school me on 67 Imperials?

[fury fan]

I'm a Fury and Chrysler guy, never had an Imp although a 63 coupe almost hit my garage many years ago.

I was prowling ebay and this one popped up.

The 67s are starting to grow on me. Have always loved the pleated seats, elegant dash and sculpted doorpanels of the 67-68, but I think the 'lighter' grille of the 67 gets my preference toward that year. And these taillights must surely look awesome in the dark!

So I'm gonna start to learn now what I might be getting myself into someday if I get one. I don't have any preference on body style -- probably the colors, options and condition would make my decision.

So - can you guys school me on the peculiarities of an Imp of this era relating to replacement parts and repair, that would differ from a 'standard' Slabside C-body?

I'm thinking toward steering and front susp parts, brakes, any HVAC or instrument panel issues, door locks and handles, etc?

What are your thoughts on this particular car?
(to clarify, I'm not bidding on this car)
1967 Chrysler Imperial IMPERIAL | eBay

 

[Davea Lux]

The main thing to remember on any imperial:

1.) Replacement body panels are not being made so avoid rust like the plague.
2.) Avoid any car with ATC ('68 and later) unless you like spending bunches of money on an A/C system that won't work for any extended period of time.
3.) Glass items in many cases are unique to the IMP and hard to find and expensive.
4.) Lots of leather in the interiors, often hard to come by and expensive.
5.) Imperials are underappreciated and do not bring prices that are any where near what it costs to bring one back, start with a nice one, not one that needs everything.

Dave

 

[mrfury68]

There are several brake, suspension, and other mechanical parts that are Imperial specific. Mostly because they were more 'heavy duty" type than the Chrys./ Ply./ Dodge version. A lot of the trim pieces were for a specific year also. They are beautiful cars though but a restoration is not for the faint of wallet.

 

[Ross Wooldridge]

I also prefer the grill in the 67 as pictured.

 

[FURYGT]

Parts for the disc brakes are very hard to find and expensive. Also, the wheel bolt pattern is larger than on a C Body.

That one is kind of rough and looks like it was outside during many dust storms.

 

[cbarge]

Only 577 67 Imp verts were built. Rare? yes..Valuable? Not as much as you would think.
Even fewer in 68.
As mentioned,restoring one of these is not for the faint at heart and requires a lot of networking,parts hunting and endless supply of money.
Bolt pattern of the wheels are not shared with the other C's.
Anything with the Budd Discs brakes is cha-ching especially with the rotors which are Imp only. Ditto rear drums.
Evert 67/68 Imp I worked on always had problems with the headlight switches burning out and taking the dimmer with it.
Like all other Mopars of same vintage,they do suffer ammeter gauge meltdowns too.

Dave has pretty much covered everything else.

 

[fury fan]

Most of those things from everyone I was mildly aware of.
I'm approaching this as 'valuation' on one of these would be comparable or slightly higher to a standard New Yorker or 300, but definitely above a Newport. And I'm OK with them not being super-valuable, I offset the beating I get at resale time by the bargain I get at purchase time.
I generally run relays for headlights and an ammeter bypass on my cars, so no concerns there.
Do the Budd brakes swap out to std C-body disc brakes? (aside from the bolt pattern)
Was aware of the ATC issues, do all Imps 68+ have that, or is that more of a LeB thing? Sounds like 67 is not involved? Does 67 have the standard vacuum switch to control dashpots to move the airflow doors?
Are replacement windshields available?
For a newbie, is a Crown or a LeB a better choice?

 

[fury fan]

Oh, and I'm getting to be a wimp in my middle-age, so any car would likely be rust-free and with good cosmetics. I'll gladly pay a few $K more for better condition, that is always a better deal than reconditioning. Except for mechanical/reliability stuff, most 'runs good' cars don't meet my standards there.

 

[detmatt]

There’s really nothing special about the Budd disc brakes over a C-body and lower ball joints are actually still available. I bought new rotors for mine and since they’re 2 piece the disc itself is not Imp specific. I’ve completely rebuilt my disc brakes and would do it again in a second.
The turn signal switch for the tilt/tele is perhaps the biggest hill to climb on these.

 

[detmatt]

Headlight/dimmer are no different than any other Mopar with the same setup.

 

[78Brougham]

Beautiful blue one was just posted recently. Around $8,000.

For Sale - Re-listed with price drop: Beautiful '67 Imp in DC for $8k

 

[imperialman]

The main thing to remember on any imperial:

1.) Replacement body panels are not being made so avoid rust like the plague.
2.) Avoid any car with ATC ('68 and later) unless you like spending bunches of money on an A/C system that won't work for any extended period of time.
3.) Glass items in many cases are unique to the IMP and hard to find and expensive.
4.) Lots of leather in the interiors, often hard to come by and expensive.
5.) Imperials are underappreciated and do not bring prices that are any where near what it costs to bring one back, start with a nice one, not one that needs everything.

Dave

As a former long time owner of a 67 Crown Coupe I think anyone looking to buy especially needs to remember #5.

 

[FURYGT]

Most of those things from everyone I was mildly aware of.
I'm approaching this as 'valuation' on one of these would be comparable or slightly higher to a standard New Yorker or 300, but definitely above a Newport. And I'm OK with them not being super-valuable, I offset the beating I get at resale time by the bargain I get at purchase time.
I generally run relays for headlights and an ammeter bypass on my cars, so no concerns there.
Do the Budd brakes swap out to std C-body disc brakes? (aside from the bolt pattern)
Was aware of the ATC issues, do all Imps 68+ have that, or is that more of a LeB thing? Sounds like 67 is not involved? Does 67 have the standard vacuum switch to control dashpots to move the airflow doors?
Are replacement windshields available?
For a newbie, is a Crown or a LeB a better choice?

Windshields are the same as a C Body Conv., 2 door Hardtop or 4 door Hardtop.

It will cost you $15k to $20k at a minimum to restore that car, possible more, unless you can do most of the work yourself. If it is restored very nicely and correct, it might be a $25k car when done. It's not the best color for resale. It is a rare car and should be saved. My guess is that the quarters rotted from the inside out and I would expect trunk and floor pan rot. Definitely have the car looked at by someone if you are seriously contemplating purchasing it.

 

[cbarge]

Headlight/dimmer are no different than any other Mopar with the same setup.

They do not interchange with other C's. That is my hands on experience.

 

[detmatt]

But other C’s have the same problems with their hardware and they can all be fixed for th same price.

 

[cbarge]

But other C’s have the same problems with their hardware and they can all be fixed for th same price.

Agreed.
The Imp headlight switches can be rebuilt.I do have a source for that.
But the way they are wired they are not simply plug n play on other cars.
One failed attempt I butchered a 68 Chrysler dash harness and headlight switch to make it work in my buddy's 68 Imp.
Let's just say in theory it should have worked..(it did not).
He picked up this 68 Crown for 1,100.00

 

[Xenon]

The Imp headlight switches can be rebuilt.I do have a source for that.

Would you like to post that information...?

 

[Mr C]

Headlight/dimmer are no different than any other Mopar with the same setup.

Not exactly true, but I suspect you are largely correct.
The Imperial headlight and dimmer is an assembly with the wiring riveted into the dimmer and headlight switches and is one assembly. C body and other had switches with tabs on them for the wiring harness to plug into. The chrome lever on the Imperial headlight switch is different too and longer.
I suspect that you can take a C body switch and plumb the Imp harness to plug in after cutting the Imp harness and attaching female connectors...but I haven't researched this in the FSM.
I can take pics of my parts Imperial switch assemblies in need be.

 

[cbarge]

Not exactly true, but I suspect you are largely correct.
The Imperial headlight and dimmer is an assembly with the wiring riveted into the dimmer and headlight switches and is one assembly. C body and other had switches with tabs on them for the wiring harness to plug into. The chrome lever on the Imperial headlight switch is different too and longer.
I suspect that you can take a C body switch and plumb the Imp harness to plug in after cutting the Imp harness and attaching female connectors...but I haven't researched this in the FSM.
I can take pics of my parts Imperial switch assemblies in need be.

Been there,done that.

 

[cbarge]

Would you like to post that information...?

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