Sadie - 1974 Imperial LeBaron
- Thread starter CollinR
- Start date
brougham brummel
Well-Known Member
Majestic Imp. 4door.Great looking in black on black.B.B
I've had excellent results using Tire Wet. Any tire wet will work but the gel version works better. Put it on liberally and let it soak for 15 minutes. Then use a stiff bristle brush and scrub it. Hose it off. You will be surprised on how white and clean the white walls will get doing it this way. Try it once and report your results.
I use Westley's Blech-Wite to clean the tires. They changed the formula so it's not as good as it used to be, but you can still get good results. Spray on a completely dry tire. That's the key to making it work... I always just do the tires first when washing the car. Anyway... In the shade (sun will dry it too fast) spray it on and scrub with a stiff brush. Let it sit while you go to the next tire. By the time you work around the car, you can start hosing it off. It may take a couple times, depending on how bad the tires are now.
Once you get them clean, my favorite stuff to use is the No-Touch tire foam. Again, spray on dry tires and just let it sit. Don't need to rinse etc. It leaves the tires with a nice clean looking finish, not shiny, just clean.
Duncan
Well-Known Member
I remember using some good ole kitchen cleanser, lots of warm water, and a soft bristle brush years ago. It worked, the whitewalls came out pure white again, but I always wondered if I might have harmed the finish on the whitewalls in any way?
FarCanal
Member
Howdy.
Big Jim with the Imported to Australia 2 door New Yoker Brougham Coupe
In response to your cleaning question / bestest, easiest thing we use DownUnder is .....
The Steel Wool you buy for Dishes with Soap already impregnated in it !!! Works fantastically aaand CHEAP
Cheers Guys
P.S.
Had to drop a pic in of a REAL MONSTER !!! lol (My Baby)
P.S.S.
Checkout what I'm putting in it next week / Bought at Auction for $2k with $10k's of work !
Is that engine from the late 60s? BTW, what a beautiful Chrysler you have!
Mark Kevin Weaver
Member
Very Nice!!!
Wanted to finally get a picture of this so I could decode all of the options it’s equipped with. I noticed the ‘Special Handling’ stamp has been on imps before. What exactly is it? I’ve read a lot of different explanations and they all seem to vary.
I did manage to get these with mymopar.com, nicksgarage.com and Hamtramck-Historical.com:
E85= 440 cid 4 barrel V8 (230hp)
D34= Torque Flight automatic transmission
Y= Imperial
M= medium price class (therefore a LeBaron, though that is obvious post-70)
43= 4-door hardtop
T= see E85
4= 1974
C= Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA
175027: Sequence number
TX9: body color, Formal Black
PLX9= leather seats, black
000= full door panels
227= build date: February 27
Q38541= Order number
V1X= full vinyl top, black
R37= AM/FM Stereo with 8 Track
L35= cornering lamps
M45: fender skirts
N88= auto speed control
V7W= accent stripes, white
N75= Auxiliary transmission fluid cooler
Someone of our Formal gurus could replenish it.
E85= 440 cid 4 barrel V8 (230hp)
D34= Torque Flight automatic transmission
Y= Imperial
M= medium price class (therefore a LeBaron, though that is obvious post-70)
43= 4-door hardtop
T= see E85
4= 1974
C= Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA
175027: Sequence number
TX9: body color, Formal Black
PLX9= leather seats, black
000= full door panels
227= build date: February 27
Q38541= Order number
V1X= full vinyl top, black
R37= AM/FM Stereo with 8 Track
L35= cornering lamps
M45: fender skirts
N88= auto speed control
V7W= accent stripes, white
N75= Auxiliary transmission fluid cooler
Someone of our Formal gurus could replenish it.
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Did somebody call my name? This is quite an honour.
Here the tag codes again, in bold my additions from the Dealership Data Books at the Hamtramck Registry:
E85= 440 cid 4 barrel V8 (230hp)
D34= Torque Flight automatic transmission
Y= Imperial
M= medium price class (therefore a LeBaron, though that is obvious post-70)
43= 4-door hardtop
T= see E85
4= 1974
C= Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA
175027: Sequence number
TX9: body color, Formal Black
PLX9= leather seats, black
000= full door panels
227= build date: February 27
Q38541= Order number
V1X= full vinyl top, black
[H53] = Air Conditioner - With Automatic Temperature Control
R37= AM/FM Stereo with 8 Track
L35= cornering lamps
M45: fender skirts
[P31] = Power Windows
P42 = Security Alarm System
N88= auto speed control
G63 = Mirror, Outside Right, Remote Control
S53 = ???
[G25] = Vent Windows, Manual
V7W= accent stripes, white
N75= Auxiliary transmission fluid cooler
J68 = ???
L81 = Fender-Mounted, Turn-Signal Indicators
Two codes remain unresolved and are most unusual for Imperials. On the web one can find "Backlight Louvers" for J68, but there is no confirmation for that on an Imperial. For S53 I didn't even find anything, something to do with the suspension maybe? Cfr. also N75.
Possibly that's were the special handling tag kicks in. I saw it on another 1974 Imperial, also in connection with Q in the Vehicle Order Number. According to MMC Detroit Q and R were used for "Public Relations" and "Chrysler Lease/Executive".
I did find J68 and S53 on a 1975 Town & Country, however. That one also has the A35 Heavy Trailer-Towing Package. The 1977 meaning for J68 is "Dual Battery Charge Unit" and in 1975 that item was available only as part of the A35 package. So probably both items stem from that package. The package as such could be ordered on 1974 and 1975 Imperials.
I pass and call on @69CoronetRT.
Here the tag codes again, in bold my additions from the Dealership Data Books at the Hamtramck Registry:
E85= 440 cid 4 barrel V8 (230hp)
D34= Torque Flight automatic transmission
Y= Imperial
M= medium price class (therefore a LeBaron, though that is obvious post-70)
43= 4-door hardtop
T= see E85
4= 1974
C= Jefferson Avenue, MI, USA
175027: Sequence number
TX9: body color, Formal Black
PLX9= leather seats, black
000= full door panels
227= build date: February 27
Q38541= Order number
V1X= full vinyl top, black
[H53] = Air Conditioner - With Automatic Temperature Control
R37= AM/FM Stereo with 8 Track
L35= cornering lamps
M45: fender skirts
[P31] = Power Windows
P42 = Security Alarm System
N88= auto speed control
G63 = Mirror, Outside Right, Remote Control
S53 = ???
[G25] = Vent Windows, Manual
V7W= accent stripes, white
N75= Auxiliary transmission fluid cooler
J68 = ???
L81 = Fender-Mounted, Turn-Signal Indicators
Two codes remain unresolved and are most unusual for Imperials. On the web one can find "Backlight Louvers" for J68, but there is no confirmation for that on an Imperial. For S53 I didn't even find anything, something to do with the suspension maybe? Cfr. also N75.
Possibly that's were the special handling tag kicks in. I saw it on another 1974 Imperial, also in connection with Q in the Vehicle Order Number. According to MMC Detroit Q and R were used for "Public Relations" and "Chrysler Lease/Executive".
I did find J68 and S53 on a 1975 Town & Country, however. That one also has the A35 Heavy Trailer-Towing Package. The 1977 meaning for J68 is "Dual Battery Charge Unit" and in 1975 that item was available only as part of the A35 package. So probably both items stem from that package. The package as such could be ordered on 1974 and 1975 Imperials.
I pass and call on @69CoronetRT.
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Poor Colin... now you'll have to find a way to go test drive a number of mid 70's C Bodies just see if your Imperial feels "sportier"...Oh you guys are great thank you for all of the information. Yeah I haven’t found J68 anywhere. Definitely would be an interesting code to find. I noticed someone was advertising a 1971 Roadrunner a while back with (J68 PACKAGE) in the title which I found interesting, considering they didn’t explain what the J68 code was.
