Strange how things work out. Earlier this week I went into Seattle to pickup some Aluminum for our Robotics team’s last minute rush and what did I spy but this forlorn Imperial LeBaron. I thought to myself as I drove by that can’t still be there as I saw it about this same time last year doing that same last minute run to the convenience store of metal sales where we get the small quantities on short notice. I knew I had to stop and grab at least one picture. Little did I know that JCP was working on a piece featuring the personal Luxury successor. Once I saw that article I knew there was a reason I saw this car that day.
It’s either a 72 or a 73 – Only 73ImpCapn knows for sure. What a sad and forlorn car, much like today’s CC.
I have written before how I like these. But one of the things that gave me such high hopes for the success of the 1981 version was how good the body felt and sounded on the 81. Every Chrysler C body made after 1968 and every B body after 1970 felt like a glorified tin can. The Imperials were better, but still did not have the subjective “feel” of the contemporary Lincoln, which was the most substantial feeling of the class. The 81 Imp changed that perception, but the car’s electronics failings killed it. In fairness, there was still something of a death-stench about Chrysler in 1981-82, which certainly did the newer car no favors.
But I am rambling. Any day you see an Imperial on the street is a good day. Thanks for capturing it.
You guys are trying to kill me today! 🙂
I say that’s a ’72, based on the taillight. The next year the chrome detail was a teardrop shape, rather than a straight vertical bar.
A little more vinyl decay and you’ll see how the back window was installed. The roof stamping was the same, Imp or NYer, but the fancier car had a smaller glass area. The big hole for the NYer glass was partially filled in with a piece of fiberglass. As if there aren’t enough rust traps on these things already!
Not trying to kill you by subjecting you to such decrepit survivors just had to catch what is certainly one of just a few left in the wild.
I did wonder about that rear window as it seemed that it was indeed a filler panel, IE that pinkish area didn’t look steel, of some sort to make the rear window opening smaller, thanks for confirming that.
Edit: you may be able to rest easier if you know the other side is in good condition, I just didn’t want to try to get a shot of the other side as it is parked on a busy arterial.
I’d like to think that whatever put those dents in the back door and rear fender would’ve condemned a modern car to the crusher.
About 20 years ago, my cousin was driving a 72 New Yorker. There was a big story in the news about how a tractor-trailer lost a wheel on the highway and caused a huge pile-up. The next time I saw my cousin he said, “You know that big accident in the news? The first thing the tire ACTUALLY hit was my New Yorker. It just bounced off and I kept going.”
The vertical panels are a really heavy-gauge steel, unlike the tinny trunk lid – it sounds like you’re shutting a galvanized trash can.
Now thats a proper Chrysler nothing like the Iacocca POS.
Betcha’ it would be mighty slow if propelled by a slant-6.
It would, but all Imperials of this era got 440 big blocks.
Also notice how the right front wheel is haphazardly propped up on the curb. The way this guy drives, no wonder the car is so dented.
Whenever you see a car this decrepit, it’s usually owned by a stoner, a hippie, or someone who’s either down on their luck or battling serious personal demons.
I would say the front wheel is purposely propped up on the curb to prevent it the other side from looking like many other cars that are street parked on that road, ie side-swiped. It is a narrow parking strip and despite the 35mph speed limit 45mph is closer to the “normal” speed cars travel through there.
How do you even dent a car like that? Sliding into poles?
Sad state for an awesome car….
It really wouldn’t take much to get this car back in shape – fix the dents, a new vinyl roof, new wheelcovers and whitewalls, and it would be good to go.
If it was mine I’d ditch the vinyl roof altogether. Smooth the roof, remove the trim and fill in the holes. I’d also shave the chrome lower side molding.
I wonder if he knows what he’s got. For a malaise-era sedan those things command some decent coin.
Here is an Imperial I spotted recently http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ky-850DReM&list=UUHBMWqoKoNvMYoBSd61g_Pw&index=1&feature=plcp