My 1st Imperial

[Sandy]

Here is a picture of MY first Imperial, bought new.
It's a 1968 Crown Convertible, in Frost Haze Green,
with Avocado roof and White Leather Bucket Seat
Interior. It had 90% of all options that were available.
It cost a WHOPPING $5,500 and I was working at my
very first job after college. I was working in a Sears
in the bicycle department, assembling new bikes for
display and assembling sold bikes for a fee paid to
Sears. I was making "good money" at $100.00 a week,
Gross pay, and financed this Imperial ! (Dad co-signed) ~
it took me 4 years to pay it off at a $115.00 a month.

The moment it was paid off I traded it for a new 1972
LeBaron 4-Door Hardtop, triple black, it looked
like a limo at 235 inches long. I was age 26.

Friends were driving Camaros & Mustangs, They all
thought it was my Mom's car, but.....it wasn't !

[75coug]

Very cool. I have to say that not only have I never see one of those in person, I don't recall even seeing a photo of one.

The styling cues remind me of those made a few years down the road. The Chrysler dealer in my home town went out of business in the early 1970s, but he did not sell his inventory. Instead, the new cars just sat on the lot of the out-of-business dealership.

And they sat.

And they sat some more, for years. Windows were broken, parts were stolen. Those cars sat there for twenty years before the old guy who owned the dealership died, and someone bought the old inventory. It was a shame that it took so long.

[Sandy]

They sold just 474 of them in 1968 & 577 in 1967. Do you see the sides of the car? Do you see that there are 2 chrome strips running the length of the side, and that they run side-by-side?

The 1967 had just ONE strip of chome running there, where you see 2 on the '68..... That's why I include the 577 from 1967, they are 99.9% exact, except for the chrome moulding and some '67 colors dropped & some new ones added for 68. So, there were actually 1,051 of these ever built.
Perhaps an average of 21 per State.

[shelbyscarab]

Friends were driving Camaros & Mustangs, They all
thought it was my Mom's car, but.....it wasn't !

So, the question is, did you let your friends believe that it was your mom's car?

[shelbyscarab]

Sandy, for some reason, I cannot get to those pics. Can you double check the links? Thanks, I'd like to see them. For the life of me, I can't remember what an Imperial even looks like.

[Sandy]

http://www.fedrelandsvennen.no/amcar/vi ... imper3.jpg

http://www.fedrelandsvennen.no/amcar/vi ... imper4.jpg

[gregpro50]

OMG that thing must have its own zip code.

[Sandy]

02350 for 235 inches long, or 19 & 1/2 feet. But, it was right in the same ballpark as Lincolns, Cadillacs, Buick Electras, Oldsmobile 98s and Pontiac Bonnevilles, as well as Mercury Park Lanes, and Chrysler New Yorkers, give or take an inch or two.

[lightning95sc]

Man, that thing is as long as my '65 Colony Park.

That was a gorgeous car, Sandy. Even moreso today, with all the bland and compound/angular styling on todays cars.

Chuck

[capriman86]

Thought you might like these.

Don't know much about them but snapped some pics!
Saw it at a cruise night tonight and remembered you talking about an Imperial.

[Sandy]

Oh, my God, it's ULTRA rare and beautiful! 4-Sale? LOOK, do you see that emblem on the roof's side, down low by where the roof meets the body? The US Federal Govt. declaired that emblem was so finely cut and adorned, that the US Gov't. declaired it to be jewerly and imposed a federal Jewerly tax on the entire car !

The trunk has the fake spare tire DELETE, therby being called the "Flightsweep" deck lid.

The steering wheel is flat on top & flat on the bottom. Take a 2nd look!
This was so made so that short people could see OVER the rim rather than thru it. The bottom part is also flat, so that it's easy to slide in & out.

It has the push buttom drive (push buttons like R D N R D1 D2 and the Prismatic auto dimming rear view mirror (Oh, you that that was a new feature ? )

The roof is called "SilverCrest" for the insert of stainless steel applique.
The headlamps are freestanding and mounted on pedistals (It was a bitch cleaning in back of them (& everything wound up there)....of course!

The taillamps were suspended in mid air attached (look closly) by 1 thin piece of metal to the fin, making them look as though they were suspended in thin air, when on the road.

Very unusual choice of options. The SilverCrest Roof was usually on the CROWN (think deVille) and the LeBaron (think Fleetwood) usually had the "Embassy" Roof which was padded and had a Tuxedo-Grain to it, and covered the entire roof, except for the visable herein chrome mouldings.

Obviously since the roof was white the vinyl version woulda been white, too the ordering person didn't wanna have to clean it, so theyu opted for the SilverCrest Roof line

THANKS for the memories. Is it 4-Sale? I'd give it a wonderful home and loads of love.

[ASCMCLRN]

They sold just 474 of them in 1968 & 577 in 1967. Do you see the sides of the car? Do you see that there are 2 chrome strips running the length of the side, and that they run side-by-side?

The 1967 had just ONE strip of chome running there, where you see 2 on the '68..... That's why I include the 577 from 1967, they are 99.9% exact, except for the chrome moulding and some '67 colors dropped & some new ones added for 68. So, there were actually 1,051 of these ever built.
Perhaps an average of 21 per State.

Of the 474 made in 1968 which number car did you have? In all honesty were they numbered ever being such a low production? How many miles did you put on this car Sandy?

I noticed they didn't really take any styling ques and carry them over other then the skirt over the rear tire and thin white walls, if I am not mistaken. Also looks like a Concord on the trunk of the older model Capriman86 posted. I can't tell but from the roof of the older car it appears as if the silver part of the roof may be connected to the door for ease of entry/ exit, was that the case? Which was more prestigious at the time a '59 Caddy or that Imperial which looks like it was from the same time frame?

Nick

PS Nice '57 Chevy next to it. Was that an old Plymouth Duster next to the Chevy?

[Sandy]

No, they were not numbered, and it's impossible to know what number it may have been as the convertibles were made interchanged with sedans & hardtops.

No, the roof was not connected to the top of the doors. That was just a sculptured part, into which they laid a section of brushed satin aluminum as decoration, or to break up the large expanse of roof. It looked much better on light colors than on dark ones, On dark color it STOOD OUT TOO MUCH ~ otherwise one could get the padded vinyl "Embassy" roof, that was shared with the Imperial Limosine of the time.

Presitge? I dunno....you also had the Lincoln Continential. As always the sales numbers were:

1. Cadillac Selling 20 units to 1 of #2
2. Lincoln Selling 20 units to 1 of # 3
3. Imperial

So, if exclusivity was Status, then it was Imperial.

But it was waaay different then. There was NO:-
Audi, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, Mercedes Benz, Volvo S80, Acura RL being sold here, so the luxury buyer had 3 choices.

With the birth of CREDIT sales, time payments, financing, it all changed. The cars slowly began to lose "Status" as the not-so-rich could own one. Yes, I do recall when you had to pay CASH for a car.
Can you imagine that? So, when ya saw one of the 3 luxury cars, you knew here was a person who dropped a small fortune on a car. C.O.D. was the order of the day.

[capriman86]

Oh, my God, it's ULTRA rare and beautiful! 4-Sale?

THANKS for the memories. Is it 4-Sale? I'd give it a wonderful home and loads of love.

I guess you liked it huh? LMAO!

As soon as I saw IMPERIAL on the back, I was like WOAH...Sandy would like to see this one!


I don't think it was for sale, but I am sure I will see it again.
Would you like me to ask? I surely can!

Glad you enjoyed it.
I will post another thread with the rest of the pics from the show.

[Sandy]

If I buy another car, I will be handed a divorce, I am told.....