Currell;
Regrettably the grille on the 1953 Imperials was unique to that year as are
the 54's which is the year of my car. This is not to say that a 51' or 52'
Imperial grille won't bolt on but they are a different assembly from a 1953.
The chances are, even if you found one, it would still need to be rechromed.
Many chrome shops can fix all but the worst pitting in trim parts with
solder.
My experience with most trim parts, from that era of Imperial, is that you
either have to make them or fix up an old one. Unlike Cadilacs, where there
were upwards of 100,000 cars built in some years, Imperial production never
exceeded 35,000 units and usually sat around the 13,000 mark. For 1953 I
don't believe that Imperial production exceeded the 10,000 mark. As a result
there is very little in the way of N.O.S trim parts available for these cars
compared to Cadillacs. top it off Chrysler had a policy of liquidating its
old parts inventory more often then the other two of the big three so much
of it was disposed of when these cars were considered little more then old
beaters.
With regards to the Imperial script badge on the sides of your car I do not
believe that this was anything unusual.
Most Imperials from this era had the Imperial script on the front fenders,
behind the wheels, to denote it from a New Yorker or a Saratoga, which had
their badge just above the wheel.
As to the Crowns on the hubcaps I have not yet determined how to remove
mine as they appear to be riveted on. I have been meaning to investigate the
posibility of casting the plastic portion unless someone is already doing
so. The best thing, I figure, to do with the metal crowns is to have them
replated with the rest of the bright work as they would be more difficult to
reproduce.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Currell Pattie" <currellpattie@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2002 4:25 PM
Subject: IML: 1953 Imperial
> As a Newbie,I was invited to say a little about my 1953 Imperial, so here
> goes...
>
> I bought it in '77 from a fellow in Olean, NY, who was the former Mayor.
The
> car had less than 65K miles on it, and had spent most of its time in Va.
> (The guy was a collector; he had owned an L-29 Cord at one time). The
> interior was mint, except for the front seat and front door panels. The
body
> and paint were very good, except for the grille, which was and is very
poor
> (Korean War chrome). The car got from NY to Michigan with no problems.
>
> For the first few years, I drove it fairly regularly, putting almost 4K
> miles on it. However, I started having brake problems, and it gradually
> became a Garage Queen, regrettably. The last year it was used to any
extent
> was about 1990, and I additionaly got involved in some other cars, such as
a
> 1953 Mercedes 220 (basically a late '30s car, styling-wise), a '70
Spitfire
> and a '65 Cadillac 60 Special. I also had a '48 Cadillac fastback during
> this period.
>
> When we were redoing our garage 5 years ago, I had to get busy on it. So
the
> carb got rebuilt, I put a new master cylinder it it, took out the plugs,
> oiled the cylinders, etc. I did get it running, and took it around the
block
> a couple of times. But I never could get the brakes to bleed properly.
>
> However, this year, I found a company in the Detroit area who is going to
> get the Imperial truly roadable. And that is where it is now.
>
> By the way, if anyone has a line on an excellent or NOS 51-53 Imperial
> grille...(I believe the '51 and '52 are a perfect interchange). I could
also
> use those little crowns that are on the hubcaps.
>
> I think the Imperial website is great! Funny, I had already spotted those
> Imperials in The Godfather, and the Bogie flick, Sabrina. Trying to sneak
an
> Imperial past me in a movie is like trying to sneak the sun past a
rooster.
> By the way, I was watching "Charlie Varrick" (Walter Mattau flick)
recently;
> '67? But I digress...
>
> The '53 on the Imperialist site is fascinating, due to the fact that it
has
> AC! By the way, I neglected to mention that my car has the rare Powerflite
> automatic transmission, so it was a late build. It also has the script
> "Imperial" on the side; the early ones did not have that.
>
> The choice of materials used in this car, especially the interior, harkens
> back to the Classic era. Extremely impressive. Negatives? Well, the Power
> Steering is so light, if a fly lands on the steering wheel...
>
> Later. Currell
>
>
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