'66 Imperial Convertible Rebuild: A Fresh Start

[Boomer]

Which one you looking at Bob? If it's the digital volt meter, it's a Fluke 8060A. Older meter but works well and easy to read.

Gary: I call those emblems chickens because they look similar to the eagle on the hood of the old Trans Ams which are 'affectionately' referred to as the screaming chicken. I suspect the correct name for them is probably the Imperial eagle. Seems like a lot or European countries used it on flags and whatever else decades ago.

Matt: - thanks for looking. Two of the ones I have are okay - one is good, the other needs minor touch up. The other two are pretty rough. Worst case I'll just clean these off with a small brush, repaint the birds with some of that genuine-imitation gold spray paint then overspray the entire back with flat black. It'll never be a Pebble Beach contender, just don't want it looking like a welfare wagon.

Getting some stuff done around the house & yard while I wait for a call from the shop. Hoping they get it on the road today.

 

[C Body Bob]

Which one you looking at Bob? If it's the digital volt meter, it's a Fluke 8060A. Older meter but works well and easy to read.

Gary: I call those emblems chickens because they look similar to the eagle on the hood of the old Trans Ams which are 'affectionately' referred to as the screaming chicken. I suspect the correct name for them is probably the Imperial eagle. Seems like a lot or European countries used it on flags and whatever else decades ago.

Matt: - thanks for looking. Two of the ones I have are okay - one is good, the other needs minor touch up. The other two are pretty rough. Worst case I'll just clean these off with a small brush, repaint the birds with some of that genuine-imitation gold spray paint then overspray the entire back with flat black. It'll never be a Pebble Beach contender, just don't want it looking like a welfare wagon.

Getting some stuff done around the house & yard while I wait for a call from the shop. Hoping they get it on the road today.

Yep the digital one. How much are those.

 

[Boomer]

It's an older meter, they can be found on ebay and at shows for $50-$60 or so all the way up to $200-$300 with case, accessories, etc. The displays have a tendency to get weak, fixed by re-seating the connections on the module. Easy to use and read from a distance.

 

[Boomer]

Back for another quick update. Things have been busy here with the next house move imminent. This place went on the market yesterday and we've already had 5 showings. Still have a LOT of packing up to do. At least the repairs and cleanup work around here are mostly done so *maybe* I can eek out a few minutes to finish up the hub cap repaint.

Since we had to be out of the house this morning for 2 more showings I decided to drop by the shop to check on the Imp's progress. They had the driveshaft bearing on order but apparently it comes in several pieces so they're waiting on the last part to arrive. Then the bearing will get changed, quickie exhaust will be installed, and she's ready for the road. Rob got the new hoses installed on the convertible top pump, purged the brake fluid someone had added, and installed new ATF. It's working properly again, no leaks or nasty crap.

Took a couple quick shots including one with my now-6 year old daughter posing by the door. She is quite excited to go for a ride with the top down.

And no, the ATF on the floor is not from my car.

Might be a few more days or weeks before another update. Next big adventure? Find the paperwork so I can get it registered!

 

[Mr C]

I love the tires on it. Perfect white wall width for it. Love it!

 

[detmatt]

Which one you looking at Bob? If it's the digital volt meter, it's a Fluke 8060A. Older meter but works well and easy to read.

Gary: I call those emblems chickens because they look similar to the eagle on the hood of the old Trans Ams which are 'affectionately' referred to as the screaming chicken. I suspect the correct name for them is probably the Imperial eagle. Seems like a lot or European countries used it on flags and whatever else decades ago.

Matt: - thanks for looking. Two of the ones I have are okay - one is good, the other needs minor touch up. The other two are pretty rough. Worst case I'll just clean these off with a small brush, repaint the birds with some of that genuine-imitation gold spray paint then overspray the entire back with flat black. It'll never be a Pebble Beach contender, just don't want it looking like a welfare wagon.

Getting some stuff done around the house & yard while I wait for a call from the shop. Hoping they get it on the road today.

