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: