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One day, while out for a drive, I saw a 1967 Imperial in a pasture with a For Sale sign. I stopped to take a closer look, mostly out of curiosity. The owner came out and we chatted for awhile. Eventually the conversation turned to price and he said originally he wanted $1000, but since vandals broke the windshield he'd take $750. That was much less than I expected and I became interested. I asked if I could drive it. He said the brakes needed work and told me to be careful, then gave it a jump and aired up the tires. It needed a tune up but drove well considering the time it had been sitting. I figured that I couldn't get hurt at that price and bought it. Because she's a Crown Coupe, CC seemed like a good nickname.
A local glass company had the windshield in stock and came to my home and installed it for $350, which I considered a bargain. Then I bought a new set of tires but couldn't get the lugs off. I worked like crazy, eventually rounding the lugs. I fought a few other things, got frustrated and moved onto another project. She sat untouched for a couple of years until a neighbor who is a Mopar guy told me the left side had left hand threads. "Get out of here", I said. I never heard of such a thing! But he was right. Eventually I got the new tires on and adjusted the stance with the Air-Ride shocks. It's amazing what new tires do for the appearance of a car. My old enthusiasm for CC returned and I decided to make her my winter project.
My mechanic is doing a tune-up, fixing the brakes and a leak in the transmission. When I get her back I'll remove the interior, install new floor pans and work on the electronics. My plans are for dark burgundy paint with black leather interior. I'm an upholsterer by trade and plan to use her for advertising. I will stay with the stock interior design but will use modern paint. A customer and friend in the auto/body business uses me for his customer's interiors and is helping me with body and paint work. I am going to paint it myself. Other plans include POR13 for the underside and trunk, and painting the engine and engine compartment. I hope to get all electronic items working. Achieving #2 condition would be nice but there is a fair amount of pitting in the chrome. At any rate, the creativity of restoring a classic like this is very positive. I'm looking forward to the day I can take her for a drive. The first place I'll go is to see that guy with the pasture.
Dan Collins
Wasilla, Alaska
(Click on a small image to view a larger version.)
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After a tune-up, transmission leak repair and brake system inspection from my mechanic, I parked CC in the garage, drained out the old yellow gas and started her again. Although the 440 still doesn't run as smooth as I'd like, it's close enough for now and I decided to move on.
The mechanic told me that one of the front disc brake pads was missing. Anchorage Chrysler had the part number but not the part in stock. They are connected to a national system that queries inventories of hundreds of dealerships and were able to refer me to three. I was glad to know parts are still available and ordered a new set from South Dakota for a reasonable price.
When I started checking out the car I found the headlights, tail lights and dash lights are not working. Since these are all a function of the headlamp switch and 67 and 68 Imperials are known for this problem, I plan to rebuild it. I am enjoying the site and have made friends that are very helpful. I never considered myself a mechanic, but I feel I can do most of the work myself with the help of our members. My next objective is the removal of the seats and carpet so I can weld in new floor pans. After that I'll work on the electrical problems when I can stretch out.
The hole in the floor pan behind the driver's seat. The carpet conceals it somewhat. It is about one square foot. The stance with the air-rides.
Here's a picture of the floor pan hole. It measures about 24" x 18". Now that the interior is out and the floor is swept clean, it's a good place to stop until I can work on it again.
