1966 Imperial Crown convertible

[patrick66]

Well, not much has happened on the car over the past three weeks. I did install the new gas door medallion, the RT rear lens, glued the few pieces of woodgrain that were coming off the dash back in place, and buffed the front chrome. Next in line is more work on the brakes, install the rehabbed heater core, and send the window switch bank off to see if it is rebuildable or not.

Sad thing is since I bought the car back in May of this year, I've driven the Imperial a total of 22 miles. That will most assuredly change come Springtime!

 

[Zymurgy]

You'll drive the wheels off next year. I had to go back and look at the pictures, such a beautiful car. No convertible weather for you anytime soon.

Didn't I see record highs just a couple of days ago and now it is highs in the 30's? We had 65 here yesterday, one day in low 40's and then highs in the 30's for the foreseeable future.

 

[patrick66]

I did a bit of troubleshooting on the taillight wiring this weekend. Found another area that had been chewed on by a critter, so I plan on attacking that this afternoon. I'm sending off the original window switch bank this week to see if it can be fixed, along with that other trashed one, in case parts are needed from it. I've got the proper Mopar Turquoise engine paint ordered, too, so I can get on the engine bay detailing.

The spare heater core checked out good, so now I can work on swapping out the old one and getting some heat in the ol' girl. The nice thing about the exposed heater box under the hood is that the heater core is wonderfully easy to access. After the New Year, I intend to remove the wheels and tires in order to have the wheels powder-coated black. Right now, they're painted body color, which I believe is incorrect on a '66.

 

[patrick66]

I ended up getting a refurbished driver side window switch bank from Hydro-Electric, on ebay. It should be here shortly. Neither of mine were any good, so I decided to go this route. I also bought a very nice AM seek/search radio today, supposedly worked when removed from a '66 in 1980. For the money, if it doesn't work, I can send it off for an AM/FM conversion with MP3 capability and make it worth the money, time and effort.

 

[Fratzog]

Patrick I'm late to the party on this thread. Don't know how I completely missed it. Amazing score. Congrats.

 

[patrick66]

Thanks! I can't wait for Spring to show up. I've got the things done I need to so far, and I have the parts ordered for the few things that the car still needs to be presentable, in my eyes, for a drive.

 

[patrick66]

Well, my new window switch bank arrived yesterday, and I installed it today. Wasn't the problem. So, very soon, I'll be diving into the window motors themselves and working them. Crap. At least, when I get done here, I'll have six freshly rehabbed motors that I'm doing, a fresh switch bank, and six working windows. This weekend, it's supposed to be in the '70s, so that will make the time out in the shop enjoyable and comfy. The doors are going to be relatively easy to access everything, but getting to the rear quarter windows is going to be a bit of work.

 

[patrick66]

Well, good news and not-so-good news. I got the car out of my shop for the first time in a year! I had the front brakes apart and was doing some electrical troubleshooting during that time. What was going to be two brake cylinders and turning the drums, ended up replacing everything in the front brakes - new parts kit, shoes, cylinders, front brake soft lines, outer bearings, drums turned, plus three new attachment bolts for the PS backing plate. While it was all apart, I've been checking to see why the brake lights come on when the headlights are turned on, and one running light comes on when the brake light switch is hooked up. Found three more frayed wires in close proximity to each other, and fixed that issue this afternoon...hopefully!

Also found that the DS front brake is not applying at all. I get fluid to the brake cylinder just fine, but it's not moving the brake shoes when they are applied. I figure there has to be crap coming from somewhere to keep the brake piston from moving. I was looking forward to taking the Imperial for a little ride this afternoon to celebrate getting her back on all four tires again. I did not get to the window motors quite yet, as I really suck at multi-tasking when it comes to vehicle work. But I did drive it up and down the driveway a couple of times to be able to actually drive it again!

Here in a bit, I'm going to give it a nice bath. Hasn't been washed off since the day after I bought the car last May, so it's got a little dust and dirt on it from just sitting. No, I don't own a car cover, but I'm gonna probably get one this Summer sometime for both it and the Coronet. You do know they were born just five days apart, right? The Coronet's scheduled build date was September 1st, 1965; and the Imperial is five days later on September 6th, 1965. Different plants, obviously, but cool, either way. I plan on taking both cars to the September Cars-n-Coffee with "I turned 50 years old today!" signs in their windshields; as it's on the first Saturday of each month. Oughta be fun!

 

[patrick66]

I was out farting around with the ragtop this afternoon. The brake lights still come on with the headlights, and the taillights come on with the brake pedal depressed. Any ideas???

I was going to take off the DS door panel to repair the window motor, and thought "hey, I'm gonna see what windows work today?"...all worked except the DS front today! Usually, one or two of the six have worked at any given time. I think for now, I'm going to remove and fix the DS front, and simply lube the other window mechanisms and see what happens.

 

[Duncan]

Dang, I just saw this thread. Those are a couple of beautiful Imperials but that 66 has what is about my favorite color combo on a car! Fantastic!

 

[polara66hardtop]

That is a beautiful car! And Yellow is very striking,,

 

[patrick66]

Thanks! I'm taking it out for its first real road trip this weekend - 60 miles round-trip. It's also going to go to Cars-n-Coffee in September. That day will be the 50th birthday of the car! It's running very well. If I can get the DS door window to operate correctly this week, it'll be a top-down day. Still need to have the A/C checked out. It blows cool, not cold; and retains the R-12! If it checks out and just needs charged, I have a guy that has a LOT of R-12 that will do the job for a reasonable cost.

 

[patrick66]

Took the car out for a brief, two-mile spin Saturday, for the first time in a year! All went well, except I still have a brake problem. I think I bought a bad wheel cylinder. I do have brake lights now, though! Put the top down and three of the four windows, and went for a little drive. The Imperial starts right up and drives great. No smoke or untoward noises. This was the first time I had the top fully down, too! The car looks soooo good.

Today, I needed to work on other cars - my pickup and my wife's PT ragtop - and got that done.

 

[patrick66]

Went to Cars-n-Coffee today and had the top down...had a ball!

 

[1978 NYB]

The paint looks remarkably great in the sun!

 

[Duncan]

I think - No -

I KNOW I'm jealous! Love that car, love that color!

 

[patrick66]

Finally got my brake issues sorted out. I took the car today to a mechanic friend who is pretty damn good. Now, the car is truly drivable, and stops exactly like it should. I still have to use the headlight switch to activate the brake lights, since braking activates the taillights! Minor thing, but still annoying.

I've got a "birthday card" of sorts being made for the Imperial and the Coronet, since they were built the same week in 1965. I'll post a pic of that tomorrow when I pick it up. I'm taking the Imperial to Cars-n-Coffee on September 5th, assuming I get the tailllight/brake light thing sorted beforehand (if not, the Coronet), and will have the "card" displayed in the windshield. Should be fun!