In the 80’s my neighbor had two of these, in brown. Huge thing. One day the school bus didn’t show up, and it was a cold winter day - so my neighbor told us all to jump in and he’d drop us off at school on his way to work. Must have been at least 8 of us in the back seat, plus a bunch in the front, and it wasn’t even cramped. I mean, we were all of 6-10 years old, so it wasn’t difficult to fit so many in the car. Smooth ride. Giant car.
The B-52s "Love Shack" has a great line that invokes visions of the fuselage-era Mopars...."I got me a Chrysler, it's as big as a whale, and it's about to set sail......I got me a car that seats about twenty...."
@Stephen3164Now that is a great memory! Funny how little things like that stick with us as fond memories for decades. Probably the fun of doing something unusual…piling in a giant car with 8 or 10 other kids on a cold day. Something you possibly never did again.
Learned to drive in my Dad’s 1972 Imperial Le Baron. I remember it being a vary quiet car, noticeably quieter than the 71 New Yorker we had previously. I remember it having a very smooth ride, but not as wallowy a ride as other land yachts of the time. My dad had it until he died in 2017, now my nephew has it.
My parents had a 1973 Imperial Lebanon. It was a bit long in the tooth when I started driving it to high school. The interior was all leather, for an enormous car it hauled ass, and the back seat area was like a living room sofa - I loved that part. lol
215 bhp at 5,000 pounds meant 0-60 in 12 seconds. I can haul ass on my bicycle better than that. But nothing like that interior, 8 track with a dictation machine, reading lamps in the back seat. Very cool. They didn't talk about trunk space, but I'm sure a family of four could live comfortably back there.
My uncle rest his soul worked for Chrysler corporation leasing division in Los Angeles in the 60s and 70s ,his job was mostly to supply vehicles for TV and Movies to the major studios as such he was always given cutting edge models to drive like Chargers, Challengers and his personal favourites Imperial and New Yorkers
When I was 11 years old, I was walking into church with my parents, and Mrs Bell, whose husband owned a construction company, pulled into the parking lot in her brand new 73 Imperial LeBaron, a silver/pewter with white leather interior and white vinyl top. One gorgeous car! She traded it on a 75, same color combination, but just wasn't as impressive as her 73. Loved Imperial ever since.
I love Imperial awakening stories..... Mine was when l was 5 and my rich Uncle Sal visited and pulled into the driveway with his maroon '68 coupe. Omg , to me it was a Rolls...👍❤️
My uncle had one of these in the very late eighties. It was gold with the gold interior. His had the rear Air-con and would freeze you out quickly. it was in spectacular condition when he bought it used. Fun-fact; in Iowa the title on this car stated limousine even though it was the standard sedan.
This is why so many garages of houses built in the 60's and 70's were 22 feet long vs today's that are only 18 or 20 feet long.. Massive beast.. very neat cars that don't get the attention they are worthy of in my opinion in car auction circles and within the car collector societies and publications..
Im not certain those were the longest cars of the modern era. Im fairly sure a 1975-76 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was as long or even longer. The Cadillac commercial chassis, (often made into limousines) also known as a series 75 certainly exceeded it. The Lincoln Town Car from 1974-79 was likely as long also.
@@donreinke5863 It is the longest non-limousine American production car at 235.3″. 1975 Buick Electra 225: 234.4″ 1977-1979 Lincoln Continental: 233.0″ Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham was 233.7".
I had a 73 Imperial (in 1984). It had the security system and Sure Brake. There are photos online of a Presidential 73 Imperial limo. It was a combo of a sedan and coupe body.
I especially appreciate insights into what parts are reliable, and what are problematic. Reliability isn't often mentioned by other commentators, even in professional magazines--but it's important to know before buying a collector car! I have sometimes researched old Consumer Reports, even back into the 1950's.
