MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) I was thumbing through Facebook marketplace and found this awesome 62 Imperial Lebaron complete with some rare options like rear a/c and dimmer eye. it’s been sitting for about eight years, the interior is salvageable and it came with a trunkload of spare parts! The prior owner was owner #2 since 1990. The motor turned and I dropped it off already to get the fuel system cleaned out and to change all the fluids and get it going. The muffler is shot and obviously it’s needs the maintenance items, though the belts, hoses and radiator are all newer. Edited March 22, 2022 by MarkV (see edit history) 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_S_in_Penna Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Congratulations, Wes! It's always satisfying to get a new old car--and satisfying for us all to see a car going to an appreciative new home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy Kingsley Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Very cool. Love seeing a car saved. Doesn't even matter to me what kind of car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
63RedBrier Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Is it really only one of 111? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 hour ago, 63RedBrier said: Is it really only one of 111? Is it? I know they only made about 1200 lebarons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Cool. Glad to see it found it's way to a good home. Love that license plate. Nice save. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 You will enjoy every minute of freshening it up with assorted cleaning products and plenty of shop cloths. Something to look forward to!! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Land yacht.......I like it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dosmo Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 8 hours ago, MarkV said: Generally speaking, it seems that a lot of folks consider the Exner styling started to trend downward after the '50s. I don't necessarily disagree with that thought as applied to the Chrysler, Dodge, DeSoto & Plymouth brands, especially for the 1962 model year. However, I really like the Imperial styling of this era. Whereas, I can find some agreement with those who refer to the so-called "bread & butter" brands as having "plucked chicken" styling, this 1962 Imperial looks pretty much right to me from every angle. Some of the details might seem a little garish, but this profile shot makes the car seem as if it is in forward motion. It's an uncommon look - I like it, but I guess it's not for everyone. Edited March 22, 2022 by Dosmo (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Glad to see this 1962 Imperial LeBaron has an appreciative new owner-conservator. The LeBaron, at $6,422, was the top-of-the-line Imperial of which 1,449 were built. Source: Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975, Edited by John Gunnell. Good luck with your revival process, the effort and expense are well worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 minute ago, Dosmo said: Whereas, I can find some agreement with those who refer to the so-called "bread & butter" brands as having "plucked chicken" styling, this 1962 Imperial looks pretty much right to me from every angle. Some of the details might seem a little garish, but this profile shot makes the car seem as if it is in forward motion. It's an uncommon look - I like it, but I guess it's not for everyone. Of the '57 thru '63 Imperials, the 1962 iteration is my favorite; especially those freestanding taillights. It is the antithesis of what the contemporary Lincoln design achieved. Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAKerry Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 There was a car just like that parked in the neighbors driveway when I was much younger. The guy worked at Chrysler and I think he had planned on a restoration. It was one of those that just sat there for years until the one day it simply vanished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 I love the styling of all years of this imperial 57-63. The sheer size, etc. I’m not a fan of the subsequent imperial nor the previous generation. what sold me were the rocket ship taillights I love them! the car itself has a fascinating story. It was purchased in 1990 by the second owner. He worked for the Army and DoD and drove it daily until he early 00s. Then he dropped it off at a mechanic for a restoration and never checked back on it for quite sometime. when he did he found the mechanic had gone to prison and the car disappeared. He eventually found his car at another shop that purchased all the jailbird mechanics stuff! Frustrated he brought the car back home and just didn’t touch it again. (Yes it was titled in his name I checked! Lol) He collected lots of stuff to revive it which are in the trunk. All the maintenance items and even lead additive for gas. when it was being loaded up the man teared up as the car was loaded on the tow truck as he told me that he had spent his best years raising his kids and driving the car. he was in touch and purchased many parts from imperial folks in the club (even when the car was a daily in the 90s). I found lots of letters and receipts back and forth. Along with some good used and NOS parts in the trunk which will be very useful! thankfully my wife tolerates my car obsession! (She usually buys parts or pays to have work done to my cars for my birthday) She came home and said ‘you bought it didn’t you?’ I said ‘you know me too well!’ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 1 hour ago, 8E45E said: Of the '57 thru '63 Imperials, the 1962 iteration is my favorite; especially those freestanding taillights. It is the antithesis of what the contemporary Lincoln design achieved. Craig and that’s why I prefer it! I love having the only one at a car show! I think the Lincolns (while I love them) are a bit pedestrian now that they have entered pop culture. I prefer being different! also the basic styling on this one dates back to 1957. While that’s okay up through 63, the 64 and up use the same architecture but are trying to be a Continental with slab siding and still have the same old wrap around windshield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 These 1962-'63 Imperials are the last to receive Virgil Exner's styling touch. As such, they are among the last artistic expressions of his long and illustrious design career. His many accomplishments and contributions greatly enriched the American automotive landscape through the first half of the 20th Century. Preservation of an example of his vision is a laudable objective beyond personal enjoyment. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketraider Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 4 hours ago, 63RedBrier said: Is it really only one of 111? That sounds like 1968 W34 Toronado production figures, but it's probably a standard-issue black plate that "just happened" that way. Anyone else see the "Imperial Highway" branch address on the rollback? King Cool back then, King Cool 60 years on. I dig it. A 30-something hipster guy here has a nice 64. Though there's something incongruous about a guy with a man bun driving a 60s banker's car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3macboys Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Looks like it even has the Auto Pilot cruise control - if so that in itself is a bit of a rare piece . Cool ride - I'm not sure that it even needs the wheel disks put back on it, kind of has a sinister look the way it sits. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I stumbled across a set of those free standing headlights once, You would be surprised at how much they weigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 4 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: These 1962-'63 Imperials are the last to receive Virgil Exner's styling touch. As such, they are among the last artistic expressions of his long and illustrious design career. His many accomplishments and contributions greatly enriched the American automotive landscape through the first half of the 20th Century. Preservation of an example of his vision is a laudable objective beyond personal enjoyment. Not entirely correct. The retro 1965 Bugatti 101, 1966 Duesenberg (ironically based on a '65 Imperial), and the 1970's & '80's Pontiac-based Stutz Blackhawk & IV-Porte were his final automotive styling efforts. https://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/forum/your-studebaker-forum/stove-huggers-the-non-studebaker-forum/55299-orphan-of-the-day-08-24-1966-duesenberg-1980-stutz-iv-porte Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 4 hours ago, rocketraider said: That sounds like 1968 W34 Toronado production figures, but it's probably a standard-issue black plate that "just happened" that way. Correct, that is a standard issue California Black plate that would have been issued to the car in 1963. Yeah, that's the only license plate this car has had in 59 years. IF it was "continuously registered" all these years then it can remain on the car. However if is has fallen out of record (around 5-7 years) then it will get a new white type of plate. The ONE 111 can possibly be reassigned to it as a YOM (year of manufacture) plate but Ideally that would be a Yellow and Black 1962 plate. Depends how you fill out the papers and what you tell the DMV clerk. I did not see a ONE111 on the front and you need two to get a YOM assigned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 9 hours ago, 63RedBrier said: Is it really only one of 111? Apparently, 1,449 were built.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalowed Bill Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 How much differently we see this car today then we did 60 years ago! Thanks for saving it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 51 minutes ago, m-mman said: Correct, that is a standard issue California Black plate that would have been issued to the car in 1963. Yeah, that's the only license plate this car has had in 59 years. IF it was "continuously registered" all these years then it can remain on the car. However if is has fallen out of record (around 5-7 years) then it will get a new white type of plate. The ONE 111 can possibly be reassigned to it as a YOM (year of manufacture) plate but Ideally that would be a Yellow and Black 1962 plate. Depends how you fill out the papers and what you tell the DMV clerk. I did not see a ONE111 on the front and you need two to get a YOM assigned The other license plate is in the trunk photo. See it upside-down at the bottom of the photo.... Edited March 22, 2022 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-mman Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 (edited) 54 minutes ago, keiser31 said: The other license plate is in the trunk photo. See it upside-down at the bottom of the photo.... Shiny aluminum? No embossed California? That looks like a reproduction-copy. Good chance the second original is missing. Edited March 22, 2022 by m-mman (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 This is interesting. California's "Legacy Plates" (re-introduced black plates) were not available until 2012 but the car shows 2008 tags and rust along the lower edge, showing it is an original California black/yellow steel plate. So this has to be very cool sequence but completely randomly generated original number plate. Good eye m-mman, the plate in the trunk is a reproduction, not a state issued plate. If the car is still registered under that ONE 111 plate (which is very possible) the previous owner may have had the repro plate made to replace a lost or damaged original. Good idea actually. And when it's driving down the road, nobody will be the wiser. Cheers, Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Get cleaning and .... - they are neat cars in this body style Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 22, 2022 Author Share Posted March 22, 2022 Good news it’s still in the DMV system! It has back owed registration back to 2008. However the registration group has been able to get it forgiven. This is after I went to AAA and found out the registration was not able to be handled by them. funny thing was when I looked it up through dmv it wasn’t in the system. So I thought I had to have a vin verifier come out which I did this morning. Lesson learned! the great news is I can keep the original plates. The original front one is badly damaged but I maybe able to get it restored. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan G Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 So many of these I've seen for sale are in sad, sad shape. Once a luxury car starts going downhill, they can go downhill fast. This one looks solid and should bring you a lot of joy. I can't see an old Imperial without thinking of my father: he related that, in the mid-60s, he dated the daughter of a prominent local politician. A presidential candidate came visiting once, and my dad got to ride through a parade with him...in an Imperial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 6 hours ago, Bryan G said: So many of these I've seen for sale are in sad, sad shape. Once a luxury car starts going downhill, they can go downhill fast. This one looks solid and should bring you a lot of joy. I can't see an old Imperial without thinking of my father: he related that, in the mid-60s, he dated the daughter of a prominent local politician. A presidential candidate came visiting once, and my dad got to ride through a parade with him...in an Imperial. That is true! I’m happy that even though it is 60 years old it’s still in good shape for being outside and at one time a daily driver for owner one and two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 19 hours ago, 8E45E said: "Not entirely correct. "..." The retro 1965 Bugatti 101, 1966 Duesenberg (ironically based on a '65 Imperial), and the 1970's & '80's Pontiac-based Stutz Blackhawk & IV-Porte were his final automotive styling efforts." Craig Craig: My comments reveal my, perhaps unfair, outlook toward those late design projects after his career with major automobile companies. The 'Classic Revival' series for Revel models were never intended for production, simply aesthetic exercises. The fact they were tapped for one-off projects might be considered felicitous but not serious otherwise. The Stutz Blackhawk revival was one of crass pretentiousness to cater to a certain taste. None could be considered worthy of Mr. Exner's talented mastery of design at its best. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 I’m looking for tires I guess I should replace them with this size? Americas tire sells 1inch white wall vogues which I am looking at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkV Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesR Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Beautiful old Imperial, Mark V. Congratulations! I always found the styling of these cars intriguing...for example the small hood area. It gives the car kind of a sporty look. If you want to find the most era appropriate white wall width, you could search online for factory brochures which would likely show what they left thew factory with. The pic that Keiser31 posted seems to indicate they originally came with ww's wider than an inch, if that's important to you. Old movies from '62 or '63 would be another decent resource. I've learned not to trust tire manufacturer's photos of what they're selling, at least in terms of visual accuracy. IMO, it's good that you're going with radials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Cool loaded car, hope you have a giant garage! Always loved the floating headlights and taillights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) 4 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said: The Stutz Blackhawk revival was one of crass pretentiousness to cater to a certain taste. None could be considered worthy of Mr. Exner's talented mastery of design at its best. Exner's 1961 & later Chrysler's designs were a bridge to the crass pretentiousness of the Stutz. Gone was the 'Million Dollar Look' and 'Suddenly it's 1960' from the 1950's, to some bizarre styling touches (over-emphasized flattop front fenders, reverse fins...) and throwback retro free-standing headlights and taillights as per the '62 Imperial. He would have got even more crass with the stillborn 1962 S-series cars that were cancelled at the 11th hour. Craig Edited March 23, 2022 by 8E45E (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1932 plymouth pb sedan Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Nice car, the new garage may need an addition. (I did enjoy the garage thread) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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