RE: IML: Q: What to do with a 25k motor

Thanks for the response. This was more along the lines of what I was thinking.

I guess before everyone thinks I'm a criminal I should clarify.

I was more interested in what qualifies the car. What parts of a car can be changed and still be considered original? For instance I can replace a fender, a seat. a quarter panel and the car is still in tact (or at least I thought). At what point does a car's originality come in question? If I replace a part of the frame is that different?

Does the frame define the originality or is it more or something else? The question of swapping plates was inquiring on how much could be done, I have two cars that would like to make into one good one.

My apologies if I presented in the wrong way, my intent is to keep originality but obviously minimize work.

I like the Imperials and enjoy what goes on here, this seems like a great group. We had a gentleman that we knew that continuously praised the Imperials. He owned numerous ones which is probably what prompted me on the one my wife found. He passed away a few years ago at 100.

Thanks again, please don't misunderstand me.

The stuff that makes it cool is the service records showing the progression of miles over the years, with gaps occuring in the documentation when the car was parked. Mileage wasn't put on titles until long enough after 1963 to make it provable. Many '63 Imperials were driven their first 100,000 miles during the first 6 to 10 years of use. At that time, sellers were not required to report mileage and frequently changed it.

In my opinion the 26K on the title is not worth much.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pavlik, Eric"
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Q: What to do with a 25k motor
Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:37:55 -0500

Hi everyone,

    I'm new to this and would like to ask a question. To give a brief background:

The wife found this 63 sitting in some guys yard along with a host of other old cars (pretty cool actually). Got him to sell it to me - its a 4dr hardtop, blue with 26k original miles (yes, original). However, the body and some of the rear frame is shot, even though it was garaged (barn) for 25 yrs. Brought it home to start restoring and mechanically it is in great shape. Was actually able to get it running and drove it down the road before garaging it. My dad got excited about it and found a 'parts car' in Kansas that should be delivered tomorrow.

    My dilemma - The parts car is in much better shape body-wise than this (at least from pics), has over 100k and was a daily driver (the guy was gonna demo it). I like the original one and color, etc. It seems the best route would be to swap parts to the 'parts car' and get it running. My issue is I want to keep the originality overall but would also like the 26k label on the title.

    Q: What can be or can't be swapped to keep a title with 26k on it and still be legit? Can I swap the plates to the other with the motor and drivetrain or does it have to stay with the frame? I want to keep as much originality as possible.

Eric Pavlik
X3327

Fred Joslin