Hi list! On every 'list' and in every club there is this dichotomy of
opinions on whether certain mods are 'upgrades' or the'butchering' of a
period production historical vehicle, which certainly our Imperials are. Be
that as it may, Jay Leno's 55 Buick is certainly not stock with Vetter front
7 rear subframes and the 650hp crate engine. It is a beautiful car but not
stock. The body & interior are 'period'- looks stock. As a Jaguar Concours
Judge, I can appreciate both approaches, but the Jensen Community is always
seeking 'improvemnets' for these fine Road Touring vehicles-the British
'equivalent' of our Imperials with their Chrysler drivetrains and mass so
simlar to Imperials, not to mention Rolls Royce crafted interiors.. Laurence
and I intend to really drive our Imperial, using it as it was intended, as a
fine distance cruiser. Our first adventure,'collecting it' up will be this
weekend!
As for the Safety issue of Park in a GM tranny swap in a 57 (59?)
Imperial, all of the early Jensen Interceptors used Chrysler 383/727
Torqueflites as STOCK from the 1960's- thru 1972 when 440's were used with
the 727 thru the 1976 end of production. My Interceptor has a console
mounted Shifter with a park position. Since the basic Torqueflite in
50's/60's Imperials is probably (help me out here) the same gear ratios as
the later units with the park- why not consider at least a later Chrysler
Torqueflite mod? They are the most bulletproof reliable tranny ever made!!
Thius is where Chrysler excelled, even in the 50's and 60's, when body
quality was 'an issue'. Chrysler had Drivetrain Engineering reliablity. I'm
sure a 2ndary cable for the park position could be engineered, keeping the
unique pushbuttons functional.
On the other hand, I know that modern Land Rovers STILL use a drum parking
brake on the drivetrain, so the Imperial legacy of Emergency /parking brakes
is NOT DEFUNCT! As collector car owners surely keeping that brake properly
adjusted for safety should not be an insurmountable maintenance item. It is
my first issue on the '56 Dodge (enjoyable 'Magic Touch' pushbutton Drive
thank you). Now since the drivers door key lock doesn't work, I often wonder
about if 'someone' played with the brake-with the car on an incline. So I
make sure I don't park it on an incline...
Also, I use Marine Chrome polish on my Vintage Cars. The Marine formula
(available in Marine stores everywhere) contains a good cleaner that gets
those rust pits AND some petro oil film, that provides more protection from
the elements-especially those tint pits. In fact most of those tiny
pitscan't even be seen until your only 2" away For what its worth.
My 2c plain....
Sherman D.Taffel
Columbia MD
'63 Imperial Crown Convert
'74 Jensen Interceptor Convert
'56 Dodge Coronet 4 dr sedan (drivetrain Emergency brake)
Other 60's,70's,80's, & 90's British & CryCo's
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