Leaky Trunks?

[RandalPark@xxxxxxx]

Sorry, Chuck, if leaky trunks had killed the Imperial they wouldn't have built 
anymore cars after 1957. 

I would also have to disagree with you about the overall quality of the '67 and 
'68 models. While they may not have been the same as the separate body and 
frame models, they really were very well put together and essentially equal in 
quality to anything else offered as flagship models from GM or Ford at the time.

I vividly remember Tom McCahill complaining about the differences between the 
1967 Imperial and its predecessors, and even agreeing with him at the time. 
Over the years I have been convinced that those cars really were good cars and 
have a style and elegance all of their own. When in top shape, I actually think 
they are as nice or in some ways nicer to drive than the cars that came before 
them.

I can speak from experience since my parents bought a new '68 LeBaron when I 
was learning to drive. Since then I have driven and inspected many of these 
cars. In high school, I spent every weekend polishing both our venerable 1960 
model, and the new '68. I can remember my mother saying that she liked her '68, 
but that it wasn't the car that the '60 was. I later wondered why she said that 
because as it turned out, they drove that '68 Imperial for 100,000 trouble free 
miles. The '60 only had 32,000 miles on it when they decided that they needed a 
new car. It had required many expensive repairs including a front end rebuild, 
a/c overhaul, and several incidents with the power windows mostly caused by 
wire problems in the door hinge area.

Even though the '67 and '68 models were not really considered a big success, 
they really weren't any less so than so many other years of Imperials that came 
before. Imperial went on and actually sold a lot of cars in the early '70s. As 
I recall production numbers in those years were some of the best ever.

There may be some that don't like Imperials built after 1966, but I don't 
believe that those cars did any damage to the name Imperial. To the contrary, I 
believe that they were great cars for their time.

Paul

In a message dated 1/23/2004 7:44:24 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
chuck_milverton@xxxxxxxxx writes:

> I have been driving Chryslers since the 1950's and have worked for a dealer 
>in my time. We went thru the dealer crisis in '62 and all the other screw ups 
>that the bean counters launched down the tube. Probably the biggest reason why 
>Imperial languished was the transition from body on frame to unibody fuselage 
>ie. the ' 67 - ' 68 model years . These cars were plagued with brake and carb 
>problems - the 440's fouled plugs on a regular basis and the fit and finish 
>was terrible particularly when it came to the lead body filler which could be 
>seen when viewed at the wrong angle. The trunks leaked in heavy rains, and I 
>had more than one body shop helper spend an hour or two inside the trunk while 
>we hosed it down to spot the leak.  What really hurt was that Lincoln and 
>Cadillac really went all out in those years in terms of the interior 
>embelishment and appointment while except for the Coupes, Jefferson cheapened 
>the interiors to the point that they were virtually indistinguishable from the 
>New Yorker or even the Newport. Lincoln and Cadillac seating comfort and style 
>was superb while the Le Baron was diminished from its' ' 64 - ' 66 
>magnificence. To me this was the watershed period for Imperial and it 
> really never recovered.
> Chuck Milverton
> Looking for ' 64 Crown Coupe
> Kildare , Texas
>  
> 
> 
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