1966 Imperial Crown convertible

OK, back to the Imperial! It's getting a front-end alignment in a few days. There are only two shops locally that will align old cars anymore. Most shops, if the car is more than 15 years old, they don't want to do anything on it, plus the so-called "techs" can't seem to do **** on any car without a computer telling him what is what. I miss my friend at the auto shop at the vo-tech. He retired three years ago. His kids worked on stuff like that regularly. The new "teacher" there now is of the thought that "the kids aren't going to be working on old cars" in the field. He is a moron. Brakes are brakes. Everything needs to be aligned occasionally. Carbs? What are those? So, that leaves me to pursue other avenues with stuff that I haven't the tools or time to do. Alignments fall under that.

The Imperial will wonder just a bit from 55 to about 75. I've driven the car enough over the past year or so, especially, to where that problem is becoming more evident to me. Time to do something about that before the last alignment guy in town that can do this, dies off or something. It's gonna get dropped off at that shop on Wednesday afternoon, so he can do it and have it done Thursday. Just in time for a 200-mile cruise scheduled for the 17th. I'll have to dashcam that and put it on my youtube channel. I'll link to that when that occurs.
 
patrick66 said:
My Dodge D300 arrived from New Mexico yesterday afternoon. Ultra-straight, 99.8% rust-free cab & chassis. A lifelong northern California (20 years)/southwestern New Mexico (32 years) truck. It has the original 318, four-speed NP435 trans, radio, heater, power brakes, 4.10 Dana 70 dually rear. Shows 64K miles, believed to be original. This is in that good of shape! It has led an easy life, apparently. Lots of NM desert dirt and dust came with it. I get to clean that interior after work today. The seat was redone at some time, and has two sections that need to be reupholstered. Other than that, pretty damn nice! Doors shut right and tight. Windows go up and down perfectly, without rattles. One armrest is pretty roached, the other is perfect. It's on four may-pop tires, so rubber is in the immediate future for this beast. One nice thing about 1969 is that Dodge began using one-piece, 8-lug wheels that are the same through 1993, so I got the six wheels on the truck, plus two additional wheels. Better than the two-piece split-ring wheels; plus, I don't need to jack with tubes.

A blast with the son's power washer after work today, and a session with the air compressor beforehand to blow out all that dust from under the hood and the interior...she'll look Springtime-fresh!

With the added plus of REAL patina, versus the manufactured-patina, aka "fauxtina" on too many vehicles.

No rattlesnakes, scorpions, spiders or other desert stowaways that I've found. Well, yet.

Pics of the "new kid"...

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Thant's great, that truck is almost nice... meaning I could both love and use her... I would never change the banged up grille or spent too much time trying to make something pretty... but I'd figure out a bed and use her whenever I could.

Leave the seat, fix the clearance light and spare no expense on good rubber and brakes. Add a scary front push/step bumper and drive her to the lumber yard before Cars and Coffee.
 
You've read my mind! I plan on Scotchbriting the paint and make it at least sorta-shiny, since 98% of the paint is still on the truck. The seat is a rock and crumbles. Looks good, but it is desert-baked to a crackly crunch, so it is getting a re-do. The windshield glass, plus the window seal and the rear glass seal, are in sad shape and will definitely get replaced. I have a set of original cab lenses on order. The PS turn indicator is broken, but there is another pair that came with the D300. Plus, I need taillights until I get a flatbed on this beast!

I hate driving anything dirty. This will definitely get cleaned up and sorta-sparkly, but the overall appearance wn't change a bunch.

I do have a 3x3 steel square bumper that came off another Dodge from long ago that I'm going to use for now, so I'll have a bumper up front. I might have a nice chunk of C-channel (say 6" or so!) made up for a nice, big, intimidating; yet useful, front bumper, like a push truck or a wrecker might have.

A friend does powder-coating for a living. I can get the wheels done for $45 each, which is a great deal, IMO. Or, I might add a set of the stainless steel wheel "simulators" for that little exterior bling. With that, new tires all around, and a thorough brake check before it hits the road again (plus taillights! Kinda important!), and she'll be ready to drive.

It will definitely hit a Cars & Coffee sometime soon. Might park over by the Corvette snobs or the Chevy SSR geezers, watch them all stroke out!
 
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My lovely wife asked me if I wanted three big comforters that were kinda worn and we didn't use anymore. Hmmm, cheap and soft car covers, hell yeah!

Since I keep the top-down on the Imperial for about six months out of the year, it's the perfect way to cover the seats and dash, without having to raise the top. Nice, soft, comfy...at least if she ever decides to toss me out, I have a cozy bed in my Imperial, right?

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patrick66 said:
My lovely wife asked me if I wanted three big comforters that were kinda worn and we didn't use anymore. Hmmm, cheap and soft car covers, hell yeah!

Since I keep the top-down on the Imperial for about six months out of the year, it's the perfect way to cover the seats and dash, without having to raise the top. Nice, soft, comfy...at least if she ever decides to toss me out, I have a cozy bed in my Imperial, right?

