It is interesting that you have converted 4 of these cars to carbureted vehicles - did you have the conversion package that Chrysler provided to make the changeover or did you just used a Mirada or equivalent to make the changeover, and if the latter I can see how it would be relatively straightforward to just take the fuel system from a Mirada or equivalent to get the engine running easily enough, but did you lose anything in the dash panel function or require a swap of the body wiring harnesses from a Mirada or equivalent to get the instrument panel to be fully functional?
we used mirada/cordoba fifth avenue donor cars.
no chrysler conversion parts, i was told that it was a huge process, with a truck load of parts inc new fuel tank etc arriving at the dealer for each conversion.
i should clarify that i successfully converted 2 - the best was the last, #4, the white 81 which got all the upgrades. it was a non running car that i didnt even attempt to try to get running with the fuel injection.
it came to me from the family who's uncle owned it from it being a couple of years old, supposedly he had bought from the original owner.
not sure why they didnt get it converted under warranty and he had passed away so there was no way of knowing.
they did say that the original owner was very bitter about the car and eventually so was their uncle. both loved the car but hated it as well.
which is probably why uncle never sold it as well as the fact he was not 1 to pass on trouble to another. and why it was in such nice shape, always being garaged.
the usual story of endless breakdowns and repairs.
eventually i was offered the car because they knew of me and the imperials / new yorkers i had owned.
by the time i was offered the car, i was so tired and frustrated with the years long learning & experimenting curve with fuel injected imps that i had already sold off the 3 that i started with.
the 1st 2 cars were rough low mileage (of course) fuel injected cars and the 3rd had had a non dealer 2v conversion. this was what gave us the tips on what to do.
apparently it had the drivetrain from a fifth avenue.
car # 2 got the intake, carb, fuel tank etc from a t-boned 318 cordoba and car # 2 ran pretty well, but it was shabby.
i dont remember how the wiring was dealt with but i dont recall it being a big issue.
i gave up on car #1 after getting car #3, there had been too much time, energy and $ put into it and 1 & 2 gave me insight into why 81-83 imp owners become bitter.
#1 was alot shabbier than # 2, it was light auburn ( beige with a heather cloth interior and always looked dirty.
#2 was mahogany brown with brown leather.
#3 was also light auburn with i think heather leather, could have been cashmere leather - kind of similar.
i sold # 3 to someone who asolutely had to have it, and i sold #1 & 2 as a package.
several years later, around 1996 i was offered the white 81 - nice red leather, moonroof & 2.24 suregrip.
i bought a low mileage shabby mirada donor car mainly for its gas tank and 3.23 suregrip axle, it also had the rear sway bar like the imperials. its 318 was missing, it was a fact 4v car.
the imperial's motor was pulled and gone through and it got the 4v intake from a diplomat rcmp cruiser, mechanical fuel pump and an edelbrock carb was installed. i was always told the fuel injected imperial 318 used 360 heads, i dont know for sure - im sure others would know.
again, i dont recall the wiring being a big deal.
it was a fun car, the dual exhaust gave it a healthy rumble and it was fun at shows when people would comment on the white liberace wedding cake of a car sounding healthier than the barracuda next to it......
i kept it until around 2007.
at that time i was focussed mainly on my 2 sunroof salons and boat tail rivieras.
the dash function that was lost was the distance to empty estimate, and i dont remember if the mpg avg was also lost.
i believe the dealer conversion cars kept those functions.
mark