I never liked the front end styling on these Imperials compared to the previous design but now it's not so bad. Very unique. You almost never saw any of them when new. In the day I don't recall anyone I knew having a big Chrysler let alone an Imperial. In 1980 I worked with a guy that had a used 1971 Imperial coupe that was a beautiful dark green with black interior. He loved it and took excellent care of it. Another great video.
I believe the reason these cars didn't sell was that Chrysler didn't know how to market them. They really promoted the Valiant and Dart, but their full size cars were ignored. Really ashame. The 69-73 models were beautiful. And the quality was just as good as GM and Ford.
I think you are right. Chrysler, imo, has never been a marketing powerhouse. Their big cars to my best recall, were not promoted much at all during these late 60s, early 70s years. Not sure why that was. Perhaps budgets were too limited, as compared to Lincoln and Cadillac, because sales were relatively poor. Then the oil embargo came, and sales suffered even more. And from there, it went downhill further, until bankruptcy loomed in 1979-80.
Ballast resistor!!! This video is the first time I ever heard that failure of the ballast resistor is sometimes related to water. I just thought it was something that unpredictably and randomly failed. My brother had a 1973 Dodge Coronet 318 back in the early 1980s. He was home from college and I washed his car, including hosing down the engine (today I would never hose down any engine, to me it’s just inviting trouble). When I was done washing his car, to my horror, it wouldn’t start! I knew my brother had to drive back to college later that day. But I played dumb, hoping that whatever got wet under the hood causing the car not to start would either dry out or magically fix itself before he had to go. When my brother went to drive off he discovered his car wouldn’t start, but he didn’t come after me! Apparently he know about the ballast resistor (we had a 67 Dodge and also a 1971 Dodge previous to his 1973). I think he went to the little family owned auto parts store and bought a new ballast resistor, came home, put it on, and the car started and he went on his way. Years later he told me generally about the pain in the ass ballast resistor. Again I played dumb and never admitted that I think I might have been the cause of one of his ballast resistor failures!
In my opinion, one of the most gorgeous exterior designs in US automotive history. Truly an imperial presence. Though the sterile interior is the polar opposite, Pontiac’s looked more luxurious inside. Totally unforgivable looking at what came before 😕
Now a days I have come to appreciate these cars. I would LOVE to be able to take a spin in one of these early 1970's Imperials once again. As I posted the other day I was lucky enough to take a road trip with a friend pf mine and his family to Cedar Point. What a wonderful car even with its faults.
Hey Adam, I think that after seeing this video I'm going to consider purchasing a 73 Imperial because I always worry about my toupee popping off & landing gently in the back seat!!! Thanks for the tip!!! 🙄🎄☃️
11:04 _ballast resistor failure symptom_ With the key in the RUN position, the 12 volts to the ignition coil went through the ballast resistor to limit current through the coil primary. With the key in the START position, the resistor was bypassed to allow a higher current through the coil temporarily for easier engine starting. When you released the key from START, the open ballast resistor prevented the ignition coil from providing the high voltage to the spark plugs.
I've also seen - a few times - where the Start side would fail but not the Run side. Crank-no-start - but if it hit just right, would fire when you released the key back to run. I too kept a spare in the glove box. Never had to use it for myself but bailed out several folks in the parking lot!
Nearly all cars that had points ignition (and some with electronic) had a resistor bypass for cranking. On Fords it was one of the two smaller wires on the fender (or radiator support on Thunderbirds) connected to the starter relay. The other wire activated the relay. GM vehicles had the resistor bypass wire on the starter solenoid. One exception on Fords was the 1955-57 Thunderbird which used a ceramic housed resistor near the coil, similar to the Mopar design. Mopars had the often-failing ceramic housing resistor on the firewall, while Ford and GM used a resistor wire from the ignition switch run terminal.
Thank You Adam. The door pockets came back at Lincoln. The last Town Car had them. I like the interior door handles. I like the bumper guards they used to put on so many cars. Chrysler was innovative for the things that are on cars today like those rear seat vents. I think the Imperial losing its uniqueness hurt it as well. The next Imperial became New Yorker Brougham in 1976.
