Bill,
I quote, "...we are all here due to our love of the Imperial. How we keep
ours going shouldn't make a difference..."
I disagree. How we maintain these cars is exactly the point of this list.
Most inquiries are about the best way to keep the Imperial alive. To
suggest otherwise is disingenuous at best.
There is an old saying that says, "The best is the enemy of the good." This
discussion started because you kept flaunting the changes you were making,
and then making paradoxical requests about original specification appearance
items. Anyone who knows Mopars and Imperials will know immediately you do
not have the original equipment there anyway, so what is the point.
What is really being discussed is not Imperial affection. It is about best
practice versus expediency, and the cost/benefit trade off which results
from the decisions we make as stewards of these old cars. In medical terms,
a replacement heart will never be as good as the original. Having a
generator rebuilt is practical, inexpensive and best practice in the short
and long term. If you are not happy with the technology in the car you
bought, or the position of things like the rear view mirror, there is one
very obvious conclusion: You bought the wrong car. These things happen.
Altering the nature of the car will probably deny you the opportunity to
sell it to someone more at ease with the car the way it was built and meant
to work.
My Imperial appeals to me on a variety of levels. Being able to drive a car
significantly different from a modern vehicle is an important aspect to me.
Thinking I am smarter than the folks who designed and built it does not. It
has been around for longer than I have. An Imperial is greater than the sum
of its original equipment and infinitely less when inappropriate
substitutions are made. You make your choice and live with the
consequences.
Hugh
"Until further notice, celebrate everything."
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