Imperial Journey

Workshop structure done! The workshop is a bare shell, but ready to start work. I want to finish the interior and insulate, but that will come later. I know I’ll regret this later as it is a pain to do after you have moved into a building. But, “budget”.

Started work on the Imperial. Took off the cowl cover at the base of the windshield. Managed to break off a mounting stud in the center trim piece – pot metal that was stuck in place. Have to be more careful. Considerable buildup of leaves and dirt around the center air box. Managed to vacuum a lot of it out. Need to make a flexible hose for the shopvac to get into tight places. Can’t quite figure out how the air inlet works – there looks like a large rectangular door on top of it; will need to disassemble it some more. Need to paint inside the cowl air inlet. Tight in there; may wait until the engine is out to tackle it.

There is loose stuffing inside the heater box – looks like mouse nest inside the heater. Need to pull the entire heater system apart and clean it out. This will be a good time to make sure all the air doors work. The problem with the fan not working may be that the fan is completely clogged. Need to replace all of the vacuum lines. Look into getting a vacuum test kit for the vacuum servos. Check service manual for how to check and set the heater valve.

Started the car and cycled the air conditioner. The compressor cycles, but there is no trace of freon in the sight glass. Looks like the AC is completely empty.
Sound like a vacuum leak under the hood – heard a distinct hissing sound. Plan to replace all vacuum lines and check all fittings under the hood. The heater hoses look new, but should replace them just to be safe.

Electric windows aren’t working – only one window moves, the rear passenger window. It got stuck half way down and had to be pulled up to close. The power windows worked last fall. Check wiring and switches. Need to work on entire electrical system for corrosion. Contact cleaner and dielectric grease?

Took apart the right windshield wiper arm which was flopping around. Spring broken; need to find a replacement spring. The replacement wiper arms that are available are generic and don’t seem to have the screw lock, so it would be much better to repair this one.

The cruise control doesn’t seem to be working and seems to be putting extra resistance in the gas pedal. It looks like the linkage from the cruise control to the bellcrank can be removed completely.

Notes from last fall: The dash backlights work, but some of the gauge needles don’t illuminate. Speedometer is wildly inaccurate; using GPS to check speed. Need to check lighting for transmission and heater. Fuel gauge partially works; never shows above half full. Need to check to see if it is gauge, wiring, or sender. Oil pressure is very high when car is cold; may be problem with sender or guage.

There is a knock in the engine. Brakes pull rather badly and the mechanic said that three of the brake drums are badly worn. Have not been able to find replacement drums. Significant body lean and wallowing when turning – need to check suspension and sway bar. Can ran fine on Interstate – tracked smoothly and no vibrations.

Next: An Early Win

Plans are important. Plans are good. Plans are the secret to success. I enjoy planning and like to have at least a rough plan for projects.

The first thing to know about restoring a car is that it will be apart in pieces for 3-5 years. You need a place for the car, room to work, and room for storing all the parts you take off the car. You don’t do this in the garage you park cars in – not if you want to stay married! Thus, a 4 step plan:

1. Build a workshop.
2. Locate and acquire the car.
3. Restore the car.
4. Enjoy driving the car!

Since 1963 Imperials are rather rare I expected to spend 6-12 months looking for a car, flying out to check out a car, probably in California, Florida, or Arizona, and then paying $2,000 to have the car shipped.

While planning the workshop I happened to check Craigs List. And discovered a 1963 Imperial 30 miles away. At a good price.

Having no real choice in the matter, I headed over to check it out. It was, indeed, a 1963 Imperial Crown 4 door hardtop. The body was straight with only a few spots needing work. Checking it over it was solid – no rust in the frame, solid floorpans and trunk, and little to no rust in the fenders. The only rust spot on the whole car was a small hole in the bottom of the drivers door.

Further, all of the pieces were there! All of the chrome trim was present (and there is a lot of chrome trim on this car!). All of the underhood pieces were in place, including air conditioning and the AutoPilot (cruise control). The interior was missing carpets and the trim panels for the rear doors were in the trunk, but all of the important pieces were there. Even the jack was in the trunk!

I was able to drive it around the block. The suspension was worn, the brakes were scary, and the engine had a knock. Just what I was looking for!

This was not according to plan. I was a year away from being ready to start working on a car. And this was too good a deal to pass up. So I made an offer on the car. And in July of 2015 it was delivered to my driveway.

So, time to build a workshop and start the 3-5 year (or longer…) journey to bring this behemoth back – an Imperial Journey.

Next: Early Evaluation

Let me introduce myself: I’m a long time geek working in the computer industry on open source software. I spend too much time in front of a computer. Way too much time.

I needed to do something to get away from the computer. Something physical – something to get dirt under my fingernails and sore muscles. Something where you can actually touch and see results at the end of the day.

So I decided to restore a car. [Insert scary music here]

Note: while WordPress puts the most recent posts at the top, you can also read the story in order starting with The Car Shows Up.