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I very much agree that these are great looking cars. In the
right hands they will be fine. Since you have 4 of them, you have obviously
uncovered their mysteries. For someone without your capabilities, this may be
the wrong car for them. Since Chrysler dealers dumped all of their testing
equipment as soon as they could & even they wanted nothing to do with
repairing these cars, I think finding even a willing & honest garage to work
on it may turn out to be frustrating. I've come close a couple of times to
buying one of them myself, but now I'm not sure if I ever would. I don't have
the patience anymore for a car that is so complex.
John
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2004 2:53
PM
Subject: Re: IML: 1983 Chrysler Imperial:
starting problems
Paul, it is too bad that you have such a dislike for the
81-83 Imperials. It is each of our own rights to have an opinion.
Sounds like you had a bad experience with these cars. I personally think
they are the best looking and most appealing of the Imperials. Sure,
your 68 is simple and reliable, but with proper care, maintenance, and not
neccessarily a ton of money, the 81-83 can also be the same. People who
are into older cars, usually are somewhat mechanically inclined, since keeping
up an older car most likely requires some regular
tinkering.
Davis
81 Imperial, white, sunroof, red leather interior,
original CB radio
82 Imperial, Glacier Blue, dark blue leather interior,
EFI
82 Imperial FS, Light blue Kimberly cloth interior
83 Imperial,
white, red leather interior, original owner, xlnt original condition, daily
driver
In a message dated 06/05/2004 2:16:29 PM, RandalPark@xxxxxxx
writes:
Well, you may be right, and of course we are each entitled to our
opinions. If "the basics" would be a good place to start, it would be better
to start with a basic car. That word does not describe these particular
automobiles.
Trouble shooting that car is going to cost a ton of
money, and a firm commitment of love on the part of the owner. If the
love isn't there, I still say sell the car. The owner already knows if
"love" is in the equation. The rest is easy.
Paul
In a message
dated 6/5/2004 2:07:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, nt014b6628@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
writes:
>
>
> Whoa,
>
> I think that maybe
we are getting ahead of ourselves here, two of the
> recommendations
include selling the car or ripping the EFI system off and
> putting a
carb set-up on, i personally think this is a bit extreme when the
>
basics have not been checked first.
>
> Joel says that the car
came from William who i recall had some problems with
> his car, i do
not know who did the repairs for William but lets not assume
>
that
> what was done is 100%, and that the only answer is to get a
sledgehammer to
> crush
> this poor starting
nut.
>
> I think it would be fair for Joel's 83 (and his sanity)
if we cover the
> basics first, there
> are many an IML member
who enjoy their EFI powered cars, (myself and Dick
> Benjamin
included) the rip it off and start again approach can have more
>
pitfalls than there is keeping an EFI powered car running.
>
>
Neil 82 Imperial London, England.
>
>
>
> -----
Original Message -----
> From: "michael popp"
<popp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To:
<mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2004
3:59 AM
> Subject: Re: IML: 1983 Chrysler Imperial: starting
problems
>
>
> > Joel---Don't panic---Your 83 is a
beauty to behold ---Find a 80 Cry
> cordoba
> > without
lean-burn --preferably a 4 barrel and put that set-up on your 83
>
> Imperial ---it will run better than ever -start every time and make
you
> > smile----I did that to my 86 Ply first and am in process of
doing my 82
> > Imperial F S Ed---Feel free to contact me off-list
at
> > mailto:popp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Mike
> > -----
Original Message -----
> > From: <RandalPark@xxxxxxx>
>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Friday,
June 04, 2004 7:05 PM
> > Subject: Re: IML: 1983 Chrysler Imperial:
starting problems
> >
> >
> > > This was a
frequent problem with early '80s, first generation
>
computerized
> > cars. In most, the ignition and the fuel system
are both computer
> > controlled. There are a guzillion reasons why
these cars either stop
> running
> > or won't start. In many
cases, the trouble is intermittent and difficult
> to
> >
find. Many Auto Electric shops in the good old USA became very
wealthy
> > during the time that these cars were on the road. The
sad part is, most of
> > them never really ever figured out what
was wrong with the cars.
> Eventually
> > their owners became
annoyed and sold them.