In 1973, in my upper-middle-class SoCal community, I was surrpunded by snotty Volvo & Mercedes drivers (even a few Rovers and Saabs!) Whenever one of my high-tone neighbors bought a big Airstream or other high-end travel trailer, they always bought a 2-3 year old Chrysler to tow it - sometimes an Imperial, but usually a Town and Country. I always assumed the combo of the great 440, the superior Torqueflite, the robust leaf springs and the strongest bodies in the industry simply resulted in an unbeatable tow vehicle.
billmcdevitt1298 The point, Bill, is that those Eurotrash neighbors of mine couldn't hide their self-envy about their "sophisticated" cars while they sniffed their own farts out of wine glasses, but - when they had a job to do - they always relied upon MoPars and let their precious ballerina cars sit it out. I remember seeing Mr. Benz 300 SE's face twist into disgust when he had to ride to a function in my Dad's '77 NYB St. Regis. One mile later, when it dawned on him what REAL leather was like, what 10-vent Chrysler Autotemp II could do, what luxury car ride, room and silence provided, I think I saw him shed a tiny tear.
These were truly immense. I looked at one a few years back but ran the other way when I got a whiff of electrical gremlins. Seeing one in person after all that time I was shocked at how big it was.
That car is of unit construction like all other Chryslers of that time. They are somewhat lighter that comparable Lincoln and Cadillac models that have body-on-frame construction. I had a friend whose dad had a 1970 Plymouth Suburban station wagon that had the rear air conditioning unit. It was so neat to sit in the back seat and have air conditioning blow on you. My uncle had a 1971 Mercury Marquis and I am almost sure it had a similar set up to this Imperial for rear air conditioning; I remember the hoses that were under the rear package shelf when the trunk lid was open. GREAT VIDEO!
The 'family car' for years was the 1973 Imperial LeBaron. A two door. In that 'Sun Fire Yellow' you see on that 2nd to last Imperial shown in this video. What made it special was that it had the Trailer Towing Package that made it handle surprisingly well.
About 28 years ago, I picked up one of these not knowing what I do now. I paid $500 for one with 90k and a rebuilt 727 trans and a 440 4bbl. The car was metallic brown with a vinyl top and cream leather interior. Everything worked. But, needing a 440 for my 1968 Coronet 500 Convertible build I gutted the Chrysler and sent the rest to the you pull it yard. I still have the Coronet but I really should have kept the Chrysler and shopped around for another engine for the Coronet. Live and learn I guess.
I had a 72 Plymouth Fury Gran Coupe. Teal with a black vinyl top. I miss that car so bad. Even more that the 66 charger I had. I was 19. Now 60. That Imperial is gorgeous 😍
Love the Mail Pouch tobacco slogan on the barn in the backyard. I remember many a roadtrip as a kid seeing these all over the place especially in rural areas. My brother & I used to have contests counting them
I have what was a genuine Mail Pouch Tobacco painted barn on my farm in southwestern Pennsylvania. The farm has been in my family since 1942. I’m essentially the last of my immediate family. For the past 50+ years the barn has been kept painted white, but sometimes when the paint peels you can see remnants of the Mail Pouch paint scheme underneath!
@@CH67guy1 We used to drive to New York almost every summer & drove almost the entire length of the Pennsylvania turnpike from about 1955 to 1964 so maybe we passed your barn when the Mail Pouch lettering was on display
@@stevenwolff6866 The PA turnpike is such an adventurous drive! I think the barn was Mail Pouch throughout the 1940s and 1950s. But my farm is not visible from the PA turnpike.
I feel like these don't get the credit they deserve. Beautifully styled and elegant by any stretch of the imagination, I'd love to have one. I like the interior of the Imperial over the Mark IV and Eldorado any day and I have a 72 Mark IV.
I agree. It is very creative for such a huge car, certainly compared to Lincoln and Cadillac. Many times, I think stylists think they kind of get an easy task when they're asked to style & sculpt a big car because some gentle curves and medallions are good enough.
I owned one of these vehicles in the late 70s I bought it off of my dad for $1000. Best car I ever had. I only got rid of it a few years ago in 2020. It was the two door, coupe LeBaron, white with black leather sport seats.
My Dad owned one of these. It would hit a 115 moh top speed, up hill. Until I blew a head gasket. So we used the hips copper units and also a Holley car with 1" spacer, Edelbrock medium rise intake, 3.5" full duals with H pipe,high flow mufflers, hooker medium tq headers, and 3pc valve springs, lighter timing chain(good for 7hp alone), and a medium performance cam on Dad's LeBaron. Dad's LeBaron had every option, including rear mount 8 track player in trunk as well as super rare moon roof. 4 disc braked as well. It went a lot quicker and sounded great. But it still drove like a dream. Other than cam, no internals were touched. Wish he never sold that car. It only had 6800 miles on the odometer and Dad was the original owner
My mother had the 1970 Newport Coupe, dark gold with black interior and black vinyl roof. It was a joyous ride and drive. So smooth and elegant riding. One morning driving I was able to pick up my previous history teacher who lived down the street from us and take her to our high school. She was quite taken with my mom's car!
When it does happen, don't say we didn't warn you. Had it happen to the 72 Coronet we used to have (and it wasn't an old car at the time). Fortunately, we pushed the car to the side and the next car happened to be a friend of ours (who was also driving a Chrysler) who diagnosed it on the spot. He even had his spare.
I had one of these. I was involved in a fender-bender and took it to the Chrysler dealer for repair. When it came time to paint the repaired section, they had to clear out a section of the garage and do the painting on the garage floor as it was too big to go into the paint booth.
To be fair, these Imperials had the same fuselage bodies as contemporary Chryslers, and they were built on the same Chrysler production line. Caddies and Lincolns were built in their own exclusive plants, and shared less parts with the cheaper GM/Ford Company brands.
What a lovely land yacht. Thought my dads '76 Electra 225 was long. I ended up getting a spot to park my car in the garage as when he brought the car home he could not park it in the garage as it was so long the garage door could not be shut. 😆
Chryslers always seemed to have air conditioning that was as good as or better than GM. However, that RV2 compressor was a cast iron monstrosity! I'm pretty sure it outweighed the GM A-6 compressor, which was no lightweight, either. Although, I suppose an extra 100 lbs on a car the size of the Imperial would make zero difference in performance or gas mileage.
It was cold AF because of the old r12 refrigerant. Has nothing to do with automakers, its the Govt telling us the world would end by 2012, and here we are
Over the years I have had several Imperials and Chrysler Corp wagons, ALL with dual A/C. I was living in Phoenix and it was very refreshing to drive around (especially on the freeways) with both units cranking in 115 degree weather. My wife would complain it was too cold and on a few occasions the front Auto Temp system would almost shut down to minimum as it got so cold in there. Great A/C units.
This was designed at Art Center in Pasadena, California. Few yrs back at a show there . The designer was there. Asked him mamy questions. Little did i know he knew my Auntie from Detroit 😊
In 1966 I began correspondence with Tom McCahill because my dad wanted to replace his 58 Buick Limited. I sent a sketch to GM Design Division for a new 67 Buick Limited. When it arrived in Delphi off the car carrier my mother wouldn't buy it. Instead she bought a 69 Imperial LeBaron. Annual alternator failures. Annual starter failures. Intermittent brake pedal to the floor. Broken left tie rod end. Fogged windshield every time AC turned on. Instrument panel rimmed with every brake application.
Same with the R107. That black box under the hood would somehow freeze in cold weather and split, causing a "no heat" condition that made the car miserable to drive in the winter!. It cost four figures to replace it with a new one that would be guaranteed to split again in the near future. Someone finally started making an aftermarket digital replacement at a reasonable price that restored the unit's function without fear of further failure.
