
"only" needed an engine rebuild that I didn't know
about till I got home and cranked it so that I could
hear the con rod knocking about.  Seemed like a good
idea until I heard that noise. I'm still trying to get
back to it so that I can fire the engine and drive it
for the first time almost a year later.  You'd think
that a guy would be dying to fire his recently built
engine and go drive the car.  No - I like to age mine
like wine so that I can pay attention to other things,
like:

The restored '66 convertible that I got for "free" if
you don't count nearly a year of sweat equity and
selling things to pay for it on ebay.  Thank you to
eBay store and my many victims!

I'm in the middle of scoring that car and the '55 with
the crunched roof came along and the owner
subsequently bailed out on splitting the redo costs
and now I own that thing, which is otherwise pretty
much all done and begging to be completed.  -Why do
other stuff when you can do free-form Bondo sculpture?
 I am now focused on finishing that thing, and not
letting pesky things like the 4-week wait on a
water-pump rebuild or missing parts get in my way.  

So now I have a parts car for the '60, the '60, and
all of the other ones and I'm up to 10.  A car that I
knew and had a standing offer on came up on Craigslist
recently and I wound up getting a very polite pass
from the first person in line, a fellow member that
was geographically challenged, and that car came into
the garage.  That's the one that my girlfriend, Liz,
mistakenly wrote in here about in order to announce
her plans to turn it into the "spicy spider"
low-rider-flame-tintedwindow-abomination-thing.  

That series of plans has not come to pass, and that
car will probably leave my stable (thankfully)
unmolested for another person to finish, as it has its
needs and frankly, I just can't see getting to it, and
since it's a '70 and I already have one of my
own....(want to trade your 53, 54, 68, or 57-59 for
it?  Helluva car!)

Lastly, I got that '68 for free the other day.  The
guys were going to torch it in half and put both
halves into the debris bin to get it off the property.
 I'll burn in hell for it, but since nobody here
stepped up, the car is now in the clutches of Dr.
Evil, who is probably spray painting the tires two
contrasting colors as I write this.  Car gave me a
bloody nose, crushed one of the lights on my trailer,
and snapped my winch cable, so "good riddance" is all
I can say on that one.

So that's what I'm doing. 



Nobody else here got anything to say? 

There ARE 700 of us here.  How about we hear from one
of the lurkers?  One of the folks that NEVER posts a
thing?  I can hear you breathing.  I KNOW you're out
there.  Speak up, Chuck.


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