Your wife's 1955 New Yorker Deluxe is just as smaller version of the Imperial. The basic body, engine and transmission are the same (if the Imperial has Powerflite). The suspension on the New Yorker is the same as the 1956 Imperial - coils in front and leaf springs in the rear. As the New Yorker is a few hundred pounds lighter than the Imperial (4,160# vs. 4,575#), power will be no problem. Remember - all Imperials used the same engine as the New Yorker (New Yorker Deluxe in 1953-55), so the 1955 New Yorker shared its engine with the 1955 Imperial.. As a matter of fact, the front fenders, all doors and all glass on your 1956 Imperial sedan is the same as the 1955-56 Chrysler New Yorker sedan. The lever-shift Powerflite has an excellent track record just as the later pushbuttons do. As with all pre-1957 Mopar products, they are very tough and reliable cars and in their day had few owner complaints.. If your wife likes the Imperial, she will love the New Yorker. With the 7" shorter wheelbase the New Yorker will be more maneouverable than the Imperial but just as roomy and comfortable. (The extra length of the 1956 Imperial is in the trunk.) The big difference will be in parts availablity, with 33,342 1955 New Yorker sedans built (plus 63,896 Windsor sedans) vs.6,821 1956 Imperial sedans. Bill Vancouver, BC ----- Original Message ----- From: YBSHORE@xxxxxxx To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, August 20, 2006 2:48 PM Subject: Re: IML: A Purchase for My Wife .............yeah, I know that , it is just that I will be the one fielding the call!!!..........Seriously as possible though if you please, do these cars have a decent track record: 331 Hemi w/two speed dash lever operation, are they under powered with the 331 or not as heavy as my '56 Imperial?...leaf/spring combo for suspension?...you see, I bought it on a friend's say and although I DO trust the ol'trench brother with my life, cars are a different matter...any experience out there with the wife's gift?...how much (short of the luxury amenities) difference can I expect between the two models? ----------------- 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