My neighbor across the street growing up purchased a 1973 Imperial two door new in October 1973. A white 2 door w/white vinyl top sunroof and white interior. Obviously a very rare car. It looked even bigger to me at the time as a 10 year old as a two door and I do not believe I have ever seen another. I really wonder how many Imperials were built in this combination. This car was replaced by a 1979 Buick LeSabre 2 door Palm Beach edition in creme gold and white two tone paint and matching interior with gold bumper strips and gold finished grill and wheels. A rare car with jess then 5000 produced and like the Imperial it was the only one I have ever seen. The Imperial was sold locally to someone who lived 4 blocks away and would occasionally see it, it definitely stood out, for the next 4 years or so.
Still think the Imperials where so much better looking then the Cadillac's and on par with Lincolns of the era. They may have had a firm ride and a little more noise, but they were superior road cars because of it.
Quite a number of years ago, a member of out group had a 73 the same color combinations as this one. His was a 2 door and also had a factory sunroof. He got into an accident and had difficulties with the insurance Co. I don't think it ever got fixed.
Check out Reagan's first inaugural parade through the streets of DC. Just behind the Presidential limo is a short wheelbase Imperial limo. Odd choice, but there it is. It would have been crazy if the ballast resistor had failed during the ceremony.
Most people go for A or B-Body Mopars, lesser go for C-bodies. And amongst the C-body enthusiasts, even fewer go for Imperial, normally picking a Plymouth or Dodge or even Chrysler. But I'd love to build myself an Imperial just like this. But with the proper Mopar performance to back it up. Yeah, most would think it kinda defeats the purpose, being Imperial a luxury-focused brand, but the thought of one of these land yachts giving any typical famous sportscar a run for their money, both in acceleration as well as braking and even cornering...it would be amazing. And all while maintaining its street manners and absolute comfort. The monster under the hood revealing itself only when you wanted, but staying pretty much hidden in the cave when driving normally.
My father had a '73 LeBaron 2 door. Light blue with dark blue vinyl top and leather interior. What a cruiser! When you entered the back seat the front seat would move forward and return to it's previous position. Also recall the rear reading lamps and rear air. We rebuilt a couple of the control boxes for the auto temp II system. He had a '72 New Yorker Brougham with the same system. The Imperial also had four wheel disc brakes. I always thought it strange that the Imperial didn't have tilt telescope wheel or cruise. The New Yorker did. Both cars had issues with radiators, alternators, and starters. The Imperial barely fit into the garage. It also had a high beltline. On occasion I drove these cars....the 440 did the job with lots of torque. Brings back lots of memories!
At 87 I've had many imperials starting with a used 53 2dr Newport . A 54 2dr Newport (with fact Airtemp air) , 56 2dr Newport , 66 4dr LeBaron , 71 2dr LeBaron , 3 gorgeous 74 4dr LeBarons . 77 4dr NewYorker , and 78 2dr NYr . Can't complain about any of them . Very minor repairs . The beautiful 78 NYr was very much slower (sluggish) as it came with a 400ci engine and they also changed the rear end gears to 2.72 from 3.23 . All the imperials were fast excellerating except the 78 NYr , a slug . I always did all the maintenance myself from a young 18yr old till now (87) . I still have my two favorates sitting in my heated attached garage . The 5 2dr and one of the three 74 LeBarons . I have a 74 Motor Trend Mag where they did a fantastic road test of the Imperial , a Lincoln Cont. a Cad Eldo , a Jag , a BMW and a Mercedes . When the test completed , they rated the Imperial as the best