Btw I’ve accumulated even more of these recently so I’ll get them all together for pics soon.

 

[Boomer]

Thanks Matt, no rush as I'm up to my *** in alligators with all the house/packing/moving stuff. I saw the ones you snagged on here recently, they looked better than the set I'm repainting.

The plan is to use this set as practice covers and put together a dent-free set later. I'll get some practice with masking and painting them, see what works and what doesn't. The Imperial trim rings are all nice & clean and most of the turbine inserts are decent as well, one has a few warts.

I definitely need at least two chickens (or eagles). I could repaint these but they wouldn't look right. Guessing the originals were gold leaf.

It should be outta the shop this week. Yeah Mr C, I looked around to get wider whitewalls. The skinny ones just don't look right on this cruiser. 235s are a hair smaller than the originals, so the wide stripes help beef them up.

Can't wait to show my daughter how the top goes up and down. Still recall the feeling of magic and awe seeing my dad drop the top on our '64 Galaxie the first time. I was in 3rd grade then. And driving down the road with the sky and clouds overhead, wind blowing.....heady stuff for a young kid from the rough side of town.

 

[Boomer]

Well......where to begin....?

Survived another move, the third one in 11 years. Last one as far as I'm concerned. Closed on July 26th with the movers waiting to unload. Currently painting rooms and still unloading boxes. Located about 45 minutes WNW of Richmond about halfway to Charlottesville.

The Imperial arrived 2 weeks ago from the shop in Manassas. Still needs exhaust then it will be road-ready. Back window is clouded up too, but at least I can drive it with the top down. It needs a new top as well.

Ended up spending a bit more than anticipated as the rear axle seals and bearings needed to be replaced along with the drive shaft center bearing. The transmission fluid in the photos above really did end up being from my car, apparently the new gasket didn't 'take'. They later found another leak related to the shifter that they repaired after I'd paid, no charge.

When the truck driver dropped the car off I had him unload it at the top of our driveway to save maneuvering a large flatbed around the yard. He had me hop into the car and back it off the bed was he tipped it down the driveway. A weird sensation, especially since it never had brakes before. They work great now!

Turned it around in the road and drove it down the driveway to the backyard - about 1/10th of a mile, but at least I got to drive it. Seemed to wallow a bit so I suspect new shocks are in order. Then again - it is a land yacht, not a sports car.

Going to give my daughter a demonstration of the electric top later today before the rain starts again. Then I need to find a new heater/AC valve so I can get the dash put back together. And get the radio finished and back in. And re-lube all the window motors and channels....and....anyway....

The shop forgot to send the bill along with the car so I can't remember everything that was done. They're sending it out today along with my car cover and tune up parts they forgot to install. So, from memory they:

- rebuilt brakes with new shoes, cylinders, hardware, hoses, lines as needed, & master
- replaced gas tank, sender, and hanger bolts with new, added filter
- drained & refilled transmission, new gasket (multiple times until no leaks)
- installed 4 new tires
- installed new convertible top hoses, flushed and refilled
- installed new hood pad
- installed rear axle bearings and seals
- installed new drive shaft bearing

They were also going to change the coolant and oil, but haven't checked that yet. It does seem to have a new hose outlet and gasket on the block.

I provided all parts except axle and driveshaft bits.

Total from shop: $3800. Sounds like a lot since I provided most parts but in today's world it's probably not too bad. I'm just use to doing it myself and wasn't able to this time around. For perspective - it cost us over $2K last summer to get the AC fixed on my wife's 2012 Escape.

It skips occasionally during idle, maybe due to a cracked cap or other ignition problem. They forgot to install the cap/rotor/points/condenser I sent along. Hopefully that and wires/plugs will cure it. Fires up like a new car, barely turns over and it's running.

The move and the 'new' (if only) house drained the car fund account and is still sucking us dry. Hopefully by spring we'll be in a better place financially to get it finished up mechanically and on the road. We have an old mom & pop garage right up the road that speaks old car fluently, so that's reassuring. If I can't handle it, they can.

The rear bumper damage is still gnawing at me....

 

[Jim 68cuda]

Well......where to begin....?

Survived another move, the third one in 11 years. Last one as far as I'm concerned. Closed on July 26th with the movers waiting to unload. Currently painting rooms and still unloading boxes. Located about 45 minutes WNW of Richmond about halfway to Charlottesville.

The Imperial arrived 2 weeks ago from the shop in Manassas. Still needs exhaust then it will be road-ready. Back window is clouded up too, but at least I can drive it with the top down. It needs a new top as well.

Ended up spending a bit more than anticipated as the rear axle seals and bearings needed to be replaced along with the drive shaft center bearing. The transmission fluid in the photos above really did end up being from my car, apparently the new gasket didn't 'take'. They later found another leak related to the shifter that they repaired after I'd paid, no charge.

When the truck driver dropped the car off I had him unload it at the top of our driveway to save maneuvering a large flatbed around the yard. He had me hop into the car and back it off the bed was he tipped it down the driveway. A weird sensation, especially since it never had brakes before. They work great now!

Turned it around in the road and drove it down the driveway to the backyard - about 1/10th of a mile, but at least I got to drive it. Seemed to wallow a bit so I suspect new shocks are in order. Then again - it is a land yacht, not a sports car.

Going to give my daughter a demonstration of the electric top later today before the rain starts again. Then I need to find a new heater/AC valve so I can get the dash put back together. And get the radio finished and back in. And re-lube all the window motors and channels....and....anyway....

The shop forgot to send the bill along with the car so I can't remember everything that was done. They're sending it out today along with my car cover and tune up parts they forgot to install. So, from memory they:

- rebuilt brakes with new shoes, cylinders, hardware, hoses, lines as needed, & master
- replaced gas tank, sender, and hanger bolts with new, added filter
- drained & refilled transmission, new gasket (multiple times until no leaks)
- installed 4 new tires
- installed new convertible top hoses, flushed and refilled
- installed new hood pad
- installed rear axle bearings and seals
- installed new drive shaft bearing

They were also going to change the coolant and oil, but haven't checked that yet. It does seem to have a new hose outlet and gasket on the block.

I provided all parts except axle and driveshaft bits.

Total from shop: $3800. Sounds like a lot since I provided most parts but in today's world it's probably not too bad. I'm just use to doing it myself and wasn't able to this time around. For perspective - it cost us over $2K last summer to get the AC fixed on my wife's 2012 Escape.

It skips occasionally during idle, maybe due to a cracked cap or other ignition problem. They forgot to install the cap/rotor/points/condenser I sent along. Hopefully that and wires/plugs will cure it. Fires up like a new car, barely turns over and it's running.

The move and the 'new' (if only) house drained the car fund account and is still sucking us dry. Hopefully by spring we'll be in a better place financially to get it finished up mechanically and on the road. We have an old mom & pop garage right up the road that speaks old car fluently, so that's reassuring. If I can't handle it, they can.

The rear bumper damage is still gnawing at me....

Glad to hear you are making progress on the Imperial. Didn't know you had moved, but good luck with the new place.

 

[patrick66]

I'm with ya on getting back on the road! It's been 14 months now since I drove my Imperial, just waiting for the brake booster to show up. It's been 60 degrees plus for much of the past month; perfect for top-down driving. The sunroof in my Passat has been the passable substitution.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

I'm with ya on getting back on the road! It's been 14 months now since I drove my Imperial, just waiting for the brake booster to show up. It's been 60 degrees plus for much of the past month; perfect for top-down driving. The sunroof in my Passat has been the passable substitution.