> > > I hate to be so general here, but I
know from experience that this was
> > universally true among the
big three and most likely others too. My newest
> > Chrysler
Product has always been my '68 Imperial. I have '80s offerings
>
from
> > each of the other major manufacturers, and have had
occasional problems
> with
> > both, although the G.M built
cars have been much more reliable than the
> ones
> > from
Ford. I still run both of them on a daily basis.
> > > When
those Imperials were new, many people had exactly that kind of
> >
trouble with them. The cars will run perfectly, and for no apparent
>
reason,
> > quit on the road or refuse to start. Over the years I
have found that the
> > folks that were the most successful keeping
those cars on the road were
> the
> > ones who "loved them no
matter what".
> > > I have also found that reading the wiring
diagrams and understanding
> where
> > relays and sensors
(both vacuum and electronic) are, and understanding
> what
>
> they do helps a lot. Relays with dirty contacts can cause an
intermittent
> > problem for years before they actually quit
working all together. This is
> > also true of sensors.
>
> > In summary, I would say that there probably is not one thing that
anyone
> > here can tell you that will solve your problem. If you
love the car, you
> > will become very accustomed to knowing under
what condition your car does
> > certain things. Eventually you
will be able to make sense out of that
> > information, along with
the things that you read and study to make a good
> > stab at
finding the faulty part or parts. The other option would be to pay
>
> someone else to do that, but I offer this: back during the time that
those
> > cars were on the road there were few, if any mechanics
that could trouble
> > shoot them. Most people just got taken to
the cleaners, and still couldn't
> > depend on their cars to run
when they were suppose to.
> > > If you don't want to go through
this process, I would suggest selling
> the
> > car, or
becoming a member of AAA Plus. If you can, buy extra towing.
> >
> Paul
> > > In a message dated 6/4/2004 1:40:48 PM Eastern
Daylight Time,
> > joelrsmith@xxxxxxxxxx writes:
> > >
> Hi Guys,> > I have a 1983 Chrysler Imperial that I purchased
about a
> > month ago. It's in pretty decent condition, but does
have some rust in the
> > rear left & right quarter panel &
the bottom of the deck lid. It has
> 130,000
> > Miles on it
(but there is an asterix beside where it says that, don't know
> >
what that means) and gets from 15 - 20 US MPG on a tank.> > Right from
the
> > beginning, whenever I would start it, it would crank over a
bit more than
> > what I would expect a "normal" car to do,
although I did hear from a
> certain
> > mechanic that due to
it's older computer, that could be normal. It always
> > drives
& idles nice though. Anyways, here's what happened: I drove my
car
> to
> > work friday morning (7:30 am), and it did it's
usual "longer than normal"
> > start, all was good. It sat all day
at work in about say 20 C (68 F)
> > temperature. I finished work
around 5:00 pm and went to start my car. The
> > first try I held
the key in the "start" position for about 6 - 8 seconds,
> it
>
> just cranked, didn't fire once. This was kind of surprising, as it
had
> never
> > done this before. So I tried it again,
nothing. After that, i tried
> pumping
> > the gas pedal (I
usually NEVER touch the gas pedal at all before or during
> >
starting) while I was cranking it, it actually fired one or two times
but
> > didn't start. Next, I pulled off the air cleaner cover,
& I could smell
> > as( but it didn't appear flooded), so I
left the cover off for a minute or
> > two, then put it back on and
tried again. Nothing. > > So after that I
> went
> >
back inside to where I work & called AMA to send over a tow truck.
Next
> > about 30 mins had passed since I had last tried
starting the car) I went
> > outside again to see if I could start
the car. I put the key in and
> cranked
> > it...it didn't
fire for a sec or two, but then caught a few times &
>
started.
> > For the first few seconds it ran rough, like it had
too much / too little
> > fuel, but after that it smoothed out and
idled like it has always had
> before
> > (it idles nice
btw). So now i'm a little scared about something like this
> >
happening again (i've been driving it for about 4 days since then and
it's
> > always started). Now would any of you guys have any idea
what the problem
> > could be and what I can do to fix it? I'm also
interested in why it seems
> to
> > need a few excessive
cranks to start. > > Oh, and you can check out
>
pictures
> > of my car here: >
http://www3.telus.net/agentsmith> > Thanks in advance.>
>
>
> > Joel Smith> Edmonton, Alberta.> > > > >
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