At 87 I've had many imperials starting with a used 53 2dr Newport . A 54 2dr Newport (with fact Airtemp air) , 56 2dr Newport , 66 4dr LeBaron , 71 2dr LeBaron , 3 gorgeous 74 4dr LeBarons . 77 4dr NewYorker , and 78 2dr NYr . Can't complain about any of them . Very minor repairs . The beautiful 78 NYr was very much slower (sluggish) as it came with a 400ci engine and they also changed the rear end gears to 2.72 from 3.23 . All the imperials were fast excellerating except the 78 NYr , a slug . I always did all the maintenance myself from a young 18yr old till now (87) . I still have my two favorates sitting in my heated attached garage . The 5 2dr and one of the three 74 LeBarons . I have a 74 Motor Trend Mag where they did a fantastic road test of the Imperial , a Lincoln Cont. a Cad Eldo , a Jag , a BMW and a Mercedes . When the test completed , they rated the Imperial as the best
At 87 I've had many imperials starting with a used 53 2dr Newport . A 54 2dr Newport (with fact Airtemp air) , 56 2dr Newport , 66 4dr LeBaron , 71 2dr LeBaron , 3 gorgeous 74 4dr LeBarons . 77 4dr NewYorker , and 78 2dr NYr . Can't complain about any of them . Very minor repairs . The beautiful 78 NYr was very much slower (sluggish) as it came with a 400ci engine and they also changed the rear end gears to 2.72 from 3.23 . All the imperials were fast excellerating except the 78 NYr , a slug . I always did all the maintenance myself from a young 18yr old till now (87) . I still have my two favorates sitting in my heated attached garage . The 5 2dr and one of the three 74 LeBarons . I have a 74 Motor Trend Mag where they did a fantastic road test of the Imperial , a Lincoln Cont. a Cad Eldo , a Jag , a BMW and a Mercedes . When the test completed , they rated the Imperial as the best
At 87 I've had many imperials starting with a used 53 2dr Newport . A 54 2dr Newport (with fact Airtemp air) , 56 2dr Newport , 66 4dr LeBaron , 71 2dr LeBaron , 3 gorgeous 74 4dr LeBarons . 77 4dr NewYorker , and 78 2dr NYr . Can't complain about any of them . Very minor repairs . The beautiful 78 NYr was very much slower (sluggish) as it came with a 400ci engine and they also changed the rear end gears to 2.72 from 3.23 . All the imperials were fast excellerating except the 78 NYr , a slug . I always did all the maintenance myself from a young 18yr old till now (87) . I still have my two favorates sitting in my heated attached garage . The 5 2dr and one of the three 74 LeBarons . I have a 74 Motor Trend Mag where they did a fantastic road test of the Imperial , a Lincoln Cont. a Cad Eldo , a Jag , a BMW and a Mercedes . When the test completed , they rated the Imperial as the best
At 87 I've had many imperials starting with a used 53 2dr Newport . A 54 2dr Newport (with fact Airtemp air) , 56 2dr Newport , 66 4dr LeBaron , 71 2dr LeBaron , 3 gorgeous 74 4dr LeBarons . 77 4dr NewYorker , and 78 2dr NYr . Can't complain about any of them . Very minor repairs . The beautiful 78 NYr was very much slower (sluggish) as it came with a 400ci engine and they also changed the rear end gears to 2.72 from 3.23 . All the imperials were fast excellerating except the 78 NYr , a slug . I always did all the maintenance myself from a young 18yr old till now (87) . I still have my two favorates sitting in my heated attached garage . The 5 2dr and one of the three 74 LeBarons . I have a 74 Motor Trend Mag where they did a fantastic road test of the Imperial , a Lincoln Cont. a Cad Eldo , a Jag , a BMW and a Mercedes . When the test completed , they rated the Imperial as the best
Although the Imperial was it's own division, the similarity to the Chryslers of the same era resulted in it being perceived as a luxury version of the New Yorker. And I almost always heard it referred to as the Chrysler Imperial. In contrast Lincolns and Cadillacs differed a lot more visually from their lower division stablemates. I think the lack of enough visual differences contributed to the lower sales numbers given the substantial price premium vs the New Yorker
6:10 I wonder if that "freezing cold air" could be redirected into the trunk, to preserve whatever a given owner wanted to put there. A feature like that would be beloved by the mobsters who tended to buy these cars new, as well as by the serial killers who would often enjoy the cars second and third hand.
My first car was a 1973 Chrysler Newport which was huge and fast but old and didn't last but cost only $600. My next car was a 1972 Imperial LeBaron which was 19 feet 9 inches long, exactly the same as the new 3 point line for high school basketball in the early 1990s in our state.
I had a 1976 New Yorker just "grazed" my 1990 Ford Escort. It ripped the entire passenger side to shreds totaling the car but barely dented the front bumper on the New Yorker! I always wondered what was the longest car ever made. I always figured it would have been something from the early 1960's. Wrong again. Thanks for the video!
I had a '73 New Yorker Brougham that I took on the Hot Rod Power Tour! Awesome Ride and it made it in the magazine the year, the Lettering on the trunk anyway! 'Repeat Offender' !!!
I had one of these a 73 Lebaron that ate alternators like chiklets. I remember driving home one night and it began to snow. I had the defroster on, the headlights on and the wipers on. I was creeping along in traffic and noticed the dash lights getting dimmer and dimmer and I said to my companion, “do you have warm shoes on?”
I want to build one of these with a Ray Barton 600+cube HEMI and 4 spd manual, pref 72 2dr black paint factory rims and hub caps, with beefed suspension and BIG brakes, I Think 9-1100hp with similar torque would be suitable for street use, 98octane is around $3.40 a litre here in New Zealand, that is $3.40 a litre, they are certainly fucking us in the arse down here, but a prius just ain't no substitute...!!!.MoPar you are with us, or you are behind us...!!!👌👍
The switch at 6:14 is not for rear air conditioning. That switch is for a blower mounted in the rear parcel shelf to blow cabin air at the rear window. Common called a "Defogger". The final year for the dual A/C or dual Heat systems was 1968.
I had to change a bunch of ignition switches on our 1978 New Yorker. It was on the steering column down near the floor. It kept burning out, and the AC wouldn't work. I had to change the connectors on the wires going into it also. Got to where I kept two of them around. I don't remember if that car had a ballast resistor. I do remember that one day, I smelled sulfur coming from under the hood. The battery was boiling, the top almost bursting off. I had to replace the differential once also. I still loved that car.
I had a friend in the 80's that was from southern Florida. His parents weren't rich, but fairly well off. They had lots of wealthy retired friends that traded cars frequently and bought American land yachts. They would go to trade them in two of three years later and would get offered next to nothing for a trade in. So Jake would buy them for slightly more than they were offered for a trade. He had 7 or 8 Lincolns, Cadillacs and Imperials parked in his backyard. He had a Navy blue 73 Imperial with a white top and white interior that was a museum piece that he paid $2800 for with 22,000 miles on it in 1978. He usually drove a red 75 Fleetwood he paid $3000 for that was also in pristine condition.
Although I've liked these Imperials since the day they came out and would kill to have the burgundy two door with the high back buckets at 12:10 in your video 🤪 these didn't sell well because they had become too "Chrysler-ish" and the dash was interchangeable with lesser Chrysler cars and looked very cheap and plastic - whereas the Cadillac's of that year didn't look "Chevy-ish" and the Lincoln's didn't look "Ford-ish" and both had distinct interiors/dashes from their lesser cousins.
Dad had a 1976 Chrysler Imerial Labaron. burgandy/white interior/ white vinyl roof. What a car. we used to joke when we took it to the mountains that we could see our tail lights when we went around a curve. never drove a nicer ride, never.
You know, the styling is like an eyeworm (😂😂)--the more you look at it the more indelible and perfect it becomes. I think for the fuselage-bodied years, it outranks Cadillac and Lincoln visually. Love these cars.
Had a 71 LeBaron 2 door gold, with white airline buckets , leather interior, white vinyl roof. I think ya can fit 10 people in them, few more in the trunk
You could say those big bumper guards were clunky but they were arguably a more elegant solution to regulatory requirements than you saw from the other US auto makers.
