You have very sad story. I'd wanted a 1965 Imperial as far back as
I can remember. For some reason, I just loved the taillights and thought
the way the hump is in the back with "Imperial" written semi-circular was so
attractive. However, things happen in life and I didn't think about it
until December 2006. I found the club and joined, then purchased little
things, like a 1965 owner's manual and the 1965 FSM on EBay, but didn't have
the car. In March 2007, I found the perfect car for me. A 1965
Crown 4-door, white, with the blue, biscuit cloth/leather interior.
Although pretty standard stuff for a 1965, it was loaded with every available
option and gadget for 1965. That was the selling point for me.
Although I did drive back to Chicago from New Mexico, getting lost and ending
up halfway to Nashville before figuring it out, I knew it needed a carburetor
rebuild and a new master cylinder for the brakes. Thanks to my
roommate, who accidentally knocked out the electrical, I'm not quite
sure where to start except at the solenoid.
Being from New Mexico, like yours, a paint job and some interior work is
in order; however, after waiting about 25 years to get this car, and
especially at the price I paid for it (cheap), it would take a catastrophe for
me to part with it. It has been sitting, waiting patiently for me to get
started on it (I had a family issue this summer that precluded me from working
on the car); however, I will say that everything the brochures promised was
true. I had a 1977 New Yorker that, although I loved it dearly, was not
as comfortable as this car for long cruises.
I guess my advice is that if the car isn't really costing you any money,
why sell it? If you need storage and it's not available, get a car cover
for it when not in use. Otherwise, I'd spend the money to get the
cosmetics up to snuff and, if you're intent on selling, get the highest price
possible. They're lovely cars and should be sold to someone who will
appreciate them in the long term. There weren't that many built when new
which means there're a lot fewer out there today. BEWARE of demolition
derby people. The guy I bought my car from said they LOVE
Imperials. They can win a derby in the early evening, then take the car
to another derby the same night. He told me, I'm not sure if it's true or not,
that many derbies in New Mexico won't allow an Imperial to enter because of
this.
Just my nickel's worth.
Timothy Callaway
1965 Crown 4-door
Hi Folks,
I've had my 1965 Crown now for a little over 13 years.
In that time
I've had a lot of fun with it, spent a lot of money on
it, been in
love with it and wanted to push it over a cliff. I was
one of the
earliest members of this club back in the Tony Lindsey
days and I've
learned a lot here and gotten a lot of
support.
But now I have to decide what to do with my Imperial. I still
love
driving it and it's costing me very little to keep, but I don't
have
the motivation to do anything with it. The cosmetic work I had
done
to it (mainly the paint) now needs to be redone thanks to the
harsh
Arizona sun and some unfortunate scrapes and bruises. I have
some
money from insurance stashed but while it'll cover the damage
it
won't cover an all new paint job, much less an extension to
my
carport to give it some shade.
I go around and around with
this - some days I want just to not have
it any more and of course
when I drive it I tend the other way, to
get it refinished and
proceed like I did before. One factor is that I
was never a very
good mechanic but I was willing to do things like
replace the window
and antenna motors and change all the dash lights.
Nowadays I just
don't feel like doing that any more.
So I've been sitting on it the
last couple of years, buying some
parts here and there, driving it
once or twice a week, and thinking
of how cool it would be if I got
back into it. But that doesn't seem
to be happening.
Since
I've owned it I've had practically everything mechanical
replaced
and/or rebuilt except for the differential. I've had it
painted and
reupholstered. I've collected a bunch of spare parts
including a set
of flat-top .030 pistons and a pair of torsion bars
which is a long
story all by itself.
Right now it runs and drives really well but it
sure ain't pretty any
more. I could never seem to keep it pretty and
running all at once -
after I got it painted I had to get the engine
rebuilt, etc. etc.
etc. I had some bad luck choosing shops and
people who made some of
this much harder than it should have been.
I've had good luck too
with some good people, but I'm just not in
the mood to turn it over
to a body shop and go through that
again.
The car is special to me for the fun I've had with it and
especially
a couple of road trips between Illinois and Arizona with
my Dad which
I'll never forget, and driving my best friends from
their wedding
with a bunch of Schlitz cans tied to the back (another
long story).
It's hard to think about letting it go - it's a big
part of me. But
nothing is happening with it and my interests
are elsewhere so I'm
not sure that keeping it with the idea of
re-restoring it is such a
good idea.
I guess you can all see
where I'm leaning by now: it's probably time
to sell. I wouldn't
feel bad if I sold it to someone who'd pick up
where I left off,
someone who could see beyond its cosmetic state to
all the good
stuff underneath.
Anyways, let me know your thoughts and if anybody
might be interested
let me know.
John Meyer
1965
Crown
Tucson
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