Sir, as one who has restored a '61 LeBaron (among MANY other Chrysler products); might I offer my thoughts?
> Wife and I just went out to Outback to eat,
So did I, sans wife who is back in Detroit :-(
> It looked
> pretty good from the road, so we stopped in (it was at
> a car stereo place) and asked about it. Body's been
> redone, new paint, looks really nice, all the chrome's
> there but the bumpers could use re-chroming.
Probably about $1000 right there.
> 413 never
> been rebuilt (the carburetor needs to be "gone
> through", apparently it doesn't like it when the car
> goes over bumps) to the owner's knowledge,
It's probably a god thing that no one has touched the engine, as few take the time to do it correctly. However, I've yet to meet anyone selling a carbureted car who doesn't make excuses for the way it runs, yet they always claim the repair is simple/quick/cheap. If it's so easy to do, how come no one ever seems to do it?
> very smooth, doesn't smoke or make weird noises. Dual
> exhaust on it sounds good, though there is a slight
> leak somewhere.
Because the exhaust shop doesn't understand that Chrysler's don't use a gasket off the exhaust manifold, so joints & angles must be of good quality.
> Car drives well, brakes work but the
> booster needs to be rebuilt or replaced.
Did he tell you this, or did you observe a hard pedal? Make sure he's not covering other brake problems by claiming brake booster. You'll certainly need power brakes to stop this monster.
> It needs
> interior work though..front seats need either
> replacing or re-upholstering,
Expensive to do correctly, probably around another $1000.
> headliner has a couple
> small, look like burn holes in it,
Easily replaced for about $60 (material, not labor) If you remove all of the interior yourself, labor shouldn't be too bad on this.
> square steering
> wheel is cracked.
Typical, can be repaired fairly inexpensively.
> Needs all 4 inner door panels,
> interior chrome trim is pitted.
Again, an issue for the upholstery shop. You might be able to live with the trim, but replacting these small parts isn't that expensive.
> Heater doesn't work,
> owner doesn't know why,
Oh yes he does. I'm guessing the heater core leaks, and this is a real pain/expensive job. If you see the heater hoses looped from the water pump instead of running all the way into the firewall, you'll know I'm right.
> switch for heater is missing,
> owner says switch "fell in behind dash".
Really? Then why not spend a half-hour or so, and find it?
> 2 power
> windows on driver's side don't work.
Typical. Not hard to fix, but hard to find working motors.
> Has original
> radio, don't know if it works or not.
I'm sure it doesn't, or he would have played it for you. Remember, this is a "tube" radio so you do need to give it about 30 secs. to warm-up. Even if it works, it'll probably need to be "re-capped" by someone with electronics skills to sound decent. This actually isn't that hard, but it can be hard to find someone who'll do it.
> I asked about
> the price, owner says "I'm asking 6k, but I'm
> motivated, I'll take 5"...
IF this is a solid, no-rust car; it's worth about $3000. If everything worked (I'm sure the air doesn't, and the electroluminesent dash lights probably don't either) and the only issue was the ratty interior, $5000 would be reasonable.
But that's a big "if". Are you in a rust-prone state? You really need to check this thing out VERY carefully. Heavy rust is the difference between a $3000 car and walking away. You'll have to excuse my suspicions here, but a re-done, shiny paint job on a flashy car with a bunch of "small" mechanical ills usually equals some old bomb that has been given a quick fix-up, for a quick buck. He might not even be the guy who did it... He might just be looking to unload his mistake.
Crawl under, maybe even use a lift and give a gas station a few bucks to look it over. The drive-shaft center bearing is another issue on these cars, and you'll need to see it on a lift to check condition (although if there are no banging noises underneath on hard accel, it's probably OK).
> It's a neat car, really
> looks sharp, whoever did the bodywork and paint really
> did a good job, but is it WORTH that much?
It's the most noticable, and LEAST important issue.I prefer cars with original, ratty paint any day. That usually isn't an option on a 40-year-old car, I admit.
> How much
> will it cost to track down all the interior odds and
> ends it needs?
It isn't the issue of tracking them down (luckily), but rather re-conditioning what you have.
> And those brakes, I just see $$$$ when
> I think about them, are they that bad to service? He
> said the front brakes had 2 wheel cylinders each. I am
> interested to read what others more experienced with
> these cars think.
The brakes are fairly easy to service, once you remove the rear drums... Which is HARD! The two-wheel cylinder thing is true, but it's not rocket science. Parts are available. These cars have massive brakes, which stop FAR better than anything else made around that time. Although I'm sure others will try to get you to convert to disc, it really isn't needed if the brake system is in good shape. I'm assuming you won't be trying to out-corner any Vipers, or drag-racing at tracks with a short shut-down area.
> BTW, I already have a '73 NYB that has a near perfect
> interior, solid body but some rust in the lower
> quarters, that runs and drives great and everything
> works. I'd have to sell this car to get another one.
You might be sorry if you did that.
I know it sounds like I'm rather down on the car, but I hate to see people get sucked into a money pit because of a nice paint job. If your NYB is in really good shape, spend the $1000 you would have spent on the Imperial bumpers, and get new lower quarters welded on, plus a nice paint job for the NYB. Either way, you'll turn heads.
When you can afford, or desire to have the Imperial sit around while you gather parts, and get things re-conditioned, you'll be in the proper place for such an involved project.
Carmine F.
'61 LeBaron & '73 LeBaron (sunroof/ABS coupe)
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