The term "stripper" bascically means a car devoid of all options. If you
looked at the window sticker it would have the base price, transportation,
preparation and taxes. Nothing more. Its data tag would have the basic
information on engine, transmission, tires, paint, interior, etc. but
would
have a big blank space where the option codes would be.
Thus you could have a "stripper" Crown and a "stripper" LeBaron. The
"stripper" 1958 Imperial base series would have power steering, power
brakes, and Torqueflite, but no radio, heater, exterior mirrors,.
whitewall
tires, power seats, or power windows. The "stripper" Crown and LeBaron
would also have power steering, power brakes, and Torqueflite, plus power
seats, power windows and driver's exterior mirror.
And the term "stripper" is also relative. The "stripper" base series of
Imperial was a luxury barge compared to a base Plymouth Savoy "stripper"
model. (Actually, even the top-of-the-line Belvedere "stripper" sedan
was
bare bones compared to the lowest priced Imperial). Back in the 1930's
and
1940's the lowest-priced models usually had one sun visor, one windshield
wiper and one taillight - all on driver's side, along with no arm rests,
no
cigar lighter and virtually no chrome trim. A true 'stripped' vehicle if
there ever was one.
By the way, I believe the name "Custom" was adopted for 1959 so the
lowest-priced Imperial series had a name. Such was the fad back then,
everything had to have a name, be it Hydra-Guide power steering, power
brakes, Torqueflite transmission, Sure-Grip differential, Auto-Pilot speed
control, Southampton hardtop, etc. It was just easier to identify the base
series..
The base prices for the 1958 Imperials -
base series -
4-door sedan : $ 4,945
2-door Southampton hardtop : $ 4,839
4-door Southampton hardtop : $ 4,945
Crown series -
4-door sedan : $ 5,632
2-door Southampton hardtop : $ 5,388
4-door Southampton hardtop : $ 5,632
2-door convertible : $ 5,759
LeBaron series -
4-door sedan : $ 5,969
4-door Southampton hardtop : $ 5,969
Options included :
Custom Conditionaire Heater : $ 140
Air Conditioning with Heater : $ 590
Instant (Gas) Heater : $ 177
Rear window defogger : $ 21
Six-way Power Seat (optional base series) : $ 118
Power windows (optional base series) : $ 125
Power door locks (2-door) : $ 40
Power door locks (4-door) : $ 66
Auto-Pilot : $ 89
Solex glass : $ 50
Whitewall tires : $ 55
Outside rear mirror (optional base series) : $ 7
As for exterior differences between (base), Crown and LeBaron :
Side trim along front fender :
- all - from headlamp to point just above rear of front wheel
Front fender above headlamps :
- (base) - no crown
- Crown and LeBaron - small crown just above trim strip
Front fender, above lower trim strip :
- (base) - "Imperial" nameplate
- Crown - "Imperial" nameplate with small crown above it
- LeBaron - "LeBaron" medallion
Rear deck lid :
- (base) - "Imperial" nameplate
- Crown & LeBaron - "Imperial" nameplate with small crown above it
Each series had their own wheel cover design
Cannot locate my 1958 Imperial brochure for interior details, but the
Crown
and LeBaron had an ash tray in each rear arm rest while the base series
had
a single ashtray on the back of the front seat. And the base series
ashtray
was the same as used on the Chrysler New Yorker and DeSoto Fireflite.
Up front each arm rest had an ashtray plus one in the instrument panel.
And in addition to the cigar lighter in the instrument panel, there was
one
cigar lighter in the rear on the base series and two in the rear for Crown
and Lebaron models.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hugh & Therese" <hugtrees@xxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2005 7:38 AM
Subject: IML: what is a "stripper" and what is a LeBaron?
Bill, I had a feeling you would come up with those amazing statistics.
Thanks. Do you, by any chance, have the price break on the various trim
levels, minus added accessories?
If I may, with respect, quibble, there seems to be a contradiction in
your
definition of the non Crown or LeBaron as being a "Stripper" car. You
wrote:
> "For an Imperial, the basic, no-option, Custom was a stripper model.
Yes,
> you could load it up with all the options available on a LeBaron, but
the
> base Custom car, with no options, had less equipment than either a
> Crown
> or
> a LeBaron."
The logic seems to imply you could indeed get a stripper base model but
you
could also get a stripper Crown and even a stripper LeBaron. If the base
model could be loaded up with all the options, and so could the other
trim
levels, does the car's position on the trim ladder denote that the car
must
be, a priori, a stripper? We have heard of LeBarons, in later years,
with
wind up windows, for example. In 1958, because all "extras" were
available
at every trim level, it is not correct to say the non-named Imperial was
a
stripper by definition. Possibly, the introduction of the name, "Custom"
in
later years was an attempt to stratify positions but, in this era, it was
important not to do so. You might buy the non named Imperial to avoid
tow
tone paint or leather, but you could still get everything else.
This gets me back to a point I have never had clearly defined to my own
satisfaction, and it happens to be the question that sparked off this
particular thread: "What was the difference, in 1958, between a Crown and
a
LeBaron? Crowns had a crown embossed into its leather seats. What did
the
LeBaron have? The LeBaron had a different trim on the sides that read
LeBaron instead of Imperial but what else was different? Did they also
have
little crowns above the headlights? I know they had their own wheel
covers.
Were there any other interior appointments that were exclusive to the
LeBaron? What were people paying for, over and above the Crown, apart
from
snob value?
Hugh
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