Sadie - 1974 Imperial LeBaron
- Thread starter CollinR
- Start date
GJS
Senior Member
I've said on this site a billion times at least: I was never an Imperial guy but your car ....
Now I can officially say after Commando1's car and this car: I was never a Formal Imperial guy, but your cars changed my tune on that whole deal.
Awesome car, man. Best of luck with her!
Now I can officially say after Commando1's car and this car: I was never a Formal Imperial guy, but your cars changed my tune on that whole deal.
Awesome car, man. Best of luck with her!
Carmine
Old Man with a Hat
Thanks for giving me hope for the future.
Thank you for the heads up Big John!
Excellent score young man... Wholy Fluck, I just got to say "young man"...
I hope you don't mind, I am documenting the ad copy here...
1974 Chrysler Imperial - $6500View attachment 193022 View attachment 193023 View attachment 193024 View attachment 193025 View attachment 193026 View attachment 193027 View attachment 193028 View attachment 193029 View attachment 193030 View attachment 193031 View attachment 193032
"I have for sale a 74'Chrysler Imperial in excellent condition. It has the 440 New Yorker motor with 31,000 actual miles. This car is loaded with options including leather seats and air conditioning. Must see! $6500"
I am somewhat familiar with this car, but have never seen her in person.
Help me understand the Formal market. Please!
I was the second place bidder on the car. Good job on the research...
She needed that road trip... FWIW... the seller lost $$ getting her out of moth balls, fixing the brakes and the fuel system and she looks to have been nicely detailed... I'll assume a set of tires was involved as well, because she had sat for many years prior to the auction. The loss of this car in that auction eventually drove me to FCBO... So I kinda love and hate you at the same time.
By all accounts, the mileage was documented at the time of the auction... respect it, but please do not let that stop you from continuing to drive her. Keep her safe, she's a one of kind... considering that's pretty much a survivor car you've got there.
That said, I will do what I can to help you with whatever she needs in the future, for fun, offer me first right's if she ever is sold... I did very well in the Black 74 Imperial hunt myself... so I won't covet her too much.
BTW, your timing sucks, as I think you may have displaced the title for "Nicest Formal Anywhere"... but at least the OP still has the best in Florida.
I am glad she has resurfaced, I have wondered about what happened to your car... I'm glad she was loved and is getting more love.
Jeff
Thank you! I'll need all the help I can get. It looks like the car had been waxed pretty often so I'll make sure to keep that up. Any tips on how I can preserve the vinyl top? she's driven through some pretty heavy rain but the Vinyl still looks solid. Just want to preserve it even in the garage if I possibly can. But don't worry! I'll be treating this car like a baby.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
A Carnuba (only) wax with a U.V. inhibitor.
Just one example: Chemical Guys - Extreme Top Coat Carnauba Wax And Sealant In One (4 oz)
Welcome Collin!!!
That Imperial should be in a museum. She looks perfect. Congratulations!
What a score!!!!
That Imperial should be in a museum. She looks perfect. Congratulations!
What a score!!!!
Same seats are in 76-78 NY'ers too.
I like this stuff. 303 Aerospace Protectant, 303 aerospace, 303 protectant, aerospace protectant, 303 products, 303
Cleaner: The 303 Fabric and Vinyl Convertible Cleaner removes stains and soiling from your vinyl or fabric top through a unique colloidal action.
You can buy this stuff at a boat supply shop if you don't want to buy online.
And for good measure here's the Auction listing for it. Goes a bit more in depth about her history. Found it while playing around with the VIN Number.
1974 Chrysler Imperial Lebaron... Auctions Online | Proxibid
1974 Chrysler Imperial Lebaron... Auctions Online | Proxibid
Well Sadie’s going to be spending part of the week in Illinois! We decided to leave her with my great grandmother and bring the car to TN next week so we could avoid driving through another hurricane. We just barely got her to fit in the garage! I’ll send clearer photos once we drive it back. Once we get it here first thing I’m doing is waxing it again to protect the paint. I want to keep it as clean as it looks - it reflects everything around it (See fenders) Figure keeping her in the garage for now will be safe that way it won’t get rained on anymore.
I will say, one thing I am nervous about is storing it in our home garage. I’ve alreay measured and the car should fit just fine, however the weather is my next concern. The interior of the garage doesn't get quite as hot as it is outside, but it still gets stuffy. I can't really afford to pay for it to be stored in a Climate Controlled Unit and TN usually has humid summers. If it's stored in our garage what measures should I take to prevent any damage to it, if any? I'd like to have every means possible to preserve this classic (I want to keep it looking like this for my entire life if I can). Any tips or ideas would be highly appreciated. Do I need a heater in the garage for the Winter (vice versa)? Dehumidifier/s?
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Keep it out of the sun and clean is about all you can really do. All the vinyl cleaners and preservatives may help it look better but as to their ability to preservative... that’s a lot more hype than reality as far as I’ve seen. If there is a real preservative that actually works, I’d like to know what it is.
Collin, i really like your enthusiasm!
Most garages I’ve seen are terrible places to store cars.
ideally you would have it in a climate controlled environment. And you can make one fairly cheaply if you know what you’re doing... don’t let the d scription fool you.
We live in a humid and varying temperature world. Ideally, both dehumidifier set to control and not remove all the humidity is what you want. As to heating, anything above freezing is good. What I’ve seen and built for some of my clients is a good envelope for the storage of their prescious cars.
It starts with a good vapor barrier and limited volume air changes. Even a good window unit that has a reverse cycle or small strip heater is good... if you have a good building envelope to start. One friend in Kentucky even uses geothermal to control both temp and humidity in his shop and parts storage buildings. The key here is water vapor control and temperature/humidity control
Humidity should be kept to about 70% and temp can be controlled to be kept within the range of 50 to 80 without breaking the bank in ongoing energy costs. Too dry and you damage the leather and other fabrics.
Pm me pictures of your garage and I can recommend the units you need to keep it in that range and recommendations as to what to do to the building envelope to get there.
Love your car man.... what a friggin find!
Robert Saigh
Senior Member
I've always used plastic under my cars and every so often (2 years) when the vehicles are outside I change the plastic and let the whole area "Air Out"!
Just bought some of that UV Protectant that Big_John recommended. When I take her for some test drives before bringing it home I'll make sure to coat the Vinyl properly since it'll be a hot summer week. (Probably want to do that any time I drive it out in the sun. I'm also going to get a windshield cover to protect the leather interior. Not anticipating having it parked out in the sun for periods of time but I'm taking the measure any way.) I read that keeping it waxed consistently (every few months if I read correctly) should help give the paint a layer of protection between it and the sun/heat as well and preserve it.
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Finn Yorker
Member
Fantastic Imperial!
Black looks always good on a Formal.
Black looks always good on a Formal.
Thanks to everybody here for the welcomes and help! Feels great to be part of a family of classic Mopar enthusiasts 
. I did have another question. My Grandfather and I both couldn’t figure out what this ‘LATE - EARLY’ dial was. We didn’t have time to check the manual because we had to head out pretty early.
. I did have another question. My Grandfather and I both couldn’t figure out what this ‘LATE - EARLY’ dial was. We didn’t have time to check the manual because we had to head out pretty early. 
Misfire... I see your question was answered by others though.Thanks to everybody here for the welcomes and help! Feels great to be part of a family of classic Mopar enthusiasts
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