IML: Tulsa '57 Plymouth vs. Well Used '56 Imperial Southampton Four Door HDTP

[randalpark@xxxxxxx]

Considering all of this, I am very happy to own the cars I have in 
their present condition. Maybe this news story and experience will help 
to increase the appreciation and interest of others in cars that we 
have worked so hard to preserve over the years. I have owned my '56 
Imperial since 1971. I haven't restored it, and there are times when I 
feel like I haven't been a very good "father" to it. Even so, it still 
runs, and doesn't look much different than it did when I was driving it 
over 30 years ago. That didn't happen all by itself.

Once I had put 90,000 miles on it and stopped driving the '56 as my 
regular car, I had to decide if I was going to sell it, or remain the 
owner & care taker of two Imperials on a salary of less than $400.00 
per month. This was at a time when Imperials were considered by most 
people to be worthless old gas hogs and the coolest thing on wheels was 
a brand new 1975 Honda Civic or Datsun B-210!

To keep it, I considered at least the cost of insurance and storage 
when there wasn't much money left to pay rent, live on, and take care 
of the 1965 Imperial that I was driving. The '65 made sure that there 
was nothing left over to spend on the '56. Don't tell me that cars are 
inanimate objects. I will always believe that they are like jealous 
girl friends. This was in addition to ridicule from most people that I 
was starving myself for absolutely nothing in return. I am not the sort 
of guy to give up on anything, though, and I managed to keep the '56 
running and dry for 13 years before I had my own garage to store it in.

When I drive any of my cars, I get a lot of attention, but there is 
always someone who wants to point out the battle scars, war wounds, and 
flaws that have occurred or developed over the miles and years. I have 
often heard things like "Wouldn't it be nice if this car had been 
stored in a tomb when it was new???" or "Too bad it has SO MANY MILES 
on it". Guess what, now we have seen what happens to cars that are 
stored in a tomb, and have -0- miles on them.

I have lots of cars that need lots of work. I spend a lot of time and 
money to keep them running, dry, and preserved. I also manage to 
upgrade some of them. After this, I don't feel very badly that I used 
them as much as I did, or that they got used by someone else before I 
owned them. It turns out that maybe I haven't been such a bad "father" 
after all. Preservation is a lot closer to restoration than I once 
thought.

Paul W.


-----Original Message-----
From: pnkmoore@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 3:07 pm
Subject: Re: IML: Tulsa '57 Plymouth- Only time will tell the story



I've been thinking about the heir who might be the recipient of the 
rotting carcass of a '57 Plymouth.  I assume the City fathers/mothers 
are smart enough to offer it to the winner in it's current state of 
horribleness, and offer to accept it back as a tax-deductible donation 
to some City-controlled foundation.  From that point the City would be 
free to restore or otherwise preserve it.  Plainly, unless the "winner" 
of the car is a millionaire, no other individual is likely to want a 
water-logged hunk of rust... unless it's someone from the IML!  Are you 
sick enough to want it??!!!   I am!

 

Anyway, we'll all be watching closely to see what happens.

 

Patrick

'58 Southampton (My own time capsuled/"preserved" in a barn since '77.)

 

 


----- Original Message -----

From: webmaster

To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Saturday, June 16, 2007 4:01 PM

Subject: IML: Tulsa '57 Plymouth- Only time will tell the story



I would think there would be a fairly good value in the engine and 
transmission if they were not compromised too much.   I remember 
reading a story about a 1920's Ford that was recovered 75 years later 
from one of the Great lakes after it fell through the ice.  The oil was 
changed and a carb replacement done and new ignition and the engine ran 
perfectly.  The rest of the car was not so good, but it was a testament 
to Ford's reliable motor and it was purchased by Ford and put on 
display.  So lets wait and see how Mopar's motor survived?  Only time 
will tell.


Steve Restelli
Webmaster:
http://BarreCity.net   ;;
http://HistoryTV.net   ;;
http://Zworykin.com    ;;


________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free 
from AOL at AOL.com.
=0


-----------------  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