Be careful with that Passatt sunroof. I had a Passatt with a sunroof. The drain for the channel around the sunroof goes down the passenger side A pillar. It was such a small diameter that it clogged with pollen. The result was a flooded floor on the passenger side after a heavy rain. So VW, in their infinite wisdom put the control module under the passenger seat. Computers don't like water. So I went to use the car and couldn't get it out of "Park" until I disconnected and reconnected the battery. Then I could only get the car to move in limp mode. Had to wait a month till the shop could locate a used replacement module from the same model from the same 4 month production window to get it back on the road. A new replacement module was available for $2500. The used one was less than half that price. Couldn't get rid of the Passatt fast enough after that. But still it wasn't before the heater core went. Did you know they have to remove the front clip on a Passatt to get to the heater core? Did the timing belt at the same time since it was already apart. Now my daily driver is a Challenger. No more German cars for me.

 

[patrick66]

What year Passat was yours? Mine is a '14 TDi with the 120K mile warranty on the heater core.

Looked for a nice Charger, but most were overpriced for what they are, and/or rode hard and put up wet. No way in Hell would I ever spend $45K to $70K on a new anything!

 

[Jim 68cuda]

What year Passat was yours? Mine is a '14 TDi with the 120K mile warranty on the heater core.

My Passatt was an 02. Replaced it a few years ago with a used 14 Challenger. I have the lifetime bumper to bumper warranty on the Challenger. The Passatt barely made it to 90k miles before I unloaded it for $300. Love the Challenger.

Now, back to that 66 Imperial. I was kind of wondering if anyone ever successfully installed the 65 Imperial glass headlight covers on a 66 without changing the entire grille. Always thought the 66 should have had the glass covers. I know they were deleted shortly before production started on the 66.

 

[marko]

they were not deleted on the 66s.

66's came with glass covers.
and you can swap the simpler 66 covers for "louvered" look 65 covers

 

[patrick66]

My '66 has them, as do all '66 Imperials.

 

[Jim 68cuda]

My '66 has them, as do all '66 Imperials.

Thanks. I didn't know that. I thought they were cancelled on the Imperial just like they were on the 66 New Yorker.

 

[Boomer]

......and we're back. Still getting settled in at the new place, getting things done on the honey-do list and making good progress overall. Hope everyone is weathering the virus storm well.

Still going round and round with the shop that did my work. They "lost" (or clipped) $50 worth of NOS tune up parts and have yet to send me a copy of my bill. I had to take care of it all remotely after the move so it's not as simple as driving over. Did finally get my car cover back after almost 5 months. Ripped and oil stained. Anyway, I can rant about that and other crap later later.

Finally got the Imperial out and moved around the other day. First time since it was delivered in November, though I did start it from time to time. Fired up pretty quickly. Moved it up into the driveway and did some tinkering, changed out the glovebox door for one that has all the wood trim on it, installed a bulb in the trunk light, put the inside door handle back on and tried to installed the window switch panel, but the left rear window decided to go all the way down and won't go back up. Weird. Runs opposite of the switch, too. Weirder.

Next big ticket item is an exhaust system so I can at least register it and drive it on sunny days with the top down. The original top is shot and the rear window is now opaque. New top is next after exhaust. And that rear bumper........ugh. I had my darling daughter stand in front of the damage, at least. She's 7 now and growing like a weed.

Anyhow, here are a few shots taken in the last couple days. Still have a lot of house & family stuff to get done but at least there's some wiggle room now, especially with the 'self quarantine' fun. Will try to be around here a bit more.

 

[detmatt]

Beautiful property, cute kid, love the other car parked closer to the lake and your imperial is stunning!

 

[1970cat]

nice lincoln too.

 

[Boomer]

Thanks Matt & cat! We got a nice place on a small lake (pond, really) because it needs a bit of.....repair. It's out in the country and quiet overall, which is the best part.

That's dad's '50 Lincoln in the background, drove it down from VT to northern VA a couple years back after he passed on. 337 flat head V-8, about 33K original miles. Not perfect, but pretty nice.

The kid and Imperial are both works in progress, but there's really no comparison. My daughter is the best thing by far I'll ever be able to take any credit for. Fortunately she gets her good looks from her mother. The quick wit and twisted sense of humor, well.....