1961 Imperial Crown Convertible in White & Engine Sound on My Car Story with Lou Costabile 

I think I like this collector most of all; not only for having some very rare, old and beautiful Chrysler cars but because he also DRIVES them. No mater how valuable, a car to be a car needs to be driven. Thx Lou!

This is a great car. In the fall of 1969 I went to work at a Chrysler Plymouth Imperial dealer. The following fall I moved from the service department to the parts department. One of my co workers had a 61 Imperial Convertible. His was black with red leather interior. I was not aware of the low production numbers. This is the first time I have seen one of those cars in over 40 years. Thanks for the memories.

Hubba Hubba!! When Frank lit up the rear brake lights …. I gasped! What an amazing and beautiful Imperial! Good gosh! Fine work Lou!

Chrysler’s answer to the ‘59 Cadillac. From the square steering wheel, swivel seats, detached headlights, floating tail lamps, rear deck “spare tire” lid, and massive fins. Truly astounding.👏

The most beautiful Imperial ever made .

My cigar chomping neighbor had a 64 Imperial 4dr. hardtop from new. It was like driving around in a leather wrapped humidor, every option you could think of . Sweet ride

Milburn Drysdale drove one of these on the Beverly Hillbillies. Man this is one swank machine. Who ever came up with the expression "all the bells and whistles" must have just come from checking out this beauty. Thanks Lou and Frank for sharing this.

Wish I could get a hold of the magic mushrooms Virgil Exner consumed. Not only is the exterior flamboyant, but the interior carries on Exner’s extravagance. What a ride..what a car story!

Lou: Definitely one of the best cars you have shown. It's amazing and unique.

Sincerely, what a beautiful car, full of great design details. Congratulations for this jewel of the golden age of Chrysler. Greetings from Cuernavaca Mexico...

The ‘Imperial’ script was always so over-stylized. What a cool thing to do. This is the kind of script one would see on menus at diners & restaurants. I’ve seen a few of these beautiful cars in my earlier days and I, too, wondered what they would look like without the headlights. What a stunning piece of Americana history!

I had to check this one out once again Lou. I can't believe the sacrilege of smashing up these priceless works of US automotive sculpture in smash up derby's. I believe there are some of these derby's on RU-vid but I cannot watch them as I'm sure I'd be reduced to tears. Such a beautiful automobile, and the LeBaron you quickly gave us a shot of...simply stunning!

Spectacular automobile, right down to the nameplate. Glad that Chrysler allowed Exner to follow his dream without compromise.

Hi, Lou! When it come to flamboyance, nothing other than the 1959 Cadillac can rival the 1961 Imperial! Those tailfins are so emphatic, and Cadillac never tried anything like freestanding headlights or suspended taillights (not after WW2 anyway)! It was in 1961 that Lincoln came out with the outstanding landmark design that became the basis for all future Lincoln designs, and as I've heard one observer put it, that car seemed to mock the Imperial's excesses. And although the 1961 Cadillac still had tailfins, by then the Standard of the World had already started their tailfin abatement program. That ocean liner horn will get people's attention all right, but then again you don't have to honk it for that! LOL! Imperial continued with the freestanding headlamps in 1962 and 1963, but the tailfins were eliminated for '62, and for '63 the taillights were integrated into the fenders. There have been at least a few convertibles that saw lower production; the 1960 Edsel (76 built) and Chrysler 300F (248) to name two. Frank surely knows a special car when he sees one. Thanks to both of you for sharing this most carefully built of cars with us!

I have the same scale model - quite impressive in its detail. The lines and surfaces flow so elegantly!

Big. Bold. Beautiful. They sure don't make them like this anymore! Thanks for sharing Frank's car with us.

Hi Lou. I love these 50s & early 60s Chrysler cars!! Styling to the extreme - they were made to be noticed! The dashboard in this car is a work of art - nothing better! Tiger.

The '63 was the prettiest of the floating headlight Imperials but this one is badass - even with the weird flying saucer on the rear deck

What a car, it is wonderful, it's over the top and then some more beyond that. Thank you Frank for sharing, this car is in a class of its own, nothing compares to it.

