New member info + a few questions

["Kerry Pinkerton" <pinkertonk@xxxxxxxxx>]

A Holley?  Are you sure the car doesn't or at least did not have a thermoquad?  I had two 73's and thought they were basically the same car except for the 5mph bumper tips.  I would replace the carb with a Carter and be done with it.  While there are a few people who have been happy with their Thermoquad, there are many more who are not (I'm one of them).  There are some TQ tuning tips in my 73 saga on the 73 page.

 

I'd get the largest guage battery cable you can find.  It will look fine as long as you stay with the original colors.  There are VERY few people who know anything about these cars anyway and you could probably put a buick 350 in it and most car show judges would just say "well look at that!, I did'nt know that Chrysler used GM engines."

 

The servo is probably shot.  You can get a new aluminum unit for 400 bucks.  The plastic bodied ones are not avaialble and almost none survived the 30 years without cracking and leaking so finding a junkyard one is a slim possibility.  If you do an archive search on autotemp you will see a lot of info.  I deinstalled mine and went with the standard manual controls.  Dave Dircy has a great site on repairing and renewal of these units but his email has changed and I don't have the new one.  He's a member so perhaps he will respond.

 

Good luck.  Its a great car.

 

KerryP
Patch panels fabricated
Pinkertonk@xxxxxxxxx
dte.net/57imperial
Imperials -- 50 Limo, 57 roadster, 61's, 62, 68 Convert, 73, a 66 300 and a bunch of lesser marques

----- Original Message -----

From: Tom Thomas

To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2003 8:30 PM

Subject: IML: New member info + a few questions

Hello!

 

I joined the IML a couple of weeks ago. At that time I mentioned that I was thinking about keeping the 72 Imperial that was part of my late fathers collection. Since that time I have spent a bit of time reading on the IML web site, as well as reading the daily messages. I have decided that I WILL keep the Imperial, and thought that I would provide a little more information about myself and my Imperial.

 

I am located in Columbus, Ohio. My dad bought the Imperial when it was only about a year old. He drove it sparingly, even in the earlier years. It has been driven very little in the last 10 to 15 years. It currently has 64K miles. It has always been stored inside, mostly in a heated building. It has mostly original Chestnut Metallic paint, which still looks excellent. The original vinyl top looks like new. The leather interior also is in excellent condition. I recently installed new spark plugs, wires, distributor cap and rotor, which eliminated a miss that the car had. It is difficult to start, usually requiring the use of starting fluid, which I know is not good. I plan to rebuild the Holley carb soon- see questions below! Once started, it runs pretty well.

 

My grandfather also owned a 72 Imperial, which he had equipped to pull an Airstream trailer. In his later driving years, his Imperial was getting to be in fairly poor condition. My dad traded cars with him for a few years, so that my grandfather would have a nicer car to drive- he refused to give up the big car! After my grandfather died, my dad got HIS Imperial back. The fact that both my father and grandfather owned and drove this car was a major factor in my decision to keep it. Plus, it just looks so beautiful!! It has a few mechanical problems, but I am sure that I will be able to correct those conditions, with the help of fellow listers! I have been very impressed with the amount of information that is available within this group. Hopefully, some day I will be able to give something back!

 

I am fortunate in having the factory service manuals that my grandfather had with his car. These are complete with his notes in the margins, and underlined critical passages. I can certainly tell what he had trouble with on his car!

 

And now for a few questions.

 

1. As mentioned, I plan to rebuild the Holley carb soon. I would appreciate any recommendations on a good place to purchase the kit from. I see that some of the speed shops list several different kits for the 4160. I don't really know which one I need, and want to get a complete and correct kit. I have rebuilt many carburetaors, although I don't have much experience with 4 barrel Holleys. Any tips or suggestions will be welcome.

 

2. Both battery cables are in pretty nasty shape. I am sure that I could get something functional at NAPA or similar, but I would like to try to keep the car as original looking as possible, within reason. Any recommendations on where to purchase these?

 

3. The Auto Temp II is not fully functional. I recall working on the servo units of both this car and my grandfathers car many years ago. Although I haven't done any troubleshooting on this system yet, I imagine I will need to do something with the servo. I read on the web site that a gentleman sells new aluminum housing servos designed for Mercedes that will work on the Imperial. I wondered if anyone else is using this servo, and how it is working out? How different in appearance is it from the OEM servo? Any pictures online?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

 

Tom