Re: IML: Question of the Day

[nypianoman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I have my dream car, an all original 1964 crown, with 80,000 miles in 1.5 condition.   I am 39, and all my car friends have muscle cars, but I am proud that I have the only boat pulling up to car shows.

Which brings me to my next point, since when does Mopar mean muscle car, I went to a Mopar meet, and everyone was staring at me like, "which one of these cars does not belong", excuse me for not having a Hemi!!!

P.S.  I also have my dream wife!

----- Original Message -----
From: Kenyon Wills <imperialist1960@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, April 20, 2006 6:38 pm
Subject: Re: IML: Question of the Day

> 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.
> 
> 
> -----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
> This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
> reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
> shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
> Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm
> 
> 


-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm