Spring Road Trip I

I was finally able to take a vacation earlier this month (May), and flew out to Texas to visit my parents, and to drive Blackie back to DC. I have been waiting all winter to do so. While winter this year was not as bad as I thought it would be, I still think it was a good idea to keep Blackie at my parents house, just in case. Winters there are less harsh, although it does get windy (and plays havoc with the car cover and the paint job).

While at my parents, my dad and I went to work on both cars. During the winter, the mechanic that dad recommended to me had worked on Blackies steering issues. I thought it had a leaky steering fluid reservoir (an O ring issue), but it was the steering gears and shaft that was causing the problem. Tommy (the mechanic) resolved that, and it is much easier to handle for a nearly 20 foot yacht. Another issue that came up was the carburetor. I drove it 200 miles to see my grandmother, and after I got back, I could smell gasoline coming from the engine. I checked my gas mileage, and had only gotten 9 miles to the gallon on that small trip. Something was definately wrong. Upon checking the carb, I saw gas leaking from one of the linkages. My dad and I took it back to Tommy's, and he took a look at it, and suggested that I use some kind of carburetor cleaner in the fuel (STP or the like). Sure enough, after adding some in to the fuel, the problem was resolved (for now). I have ordered some BG 44K fuel additive that is supposed to clean out the carb for the long term. We'll see how that works.

On the trip back to DC, I blew out two tires on I-40. Before the trip started, my dad and I took a look at the tires, and all seemed well. I would get some shaking when the car was moving between 60 and 70 mph. We both thought it was due to an unbalanced tire. We thought wrong.
I was outside Little Rock on I-40 when I hear a loud POP, and then the resulting thumping coming from the rear of the car. I pull over, and discover the back drivers side tire had blown, and thrown tread. Not a good thing. Fortunately, I had a good spare fully aired up. I changed it out, and was on my way again. I stopped in Lebanon, Arkansas for the night, and found a Goodyear tire dealer the next morning to change out the blown tire. Smooth sailing, right?

Nope.

I drive through Arkansas and half of Tennessee with out any problems, until I am east of Nashville. Then POP, and the familiar thumping. This time on the front drivers side tire. I had to pull over to the left hand shoulder (a no no) since I was travelling in the left hand lane, and would have to cross three lanes to get to the right hand shoulder. Too much traffic behind me, and I would have cut them all off. Again, not a good thing. I safely pull over, get out of the car and inspect the damage. Again, another blown tire that had thrown tread. I change it out with the new spare tire. As I was changing it, a very helpful Tennessee highway safety patrol stopped to help me out. I asked him if there was a tire store nearby, so I could buy all new tires for the car. This was an unexpected expense, but worth it, since I no longer trusted the tires I was riding on. He directed me to the nearest Wal-Mart super center, and with that, I was on my way again. I find the Wal-Mart, and luckily, they had the correct size tires in stock, with white walls! I replace all four tires, with the new tire I bought in Lebanon becoming the spare tire. Two hours and over $300 later, I was on the road again with a new set of tires. Blackie drove like a dream after that. No shakes or vibration, and even though that Wal-Mart didn't do any alignments, the car stayed true and straight, and smooth. Now I know what an Imperial is supposed to feel like on the road. The rest of the trip back to DC went without a hitch, and with the fuel additives I put in during the trip, Blackie was able to get 13.5 mpg on the road.

After discussion with my dad, and seeing Red for the first time in person, I have come to this conclusion: I cannot save both cars. One has to be the base car, and the other has to be the parts or donor car. Due to the body condition of Red, I think that one will be the base car, and Blackie will be the parts car. Blackie has too many body rust issues. Plus, my mother likes the Burnished Red paint color on Red. So Red it will be! Not that it's going to be easy seeing Blackie parted out. It is an awesome car. On long road trips or short hauls around town, Blackie has been phenomenal. OK, so parking is kind of an issue because of it's size, but it rides very smooth, comfortable seats and drivers position, easily readable dash board, huge trunk and styling to bring out the pimp in everyone.

One of the blown tires on the trip back:

Spring Road Trip II

Now on to Red. This was the first time I had seen this car in person. On the whole, the car is in great shape body wise, but the engine is a complete unknown, as we have yet to get it started. This is due to bad gasoline in the gas tank. We need to take the gas tank off and have it cleaned out, and refurbished if necessary. Since working around the engine is out, the only thing we could do was to work on the vinyl top and look at the interior. After looking over the shredded white vinyl roof cover, dad and I discovered some small rust issues in the roof. There are approximately 3 silver dollar sized holes in the roof where the vinyl trapped water, and that helped form the holes in the roof (see pics below). With these holes, water was then able to get into the roof headliner and destroy the roof insulation as well as the roof liner. The inside of the roof is rusty as well. Along with the leaky roof, the drivers side windows (both front and back) does not fully close, thereby leaving a gap between the front window and back window. Water was able to get into the car this way as well.

