IML: To be or not to be

["Hugh, 58 Imperial" <imperial58@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I saw my poor old 1958 Imperial for the first time in over a year last 
Saturday.  Totally heartbreaking.  Firmly in the hand basket and destination 
well established.  Rats.  In the spring of 2004 the extraordinarily wealthy 
owner of a huge local independent trucking company volunteered to have the 
engine rebuilt.  The car actually belongs to the Texas Transportation Museum 
in San Antonio, Texas and the gentleman concerned has been and continues to 
be one of our biggest backers.  His mechanics quickly pulled the engine and 
transmission and sent both out to be rebuilt.  The question of a large but 
well repaired crack in the block on the outside of the water jacket caused 
some raised eyebrows but I assured them not only did I know about it but it 
was maybe the only part of the engine which had never given me any grief.

The block and the transmission were returned to the shop, shrink wrapped.  I 
purchased a new spin on oil filter to replace the leaking cylinder type 
which had become so warped over the years it was impossible to seal under 
any circumstances.  And then the long wait began.  The mechanics at the 
truck company were just swamped.  They could not find the time or the space 
to rebuild the top end of the engine and reinstall it.  By the fall of 2004, 
I tried to apply some pressure to see if the project could be expedited.  I 
quickly realized I had no cards to play, no leverage to exert. I was dead in 
the water.  Six months turned into first a year, then two, then three.

My lousy economic circumstances had created the situation in the first 
place.  I came to understand I was a poor man trying to play a rich man's 
game.  Old cars are not for the slight of wallet.  Life went on.  My first 
book was published and sold well enough for a local history book but I still 
had to declare the entire activity as a loss on my taxes.  Both I and the 
museum, of which I am, as manager, the only paid employee, and part time at 
that, gained a lot of prestige from the activity and the museum experienced 
a 29.5% growth in attendance, which is very cool and better than working in 
a bank which I did for many years.  Having said that, the museum's finances 
are even more fragile than mine.  My other job, with the army, does not pay 
much either, but it, too, has compensations other than money, but none of 
this is leading me anywhere closer to being able to get the Imperial back on 
the road.

The main focus of my job at the museum is somehow to make something out of 
nothing.  I am actually quite good at it.  I have decided the time has come 
to try to work around the problem and try to find a workable solution.  It 
quickly became apparent that no commercial shop would take on the job.  No 
one could afford to give up a bay for over a week to do the labor intensive 
work.  I would not only have to pay them for the actual work the would be 
doing on the Imperial but alos compensate them for all the other, quicker, 
easier, more profitable, work they would miss during the time they had my 
car.  I found a great mechanic who is willing to work on the engine at his 
home shop in the evenings.  First the motor and parts, such as the heads and 
rods, etcetera, would be delivered to him and then the rest of the car and 
the transmission for reinstallation.  He figures, all going well, that it 
might take a month with an estimated cost of $2,200.00.  Probably, all in 
all, not a bad deal.

But I have only met this guy once.  He is a huge, very scary dude, a biker 
type, with a massive knee brace from a bad accident.  Would I be jumping 
from the freezer into the frying pan?  Everybody knows when it comes to 
estimates you have to at least double the time and cost once the realities 
of what you have to work with becomes apparent.  Maybe some vital part will 
be lost and then I'm on the hook for getting replacements.  All this to say, 
I'm scared of the guy and that's before he gets hold of the car.

I also had to endure - that's the only word I think describes it - a meeting 
with the wealthy truck company owner who scorned the proposition almost out 
of hand, on the basis that the car in and of itself is not worth any time or 
effort and, least of all, money.  I'm sitting there, like a particularly 
dense school boy, in the principals office, getting a scolding for the 
situation in its totality.  Why he offered to do the Imperial for me in the 
first place is a mystery.  I believe his grandfather had one of a similar 
vintage.  After he passed away his daughter tried to drive it, just once. 
Overnight the car simply disappeared, she said.  He told his employees to 
get rid of it ASAP, with all the force and authority a self made Texan 
billionaire can muster, which is to say the car vanished without a trace and 
that's all there was about it.  The funny part is the 58's engine and 
transmission were actually rebuilt.  It is telling that this was done "for 
free," as a donation to the museum.  A wealthy company can exert pressure on 
folks who do work for it, of course.  I don't think I'll ever understand 
this situation.  Of course, I had to sit there and take it.  His continuing 
generosity to the museum is unbelievable.  And he is a really good guy.  He 
just obviously has no time for big old chrome laden boats.

I tried to explain that from a cost benefit point of view, getting the 
Imperial running does make sense.  Now I am trying to persuade myself of the 
same thing.  One thing will lead to another, as sure as eggs is eggs.  The 
car will need new tires.  The seats need to be re-padded, though the surface 
material is actually very good.  The headliner needs to be redone.  The 
cracked surface of the dashboard will need to be replaced.  And then, of 
course, it will need a stem to stern paint job.  I do have hopes and dreams 
for the car.  I hope to include it in my next book, for which I already have 
a contract.  I can see the car as an ambassador for the museum.  I have 
spoken with a local TV company about making a local history series which 
would feature the car prominently.  There are sound financial arguments to 
be made to get it running again but they don't count for so much if, 
checking the bottom line, I don't have the resources to get it all done. 
And I can hardly use it in its current state even if I get the engine 
redone, which is all I can afford right now.

Tomorrow I am going to see the car and all its special big and little pieces 
again, this time with a different mechanic who, working under similar 
circumstances, may quote me less for the work.  This guy was recommended to 
me by a friend in the local Mopar club.  He retired father worked as a 
Chrysler mechanic at local dealerships his whole life and is reputedly to be 
the a very fine transmission man.

I am, I suppose, holding out for a miracle.  I am, by nature, a pushy 
optimist.  Maybe I can make something happen.  Three and a half years 
without an Imperial, once one has enjoyed such fine fruit, is a long, long, 
time.

Hugh Hemphill
58 Imperial - Mrs. Blueberry
San Antonio, Texas.





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