For Sale 57 Imperial $6700

[shooter65]

Not my car. Looks to be pretty unmolested but I don't know much about these cars. Price seems fair if the ad is truthful.

1957 Imperial - Chrysler

My dad is selling his 1957 Imperial by Chrysler. It has a HEMI! 392 CID Hemi, with push button automatic transmission. Power steering, power brakes. Starts and runs great. Four door hardtop body in good condition, needs restored. Interior has newly reupholstered seats and there is material in the trunk to finish the job. New headliner and carpet in trunk. Some new chrome in trunk. $6,700.00

 

[detmatt]

Nice! My guess is it won't last long.

 

[Imperialist67]

Not highly optioned, not power windows, even; but depending on your viewpoint, sometimes that's a good thing in a '57........ that with single headlights make this a rare bird. If the underside looks as clean as the rest of it, it will make for a nice car to have, attractive color as well........ .

 

[shooter65]

I was surprised by no power options also but again, not that familiar with Imp's of this era so I wasn't sure how odd that was.

 

[FredNY66]

This base Imperial seems to have only 2 options: heater, and radio with power antenna (power steering, power brakes and automatic transmission were standard). Seems to have had a respray (engine bay is of a different color). Rare plain jane Imperial.

 

[TX9]

Something about those Dual Headlights piercing into my PentaStarSoul!. . . Never knew of or saw a non-quad headlight Forward Look Imperial

 

[saforwardlook]

It needs a full restoration unless someone just wants a driver that isn't that nice. I doubt he will get the price and the buyer will likely get it for the 392 Hemi unfortunately. 4 doors just don't get much love these days, and even the 2 doors are long past their peak in value now in that condition. Old Imperials of this vintage have next to no buyers willing to restore them and are flooding the market from old folks who just kept them a long time and no longer need them or their family is selling them off for various reasons that accompany old age. The costs are too high to "fix them up" and you won't get your money out.

 

[detmatt]

I would do very little to it cosmetically, would be fine with the 4 doors and still think it's a fair price.

 

[1978 NYB]

Good enough shape to just drive it and enjoy a ride from 1957.

 

[detmatt]

I'm still not seeing where this car "isn't that nice" for the money.

 

[saforwardlook]

Well, having owned some of these cars over the years, I ended up fully restoring the ones I have because I got tired of a new problem every time I tried to drive one anywhere. Lets face it, this car is now 60 years old and seemingly original, and it resides in a humid climate most of the year. Nothing on this car was designed to last 60 years under normal use, and the buyer will likely have plenty of problems to deal with, starting with the total contact brakes. Then the electrical system. At least this particular car has few options that complicate things, but there is still plenty to go wrong. Leaks are ever present and rebuilding systems will be a never ending process and even then there will be niggling things that just keep the driving experience unfulfilling, at least to me. But if you want to idealize the reality, then give it a try like I did. Getting parts is a never ending frustration and finding people to help with some of the things you don't know how to work on will also be frustrating. I enjoy driving my 1957 Chrysler every time I drive it, but I completely restored it just so I wouldn't spoil my driving experience every time I took it out. I recently took it out to participate in a wedding, and it ran flawlessly. That is what I enjoy. I see it is sold, so maybe it was you that took the leap. In any case, I sincerely wish the new owner well though. They were nice cars.