One water logged interior. There was moss growing on the carpet on the passenger side.

I opened up the car, so the water would start to evaporate. I took out the back seat, and the ruined noise dampener between the back seat and the trunk. The back seat wire frame was rusted through, so it is ruined. However, I think the leather seat covers are salvageable. I also took down the ruined headliner, as the old insulation was retaining water, and causing further damage.

I also checked out the electrical system by testing out the windows, lights and other electrical items in the car. With a good battery some of the light systems worked, but the turn signals were not working. The car won't start because it still has bad gas in the tank, so I can't get a good idea if the starter and other engine electrical systems work. Dad has contacts with a shop that works on radiators and gas tanks, so with a cleaned out gas tank, we can attempt to start the car, and see what other problems we will have to address at a later date.

Whoever owned Red before me took care of it mechanically. They even modified the exhaust system to be duel exhaust, not the factory built single exhaust system. They also added an oil cooler to the car, as Red was used to pull a big trailer. There is also holes on both front fenders where large mirrors were bolted on to help in maneuvering a large trailer. The body is in excellent condition, as there doesn't seem to be evidence of damage or an accident. the engine looks solid, and it seems someone was attempting to make it run, as there are new spark plug cables on the engine. It also has more options than Blackie. Cruise control, power leather seats, and the awesome Tilt-a-Scope steering wheel. One question though: Who would use a 2 door Imperial coupe to tow a trailer? To Whoever: Next time, buy a diesel engined truck for your towing needs.

Pics of the rusty roof interior:














Water logged backseat:



















Roof and trunk area after I removed the ruined headliner and back seat:














The gap between the front and back drivers side windows:



















One of the holes in the roof, through the shredded vinyl:

April Update

Sorry about the dearth of posting on this blog. Not much has happened since February, except for a couple items that will improve Blackie a great deal.

However, someone left a question on the 'comments' page which I would like to address. The question was about the curb weight of these cars. Simple answer: I have no idea. Although I have seen some weights on other Chrysler cars of the same model year running around 4300-4500lbs. I hope that answers the question.

Now for the improvements. My dad has been taking care of Blackie (and Red) over the winter, and since spring has come around, he has more opportunity to work on it. The two areas that I wanted him to address before I flew back to Texas to pick up Blackie for the drive back to DC were: 1. The power steering issue and 2. The carburetor problem.

Dad has a local mechanic that he trusts, and evidently this guy knows his way around older cars. The mechanic has identified the power steering problem (it wasn't leaky seals in the power steering resevoir), and is replacing some of the steering related parts for better handling. There is a ton of improvement needed as far as handling goes in this car. That is great news! It will feel less like a boat.

For the carb, it was running rather rich, as there is black soot coming out of the tail pipe. No flooding or other problems as such, but it's not a good sign when you start the car, and one minute later, there is black soot on the concrete driveway. I am hoping dad's mechanic can find and adjust/fix that problem soonest.

I fly to Texas on May 5th, and will start drving back to DC around May 10th or so. I am very excited. I have missed tooling around DC in Blackie, as this car is a great Sunday cruiser. I will also bring back the leather seats I bought in Nebraska, and will start dying the leather to match the current interior (black)(please see the below post "Nebraska or Bust"). Also, Bob from Nebraska sent my dad the parts needed to convert the current manual door locks to power locks. Hopefully, I will get those installed while still in Texas.

This will be a great summer project for me, and I have thoroughly enjoyed finding most of the pieces to make it a better car. There is still lots to do, but that's kinda the point with a project car: you're never quite finished with it!!

Enjoy!

Nebraska or Bust

Blackie is a car that is not well optioned. In fact, the only option it has is the AM/FM multiplex stereo. No leather seats, no cruise control, no power door locks (power windows were standard). No nothing. It has been my intention to find the options that are missing (and that would be a bonus in a rebuild), and put them on the car in working order.

