Big Mopar Coupes of the 60s... ANYONE IN SEATTLE AREA?
 

I'm lusting after this beauty...

Chrysler : Imperial Crown Coupe in Chrysler | eBay Motors

Plan on calling to shake down the seller tomorrow, but with a car like this it really needs an impartial set of eyeballs. If its not mostly the original paint and has a laundry list I'm not really interested.

Anyone willing to check this car out for me?

Why are these so much cheaper than Rivieras, Eldorados, and Continentals? Looks fantastic, great motor, what gives? Only thing really letting the car down for me is no AC.

They weren't mainstream then and they aren't mainstream now. Chrysler luxury cars may have been less money than the high-line Lincolns & Cadillacs - I just don't know. It seemed like 'squares' bought Chryslers 'n AMC autos. I bought Cadillacs when I should have been buying Lincolns. My first buy for a work car was going to either be a new Oldsmobile 98, or Cadillac Sedan DeVille. I went with a Cadillac for a couple thousand more. The Imperials were oddities - never even considered one. Maybe I should have. A colleague in Memphis, Tenn. always drove an Imperial. By the time the '70s rolled around, my Dad had already switched to driving a new '69 Mercedes-Benz 220D. No *leases as I recall. :laughing:

Seeing this, I do mis my old '64 New Yorker wagon. The build quality was very impressive, every single screw pointed in the same direction.

No coupe but I'm pretty sure this 1981 Imperial Limo has AC.

http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/u...s496cf366.jpeg

http://i662.photobucket.com/albums/u...s5f950fb6.jpeg

They definitely had some quirky design touches: push button transmission, square sterring wheel.

The mopar fans are perhaps more tuned in to drag racing. The styling is quirky and an acquired taste. Put a hitch on it and use it as a tow vehicle.;)

When I was a kid in the '80s, my dad had a '75 Imperial. That thing was a POS. They never could get the AC to work right for a whole trip, and it left us stranded more than once. It was replaced with a shockingly more reliable 1980 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, which Dad kept for 12 years and 120,000 miles after buying it used in 1987. It was one of the cars I learned to drive in. Around the same time he got the Cadillac, he also picked up a '73 Chrysler Newport for a beater, and it ended up being my first car. While far from perfect, the Newport was considerably less of a POS than the Imperial.

What a beaut! I love the 60's luxury barges and love quirky cars. That's got both things working for it. :)

That's because it had the evil servo automatic climate control system which MB purchased to put in the early 123's.

Hard to kill them
 

Wow, good story..

It reminds me that the 1964-1966 Chrysler Imperials were ALWAYS sought after in the 1970s and 1980s in the Northern California demolition derbies at the state and county fairs, and weekend events in rural counties.

Why?

Because they almost ALWAYS won ! They could take the horrendous hits and still keep on going. Right to the end.

I personally saw it many times!

We had a 59 2 door. It was pink. Continental rear end. The height of the finned ones. I recall it being a 392 maybe? I was pretty young.
If I'm not mistaken 66 was the first year without any appreciable finnage.

around here they banned the imperials,fwd toro's and eldo's,and big body GM wagons of the early 70's.

The relative value of these big sedans and coupes seem dramatically difference based on what was popular then, so how common, and what is popular now, as in how cool it might look to a current buyer.

This was rubbed in my face when I tried to sell my 1965 buick wildcat. Cool old cars, but a difference in trim and options equaled huge difference in apparent value.
I had the 4 door, 401 motor, and I couldn't give the thing away I discovered. If I had a two door, with the larger motor, I could have easily gotten 5+ grand for the condition mine was in, but I ultimately sold the car for 1500 bucks to a guy who loved wildcats. The coupe and sedan on that model are nearly identical look wise apart from the options, they are good looking cars and do have a following (despite being called the "mildcat" in their day :D), but I was unlucky in my options to get big money.

This car you are looking at is more of an oddball, with a very high straight roof and relatively boring body lines, nothing agressive about it to appeal to the current buyer. I think its pretty interesting looking, but I doubt its that valuable. Id be curious what other engine options it might have, is this the largest engine? the fact that its a coupe is good, but I think 10 grand is pretty unrealistic.

I listed my buick 4 times on ebay, started at 4 grand, then 3, then 2, then again at 2 with no reserve, and no bids, and plenty of watchers. I even had the mag wheels with snarling cats on them, and complete paperwork. This chrysler doesn't have have much above stock, steel wheels and hubcaps, and I doubt it has a huge following. Id probably look into that before I decided to bid, is someone likely to buy this, or are you just wanting a big old car to cruise in?

I took a hit on my buick, but I loved that car, it was a great cruiser

true, you know more about it, im just pointing out that the possible value could be through the floor for reasons like that. I had all the options, and my car was worth almost nothing comparatively. This car may have all the options for its model year, but those options seem sparse, no wheel choices?

This was a competitor to Cadillac and Lincoln, but those models both seem to have sold much better and have a much bigger following. Plus IMO those were better looking cars in the same year range. Just seems unlikely that this car is worth a whole lot to me. Its rare, but not "oh my god I need to buy it 'rare' ", more of a "eh, who built that?" rare.

I was initially interested in the Buick Riviera, but once I saw the interior fit and finish with the chrysler, along with the engine and better prices, I was sold.

This is not a flip. I want me a Chrysler as big as a whale.