73 Imperial "LEE" to join the Minnesota stable.

saforwardlook said:
Definitely a beautiful car in excellent condition it appears as well. I believe white as a color comes off best on luxury cars with excellent chrome - it just makes them even more classy.

Just curious, as I have never seen a 73 Imperial with dual air conditioning. Is it really dual a/c or is that a rear defogger option? If it is dual a/c, there should be a large evaporator assembly in the trunk kick up area, I believe, but not sure either. Thanks for clarifying.

It looks like a number of other luxury models in the garage as well. How do they compare to the Imperial in your opinion?
Click to expand...
There is indeed an evaporator unit at the rear of the trunk. Perry told me it worked and apparently had always done so, I presume it was checked out when the front one was, but Doc's guys can contact Randy Thompson and check.

As for the paint, there had been some minor body rust and a friend of Perry's named Adam did an excellent job of removing/repairing it and repainting.

It was a quality job, not a slop bondo on and repaint job.

I'm sure Perry can provide Doc with Adam's contact details so his guys can inquire what was done and how.

The reason so much work was done is that all vehicles entering New Zealand have to be checked over before they can be registered, and I wanted her sorted before shipping.

Good for Lee, me and Doc, should be good for another 46 years.

Apart from some under hood rust, easily fixed I imagine, and surface rust on the door hinges or whatever you call the mechanism you see between fender and body she's in great shape.

The engine wasn't pulled by us because Randy said you'd need to drive around 7500 miles post rebuilding, otherwise don't bother, and since it runs so well and wouldn't have had that much use here, we didn't bother.

Thx to all for the nice comments, I find it somewhat funny that these cars were (according to Perry) rare and difficult to find so we grabbed her when she became available, (and really lucked out with a good vehicle) whilst now that Doc wants some they seem quite commonplace.

Get your 72/73 Imperial at Minnesota's best Imperial dealer, Doc McNeedy motors, including a free dental assessment.

:lol::lol::lol:
 
Here is the underhood rust I mentioned, shouldn't be too much hassle to repair I hope.
20171116_091524.jpg
 
LeBaron1973 said:
Here is the underhood rust I mentioned, shouldn't be too much hassle to repair I hope.View attachment 265852
Click to expand...
It will be taken care of...we have some excellent body shops here in town and a good body/paint connection in Mankato where the main shop is located. Tina Patina will experience either a partial body make over or full make over...I haven't decided yet. So, then we'll get Lee in there for any minor stuff.
 
saforwardlook said:
Definitely a beautiful car in excellent condition it appears as well. I believe white as a color comes off best on luxury cars with excellent chrome - it just makes them even more classy.

Just curious, as I have never seen a 73 Imperial with dual air conditioning. Is it really dual a/c or is that a rear defogger option? If it is dual a/c, there should be a large evaporator assembly in the trunk kick up area, I believe, but not sure either. Thanks for clarifying.

It looks like a number of other luxury models in the garage as well. How do they compare to the Imperial in your opinion?
Click to expand...



Those are Perry's Lincolns...I have never driven one...they are beautiful cars and I couldn't fairly compare the ride...I'm pretty partial to Imperials though...so I would be too biased...:lol:
 
Having had Lincoln's, they ride well, isolated from outside with dead power steering like Cadillac's, but Lee has power steering which allows road feel, and she handles, as in the Road Test, Imperial, Cadillac and Lincoln article on the online imperial club website for 1973 cars.

Now, I had my one and only highway drive last November, approximately 40 miles from Menasha to Waupaca WI, and loved every minute of it, seats so comfortable you feel fresh afterwards, steering which had feel, and she handled, hard to explain but very different from Cadillac and Lincoln and definitely the driver's car of the three, though you'd be happy in any one of them were given to you for free.

I would have ordered an Imperial in 1973 had I been in the market for a luxury car.
 
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@saforwardlook

What I have read, the Lincolns are somewhat more comfortable (like Cadillacs from the same era). Imperials gained the best and firmest handling of the top class due to the torsion bar/leaf spring suspension, though the harshness was evident only when compared to either of its competitors. The steering was actually quite quick; Imperial 3.5 turns lock to lock, RWD Cadillacs 3.75 and Lincolns (I guess only Continental, the Mark was not noted) 3.99 turns. These numbers are from 73 and earlier time, so those 75-79s on the pics the required steering wheel turns may differ as they enhanced by the years.

