The Journey
Introducing theĀ Imperial Deathstar, a black 1963 Chrysler Imperial. This is one of the largest production sedans ever built, and arguably the best luxury car of its day.
Join me what will probably be a never-ending saga of grease, aching muscles, and an empty wallet as I work to restore this over 50 year old survivor to a reliable cruiser.
Major Articles
Major articles presented in chronological order.
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Recent Posts
- Wizard 1: New Project Introduction February 17, 2025
- Electrical 20: End of Courtesy Light Gremlins(?) February 10, 2025
- Electrical 19: Another Round with the Courtesy Lights February 3, 2025
- Electrical 18: Return of the Gremlins January 27, 2025
- Tree Up. Again. January 20, 2025
Archives
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Category Archives: Restoration
Electrical 20: End of Courtesy Light Gremlins(?)
Hopefully this will be the last post on the courtesy light electrical gremlins. It looks like there were two independent – and intermittent! – problems: prongs in the light socket touching the shell and a door switch not long enough … Continue reading
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Electrical 19: Another Round with the Courtesy Lights
As mentioned in a previous post I am (finally) re-doing the front door cards. Since this exposes the guts of the door it’s the obvious time to check out the wiring. There is quite a bit of wiring in the … Continue reading
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Electrical 18: Return of the Gremlins
In a previous post on Chasing Gremlins I documented problems with the courtesy lights coming on when they weren’t supposed to. I fixed this problem. Several times. In September it came back. The courtesy lights are coming on and staying … Continue reading
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Fall Thoughts
Just back from the last car show of the year at Kimball Farms. I wasn’t originally planning to attend, as I had gone to the one last week, but the weather was absolutely beautiful. OK, once more into the breach! … Continue reading
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Yet Another AC Update
Got the AC recharged (again) and good news – it worked! All of the heater controls are working – the actuators open and close the air doors and properly route the airflow for AC, heater, and defrost. The fan works … Continue reading
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Radio Plug
Like other parts of the Imperial the radio has a story behind it. A story that I would love to know but will never discover… It is a factory radio – has to be to fit the curved dash. State … Continue reading
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We Aim to Please
Another entry in the list of places where I have outsmarted myself trying to improve things… When I got the Imperial the rear springs were sagging a bit. As part of rebuilding the rear suspension I replaced them with new … Continue reading
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Electrical 17: Chasing Gremlins
I’ve had an intermittent electrical problem for several months – one of the most frustrating things that can happen. The courtesy lights – lights in the front doors and a map light in the dash – come on when you … Continue reading
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Electrical 16: Heater Illumination
The Imperial uses electroluminescent lighting for the instrument panel, heater controls and transmission controls. The heater and transmission use plastic pushbuttons with a panel beside them to light the button caps. Unfortunately these panels degrade over time and now barely … Continue reading
Posted in Restoration, Tips and Tricks
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An Air Conditioning Thread Pull
You know when you have a sweater with a thread hanging loose and you pull on it? And you keep getting more and more thread until your former sweater is nothing but a pile of sheep fur on the floor? … Continue reading
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