1959 Chrysler Imperial

Imperial HT

413

Automatic

Clear

Gas

1959 Imperial Custom 4 door Southampton BACKGROUND: This car spent its life in the central valley of CA, purchased new by a neighbor of my grandparents. While I am the second owner of the car, we were told little else about it. We purchased it from the estate of the original owner in 1998. It was used periodically for special occasions & pleasure driving, including a state wide Imperial meet in Modesto (in 2000) until my father fell ill and the car was put in long-term storage. The car was last registered in 2001, but has current CA non-op status. It was last run & driven in 2002. I recently sold my ’62 LeBaron, and have decided that this one needs to find a new home to allow more time to focus on other projects. Clear CA title in my name, issued 1998. BODY: The body is exceptionally straight. While there is evidence of a few touch ups & spot repairs, I don’t believe the original “Persian Pink” body has ever been fully repainted. The floor pans, trunk pans, rockers, pillars, door bottoms and quarter panels are all rock solid. With the exception of minimal specs of surface rust here & the CA body is absolutely rust free. All glass is clear, non-cracked, in completely serviceable condition. All trim is present, tail lights are intact, grill & front bumper are well-preserved and show well. The back bumper has some surface rust/scale on the top surface, but the aluminum insert is perfect. I have included pictures of the undercarriage (floor pans & quarter panels) in the photobucket album. The trunk area is also very solid, and while the original mat was gone when we acquired the car, the spare tire/wheel & jacking equipment is present. MECHANICAL: I was the last to drive this car (a little over 10 years ago) and the suspension was nice & tight, by comparison to our other Imperials. At that time, the cast iron Torqueflight transmission shifted as it should, and the engine was smooth & responsive. There was no observed vibration from the u-joints or center support bearing. We were told the original owner had the heads rebuilt at 100k miles with a 3-angle valve job & hardened exhaust seats. The odometer shows 39,xxx miles, and has turned over once. The intake & heads were repainted Chrysler aqua rather than the proper black on an Imperial (the engine block is still painted black). I have not tried to start or drive the car since removing it from storage, but was preparing to do so when I decided that it would be more prudent to sell. The 413 does show even compression (within 10-15 psi range on all cylinders) but the car is being sold as currently non-running & driving. The car has a nice set (4) Firestone radial wide whitewall tires with approximately 10/32” of tread showing. INTERIOR: The original dashboard is in remarkable shape with no cracking/warping observed. Steering wheel is also in nice shape. The interior is missing nothing and is serviceable, but the upholstery and door panels are very tired. Please see the pictures. The seat inserts were replaced by the previous owner, but are so close to the original fabric that we overlooked it when the car was purchased. More pictures can be seen at my photobucket album: http://photobucket.com/59Imperial EXTRAS: The following extras (approx. value $500) are included if the $4,950 buy it now price is selected: · Original 1958 Imperial shop manual & 1959 supplement · 2 sets of “IMPERIAL” letters for front fenders. · Chrome trim for leading edge of hood · Full set of NAPA wheel cylinders (NEW) · Master cylinder rebuild kit (NEW NAPA) · NOS water pump · NOS starter solenoid · Starter relay (NEW reproduction) · Distributor points set · Extra exterior door handles PAYMENT & SHIPPING: I always list my sales as a no reserve, but it never fails that most questions start with: “what’s your price to end the auction early?” I have listed this Imperial with a reasonable buy it now price, and will consider reasonable offers. The car is sold as-is, available for pick up (bring a trailer) in Oakdale, CA (95361). Due to my work scheduled, I will be unable to coordinate viewing the car for local buyers, but if additional pictures are needed I’ll do my best. I am happy to sell to worldwide buyers, and have done so recently both to Europe and the Persian Gulf. I have the equipment on hand to deliver the car within approximately 400 miles to the buyer (or sea port) for $1.25 per loaded mile. All purchase & delivery costs are to be 100% pre-paid. Winning bidder agrees to pay a $500 non-refundable deposit within 24 hours of winning the auction. Balance is due VIA bank wire transfer within 7 business days. The car must be picked up within 30 days of purchase, or my current storage cost ($110/month) will be passed on to the buyer. Please see pictures and ask any questions needed. I'll post anything useful on the auction for others to see, and respond as quickly as possible. More pictures can be seen here: Thanks for looking... plate_junkie