Re: IML: Unit-body vs body-on-frame
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Re: IML: Unit-body vs body-on-frame



Paul makes a lot of good points. I bought a 1967 Crown convertible that needs (and is now getting) restoration. It is as straight as when it left the factory. A convertible is surely the biggest test of unibody construction. Personally I think that the 67's are the most elegant of all Imperials. I love the lines, the whole car has been designed as an integrated whole. The front back and side all 'belong' to the same design concept. This extends to the interior which also is elegant and 'belongs' to the exterior. I think the car is sufficiently different from its Chrysler siblings to be distinctive. I might add I also like the 1967/8 Chryslers. I hope everyone loves and enjoys whichever model/s they have as much as I do.It is great that we all have our different tastes, otherwise we would all drive the same boring cars.
Rgds
John  67 Crown convertible

RandalPark@xxxxxxx wrote:
I think that it is high time that the myth about the '67 Imperial being a "cheapening" of the car be totally put to rest.

The 1967 Imperial was built as an improved design, not a cost cutting measure. Costs were cut, which was a great benefit to the company, but the old style Imperial had run its course. Once the unit body had been perfected there was no reason not to extend it to the Imperial.

The 1967 Imperial was not simply a larger Chrysler, at least not any more so that any other company's line of cars. Yes, it became much more like a Chrysler than it had been, but look at our beloved '55 and '56 models. Much of the sheet metal and interior trim (including the dash) is shared with other Chrysler Models. Yet, 1955 was the first yrear that Imperial called itself a separate make. The '67 cars shared vitrually nothing with its other corporate siblings.

The 1967 Imperial did not lose its identity as a "true Imperial". The company spent a ton of money on styling and upgrades to make the car more impressive, stylish, durable, and appealing than it was before. Remember, Chrysler Corporation was not building cars to suit the like of Imperial collectors and nostalgia freaks like me. They were building cars to make money. To do that they had to sell cars. By '66 the Imperial was losing ground fast. The Imperial was changed to sell more cars.

If you want proof of the time, money, and effort that was put into the 1967 Imperial, compare the cost of building the 1967 grill to that of previous cars. I don't have the specifics, but I believe that the grill of the 1967 Imperial was the costliest undertaking for a purely decorative arrangement in many years by the company. This was done to further the image of the Imperial as a separate make, not dilute it.

Paul




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