'56 Imperial my parents bought in 1970.

[wypowerwagon440]

A few pictures of my '56 Imperial. My parents bought it in 1970, I was 2 years old. It hadn't been driven since 1997. I got it back on the road in June 2022 & have put over 4000 miles on it.

 

[thethee]

It looks even better than I thought it would

 

[Chrome58]

Interesting story ... Because in 1970, those 1950s cars were frowned upon.

Did they buy it as a used car ?
Or as a future collectible ?

 

[wypowerwagon440]

It looks even better than I thought it would

Thanks Theo!

 

[wypowerwagon440]

Interesting story ... Because in 1970, those 1950s cars were frowned upon.

Did they buy it as a used car ?
Or as a future collectible ?

My parents bought it for $250.00 actually nicer than it is now. You're correct that they weren't worth much back then. They bought it for my mom to drive & drove it year round for a couple years before deciding they should get a different car & save the Imperial. It has around 96,000 miles on it now.

 

[detmatt]

Stunning!

 

[mrfury68]

Absolutely beautiful!

 

[garyh]

Very Nice ! Good for you !

 

[1970FuryConv]

Awesome car. Congrats on returning it to running condition!

 

[413]

What a great car, and the story is priceless.

Let’s see more photos of this beauty, do you have any photos taken from a normal angle instead of someone 3 feet tall. LOL.

 

[cbarge]

Very rare first year 4 door hardtop.
The rear door window mechanism is quite and engineering feat.
Great family heirloom!
Just over 1500 were built and god only knows how many are still alive today.

 

[xxcarguy]

Nice!
Any pics of the interior?

 

[glenbeigh196]

Just gorgeous!

 

[wypowerwagon440]

Thank you to all! My understanding is 1,543 were made in the 4 door hardtop. This car has a Torqueflight too. Build date is February 16th, 1956. The rear window mechanism is very cool & I love showing that to people. I seem to have been so busy driving it that I haven't gotten very many good pictures but will post some more. The story goes, that after my parents test drove it I wouldn't get out of the car so they decided they would have to buy it. I was the last one to drive it in 1997. Due to unforseen circumstances it sat until April of this year. Luckily it was in the garage under a cover. I rebuilt the carburetor, put fresh fluids in, primed the oiling system, bled the brakes & drove it out of the garage. I wanted to drive it home but with a few stuck wheel cylinders & a one gallon jug between the grill & core support for a fuel tank, I decided a 30 mile trip on my trailer was a better option. Driving it again for the first time in 25 years, just out of the garage and onto the trailer was something that cannot be explained. It was repainted in the early 60's, still the original color. It has also had a few paint & body repairs since then so there is a bit of mismatch. The seats are in bad need of new foam & the cloth inserts. The leather isn't perfect but I like it not perfect. Everyone wants to replace the leather if they do the seats. I understand that but I'd rather not replace the leather because I like the look. One of my sisters says she can sew the cloth inserts if I will do the foam so that may be the route to go. At this point, I don't plan to do a full restoration on it but fix things as they need fixing. The interior pictures were taken before anything had been done with the car. I must've liked that low angle because most of the pictures are that way.

 

[wypowerwagon440]

Here's a couple of better pictures. Hopefully my sister doesn't care that she's in the picture lol. She lives out of state but was visiting in September so we put it in a show. She wanted to dress the part for the car. She has been a big help in so many ways..

 

[ayilar]

@wypowerwagon440 — beautiful car and great story! For the seats’ leather, have you considered Leatherique? I don’t have experience with seats that old, but that might rejuvenate them in the way you want.

 

[detmatt]

I couldn’t agree more. I love the look of the 55+ year old worn leather in Imperials. I need to find a specialist that will fix the seats in my silver car without replacing the leather.

 

[Ed Wagner]

Did anyone notice that sweet looking Dodge truck in the background?? Is that a PowerWagnon?

Have to chuckle...the '56 has the "Chrysler sag" in the rear springs. My dad had 3 extra leaves put in mine when he had it. They never settled in and the rear is still just a tad higher than the front.

 

[Binx]

What a beautiful Imperial and a great family heirloom!

 

[wypowerwagon440]

@wypowerwagon440 — beautiful car and great story! For the seats’ leather, have you considered Leatherique? I don’t have experience with seats that old, but that might rejuvenate them in the way you want.

I haven't tried Leatherique & hadn't heard of it. I looked it up & I will be trying some, might help the saddle bags on my old Harley too.