Arran: Good post here, and thanks. I was hoping that the 51 or 52 would bolt
right in. They have an identical physical appearance.
I was able easily to remove the crowns off of the hubcaps. Just drill out
the rivets from the back, replate the crowns, and epoxy them back. there is
still enough of a stub to locate the crown on the cap. As an expedient
measure, I simply cleaned them, and painted them gold. Of course, they
eventually showed rust again.
Have to disagree with you re the "Imperial" lettering on the fenders of the
53. For that model year, all of the early factory publicity photos and some
unknown number of the early production models were without this lettering.
Check out any good reference book. There is another 53 Imperial, owned by a
Chrysler collector, who has one without the script. I think this was the
only year that had this as an issue.
Currell
>Currell;
> Regrettably the grille on the 1953 Imperials was unique to that year as
>are
>the 54's which is the year of my car. This is not to say that a 51' or 52'
>Imperial grille won't bolt on but they are a different assembly from a
>1953.
>The chances are, even if you found one, it would still need to be
>rechromed.
>Many chrome shops can fix all but the worst pitting in trim parts with
>solder.
> My experience with most trim parts, from that era of Imperial, is that
>you
>either have to make them or fix up an old one. Unlike Cadilacs, where there
>were upwards of 100,000 cars built in some years, Imperial production never
>exceeded 35,000 units and usually sat around the 13,000 mark. For 1953 I
>don't believe that Imperial production exceeded the 10,000 mark. As a
>result
>there is very little in the way of N.O.S trim parts available for these
>cars
>compared to Cadillacs. top it off Chrysler had a policy of liquidating its
>old parts inventory more often then the other two of the big three so much
>of it was disposed of when these cars were considered little more then old
>beaters.
> With regards to the Imperial script badge on the sides of your car I do
>not
>believe that this was anything unusual.
>Most Imperials from this era had the Imperial script on the front fenders,
>behind the wheels, to denote it from a New Yorker or a Saratoga, which had
>their badge just above the wheel.
> As to the Crowns on the hubcaps I have not yet determined how to remove
>mine as they appear to be riveted on. I have been meaning to investigate
>the
>posibility of casting the plastic portion unless someone is already doing
>so. The best thing, I figure, to do with the metal crowns is to have them
>replated with the rest of the bright work as they would be more difficult
>to
>reproduce.
>Best Regards
>Arran Foster
>1954
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