I would like to share with you what I have been doing with my new Imp. Before I give you the update I want to let you know that the first part of my story has been posted and you can read it at;
The second part should be posted within the week. Thanks to Mark Evans who took the time to get it onto the Club site. Its obvious to me that this Club would not function except for the dedication of a whole bunch of people like Mark.
As mentioned earlier the Imp has settled in well and doesn't miss the snowy weather of Washington State. She is in my driveway and a number of people walking by come up and say things like "what is it or I like your car".
I have replaced the Oil filter, Petrol filter, Fan belts, Heater hoses, Soft fuel lines,Checked the thermostat and replaced the Plugs with Champion J12YC. I still have to find a suitable Air filter and Radiator hoses. I have had the radiator rebuilt by a guy who seems genuinely interested in my Imp. We stood around and chatted about it for an hour. I replaced the 3 core with a 4 core and he ended up having to build it from scratch, buy hey it looks like a million bucks. (Nearly cost me that much too) I dropped the petrol tank and took it to the radiator guy who reckons that it is too far gone for him to fix it. I don't agree with this, I think he was looking at the cost to me which would have been too expensive. I have seen some of the tanks that the club members have repaired and I am sure they were in a lot worse condition than mine - I will give it a go myself. I took out the float and gizmo inside the tank and saw that it was pretty rusted up
despite the petrol guage showing that it was half full. I cleaned it up but I doubt if it will work. Does anyone know how or if I can get it to function properly?
I have stripped out the whole interior except for the dash and the instuments. I have kept some of the trim to match up etc. All the interior chrome is out and except for about 3 4 pieces it is in very good condition. The seats will be redone as will all the door trims etc. I found behind the rear seat a double bladed axe - say no more. Inside the rear left door trim I found a stamp which read INSPECT. 1 23 OCT 1959. This might assist me in finding out when she came off the line.
Everything I take off the Imp is recorded and tagged. All the small items are placed in zip lock clear bags and noted. About half of the exterior chrome is off and once again I am very pleased with its condition. All I need is the small outside corner piece from the top of the right hand guard. I think I will have to try Lowell Howell for it.
All the glass is great but the rear left tail-light is cracked so I will be looking to replace it. All the emblems scripts etc are there however some are looking a bit tired so here too I will probably restore/replace them.
I have decided to pull the engine and transmission have it thoroughly looked at and if anything needs attention I will get it done paint it and replace it. This way I will not have to worry if the engine/transmission is ok for a long time.
Over the last few days I have taken out all the rope and lead in the channel around the rear window. I have a question for those that have done this. We know that the LeBaron window was specially made to fit inside the normal space of the Southhamptons and a special "rope" was laid inside the channel and covered with lead - copious amounts of lead all over the rear area as this was the filler they used back in 1960. Well my question is why should I remove any other lead, why not leave it there. It was only the rope which expanded and pushed out the lead in the channel. Why shouldn't I just fill the channel with filler, sand it and spray it when the rest of the veh gets its paintjob. I don't see a need to remove all the other lead which is still there - comments please guys. I don't mind doing the work but WHY? it all looks just fine and it aint goin anywhere.
Over the next few days I will take off the rest of the chrome and tackle the tank.
My wife has had words with me. No longer am I permitted to polish chrome in the loungeroom or leave parts on the dinning room table - anyone else have this problem? What's a guy to do? I even have to wash my hands in the laundry now and not in our en-suite. She reckons the Imp is so cool and has her eyes on a 1959 - 61 vert. There goes my superannuation.
Well that's it for now. Please feel free and be liberal with you comments re what I am doing. All advice is very welcome.
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