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Perfect and better than buying something... but it would be good for the pump/cylinders to cycle the top a little more often.
 
When I take it to the car wash, the top definitely gets cycled. That is maybe three times over the top-down season. Other than that, the top stays down, so I can jump in it and just go.
 
Got the gas tank and the sending unit from Murray Park yesterday! So, right after getting it out of the box and ensuring the gorillas at UPS didn't beat it to a flat pulp, I began removing the existing tank. I drained the fuel from the car, and then started on those two J-bolts. Caked in factory undercoating, I realized this wasn't gonna be a 15-minute swapout. Crap.

Out comes the Simply Green, a putty knife, and a flat screwdriver to de-gunk the threads; and then the wire wheel on the drill. Looks good, but the nut won't budge. In my haste to order the tank, I failed to order new J-bolts! My plan to simply cut the bolts off while saving the two tank straps wasn't gonna happen. Now, they rest in an ample spraying-down with the Simply Green, and await my returning to the scene of the crime after work this afternoon to remove everything intact. If I can't, I'll leave it as-is, and still drive it as planned to the event. I'd considered ordering bolts last night with next-day shipping, but it appears no one is willing to guarantee "next-day" as actual next-day. Typical these days, it seems.

Hmmm...$89.00 for next-day, plus $22.00 for the bolt pair plus tax...$111.00 for two bolts, that I'd still have to find nuts for. Uh...no. I'll work on what I have, and order new bolts to have in my hands in 7-10 days. Or 14 days. Or 20 days. Sometime in May, hopefully. Who knows, these days, right?

The leak is at the very top of the old tank, and leaks only when the tank is full. So, if I have to, I'll fill up at the start of the trip instead of the night before (as I usually do), and the leak will only be a "thing" for the first 10 miles or so.
 
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Ended up taking my son's '76 Buick Skylark coupe to the event, rather than the Imperial. Probably a good thing, too. It's a 247-mile one-way trip. the drive there Saturday was gorgeous, with 75* temps and clear skies for most of the way. Sunday showed a rather evil-looking cloudy sky, with thunderstorms in the forecast statewide. The event wrapped up about 1100 Sunday morning. We were about 40 miles into the return trip, when the skies opened up angrily! Torrential rain and pea hail. And it was continuous over the rest of the drive home. Had I brought the Imperial, I'm quite certain we'd got wet inside with the top up, as there are a couple of spots where the windshield seal and the top seal atop the windows leak, anyway. Plus, I've yet to hook up the defroster vents to the rest of the system, so foggy windows would've been inevitable. That's OK, though.

My son's car proved trip-worthy. Up til now, the farthest I'd driven that Buick for a day trip was 140 miles one-way to a car collection East of Tulsa. This trip was just short of 250 miles one-way. The little Olds 260 2-bbl V8 hummed along effortlessly. Typical Seventies V8 lack of real power, but it would get right along down the highway. Now, the car is just short of rolling all "threes" on the odometer - 33,283.0 as of this morning. And yes, that is 133K. We got the car with 81K on it. This is a true two-owner car out of eastern Washington. The original owner checked the minimum on the order sheet - Tilt column, carpet, cloth interior, AM radio, heater (no air), full wheel covers and two-tone paint. Very basic car. We've had the Buick since 2007. I gave the car to my oldest in 2009, and got the interior redone as a graduation present. Not a mint car, but it's straight. If any car were ripe for an LS swap, this is the little beast, right here!

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patrick66 said:
Ended up taking my son's '76 Buick Skylark coupe to the event, rather than the Imperial. Probably a good thing, too. It's a 247-mile one-way trip. the drive there Saturday was gorgeous, with 75* temps and clear skies for most of the way. Sunday showed a rather evil-looking cloudy sky, with thunderstorms in the forecast statewide. The event wrapped up about 1100 Sunday morning. We were about 40 miles into the return trip, when the skies opened up angrily! Torrential rain and pea hail. And it was continuous over the rest of the drive home. Had I brought the Imperial, I'm quite certain we'd got wet inside with the top up, as there are a couple of spots where the windshield seal and the top seal atop the windows leak, anyway. Plus, I've yet to hook up the defroster vents to the rest of the system, so foggy windows would've been inevitable. That's OK, though.

My son's car proved trip-worthy. Up til now, the farthest I'd driven that Buick for a day trip was 140 miles one-way to a car collection East of Tulsa. This trip was just short of 250 miles one-way. The little Olds 260 2-bbl V8 hummed along effortlessly. Typical Seventies V8 lack of real power, but it would get right along down the highway. Now, the car is just short of rolling all "threes" on the odometer - 33,283.0 as of this morning. And yes, that is 133K. We got the car with 81K on it. This is a true two-owner car out of eastern Washington. The original owner checked the minimum on the order sheet - Tilt column, carpet, cloth interior, AM radio, heater (no air), full wheel covers and two-tone paint. Very basic car. We've had the Buick since 2007. I gave the car to my oldest in 2009, and got the interior redone as a graduation present. Not a mint car, but it's straight. If any car were ripe for an LS swap, this is the little beast, right here!

