needing guidance

rd92west

rd92west

plan C
Joined
Apr 29, 2018
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Location
western manitoba
a month ago I seen a 68 imperial advertised. not to far away. I am into 66 dodge so all I did was look at the advertisement. week later I had a brain fart and relized it would have a rebuidlible 440 under the hood. week after that I phoned for details. week after that I went for a look. ended up buying it, mainly for engine/trans and the 2.94 posi. cost me $2300 northern dollars
we drove it onto the trailer. i got looking closer at the body. it has rust on rear quarters but is rust free floor pans. almost dent free body. decent interior. looks to be 100% complete. and appears to be mouse free.
got me thinking it would be a nice cruiser unit.
like I said 66 dodge is my area. fairly basic, not a lot of switches and electric doodads.
reality hit me and maybe I should stick with the dodge.
so I have a 100 thousand mile LeBarge, what looks to be a real good 440 core. and a shitload of parts. add to that the demolition derby crowd would love to get their hands on this beast.
here is what I need help with. do I pull drivetrain and offer whats left for sale. do I offer it complete with drivetrain. do I pull drivetrain and strip it down to sell parts and sell the stripped down car to demo guys. I cant get real stiff about selling parts one at a time.
I am not in a panic to do anything. the car is stored at least till spring.
maybe I need to seek councilling for my mopar addiction?

68 IMPERIAL.jpg
 
Either sell it whole or keep it.

That car could be nice daily driver or could be restored.
 
Not many willing to part with 2400 to fix it up. I agree with Bob but I don't see anyone stepping up to be noble.
 
It would be a cool daily driver if a person could afford to feed it ⛽
It's a conundrum. My first choice would be to sell it to a imperial guy. Come spring I will likely advertise it. A fellow in alberta would buy parts but don't want whole car.
I understand that true imperial people would voice opinion if I pulled the engine. Maybe one of them should buy it. 2000 cash and a trailer takes it away. I don't need a profit.
 
Sometimes reality sucks. First choice is sell it to imperial lover. Problem solved. Likely won't happen.
Restore it myself. Definitely not going to happen.
That leaves the synero that bring me the flack. I pull engine and strip it and sell what's left to demo dude. Hurts me to say it but the last option has me breaking even.
 
Wait til spring, then decide it's fate. Can you get to it to make a list of what it needs? Knowing what it does and doesn't need can help folks decide if it's worth it to them. Any info you can give will help sell it. If it needs a bunch of work to get on the road, or just a few little things, carb work, etc. How are the brakes, rear springs, and things like that. I'd hate to see it crushed in a derby, they make Toyotas for that.
 
The guy in alberta who wants parts said he would get divorced if he bought the whole car.
Good plan locomob it's running on fuel from the tank and it's anybody's guess how old it is. The barge does look like its been maintained. Window mechanizim needs lube. Seats as well. I never played with it much. Yes look closer in spring..
I have never been a demo derby fan actually never been to one.
 
rd92west said:
it has rust on rear quarters but is rust free floor pans. almost dent free body. decent interior. looks to be 100% complete. got me thinking it would be a nice cruiser unit.
so I have a 100 thousand mile LeBarge, what looks to be a real good 440 core. and a shitload of parts. I am not in a panic to do anything. the car is stored at least till spring.
Click to expand...


The real question is, is how bad is the rust in the Qrters? You only show one pic of a fairly clean looking car that needs a new top. If it's a reliable running car now, just keep it as is and do what you can to keep the rust in check. Check it out over winter and decide what you want to do, but don't go strippin it cause your a Dodge guy! You'll make enemies here real quick!
 
It needs work on both rear quarters and a bit were quarters meet the trunk floor. Nothing major.
I wouldn't call myself a dodge guy. More of a mopar guy who happens to have a weakness for 66 dodge.
Definitely not looking to make enemies. The fact that I am here looking for advice should show that I have a fair bit of respect for imperial owners and for the cars as well.
 
That's a tough car. Ideally you'd find an Imperial guy that would take it as a roller, maybe give you $1000 for it, so he can strip it at his leisure.
Parting that out will take a long time to cover $1000 (I assume you'd be OK to 'absorb' $1000 for the engine).

What's with the rearend? the wheels are pretty far under there, or are they simply FWD donut spares?

Can you even derby an Imp anymore? Around here it's hard to find classes for them, as the supply dwindled many years ago, and 'lesser' cars are protected from the carnage they'd inflict if one showed up.

Another option:
Get it running reliably, decent set of tires, peel that VT and spend a week DA-sanding it -- then paint it with a foam roller and satin-black Rusto. Use a good-quality brush and go around all the trim (learn the technique to bend the bristles underneath the trim so no paint edges). Get it one color and drive it around a bit, sell it in a year or so. You won't make any money, but you'd be saving a car and you might feel good about that one day?
 
It will likely be hard to see much from these pictures. The barge is in a sea can [no pun intended ] and no room to get shot from the outer area.
I would want to do a compression test before I said how good the engine is. The carb is not good. Needs gas poured in to start. Starts quite well. I expect the shocks are toast. Brakes would need inspection but seem to be OK.

IMG_20181123_170308.jpg


IMG_20181123_170320.jpg
 
What do you drive as a daily driver? If it is not a econo-box that gets 30+mpg, sell it and use the Imp as daily driver. The Imp will out haul any (people and junk in the back) POS 1/2 ton pick-up they are selling now with the exception of getting a scoop of gravel dumped in the back, and nobody is doing that to their 50,000+ toy anywho.
 
Yes it has a skinny spare wheel and tire on back. The guy I got it from had 2 of them. He is a demo guy. The other one was worse and he derbied it. He planned to do the same with this one. He is trying to sell his property and stuff and wants to move. Needs money. Its not derby season and his buddies would only give him a grand for it. I'm not looking for a pat on the back but I guess I saved it from getting smashed up. The seller told me that his buddies would pay 1000 bucks for the shell and that the imperial was the holy grail of derby cars. Maybe a canada thing???
 
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