Wow! That's an awesome story! I know that feeling of excitement when a
"new" car arrives. It seems to happen quote often around here LOL
Congratulations! Keep us posted!
----- Original Message -----
From: "mENTAL mOPAR gUY" <collyman1@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 12:55 PM
Subject: IML: Oregon gets another Imperial
Clint............THANKS for the GREAT write-up from Prosser Washington !!
Here's the other end of the story from................Boring Oregon:
It was about 10.30 pm (last night) Thursday night......... clear
skies...... no rain........ the dogs started barking and a BIGG 'ol Ford
Dually comes up the driveway pulling one of those construction trailers, one
of those heavy duty trailers, where the "bed" sits about 3 feet or so, off
of the ground....... one of those trailers they usually put Backhoes or
those BIGG "Cat" Bulldozers on.
And there atop the trailer sat THE CAR.
The '58 two-door hardtop with that BIGG chrome angled bar across the roof.
Dark green paint, BIGG fins sticking up, looking alot like the "Batmobile"
at 10.30 at night.
Kevin, Clint's friend, and three other guys had made the trip to Portland
with two BIGG Ford Duallys each pulling flatbed longbed construction
trailers. They were here in town to do some house demolition work. The truck
that was hauling the Imperial pulled into the yard ........and we went to
work.
Amazingly, the car started right up and the brakes and emergency brake
were in FINE working condition, With the low profile tyres and low stance of
the car, there wasn't much clearance coming down off that trailer at almost
a 45 degree angle.
Kevin, Clint's friend was in the drivers seat of the car and inching the
car backwards down the incline as a couple of his buddies and I were sliding
2x6's and 4x4 chunks of wood under the frame and under the wheels to clear
the drop and the angle of the trailer bed....... Then......... when the car
was hanging at a 45 degree angle and Kevin was AMAZINGLY inching the car
forward and backward (I wish I would have had my camera out) we shifted all
the wood blocks from the front end of the car to under the rear wheels of
the car, to keep the rear bumper and the dual exhausts from scraping the
ground, I remember laughing and joking around with the guys....... and it
was almost like Keystone Cops........ but at the same time, all the guys
were right where they needed to be.......doing a TREMENDOUS job of keeping
the car from scraping anything .....and with Kevins "better than excellent"
driving skills, and the guys and I running
Nothing except the wheels touched the trailer or the ground. We were
finished in about 15 or 20 minutes.
My wife Melissa, who was working on College type homework when they
arrived, ran outside and was watching the whole thing with eyes as big as
saucers. She was just as amazed as I was. WHAT A performance for an almost
5000 lb car.
Our house is situated up a narrow driveway about 50' uphill from the main
road........... there is a large paved area about 80x80 feet for parking
cars and turning around. The paving is between the early 1900's style
Farmhouse and my Garage/Barn/Workshop. Clint's buddy pulled the truck and
trailer all the way into the yard up to the far edge of the paving, and when
the Imperial came down off the ramps...... the rear wheels of the car were
already onto the grass at the other end of the paving.......... that's how
long the truck, trailer, and CAR were !!!
We parked the car, cleaned up all the wood and chains, and Kevin and the
work crew were back on the road, on their way to the Motel and a well
deserved restful night before tackling their house demo work the next day.
Meanwhile...............I stayed outside for another hour or so, drinking a
beer, and admiring Mr. Exner's fine 1958 exercise in styling and
performance.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep much last night from all the excitement.
I can't wait to take it out for a spin Sunday.
Who cares if the plates are out-of-state and are tagged "1988" !!!
THE FUN IS JUST BEGINNING !!!!!
THANKS again Clint and Laurie and Kevin for all of your help !!!!
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