Low and behold, an email from one of the members of the Imperial club had a well optioned '73 coupe that he was parting out. Evidently, the new owners wanted to turn that '73 into a demolition derby car, and Bob couldn't bare to see such a great interior go to waste. I sent a reply email back to Bob, asking what was available as parts, since he specifically called out the interior was in great shape. He sent me pictures of a very good looking leather interior with bucket seats. He and I haggled on price, electronically shook hands, and I sent him the money, and the seats were mine. The plan then was to pick up the seats from Bob in October of 2006.

October arrives, and I am ready to pick them up. I asked my dad if he would be interested in traveling with me to Nebraska to pick these up, since I would be using his truck to do so. Evidently, he was coming along if I wanted him to or not. Not that I didn't want him along, I just wasn't sure if he would be up for a trip like that. We drive from Texas to Nebraska, and meet up with Bob. I will say this: Bob is a great guy to work with. Honest and fair. I would not hesitate to buy anything from him in the future. And he has a collection of Imperials himself, mostly for parts, but he has one project car that will be awesome when he is finished. He showed us a '66 Imperial Crown, that had just gotten a base coat of white paint. Incredible!! It will be a beautiful car when he is finished with it. He also invites us to see his acreage with Imperials, but we decline, since we need to get on the road back to Texas.

The trip back was uneventful, except for the tarp covering the seats kept giving us problems. After rearranging the seats in the bed of the truck, no more tarp problem. The seats are now in my dad's garage, waiting for my trip back to Texas in the spring of '07. I have my own truck to use this time, so it shouldn't be a problem in picking them up.

I plan to re-dye the seats myself. There is a company called Leatherique and they custom match dyes for any project that you might have in vinyl or leather. I plan to match the leather seats to the black interior. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out. The only concern I have now is that the hardward on the seats (the nuts and bolts that tie them down to the car) are complete. It might also be a good opportunity to look into replacing the carpet, as Blackies rugs are not in the best of shape.

Below are pictures of the "new" interior, they should give you an idea of what I have to work with.

Enjoy!

In The Beginning...

I have always wanted a project car as a hobby. Something to get my hands dirty, as well as to drive around and, well, show off. Not that I am a show off myself, but something to have that says "Hey, I bruised a few knuckles and emptied my wallet several times over for this".

I have always loved cars. My parents gave me a 1965 Mustang model as a small kid, and I took it to bed with me every night. I think my mom still has the first picture of a car that I drew when I was 3 years old. Interesting that I didn't follow up with any of it, like take auto shop, or try out auto design for a living. Which is probably why I want a project car.

Which leads me to the two cars you see to the right. From the mid-1920's to the mid-1970's, and for a few years in the '80s and again in the '90s, Chrysler's top of the line luxury car was the Imperial. It never sold as well as Cadillac or Lincoln, but it definately was not a "lesser" car compared to either of those marques. Leather interior, 440 cu in engine with a 4 bbl carb, 8 track tape player, optional 4 wheel anti-lock brakes (an industry first), tilt-o-scope steering wheel, vinyl roof and hidden headlights are hallmarks of the 1969-1973 Imperials, with the "fuselage" styling. At 19 1/2 feet long, these are cars you will not lose in a parking lot.

Check out the Online Imperial Club for more information on these incredible pieces of American Iron.

Which again leads me to Blackie, the one in the top picture on the right. I first spotted that one on the club's website. It was owned by a guy in San Diego. I have no idea why it caught my eye (maybe its the F**k You front grille), but I knew then I wanted one, specifically a 1973 model.
Not a few months later (four, to be exact) the very car I lusted after on the Imperial website was up for sale on eBay. In March of 2006, I became the proud owner of a 2 door hardtop, with unknown mileage, but had been well taken care of when it was in San Diego. I paid too much for it, but what the hell, it was mine, and my project. It was in great shape mechanically, and I drove it from San Diego to DC in 5 days, with no problems what so ever.

The other car on the right, Ol' Red, is along the same lines. It was another 2 door hardtop I spotted on eBay, but this time, the seller put it in as a "buy me now" item. I called, made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and it was mine. In January of '07, my dad and a bud of his drove to the dealership where the car was located and picked it up. I have yet to see the car in person, I only have photos from the dealer from whom I bought it. Dad tells me the gas tank has old gasoline in it, as the engine will not stay ignited when started. The roof liner is shredded, and it looks like the leather seats are moldy. I know how to take care of the last two items. Dad is looking into taking the gas tank off the car, and flushing it.

I am a relative newbie to blogging, but I have every intention of keeping this blog updated as often as possible. Especially when major doings are in the works. If anything, maybe some can learn from my up and downs as I move through these projects. If you've got questions or comments, please feel free to let me know.

Enjoy!