Re: IML: I need opinions

["David Whitney" <david.whitney@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi, Joe --

I have a confessor who rides the commute shuttle with me.  He is a car nut
from way back, mostly Fords, and I ask him for forgiveness every time I buy
another Mopar.  He absolves me and tells me to go forth and sin no more
after appropriate penance.

The first question you must ask yourself is "How much money am I willing to
spend?"  If your answer is greater than $10,000, I recommend you proceed
with the frame off idea.  You may still encounter some or all the pitfalls
that cause such projects to be set aside indefinitely, but at least you'll
get past the number one project showstopper.

The second question you must ask yourself is "How much work am I able to do
myself?"  If you do not have the necessary skill and equipment (or if you
are not willing to acquire them) to do virtually everthing except paint the
car yourself, add at least $5,000 to the above answer.

My two Imperials are a case in point:

The '91 cost $800 to acquire.  Goal = daily driver.  No engine work other
than sensors, no transmission work other than major service/flush, no
paint, no interior work.  The one major system that needed replacing is the
suspension and tires.  I let a mechanic do all the work.  Total cost to put
the car on the road (not counting acquisition) = $2400.

The '66 cost $600 to acquire.  Goal = show car (not concours).  Engine is
not present.  Body damage to front fender.  It all needs to be
disassembled/cleaned/rebuilt/painted/greased/polished.  Some major chrome
items (grille, rear bumper) need to be replaced and some minor items (hood
ornament, outside mirror and about a dozen trim pieces) need to be
rechromed.  The only new interior item it needs is carpet.  Sparing you the
rest of the details, my realistic time and money budget for this frame off
project is two years and $12,000, doing all but the most specialized work
myself.

You have a splendid car, and I hope whatever you do you get it to driveable
condition or, failing that, bequeath the project to someone who can.
Garages and yards across the USA are filled with "One of these days" cars.
Example:  There's a '57 Crown 4-door baking in the sun in San Jose right
now, deteriorating more each year, that the owner will not part with for
love nor money.  Maybe his estate will get a few hundred for the car, maybe
it'll make its way to Lowell Howe's, but it didn't have to be this way.

God luck,

David
'91 K-Imperial driver
'66 Crown Coupe project
'66 Newport 383 dual exhaust .030 over  Eddys/B&M/Cragars daughter's first
Mopar


                                                                                                                                              
                      JosephStil@xxxxxxx                                                                                                      
                      Sent by:                        To:       mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx                                                 
                      mailing-list-owner@imper        cc:                                                                                     
                      ialclub.com                     Subject:  IML: I need opinions                                                          
                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                              
                      09/24/2004 03:20 PM                                                                                                     
                      Please respond to                                                                                                       
                      mailing-list                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                              




Afternoon all:

I recently bought a 1961 4D Crown Southampton.  (you know, there are times
when I think this is like group therapy:  "hi, my name is Joe.  I own an
Imperial."  group response:  "Hi Joe!" heheheh).  Nuthin' like a 12-step
program to get one through the day....

I have a bunch of work to do to make The Big Red Sled drivable.  This work
includes fuel system repair(rebuild the carburetor, replace the fuel pump,
boil & reseal the gas tank), repair the braking system, repair the power
steering (the aftermarket A/C compressor was mounted over the P/S pump in
such close proximity that the pump reservoir cap cannot be removed so it is
likely dry), and figure out why "R"everse doesn't work.

Not to mention repairing the seat upholstery and a paint job (solid body,
very small bubble-type rust at the rear quarter panels).

My brother-in-law is a former body shop guy and he is suggesting that I
just off-frame restore it right now (sort of hard to do with the front end
of a '61 but you get the idea).  Get it started and get it over with (about
2 years).  My goal initially was to get it drivable (SAFELY) and then work
on the pieces of the puzzle that require attention (paint & body, interior
upholstery, etc.).  I sure would love to drive the car sooner rather than
later even if she is rough around the edges (safe to drive however) but I
can also see the value in doing it all at once.

Let me know your thoughts or opinions on the topic.  I would especially
like to hear from those of you who have gone the off-frame restoration
route.

I look forward to hearing from y'all.

Joe


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








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