Extra set of eyes needed (online) for purchase 1959 Imperial Crown

[Phil64]

Yes LH threads on Left side. Willwood or AAJ makes disc brakes kits, Should be a a 5x5 wheel and may need a special kit And more than likely all will be RH threads.

No , 5 x 5 1/2 . If the car has 15" wheels no problem, if it has 14" wheel (early cars) no solution except switch to 15" ... According to the slots in the wheelcover the car has 15" wheels.

 

[Phil64]

it pulls when braking, so the brakes should be checked out. I think I can do that myself, should be not too difficult.

Chrysler's "Total Contact" braking system is a disaster, it has never been effective, every year they changed a part to "improve", in fact the only solution was to switch to the Bendix system in 1962 or 63... I changed everything on my Imperial and there is always a moment when it doesn't brake straight! You would have to install discs but I'm on 14"!
I've a friend who bougth a '59 Crown 2drHT in Netherlands last year !

 

[Scoopy G]

Personally, I would not bother with a disc brake conversion. These cars have large excellent drum brakes that work very well - if they are in good condition and adjusted correctly. I would adjust the brake shoes and take the car for a drive making several gentle stops and a few slow down brake applications and see how the brakes feel.

Ditto that re: brake conversion. Unless you're hot-rodding the car or driving it in the mountains a lot, the drums work just fine.

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks everybody for the priceless input.

I made an appointment to go see the car on saturday. I asked the seller if he would drive the car to the area where I live as to see whether he has confidence in the car and he said he would (ofcourse he did hahaha), But at least he didn't say it would be more wise to haul the car.

I am not planning on a brake conversion, unless really needed. I feel that well maintained drums are working very well, and with the kind of driving I would be doing, like cruisin' to meetings, it should be sufficiënt. I have other cars for go fast.

@Phil64 ; Is he Dutch? If so, I might can pick his brain on the practical things of having an Imperial over here.

@Scoopy G I will inspect as best as I can, I am bringing my hydraulic jack with me so I can have a better look and bring a paint-depth tester as well, just to confirm it isn't a bondo car.

@SportFuryman Thanks and I don't mind tinker with a car, I actually enjoy working on cars. I have no plans for a restauration, but I do want to keep the car up and running best way possible.

@WSP Yes, I think so. I assume it has 100K miles on it. It is a lot, but on the other side; these cars should be able to handle that.

 

[Phil64]

@Phil64 ; Is he Dutch? If so, I might can pick his brain on the practical things of having an Imperial over here.

My friend is french. He bought his car at a very high price (more than 50 K$ i think) and he still had work to do on it because the car had not been driven since its restoration...

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks everybody for the help.
I went to see the car today and decided to leave it be. It had some work done on the right side and there was quite a filler patch on the right rear fender and at the lower side of the rear right door.
Even though I drove it, it strongly pulled to the right when braking. It did drive ok, the gear change was a bit rough, but not too bad.

The interior was a little bit of a mess, when using the power seat, the fuse blew and the car was dead. So it has somewhere dodgy wiring. The interior seemed to be original and not been dyed of any kind.

There were dents and scratches all over. Paint was faded, chipping and rubbed away, so it would need a full respray at some point.

For this price, I think I can expect a little bit more.

 

[OKDart]

Thanks everybody for the help.
I went to see the car today and decided to leave it be. It had some work done on the right side and there was quite a filler patch on the right rear fender and at the lower side of the rear right door.
Even though I drove it, it strongly pulled to the right when braking. It did drive ok, the gear change was a bit rough, but not too bad.

The interior was a little bit of a mess, when using the power seat, the fuse blew and the car was dead. So it has somewhere dodgy wiring. The interior seemed to be original and not been dyed of any kind.

There were dents and scratches all over. Paint was faded, chipping and rubbed away, so it would need a full respray at some point.

For this price, I think I can expect a little bit more.

These cars had 2 wheel cylinders per drum on the front brakes. I've read it's common for them to pull if not adjusted correctly, and most people don't use the manual for adjusting brakes. If the manual is followed step by step, the problem will probably go away.