Why just the other day someone had the gall, the temerity, the bold faced
audacity, to call me a 1958 Chauvinist. Now, of course, that happens to
be true, but its a heck of a thing to say, anyway. :-)
So, today, I get to post about a slightly worn, slightly down at heel, 1981
Imperial. Drove over to see it this afternoon, thinking hard about Dick
Benjamin scoping out that 1958 a year or so ago, and knowing I would not
even be able to begin to match his abilities in this department.
I took about a dozen photographs, which have already been developed. The
car is pretty good. very little rust, and all of it superficial. The
interior, a kind of blue cloth looks very good. One worn spot on the
drivers seat, not at the butt but at shoulder height, maybe from the driver
rubbing it getting in or out, or the sun. It is not ripped, just worn. The
car has been painted white, but not well, and a lot of the original paint, a
kind of greyish blue, is shoeing through at the front. All the original
exterior IMPERIAL marking are missing, but it still has the insignia on the
glove compartment. The pentastar is still out front, but none on the sides.
No holes in the body work from missing plate fasteners.
It has the oddest blemish on the driver's side rear window pillar. The body
filler put there is visible again. No such flaw on the other side. Nice
mag wheels, with the pentastar in the center, in red, no less.
The car is not running. I turned the key and nothing happened. I was told
the fuel injection system is on the car, but there was a good amount of
serious looking mechanicals in the trunk.
I scoped underneath for rust, and was pleased to find none. Everything
looked good.
I was in the '58 and told him I would post to the club. I asked him how
tight he was on the $1,550 price. He said it was negotiable. He seems like
a good man. He probably took it in trade, as he has lot with about twenty
cars on it. I asked him if the car had clear title and he said it did. It
has Alaskan plates on it. That's a long way from here, San Antonio, Texas.
I have these dozen or so pics. If anyone is interested, I can add them to
my site, or send them to OIC. I think this car is very, very salvable. I
cannot vouch for the mechanicals, but the body is straight, the interior
very nice and if it does have the fuel injection, you could be looking at a
good deal. I could speculate how much the previous owner got for it, and
I'd have to say, in this town, not much.
Hugh
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