Sadly all I can compare it to is my pilot and going off of that, the Imp’s steering response is that of an ocean liner, I could play with the steering wheel’s position quite a bit and still keep traveling perfectly straight. The suspension makes the car feel weightless which is especially fun when you go over bumps or slight inclines on the road because the entire car just gradually floats upward which is one of the many cool things I’ve experienced driving it. I surely wouldn’t mind test driving more mid size Imps if they were around >XD. Frankly though I’ve been wanting to test drive a fusie Imp.
The only thing I wish I could change on that car are the Brakes. Despite the MBC rebuild and hose replacements, the brakes take quite a bit of patience and muscle memory to use properly. I don’t know if anyone else here has experienced this but often times I have to press down halfway on the brake pedal pretty quickly for it to grab. Any slower the brake pedal just soggs down to the floor and (sometimes) locks for a few seconds which makes for a terrifying feeling of not being able to properly brake the car, or brake it at all (That happened to me a few months back and I’ve been too nervous to take her out much since) as I said though the brakes work when I hit them halfway with some pressure but if they aren’t pressed a certain way, they almost are non existent. It’s difficult to describe but if the pedal is pressed past that halfway mark it will just limply sink to the floor and there is no grab whatsoever.
Sadly all I can compare it to is my pilot and going off of that, the Imp’s steering response is that of an ocean liner, I could play with the steering wheel’s position quite a bit and still keep traveling perfectly straight. The suspension makes the car feel weightless which is especially fun when you go over bumps or slight inclines on the road because the entire car just gradually floats upward which is one of the many cool things I’ve experienced driving it. I surely wouldn’t mind test driving more mid size Imps if they were around >XD. Frankly though I’ve been wanting to test drive a fusie Imp.
The only thing I wish I could change on that car are the Brakes. Despite the MBC rebuild and hose replacements, the brakes take quite a bit of patience and muscle memory to use properly. I don’t know if anyone else here has experienced this but often times I have to press down halfway on the brake pedal pretty quickly for it to grab. Any slower the brake pedal just soggs down to the floor and (sometimes) locks for a few seconds which makes for a terrifying feeling of not being able to properly brake the car, or brake it at all (That happened to me a few months back and I’ve been too nervous to take her out much since) as I said though the brakes work when I hit them halfway with some pressure but if they aren’t pressed a certain way, they almost are non existent. It’s difficult to describe but if the pedal is pressed past that halfway mark it will just limply sink to the floor and there is no grab whatsoever.
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Mr C
Senior Member
Something is definitely wrong (sagging pedal sounds like the master is letting go). Formal Imperial brakes are among the best I've experienced. All you need is your big toe on the pedal.
I found that J68 is either rear window or tail lamp louvers, but on a Formal those are at least doubtful.
That only came as a part of the A35 package, in 1974 as well as in 1975. Considering that you also have N75 Auxiliary Transmission Oil Cooler, likewise only available in that package, I would say you probably have the whole works, err ... the whole A35 package in your car.
69CoronetRT
Senior Member
I did find J68 and S53 on a 1975 Town & Country, however. That one also has the A35 Heavy Trailer-Towing Package. The 1977 meaning for J68 is "Dual Battery Charge Unit" and in 1975 that item was available only as part of the A35 package. So probably both items stem from that package. The package as such could be ordered on 1974 and 1975 Imperials.
I agree with you. I think J68 and S53 are part of the towing package. Looking at a 74 broadcast sheets helps confirm this line of thinking.
227= build date: February 27...a reminder, this is always the scheduled date. It may or may not be the actual date of production.
This topic is another reason why you should save as many window stickers, broadcast sheets and tags as possible. All of this could be easily confirmed if a BS with trailer towing package was available.
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