Magnificent! Makes me wanna cry for what America lost while we were sleeping.

I know it's not this car but this car reminded me of when I was a little kid sitting inside of a 1955 Chrysler Belvedere that wasn't running anymore and I remember sitting behind the steering wheel and looking across and seeing push button transmission and that seemed to me like wow, Lou thanks for the memory....

Gotta love these land barges. Crazy & outrageous, yet awesome! Great car. Nice post Lou. Thank you!

I love these old Imperials, I could look at them all day, incredible! Good video Lou!

Gorgeous car, flawless styling, timeless design. This was indeed built to last.

The gentleman mentioned that people are amazed when they see it. My brother inherited our dad's 1960 Lincoln Continental, bought off the show room floor, low miles and he gets that same reaction. Nothing like a classic car!! ❤️

Great video Lou and what a classic car I didn't realize the headlights and taillights were free-floating like that unbelievable

Lou you foind one of my Favorites. SO SO Different than anything else in 1961. All other makes were downsized by 1961 GM. Ford, and Chysler in 1962. Love to see that MOPAR Wagon behind Frank at the end of the video .

How did I miss this? Reaffirms Virgil Exner as my car God. Also love the owners matter of fact explanation 😀

I can remember as a young kid 1961 having a plastic toy car of that Imperial.

Love the early -60's Imperials! Beautiful car, great find Lou! 👍🏻👌🏻👏🏻😍😎

Frank has a really awesome collection. He's a little stingy though when it comes to giving the motors a rev and hitting the horn. LOL. I'm glad he is sharing his fine collection so that we can see a little bit what it was like back in the early 60's. Really and incredible amount of talent that was used back then has all but been replaced with CAD, robots and cameras. Even the production of the paper manuals and product brochures must have employed an army of talent.

Great car amazing detail. This looks perfection. Thumbs up.

You know how to find them. What a great car and it appears to be housed in with a host of other great cars, maybe future My Car Story features.

*GORGEOUS* automobile! Love that it still had the big tail fins for '61, while other makes were fading them away.

What an amazing car! By the way, I happen to have a model of it to review! I really enjoy your channel and often use the cars as a reference in my model car reviews. Thanks for sharing such a work of art!

I had a 1961 ,Turquoise with White Leather . Payed $1250.00 ,with 22,000 miles , I drove it often for several years. Very little money spent on repair ! Made many long trips with it . These were best built cars in U.S. in early 1960s ,and said to be best engineered in World . Everything was much better than others down to the Door Locks . The Glass was Tempered and framed in Chromed Steel . Not to mention for a big car it handled great .

Most beautiful car ever. Thank you for the great video! Always has been on my bucket list!!

Can you imagine buying one of these new! Thanks for sharing Lou

wow, THAT ELECTRIC SIDE VENT WINDOW GOT ME..The entire car.. Amazing,, great vid again Lou..

Looks like I'm a little late to the game, but boy what a treat to see! It's impeccible in every way and moving forward I'm no longer thowing out any old TVs just in case lightning strikes twice! Thanks, for finding & sharing this with us, Lou!

Fabulous!!! Electric vent windows, swivel seats- 4 horns- miles of wiring! What a car- can’t wait to see the green one- should do a video of the whole collection. Hearing how and why from guys like Frank is as cool as their cars. Well done!!

Hey Lou, Now that is a land yacht, Great lines and Unique styling, i never seen power vent windows before Winner for sure. Thanks Lou for showing this great car.

great video Lou. This Imperial was really loaded with equipment for 1961. Glad to see a shot of the auto-pilot control on the dash. I believe Chrysler introduced that in 1958, then Cadillac had it in 1959. The fins on the '61 were wild and were toned down the next year. I'd have to say that the '62 and '63 might have enjoyed a more attractive posterior, but they were all so unique. Great job.

Great car and video. Thanks Lou!