As a side note: The Sure-Brake was literally praised by various magazines.

I´ve never driven those offerings from FoMoCo or GM, so I´ll stay on articles from the early 70s.
 
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saforwardlook said:
Just curious, as I have never seen a 73 Imperial with dual air conditioning. Is it really dual a/c or is that a rear defogger option? If it is dual a/c, there should be a large evaporator assembly in the trunk kick up area, I believe, but not sure either. Thanks for clarifying.
Click to expand...

The first '73 LeBaron I owned back around 1978 or so, had rear AC. It had a complete evaporator assembly under the package tray as Jay mentioned. Worked excellent. My first '67 Crown had the rear AC also.

I had to sell the '73 to buy the '67.... back then it was like a revolving door:rofl:
 
78Brougham said:
The first '73 LeBaron I owned back around 1978 or so, had rear AC. It had a complete evaporator assembly under the package tray as Jay mentioned. Worked excellent. My first '67 Crown had the rear AC also.

I had to sell the '73 to buy the '67.... back then it was like a revolving door:rofl:
Click to expand...
Driving around in a five year old Imperial, that must have been a good experience.
 
Here is the rear evaporator. It uses the same compressor as the front unit. Only the front system is Auto Temp as the rear unit is manually operated with no exceptions to either one.

PIC07.jpg
 
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crv said:
Driving around in a five year old Imperial, that must have been a good experience.
Click to expand...
Sad part is I paid $500 for it! Got it from a friend in the Junk yard business... On the good side I sold it for $800. Cha-Ching...
To a 20 year old I was pretty happy... I only had to come up with another $700 to buy the '67 Crown!

Hollywood California car. Paid $1500 for it. 60k on the clock. Ultra clean body and a very nice ride!

It was sad to see the '73 go though Chesnut brown Gold vinyl roof and Gold brocade interior. Fully functioning Auto-Temp, Light Sentinel, Headlight washers, rim blow tilt tele, power vent and seats, along with the rear AC. Just about every option.

Promised myself I would always replace it. I did, but sold that one too. EGAD! :BangHead: What did I do.... (Doc's Old Red)

Its in good hands and I know he loves it as much as I did.

That's life...
 
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Rear air is the my favorite option to have on an Imperial since it was the only non-limousine to offer this setup. It gets hot in the back of a Fleetwood Brougham or Lincoln Continental, but not in an Imperial if so equipped. When I have it properly charged on my '64 LeBaron, it is Pure Luxury on a hot day. You won't have to worry about that in the frozen north for a while, though. In fact, you should look for #7 with rear heat!
 
Imperialist said:
Rear air is the my favorite option to have on an Imperial since it was the only non-limousine to offer this setup. It gets hot in the back of a Fleetwood Brougham or Lincoln Continental, but not in an Imperial if so equipped. When I have it properly charged on my '64 LeBaron, it is Pure Luxury on a hot day. You won't have to worry about that in the frozen north for a while, though. In fact, you should look for #7 with rear heat!
Click to expand...
I know I'm in the minority here...But, I won't turn A/C on in the Old Iron (if it even works)...I like the windows down... I want to hear the engine... the exhaust rumble.
 
Imperialist said:
I can see why you pulled the trigger on this one. That is a beautiful interior.
Click to expand...
Yes, I got lucky, having advised me the '73s were rare, Perry located this one for sale in SLC, went to view it, pointed out a few issues the seller wasn't aware of thus reducing the purchase cost.

The rest was basically easy once he got it home to Wisconsin having driven it from Utah with whatever issues it had, something we'll (Doc and I) always be grateful for. Putting it into the hands of excellent craftsmen ensured both the bodywork (rust, dents, paint) and the electrical and mechanical systems were thoroughly examined, repaired and made functional again- I discussed her with Randy Thompson - Randall's Auto Haus, Menasha, Wisconsin, and we agreed that basically starting at the front bumper, ending at the rear bumper, having sorted everything out was the way to go, and what we did.

Fortunately the dashboard was pulled whilst sorting out the ATC II system, revealing a couple of electrical issues (old fuses replaced with modern circuit breakers if I recall correctly).

I'm delighted to have sold it to Doc so it can have excellent future care, and I can occasionally see it via the forum.

I would have hoped for more than the $50 sales price, Doc drives a hard bargain.
:rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
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