From: Robert Tarrall <tarrall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 17:15:16 -0600
Sadly, I can't afford to keep housing (and insuring) my Imperial in
storage till I have the money to get it running... couple of years
ago I figured I'd be able to do it in 6 months but since then the
economy's changed a fair bit.
Not really sure if this is a parts car or if it's worth restoring;
hopefully folks here can comment.
Details: the good news is the body is nearly rust-free. There's some
surface rust where trim attaches to the body, and the chrome isn't in
great shape, but overall the body is quite solid. Clearly didn't spend
any time on the east coast... :-) Paint (black) is in good shape but
the orangepeel suggests it's neither original nor high quality. Looks
great from 10 feet, as they say. 3 out of 4 power windows function, as
does the power seat. Upholstery looks quite nice, obviously recently
installed but does not much resemble the original.
Dash vinyl is a bit cracked. Radio is original but not functioning
(may just need a new vibrator) and not currently installed. Most of
the interior and exterior trim is still there. Hood ornament is not
correct, unfortunately.
Bad news: while the engine runs it needs, at a minimum, new rings;
compression was quite low but improved on wet testing. It's clearly
burning oil but I didn't notice signs of coolant/moisture in the
exhaust. May well be that there are significant other problems with it -
scary amounts of liquid gasket were used to reattach a valve cover
which always makes me wonder what other poor work was done while
they were in there.
Transmission functioned in forward and reverse when I got the car,
but it appears that the emergency brake is now stuck in the locked
position. (Handle release, but the wheels don't.) As with the
engine, I don't have a lot of faith in the health of the tranny.
Master cylinder is recent, brake lines seem OK but seals should
certainly be replaced in the slave cylinders as the brakes are marginal
at best. Suspension is shot; someone added supplementary air shocks
in the back, of the variety that can be inflated via a valve in thhe
trunk. The rear (leaf) springs should certainly be replaced; the front
springs are OK but not great.
Radiator isn't original and doesn't fit right; water pump has been
replaced with (I think) a Chevy water pump via adapters. There are
a few similar oddities, e.g. one tailpipe is stock and the other
isn't, and there's a second battery tray on the passenger side.
Car came with factory A/C (rare); trim and most parts except the
compressor are still there. I think you'd have to ditch the Chevy
w/p setup to get it running with the stock compressor if you can
find one.
Lights and such work but parts of the electrical system appear to be
original wiring. I always kept the battery disconnected when I wasn't
using it as some of that wiring is a fire hazard and should be replaced.
Doesn't sound great, but I'm trying to give an idea of what it's
really like, not a classified ad listing. Despite all of the above,
it's a beautiful car; I used to think I liked the 55s better but
after seeing this one I changed my mind.
I'd much rather see it go to someone who's interested in restoring it -
especially someone in the CO area so I might get to see it on the road
again someday. Given what's missing, the signs that a crazy person was
let loose under the hood and the rarity of some of the parts I don't
know if that's a reasonable thing to expect, but then that's why I'm
asking here.
Anyone interested? It's in Denver.
-Robert Tarrall.-
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