Thank you so much for your note and kind welcome into the Club.
My valve covers say "Imperial," so I have another reason to be psyched about this car today!. Thanks for that tip in identifying the 392 hemi. I mentioned that the car arrived on Monday, and the last two mornings before work I've stood outside it a few minutes and just looked at it, walking around, to muse about what has to happen next, etc. It's been very enjoyable. I'm in it for under $1000 at this point, and for all of the fun I've had it's been entirely worth it.
You talked about leather seats and/or vinyl in identifying the model. >From my reading, I see where only the Crowns came with leather as a seating option. Mine is not a Crown, which I knew, though I was surprised to see that the "Imperial" on the dashboard was capped with a little gold crown even though the exterial trim was not. My car has vinyl seats which are filthy, but the back seat is otherwise pristine and the front has bad wear only on the driver's side. I may be able to save most of the upholstry as a result. The rest of the interior is in ghastly condition, right down to needing new floor pans all around. (I pressed on the accelerator and it dropped into the floor!) The dash items, nonetheless, look intact and functional. My worst interior trouble, I can see, will be the doors. One of the pot-metal door handles is broken, and only the driver's door is opening at this point. I haven't figured out how to operate the locks yet.
I still don't know how to tell if it's a Southampton or a base model, particularly if you could get a Southampton with only front air. It has every other option except, sadly, no Auto Pilot. I would have enjoyed having that and may retro that in at some point in the future.
My first order of business is this Friday (I have Good Friday off), when I'll have the time to wash the 1/4 inch of grime off the body and pressure wash the motor and trunk. Several generations of squirrels resided on the intake manifold and in the trunk. From what I can see, however they did very little damage to the engine. There was obviously a pecan tree nearby, because the engine and trunk compartment are full of pecans. Then I'll pull the plugs, pour some Marvel Mystery fluid into each chamber and shake the block and let is sit a day or so. I'll also pull the valve covers and check for rust and lube up the rockers, etc., as well. I don't know how much MMF to pour into the chambers and I don't know if I'm supposed to try to suck it out before attempting a start, etc. I'll wing it unless you have any knowledge that you'd care to share about that.
Oil: After searching awhile I found the dipstick and it came out with clean-looking oil. Of course, I'm wondering if that means that the water is on the bottom of the pan, and 27 idle years has allowed the goo that may have been suspended in the oil to settle and leave the dipstick looking like the oil was changed last week. Regardless, I'll drain the crankcase and see what I find.
Water: The radiator is dry and looks like it may have been replaced because is looks new. I'll pull it and see what's at the bottom of the tank before I fill it.
Gas tank: I'm ignoring that issue for the moment. I'll probably have to pull it, of course, but I sure don't want to. I hate fooling with gas tanks, fuel lines, and the like.
Key: The key is at large, so I'll have to bypass the ingnition for the time being, but after taking care of the stuff I've described above, I'm going to try and introduce a little fuel into the carb to see if I can get the hemi to fire. I'm hoping, at only 45,780 original miles, that I've got a strong motor. Wish me luck!
Thanks again Hugh. I'll keep you posted of my progress.
Patrick Moore
'58 4-door Hardtop.
Southeast Louisiana
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