The Lowest Cost Way to own a C or Y body. Was Re: IML: Another Thread.

["Henry Blair Jr." <henryblairjr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had the same thoughts David did on this car.  Some cars are parts cars, be
they Imperials or Rolls Royces.  I have a 1975 45,000 mile sun roof Imperial
coupe for which I paid $425 and towed from just below Memphis to Atlanta.
Car had some rust, but had been sitting with a shot out windshield and
passenger side window for 6 years.  The interior was understandably trash.
I am using the parts on other NYB's and Imperials.  It was just not worth
the investment to restore.  The parts are being used to complete cars all
over the world.  The engine is going into an older C body that is almost
perfect to bring it back from the grave.

The key to successful, economic Y and C body ownership is to buy them in the
best condition you can, get Murray Park's contact information for parts, and
go for it.  If you can get a parts car, consider yourself lucky, no,
blessed. Life will be good.

For example.  I have just finished fixing all the little stuff that was
wrong on a rust free Southern 1973 NYB 4 door hardtop that sat for a number
of years in a garage with a concrete floor.  I have driven the car about
1,700 miles and it still has less than 28,000 miles on it.  I would drive it
anywhere there are roads.  It is perfect: cold air, great tires and brakes,
new shocks, 440 engine starts in a second or two -- cold or hot, upholstery
looks like it has never been sat on, and vinyl roof and paint are not quite
perfect, but get compliments.  Spare has never been on the ground.  I bought
this car for a daily driver, but my 5' 1", 95 lb. wife cannot see well out
of it and almost hit a dog she did not see.  Even though she would rarely
drive it, end of this car for the Blair family.  I have about $3,500 in the
car and will sell it for $4,000 before it goes on eBAy next week.  This
includes dealer parts catalog, shop manuals, California Car Cover custom
fitted car cover, and a new pair of extra rotors (not currently needed for
the car).

Where would you be with the mentioned Newport for $4,000?  Probably not in a
safe car that looks presentable.

My brother has made two comments about my C and Y bodies:

1.  "You could pick up any woman you want in those cars, 75 or older."
2.  "Your cars are like fat girls.  They are fun to ride, but you don't want
your friends to see you doing it."

Let's hope that attitude prevails so arthritic people on Social Security
like me can continue to enjoy our truly great cars.

Henry

Henry K. Blair, Jr.
Roswell, Georgia
henryblairjr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Whitney
Sent: Thursday, May 26, 2005 12:20 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: Another Thread

Not to stray too far from the Imperial topic, that car is a peck of
trouble.  I own two '66 C bodies that qualify as daily drivers, both
Chryslers, in addition to the '66 Crown Coupe.  One is a souped-up 383 car
with new custom interior and classic mag wheels that I paid $1500 for, the
other is a 440 car needing only new seat covers and a headliner that I paid
$500 for.  To be fair, the latter car also had neither alternator nor
battery when I bought it ...

In the meantime, if you want some help finding a fine C body for a decent
price, let me know off list.  Chances are I can get it to you in better
condition for less money, cost of shipping included, than your local
seller's asking price.  Let's say you pay under $2000 for a one hundred
percent roadworthy and presentable life-long California C body and another
$1000 for coast-to-coast shipping.  There are no lifelong California cars
in that price range where you are unless you actually live in California.
If you don't want to repair body, trunk and floor pan cancer, these are the
cars you need.  We call snow belt cars "donors", not "recipients".  There
are some cars in that region that have been protected from the elements by
their loving owners.  Try buying one for less than $3000.

"Rust free" notwithstanding, this entry level Chrysler is one-half step
removed from a parts car, all the more so with a rod knock.  If you think
Imperials are priced lower than they should be, don't even ask about C
bodies.  You can hardly give away a C body wagon.  The only exceptions are
Sport Furies, 300s and, of course, convertibles, and even among those there
are still some bargains to be found.  There's a big-block Sport Fury 'vert
for sale near me, in decent-looking driveable condition, for $2500 right
now.  But I don't do exotic C bodies, just the land yachts.

So let us once again count our blessings that the collectors have not
"discovered" Imperials and priced us out of our hobby.  If that ever
happens, it will drag the prices for the other big Chryslers up, too.  Then
I'll be stuck trying to get 350hp out of a normally aspirated 318 V-8 in a
K car.  So let them have their A, B and E bodies, their F, J and R bodies.
I'll stick with C and Y.

Happy inexpensive motoring,

David






-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to webmaster@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm