The Imperial was a high end luxury automobile from Chrysler that was so exclusive it spawned its own brand. The Imperial name had been used since 1926 to identify Chrysler Corp.'s
top end luxury cars, but in 1955 Chrysler spun off an
entire brand to compete with Lincoln and Cadillac. During the second
generation (1957-1966) the Imperial sat on its own
unique (unshared with plebeian Chrysler offerings) body-on-frame platform, featuring a stylish wrap-around windscreen and more steel than an Sherman Tank. Find this 1966 Chrysler Imperial Crown Convertible offered here on eBay
currently bidding for $7,300 with a few hours to go, located in Scottsdale, AZ.
In 1964 Chrysler introduced a new edition of their Imperial Crown high end luxury sedan. The new version put to bed the 50's tailfins and chrome of the Virgil Exner designed Imperials, and this new Elwood Engel designed 1964 model featured slab sides (you might recognize them from Engel's '61 Continental design) and razor-edged lines. It was far more modern looking car with thick C-pillars and thick chrome emphasizing the top of the fenders, and few cars from the 1960s match its street presence per dollar ratio.
Under the hood is a 440 cubic inch (7.2 liter) Chrysler Wedgehead V8 that was rated at 350 horsepower and mated to a 3-speed slushbox automatic transmission. Performance in the 5000+ lb convertible will not be impressive, but the Imperial has always been more about style than speed.
The interior of this beast shows some signs of wear/tear, but it would be liveable as you restore it -- or just throw in a new set of floor mats and drive as is.
See another big red beast for cheap? tips@dailyturismo.com
Suitable for when Kato and the Green Hornet want to go cruisin' !
ReplyDeleteI thought the car was a pretty good deal, until checked out the photos in the EBay listing. Looks like a quick and dirty Resale Red paint job, and that interior that really lets the car down. The body work does look remarkably straight, however.
If you see a faded sign at the side of the road that says
ReplyDelete"15 miles to the
Love Shack"
Love Shack, yeah, yeah
I'm headin' down the Atlanta highway
Lookin' for the love getaway
Headed for the love getaway
I got me a car, it's as big as a whale
And we're headin' on down to the Love Shack
I got me a Chrysler, it seats about 20
So hurry up and bring your jukebox money...
- The B-52s, "Love Shack"
I was getting ready to post "Well bought $8850 USD", when I read Bobinott's post and revisited the pictures. It does now appear to me also that a cheap resale red coat of paint has been slathered on a previously white or lite blue example. I wonder how much rust is covered up there. I really like these in hardtops, but a nice convertible would be good for weekend cruising. I'm a little skeptical now as to how nice this one would be under that Earl Schibe paint....
ReplyDeleteWait, that may be giving Earl a bad name....
All I can say is good luck to the new owner. They're a drop-dead gorgeous car when right, but they are an absolute bitch to restore correctly even with all of the parts there.
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