What a magnificent Imperial Lou! I ole the color combo and I love that styling those headlights taillight's are out of theirs world along with the horn and the swivel seats! They owner is really cool too! He had lots of other great cars in there too. I would have loved to have seen that red 1970 Plymouth sport suburban wagon in the back there with the woodgrain sides it looked awesome and that color of it was out of sight too! Thanks for sharing Lou! The owner was really a cool guy!

I learned to drive in my Mom's '62 Imperial 2-dr coupe, white with blue fabric interior. It was the most amazing big car, and it was BIG, that I've ever driven. The 413 hauled all that weight around like it was no big deal. And the torsion bar suspension never faltered, smooth ride with good control. I remember my Dad blasting along the newly constructed interstate (probably 1964 summer vacation) somewhere in New Mexico with the speedo pegged at 120 and it was smooth as silk. I miss that car alot.

thank you lou, keep doing this,, its so great!!!

Lou you are great and it reflects in your taste for cars. Love your show!!

That part you mention of when you're in traffic and people trying taking to a picture📸 of it reminds me of when I'm at a red light in my '61 Newport 2 door, I see people in my rearview mirror, with their camera phones out📱taking a picture of the car. I guess with the tall sweeping fins in contrast to the cars on the streets today, really stand out.🤩 ...yeah, makes you kinda smile.☺ Nobody really takes a second look at a Tesla or Prius. Bozo No, noooooo.😆

Hope you didn't leave without doing a feature on the red fury wagon behind the imperial! . Imperial is an awesome car thanks lou Cheers steve

Faaaaaaaaaaaaantastic. There's more metal in the fins than there is in the entire body of my wife's Honda Jazz!!!

Another beautiful American icon automobile Lou. Thanks for sharing

Once again Lou, Frank has one of the most stunning rides out there. Much respect for preserving history. What a car....

Lou , this Imperial is off the charts ! Style personified.

I had a '63 Imperial LeBaron at one time. Really wish I still had it. Gold outside and inside and it was a really good car that never let me down. Just beautiful. That '63 had a 413 with 2 inline 4 bbl carbs at 10:1 compression. Got 15mpg in town driving if you are careful with the go pedal heheheh. I loved the rectagular shaped steering wheel and the pushbutton auto trans. It also had the dual AC and Wonderbar radio.

Mr Troost, just love youre collection, absolutely gorgeous vehicles.Especially the Imperials. THANX

Frank seems like a great guy. Nice down to earth fellow.

Another wonderful example of made in the usa, chrome and steel of the late 50's - early 60's. Big, brawny and stylish !! That guy Frank is such a genuinely nice and great man, too !! Great job, Leo; you covered everything, and then some !!

Just beautiful, a real piece of art👍

Hey Lou. Beautiful looking Imperial Crown convertible! I've seen Imperials before, but no convertibles. :)

Fascinating. am junking a Crown Imperial sedan, after saving all the 'goodies' I can remove. This car sat outside in Rapid City for 50 years and the rust worms really had a feast. Plus, stuck engine, car beyond saving, and 'two doors too many' as they say in the hobby. What amazes me is (1) the heavy steel used- surely 16 guage metal-amazing! we needed to get some parts off and had to use the cutting wheel on the rusty (bottom) front fenders and my mechanic believes the front clip was one piece! no seams anywhere so to get trim off you need to cut a cavity to get to the clips. ALSO, THE TOTAL LACK OF UNDERCOATING!!!--you turn over the 16 guage steel and there is not any indication of sheet metal protection-heck I have seen early 50s cars with gobs of undercoating on them. we are cutting off the 'dorsal fins' on each rear sedan quarter for a possible customizer-taillights are amazing, but can't do much without the tall fins to somehow use them. Finally, re the free standing headlights which I can believe were a throwback to the 1930s as mentioned--they are very heavy! must weigh 30 lbs per side! remarkable-clearly never any thought of weight on these big guys. I am saving all the good steel and parts there are and know that I might get an inquiry about a part after this car starts its journey to China or wherever the crushed cars go. It will come back as a half dozen or so import tinny cars no doubt.

