1966 Imperial Crown convertible

[detmatt]

Congrats, she's a real beauty! Lets see some more pics.

 

[BIGBARNEYCARS]

Thumbz up Patrick, Me like. Whatz up with the side glass? Just won't go up or down or what? Biggest PITA iz gettin' the door panelz and inner quarter panelz off. AFTER YOU GET THE MOTOR AND REGULATOR OUT "AS ONE UNIT!", DO NOT REMOVE THE MOTOR FROM THE REGULATOR WITHOUT USING YOUR VICEGRIPZ TO CLAMP ONTO THE REGULATOR ARM AND THE HALF MOON GEAR THO' UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BITECHA. WANNA GET 'UM ALL FIXED AT THE SAME TIME I'D BORROW 'ER BUY 3 MORE VICEGRIPZ. And any decent 'lectric motor shop should be able to make 'um work again.....REMEMBER, MOTOR AND REGULATOR OUT AND ON THE BENCH AS ONE UNIT, Jer

 

[patrick66]

I got a FSM off of ebay this week. Once it arrives, it'll get used, believe me!

 

[patrick66]

Took the car to a little gathering of local Mopar guys today. The Club officers were sponsoring a little burger burn at the local park, so I fired up the Imperial this morning, dragged the lovely wife out and headed to the park, which was eight miles away...did I mention that I still have done nothing to the brakes but add brake fluid? Ahhh, but the ride there involved nearly no downhill approaches to stop signs, so that's OK, right? Oh, yeah, my brake lights are not working right, either...I had to turn on my headlights at a stop sign or light, so that the brake lamps would illuminate. At least the RR blinker works.

With the air working in a warm mode, the windows inop (still), and the top up, it was a warm ride there and back. But hey, our grandfathers and fathers didn't have air, right? None of us died on a cross-country trip, did we? It was fun, bringing the car out for a little time in the sunshine.

Got home and found the right front brake cylinder seal ruptured on the way home, two blocks from the driveway. So, on the agenda this week is first - fix the brakes! Second, trace down the electrical gremlins (I replaced all six bulbs a day ago!)...and third, charge the air conditioning.

 

[bluefury361]

I love an adventure in a new "old" car. Makes ya feel like your living.

 

[1978 NYB]

I love an adventure in a new "old" car. Makes ya feel like your living.

X2.....I'm not afraid to travel long distances in a C-Body.

Like Will said....it makes you feel like you are living!

 

[cm23uoc]

I was forced to use my mother's relatively new dealer inspected Bimmer for a longer trip had to add some water and oil; I feel better with my old stuff that's inspected by my own and they never let me down.

 

[patrick66]

I just had to drive the car further than what I did for the dealer test-drive! For the ten miles or so this last time out, the car drives and accelerates beautifully, and cruises well. All of the gauges work, too. I'm pretty happy with my latest buy. I'm going to take some pics of it and the Coronet together outside, later in the week. They are both the same Daffodil Yellow with black interiors. Only color difference is the tops.

 

[patrick66]

Took a few pics of the Imperial and the '78 NYBS this afternoon...of course, today is the first clear day we've had in a week, so there is some glare in the pics. Nevertheless, it was time to show the two together in the sunlight. Enjoy!

 

[patrick66]

A couple more of the New Yorker Brougham Salon...

 

[patrick66]

Guess what??? Both of the back windows decided to work today! Have done nothing to them, other than pull the main switch panel on the driver's door and check the wiring. Man, I sure hope I luck out and find it's just a need of a good cleaning of the switch bank.

Yeah, I know...Pretty mysterious how the Coronet looks a lot like the NYBS, right???

 

[detmatt]

Nice pics Patrick, they look great together. I found a thorough cleaning got some of my inoperable stuff working.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Those are two sharp-looking cars.

 

[patrick66]

Thanks! I fixed the front brakes on the Imperial this week (blown RF cylinder) with new brake cylinders, and replaced the shoes, too. I want to drive both considerably more this Summer, especially the Imperial. Gotta fix the brake light problem, first.

 

[patrick66]

I found an auto electrical shop here in OKC that is supposed to be the very best around. They've been in business for over 35 years, and have two old-hat experts with several younger techs that are highly recommended. I'm gonna have them fix my son's Grand Marquis first and see how they do with that. It has an electrical problem that is driving me nuts!

 

[patrick66]

Got the Grand Marquis back. Yeah, they fixed that and they do good work, but I was NOT impressed with the damn greasy paw prints they left on the header, hood and LF fender. Don't know if I'm willing to entrust the Imperial with that shop.

 

[commando1]

Anything that is wipeable, I can deal with.
Give me a greasy wheel or upholstery, you're gonna pay.
This stems from a childhood experience.....

 

[cm23uoc]

That's what put Fingerhut on the map.

 

[patrick66]

Update - I now have both rear turn indicators working. Same problems exist with the park and brake lights, though. Maybe I'll have a chance to look again in the morning. I may have to find a competent electrical shop. The shop I used with my son's Mercury was competent enough, but they won't guarantee that they will store the car inside if the car has to remain overnight. Plus, the greasy prints on the fenders they left on the Merc did very little to impress me.

I've got a buddy who has been an auto heat/air guy for about 25 years, and he has a stock of R12 available. I'm going to have him check the system out soon, and if it all checks out good, I'm going to have him do the service with R12 instead of R134. The Imperial has a very odd-shaped A/C drier that I really do not want to replace, if that is still good. I've only seen this drier on '66 Imperial and Chrysler.

It's 102*F here, actual air temperature, NO "feels-like" BS. Too damn hot to go driving a non-AC car with a black interior, ragtop or not. So, I sit here on the computin' machine, thinking about how nice a 75*F day would be about now!

 

[patrick66]

Today is the day my box of parts arrives for the convertible! I found a taillight lens, trunk medallion, window switch bank, and a couple of other parts for the Imperial recently, and the seller got it all boxed up and sent. We'll see what everything looks like, once I open up the box! I had bought a dashpad from the guy, but he cracked it on removal, so that money comes back to me. I'm pretty pumped! Now that I have these parts; in addition to two spare window motors, a replacement heater core, and a couple of other bits; I have several things to keep me busy on the car over the Winter.

The back windows quit again on me a while back, so the DS rear is stuck in the down position. Oh, and the left rear turn lamp quit again, too.