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A LS would be really nice, but a 455 Olds will bolt right in on the same mounts. I did this years ago to a 80 Olds Delta 88 we had, it was a 5.7 diesel and then it had a 455/TH350 swap. I used the mounts, hoses and brackets from the diesel. I had to modify the A/C brackets because the 455 is a tall deck compared to the 260. Small block vs Big block,
 
Finally got the tank out of the Imperial tonight. Gauge said "E", yet there was close to 8 gallons in it. Fun. Got the wire and the fuel line off with a bit of effort. And, go figure...my new tank iis wrong.. KMA, this has been my week. The filler neck hole on the new tank is two inches across. The old tank is 2-1/4". So, obviously, the new seal and my old filler neck have zero chance of working with new tank. S#!t.

OK, so one to job number two. Put the new valve cover gasket on the DS and replace both front brake lines on the Coronet. Valve cover first...got five of the six valve cover bolts down. The sixth is the front lower corner. Damn thing tries to cross-thread. Several tries and it just doesn't wanna thread right. Wow. Gimme a break. So I decide to quit for the evening. I'm pissed about the tank and this one stinkin' bolt. I shut the big rollup on the open gas door on the Imperial, bending it a bit. Now I'm plain livid! It is so time to GTFO of the shop before I really start breaking ****!

Tomorrow is a new day.
 
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Well, good news this morning! I had bought the tank from Murray Park, along with a new sending unit. I called them this morning, assuming my tank was wrong. Nope! With his Imperial tank, there is NO separate fuel neck grommet! There is a thin O-ring built into the tank, eliminating that grommet. So, the fuel neck slides into the tank fill hole! The diameter of the fill hole on the tank and the OD on the tube are both two inches. Tonight, I complete the installation. And the guy on the phone at Murray Park was very helpful, great customer service! I'll add pics this evening.

BTW, the trunk floor on the Imperial is about as rust-free as a 56-year-old car can get. It's crazy nice! Easily as nice as the inside floor is. I showed my son the giant lead ballast lumps on the rear trunk floor, underneath the car. Someone here had mentioned their weight once upon a time; 125# seems to ring a bell. I also discovered a leak from the yoke seal on the 8-3/4" axle, too.

Now that I've calmed down overnight...! Never work on a car when you are pissed off.
 
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Got the tank in this morning. Took maybe ten minutes with my son's help. Four hands are better than two. The inside of the old tank wasn't bad for 55 years old. The trunk floor is incredibly solid and rust-free!. My son cleaned the thick coating off the tank straps, and they look as good and shiny was the new tank. We filtered the old gas through a sock and filled the car with about five gallons. Why is the gauge not registering?

Started her up, got a full tank of mid-grade, and gave her a bath. Damn, the Imperial looks good! Runs like a top! And no leaky tank! One is find out my gauge says 1/2-tank when it is plum full, so the gauge is to fixed soon.

Tomorrow at 5am, we're heading off to the Southern Plains Mopar Fest in Noble, Ok. For me, about a 45-minute drive. Gotta help set up everything for the event. Come on out!!

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patrick66 said:
Well, good news this morning! I had bought the tank from Murray Park, along with a new sending unit. I called them this morning, assuming my tank was wrong. Nope! With his Imperial tank, there is NO separate fuel neck grommet! There is a thin O-ring built into the tank, eliminating that grommet. So, the fuel neck slides into the tank fill hole! The diameter of the fill hole on the tank and the OD on the tube are both two inches. Tonight, I complete the installation. And the guy on the phone at Murray Park was very helpful, great customer service! I'll add pics this evening.

BTW, the trunk floor on the Imperial is about as rust-free as a 56-year-old car can get. It's crazy nice! Easily as nice as the inside floor is. I showed my son the giant lead ballast lumps on the rear trunk floor, underneath the car. Someone here had mentioned their weight once upon a time; 125# seems to ring a bell. I also discovered a leak from the yoke seal on the 8-3/4" axle, too.

Now that I've calmed down overnight...! Never work on a car when you are pissed off.
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If you talked to a guy on the phone at Murray Park you talked to Murray.:lol:
 
The 1954 Hudson Super Jet is with her new owner this morning. It went about 30 miles across town. So, now I'm down to three old cars. Far more manageable!

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Oh, I'll salivate all day long on cars and trucks for sale. It takes a strong inner will NOT to jump on those. I've sold two of the five off this year, so three makes me happy. I can manage three. Two are drivable, show-able and enjoyable right now. Even my son's Buick is a great runner, if just an average looker. The one-ton still needs attention, but it'll be there soon enough. And that truck took me nearly two years to find!

Looks like I found a few items that the Imperial can use, like a steering wheel and remote trunk opener, among a couple of other items. Shipping is going to be the expensive part of all this!
 
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