patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
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The Imperial is a fun car
- Thread starter patrick66
- Start date
My new hero
CanCritter
Senior Member
that old hound dogs still huntin lmao...lucky bugger
imon_2nd
Active Member
Nice ride, and even nicer passengers!
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Not much going on with the Imperial this week. About all I did was put the top up before the temperature got cold; that makes it hard to put the top up and re-zip the rear plastic window without damaging either the top or the window.
I am going through my Winter parts wish list and prioritize things by both cost and overall added-value. The car still needs a few things to be right, for me. By that, I mean fully functional and aesthetically pleasing, too.
1) New top-to-windshield rubber molding (being reproduced now!)
2) New trunk cardboard liner (also repopped now!) and carpet.
3) New dashpad (it, too! Hell, yeah!)
4) Repair/refit the heater core (currently bypassed)
5) Repair/charge the air conditioner (blows cool, at best!)
6) Repair the temperature gauge (might be the sending unit)
7) Repair the driver side power window motor
8) Swap out the radio for another supposedly functional stock unit.
9) Restore the wheel covers.
10) Restore the original walnut trim. I have a cousin that does amazing woodwork, and I may simply have him use the originals as templates and make new walnut pieces for me.
11) Powder-coat the spare tire cover and the jack base.
12) Restore the steering wheel.
Of all of these, the walnut and the steering wheel are the most expensive. The wood is gonna run around $1,500, as is the steering wheel restoration. I have what I need for five through nine. One through three are going to total a bit over $1,200 all together. And #11 is going to be right at a hundred bucks. So, after an outlay of about six grand, the car is going to be right where it needs to be. I'm hoping that all that will happen. Four through nine, and maybe eleven, will definitely happen over the next 90 days. I'm ordering #1 this week, so I'll have a good seal for driving it to a couple of local events this Winter, with weather permitting. Ten and twelve are going to be last, I'm pretty sure.
I am going through my Winter parts wish list and prioritize things by both cost and overall added-value. The car still needs a few things to be right, for me. By that, I mean fully functional and aesthetically pleasing, too.
1) New top-to-windshield rubber molding (being reproduced now!)
2) New trunk cardboard liner (also repopped now!) and carpet.
3) New dashpad (it, too! Hell, yeah!)
4) Repair/refit the heater core (currently bypassed)
5) Repair/charge the air conditioner (blows cool, at best!)
6) Repair the temperature gauge (might be the sending unit)
7) Repair the driver side power window motor
8) Swap out the radio for another supposedly functional stock unit.
9) Restore the wheel covers.
10) Restore the original walnut trim. I have a cousin that does amazing woodwork, and I may simply have him use the originals as templates and make new walnut pieces for me.
11) Powder-coat the spare tire cover and the jack base.
12) Restore the steering wheel.
Of all of these, the walnut and the steering wheel are the most expensive. The wood is gonna run around $1,500, as is the steering wheel restoration. I have what I need for five through nine. One through three are going to total a bit over $1,200 all together. And #11 is going to be right at a hundred bucks. So, after an outlay of about six grand, the car is going to be right where it needs to be. I'm hoping that all that will happen. Four through nine, and maybe eleven, will definitely happen over the next 90 days. I'm ordering #1 this week, so I'll have a good seal for driving it to a couple of local events this Winter, with weather permitting. Ten and twelve are going to be last, I'm pretty sure.
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patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Pulled one wheel cover off this week for start my little restoration of those. They come apart pretty easily. There are a dozen or so screws and three brackets to lose! My '66 center was originally painted body-color, but is chrome under the paint. I originally painted the center matte black and reassembled the cover, but don't care for that look. Now it's on to stripping the center paint off completely and go to the chrome. One of my covers is already like this and looks great! So, I'm going to go with that on all four. Should make the wheels pop nicely!
I have a list like yours but that will change as the winter passes quicker than money coming in
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Notice the most expensive stuff is last. Might wait for tax season to see where that goes. The small stuff will be easy to do.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
It's been nearly five weeks since I had the Imperial out for a spin. Today's weather was spectacular, with temps in the low 60s by noon. I drove the car to a friend's year-end car blast called "Atomic Coffee". He has a parts store North of OKC, and there was a pretty good turnout of hot rods, muscle cars and restored cars. The Imperial looked pretty damn good, all said. I put right at 70 miles on the car, for a 2016 total of 2,440 miles, And those miles didn't start until May.
I have my header weatherstrip seal ordered, the wheel cover paint ready for cover number two, and I'll pull the heater core out after Cars and Coffee this coming Saturday. Also, I'm pulling the trigger on getting the steering wheel restored. So, that will also come off after the CnC event. The car will be down for about eight weeks because of that.
I have my header weatherstrip seal ordered, the wheel cover paint ready for cover number two, and I'll pull the heater core out after Cars and Coffee this coming Saturday. Also, I'm pulling the trigger on getting the steering wheel restored. So, that will also come off after the CnC event. The car will be down for about eight weeks because of that.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
I'm excited! I have the dashpad ordered, as well as the new windshield header rubber and door rubbers. The steering wheel goes off to the restorer next week. I'll have my upholstery guy do the trunk carpet for it then, too. Weather is supposed to be good after Sunday, so that'll be a good time to pull the heater core out to get fixed. In the Spring, I'll fix the air conditioner. I'm going to start a new thread over in the Restoration column to show what I'm doing on the Imperial.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Patrick, So glad you didn't trade for that tacky hot rod.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
I've done just one, so far. I'll post a pic Monday.
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patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
I was about halfway through pulling the dash pad out when I got word that a locall Mopar friend had a stroke and died. His family wants our local Mopars club to come to his services with our old Mopars, so I'm going to put the old back together so I can take the Imperial to the funeral for his family. I think Larry was just 58. I'll mention him in a new thread later on, so I'd like to keep this thread about the car, thanks.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Such a beautiful day! Perfect for getting outside and cleaning the shop. Pulled the vehicles out,
started sweeping, and trashing a Winter-long accumulation of trash and assorted crap. The Imperial started right up, of course! Here is a pic of my four all together outside. What's nice is that I can jump in any of them and go to, say, Dallas without worries. By the end of the day, the shop will be clean and organized. All I'll have do is clean the Imperial up a little and take my wife out for a nice Mother's Day drive and dinner.
started sweeping, and trashing a Winter-long accumulation of trash and assorted crap. The Imperial started right up, of course! Here is a pic of my four all together outside. What's nice is that I can jump in any of them and go to, say, Dallas without worries. By the end of the day, the shop will be clean and organized. All I'll have do is clean the Imperial up a little and take my wife out for a nice Mother's Day drive and dinner.
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
Tonight's Mopar meeting at the nearby lake marina. Perfect ragtop weather!
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
A 30-second drive...
patrick66
Old Man with a Hat
My baby turns 55 on Sept 9!!! The Imperial's SPD is 909. For 55 orbits around the Sun, she's holding up pretty well, I'd say! I've put about 480 miles on it since getting the brakes sorted out and the taillight issues. So far, I have two must-do events to drive her in, and the usual cars & coffee events, and just getting in and driving it!
My Coronet was built just nine days earlier, with an SPD of September 1, 1965. That car has a fun history! Built for a factory display. Movie car. Magazine cover car. Well-travelled, as it's been in 33 staes, plus one Mexican state and three Canadian provinces.
My Coronet was built just nine days earlier, with an SPD of September 1, 1965. That car has a fun history! Built for a factory display. Movie car. Magazine cover car. Well-travelled, as it's been in 33 staes, plus one Mexican state and three Canadian provinces.
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