WOW, what a car. Have no words too say. Only look is amazing.

You certainly present some beautiful cars Lou! I’ve always had a penchant for Chrysler probably just that little more than other comparable brands!

Amazing car! Thanks Lou!

Thank you sir...really feel the era...you never show we never know......

When I was a kid I used to walk past a Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealership on main street along the way to and from school; Novo Motors in Morristown, NJ. I was always intrigued by the new cars in the showroom and would stop in and look at them from time time. I loved the 61-62 Imperial with its detached headlights. One day I picked up a brochure for the 62 Imperial and I still have it. It's hard to believe that was 57 years ago! :-)

I have a 61 Imperial convertible that is black with red interior. It also has a record player! enjoyed your video

Frank is a lucky guy to possess such a fine collection. Thanks Lou.

Rag top Imperials were always well under 1000 each year. I have a black '71 Imperial LeBaron Coupe. One of only 1442 made. Looking forward to that black Imperial LeBaron. Great vid and the guy knew his stuff!

Man Lou, this 61 Imperial Crown Convertible is full of luxury & s lot of class. Beautiful inside & outside with so much insight on its design. What a shame how they use to drive them on the races & demolished so many as a result. The owner really seems to know a lot about his collection. If I was him, I would invite you to take it out & drive it for a nice cruise. Thanks for such a great interview & letting us hear the “ horn” on this big “yaught “.🙏🏻❤️💚✌️👍

Awesome! Now you need to do a video of this gentleman’s 1961 LeBaron and 1960 two door Imperial!

Good video, lots of info. I recall making my annual visit at the local Chrysler dealer when I was 16 (to pick up brochures) and drooling over those amazing headlights and running my hand around the back of them.

Superb, thanks for sharing !

Awesome Lou《☆》Wow just Wow with the style :*: & a 413 big block torque monster. Can't wait to see more of Franks collection🤠☻🤠

You notice Lou, the clock is working. This episode earns my highest rating 100 out of 100.

What an absolute pleasure to watch, and the owner is knowledgeable and charming. Over the top? Perhaps, but Imperials of this era were also mightily impressive.

More fantastic stuff, that man has some treasure. I can only imagine what debauchery went on in that car, brilliant.

423 is amazing! She's beautiful. And he's a lucky man to have a car like that to drive regularly. I'm envious! 👍🏻😉 🇺🇸

OMG! Frank has THE best collection. This gentleman has impeccable taste in cars. This model is amazing even for an Imperial. Power vents, locks and AC! I want a job washing and waxing his cars!

That is a great car.Well redone.

Hi Lou, man what a beauty. One day..I'll make it happen. Simply awesome. The Chrysler Company cars of that era had some of the best tailfins.

Exner excellence! My favorite year Imperial. Fabulous! Magnificent luxury car!

one big car, very unique

Love the power vent windows!

Great vid Lou. I got one sitting in my Garage she is a beauty.

Great Car Thanks

Wowe lou great great great find very good looking ride.. man having that car on a summer day i bet you feel like a million bucks!

What a timeless beauty!

That is one beautiful work of art

Magnificent Automobile! My Dad had a 59 Crown Coupe, black with red leather interior, I was born in 55, so I don’t remember the car, just pictures. The next car he had was a 61 New Yorker in dark blue with light blue leather. The next one I remember quite well, a 64 Imperial Crown Coupe that was an amazing car! In met turquoise, with black sort of vinyl roof, with the softest black leather I’ve ever seen. Please do a segment on that beautiful big red Grand Fury Wagon?

Good work thanks for the video, and I would love to have that big Chrysler.

WOW! And I like the trunk especially...

Beautiful ! I love it

Tanks sir for youar job...

Love the bars and work

Very elegant and just a beautiful car! Winner!

Good video. thanks

I love the Imperial line. Exquisite automobiles.

That is one beautiful land yacht... Even sounds like one with that horn.

and Lou we gotta see that LeBaron one day thanks