Yesterday I drove to Buffalo, NY to visit a 1959
Imperial I'd found out about through a friend. I fell
in love with the car myself, but realize it is beyond
the range of my abilities at this moment. Here are
the particulars:
As I said, its a '59, 4 door HT with flightsweep
decklid, it has a RUNNING 413 in it. The car has no
A/C, but does have power windows and all leather
seats. The color scheme is what got me- the exterior
is black, and the interior is white. Very sharp. The
interior is in pretty good shape, all things
considered, too. A little cleaner and the seats and
dash would be very presentable. The headliner was
intact, but sagging. Carpet was there but worn. The
only thing missing was the driver's door panel, and
the driver's side window (plastic covered it). Also,
the pushbutton arrangement for the transmission was
disassembled, which prevents it from being driven.
I could not open any of the doors, I presume they were
frozen shut, as it had just snowed and was about 25
degrees when I went to look at the car. Hence, I
don't know if it has power or swivel seats. It did
have the original A/M radio.
Underhood was oily and stinky, but all there. The
belts and hoses looked good, thought the battery tray
was rusted out. Heater was disconnected. As I said,
no A/C compresor. I have no idea of the miles, but
the owner said it was his father-in-law's car, and was
last driven a while ago. It still has NY plates, but
they're about 2 generations old.
The body was remarkably straight for its year and
being a NY car. No hits or dents, no filler, just
some minor surface rust on the front fenders/ doors,
and a little quarter rot under the rear stainless
panels. Almost nothing was missing- all badges,
emblems, chrome, and lenses were present and usable,
though the chrome is poor- pitted, but not rusted
through. I could not see under the car (snow) but was
told it was solid. The only missing emblem I could
see was the "I" in "IMPERIAL" written across the hood.
I took a bunch of pictures after cleaning about a foot
of snow off the car. If anyone is interested I could
email them, if they are seriously interested in the
car. I also have the garage owner's phone number-
Dennis owns the car. I really think it could be
saved; though it does need a lot of work to be a show
car, it does run and I think could be a driver without
a TON of work. I spoke with Dennis and he has no
price set for the car, but will listen to offers. I
felt him out a little and I think if someone offered
him the #6 price for the car (which is about
$800-$900, from the web site) I think he'd jump all
over it.
=====
--Mike Pittinaro
Thanksgiving cometh
Stillness fills the frosty air
Christmastime in stores
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