My latest toy...

[66patrick]

...is pretty damn BIG! It's a 1966 Imperial convertible! Yup, a ragtop. It has its original 440, and has just 25K miles on it! I sold the Dodge "hippie van" this weekend, had heard about this ragtop last Friday and that it was for sale. Checked it out on Saturday, and bought it today. I had absolutely no intention of getting another hobby car after selling the van, but this car just calls to me! It was built just six days after my '66 Coronet 500. Different plants, of course. Same colors as the Dodge, too, except the Dodge has a black vinyl top. It has the same wheelbase as the LWB Swepties do, at 128 inches.

It needs brakes before it goes anywhere! On the test-drive Saturday, stopping was a butt-puckering moment as the stop at the red light became a "damn, is this gonna stop???" time! Other than that, the car drives out nice, and needs a few details worked before it goes on any kind of excursion. I'm hoping to have it ready for what is called the "Small Town Weekend" in El Reno, OK the first weekend in June. Should be fun!

Getting this, the Coronet, the two D100s, the wife's New Yorker Brougham, the teardrop and the tractor all in the shop at one time is proving to be, interesting! The driver '68 may have to sit under the patio cover for a while, I guess!

[Txas2step]

Good looking land yacht.

[slick]

Man that is beautiful!

[Hobcobble]

Very cool!
John

[Kaegi]

those things last forever too. 100s of thousands miles easy. nice find.

[my5thmopar]

Is that the same as a Newport? Bet it rides nice!

[66patrick]

Is that the same as a Newport? Bet it rides nice!

The answer to that is "no"...not even close. the Imperial was the pinnacle of Chrysler engineering, and were mostly hand-built until the end of the '66 model year. It has real walnut wood trim inside, leather, 440 (first year of 440), and a lot more. In fact, Chrysler compared features of the Imperial to contemprary Rolls-Royces! This was an expensive car in 1966 - nearly $8,000 - while your average Newport was more like $4,200 or less. No body, suspension, wheels, or frame swaps to either New Yorker or Newport. There is very little that swaps, other that drivetrain bits. In fact, the Imperial was a "D"-body car, while the New Yorker/Newports were "C"-bodies. In the '67 MY, they all became "C"-body cars. The '66 was the last full-framed Chrysler car built.

[Perkins64]

that is a pretty rare car...nice find!

[EarlKann]

That's awesome. The car only has 25k or just the engine? Waiting for some pics of the interior.

Put me on the "interested" list when you decide to sell it!

[66patrick]

It has 25K miles for real. It is one of just 514 built in '66. From my understanding, no convertible was sold out of dealer stock - it HAD to be special-ordered by the customer. In other words, no showroom models! You couldn't go to a dealer and test-drive one from the dealer floor or inventory.

[hoon]

You can beat the ride of a land barge. I love big cars

[RobertGilliam]

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!