Imperial Journey - a Restoration Saga

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]

But what car? A 1960’s or 1970’s American muscle car seemed the obvious choice. I used to have a 1968 Dodge Charger; shouldn’t have ever sold that car! But after thinking things over I decided on something suitable for long trips – a cruiser that you could load up with people and their stuff and head out. Something comfortable, maybe even luxurious. Something with character and presence, distinctive and memorable.

While I like the bodies of many 1960’s cars, I don’t care much for their interiors. The dashboard on many of these cars is bland and boring. I wanted something with character, inside and out.

After considering many alternatives I decided on a 1963 Chrysler Imperial. I liked the podded headlights of the 1961-1963 Imperial. The 1961 had tailfins – attractive, but more retro than I wanted. The 1962 had “gunsight” tail lights mounted on top of the rear fenders, which I didn’t care for. The 1963 was ideal – great lines, great presence, and the tail lights integrated into the rear fenders.

The dashboard definitely has character – a V shaped pod with pushbuttons on each side and an attractive instrument panel. I like this more than the interior of other cars from the same era.

So, the die was cast – track down a 1963 Imperial and start the multi-year journey to restore it!

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 two days later 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.

So….LS swap?
sorry, that would be ridiculous….hemi swap?
looking forward to seeing your progress on both the shop and the car. What’s the plan for now? Start work on the car on small projects? Or mothball the car until the shop is ready?

The 413 is a legendary engine from that period

Extra points for the first guy who can name the song and the band.

Shiftless said:

The 413 is a legendary engine from that period

Extra points for the first guy who can name the song and the band.

Click to expand...

Couldn't tell you.
But your reply immediately made me think of "She's real fine my 409..."

Is that the model / year with the square steering wheel?

vavet said:

So….LS swap?
sorry, that would be ridiculous….hemi swap?
looking forward to seeing your progress on both the shop and the car. What’s the plan for now? Start work on the car on small projects? Or mothball the car until the shop is ready?

Click to expand...

Vavet,

I'm doing a mild restomod - keep the appearance and drivetrain stock while improving handling, reliability, and safety. And you nailed the plan - mothball the car until the shop is ready and then start with some small projects. I actually started this project a few years ago; just decided to share it here to amuse people with my problems and complaints. And occasional bits of progress...

ctandc72 said:

Is that the model / year with the square steering wheel?

Click to expand...

Yes, it is! And the steering wheel was in terrible shape (normal for 60 year old cars). A future post will cover restoring the steering wheel.

ctandc72 said:

Couldn't tell you.
But your reply immediately made me think of "She's real fine my 409..."

Click to expand...

PM sent

You should keep that engine. It is a big part of what makes that an Imperial. I am working on a similar car for the San Diego Automotive museum. Right now my focus is on the electroluminescent lighting for the dash and instruments. These cars do not use bulbs and the EL requires a special power supply. Getting this working would be a good first start project that does not need a workshop. Begin by removing the instrument cluster. This is also the time to make sure that all the gauges work. The temp gauge is special and often the regulator in it fails rendering the fuel and oil pressure gauges inoperable.

Have fun with the Imperial. You are going to need a BIG workshop for that car!

rdoty said:

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]

But what car? A 1960’s or 1970’s American muscle car seemed the obvious choice. I used to have a 1968 Dodge Charger; shouldn’t have ever sold that car! But after thinking things over I decided on something suitable for long trips – a cruiser that you could load up with people and their stuff and head out. Something comfortable, maybe even luxurious. Something with character and presence, distinctive and memorable.

While I like the bodies of many 1960’s cars, I don’t care much for their interiors. The dashboard on many of these cars is bland and boring. I wanted something with character, inside and out.

After considering many alternatives I decided on a 1963 Chrysler Imperial. I liked the podded headlights of the 1961-1963 Imperial. The 1961 had tailfins – attractive, but more retro than I wanted. The 1962 had “gunsight” tail lights mounted on top of the rear fenders, which I didn’t care for. The 1963 was ideal – great lines, great presence, and the tail lights integrated into the rear fenders.

The dashboard definitely has character – a V shaped pod with pushbuttons on each side and an attractive instrument panel. I like this more than the interior of other cars from the same era.

So, the die was cast – track down a 1963 Imperial and start the multi-year journey to restore it!

Click to expand...

Those years, 1961 - 1964, I found to be really attractive, but I always favored the 1962.
Good luck with your project.

I love seeing less popular cars get some love. Everyone and their brother has a Mustang, Camaro, 55 Chevy, etc.
I was unaware of the 413 engine, but from wikipedia, it’s the same engine family as the 440 and one of the 383 variants. I didn’t know there were two 383 engines. The square steering wheel is also really cool.

MOPAR or no car!

RossinSD said:

Right now my focus is on the electroluminescent lighting for the dash and instruments. These cars do not use bulbs and the EL requires a special power supply. Getting this working would be a good first start project that does not need a workshop.

Click to expand...

Uncle Tony's Garage mentioned the electroluminescent dash lighting in the video.about why he was slapping his 66 Charger together instead of doing a full restore at this time

The Cobbler said:

Click to expand...

Bingo !!

As a bit of irony, I'm seriously considering converting the 413 to fuel injection. Probably a Holly Sniper.

rdoty said:

As a bit of irony, I'm seriously considering converting the 413 to fuel injection. Probably a Holly Sniper.

Click to expand...

No cross ram?

larry4406 said:

No cross ram?

Click to expand...

Nope, no cross ram! The dual quad cross ram intake is great for power at high rpm, but is peaky and doesn't have a lot of low end torque. The Imperial is 5,200 pounds and has a 2.93 rear end, so it will never be great for acceleration. But it is a wonderful cruiser - completely relaxed cruising down the Interstate at 80. (Or so I'm told. Where legal. Your mileage may vary.)

Yeah, with that gear ratio and what I assume are 235-75-15 inch tires, even cruising at 90 mph, you’d only be turning about 3000 rpm. You need low end torque to avoid lots of forced downshifts.

I have a couple of canadates. Have heard great and horrible stories about sniper systems.

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 gauge.

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.

Looks like the Green Lantern vehicle

GreyOwl said:

Looks like the Green Lantern vehicle

Click to expand...

I think you mean Green Hornet! In the TV show he had a modified 1966 Imperial for the Black Beauty.

You’re right! That’s what I was thinking but posted the wrong one!

The first step in removing the motor is to remove everything attached to the motor – top, sides, bottom, front, and back. It took me close to two months to get all of this done – there are a lot of things attached to the motor, and surprisingly little room to work.

Some of the parts coming off and out were easy, and some fought me all the way. Since the exhaust was welded, the plan was to unbolt it from the exhaust manifolds and leave it in place. Of course, it didn’t work out that way.

The exhaust manifold bolts were inaccessible and rusted; I managed to get one off, round one off, and give up on the other two before too much blood was shed. The exhaust was so close to the drive shaft that I couldn’t get to the center carrier bearing. I ended up having to cut the exhaust to take it out. In five pieces. For each side… For such a huge car, there is no space to work in surprising places.

I had decided to pull the motor and transmission out as a unit. In retrospect this was a wise decision – there is so little clearance between the transmission and the transmission hump that it would have been impossible to get to all of the engine/transmission bolts.

I had to remove the radiator support to open up enough room for this. This proved to be another project – Chrysler used many bolts and some “creative” attachments for this. But, the support finally gave up and came out.

After all the prep work getting ready, actually pulling the motor was anticlimactic. I called a friend over to help. We chained the engine to the hoist, jacked slowly and moved things carefully, and the engine and transmission just slid out! This job went so smoothly I just kept looking for the disaster that had to be lurking. Nope, no problems. Strange...

Split the engine and transmission, remove the rest of the accessories from the engine, and start the expensive part.

The engine went out to Custom Automotive Machine (Camco) in East Weymouth, MA. I have a friend who has a business restoring old Studebakers to very high collector standards. He said that whenever he needs engine work he just sends it to Camco – he has had over a hundred engines done over the last 20 years with great results.

I had called Camco last year to discuss this project with them. They were familiar with the Chrysler 413, including knowing what parts were hard to get. They said that the knocking I was hearing sounded like a spun rod bearing, so don’t drive the car – the crank for a 413 is impossible to find, so if the crank is damaged the engine is probably a complete loss.

As it turned out, the knocking noise wasn’t a rod bearing – it was a broken piston! They found pieces of the piston skirt in the oil pan. They also found broken piston rings in two pistons. I have no idea how the engine managed to survive this without being destroyed.

They also found three cracks in the block. Fortunately not in structural areas, and they have a place that can repair cracks like this as good as new. Oh well, its only money…

So, the engine is now .030 over, new pistons and rings, bearings and seals, cam and lifters, and a head job with hardened valve seats

I now have a completely rebuilt engine, beautifully painted in the factory turquoise color, sitting on a stand waiting to go back into the car. And several months of work ahead getting the engine bay ready to receive this work of art.

Good luck on your project! My c-body has been a labor of love and I love driving it.

With everything out it made sense to rebuild the transmission.

Based on recommendations from people in the Chrysler 300 club, I took the transmission to Don Verity in Rhode Island. When I talked to Don he was very familiar with the pushbutton transmissions and with Imperials. Even better, when I pulled up to his shop there were three 1950s and 1960s Imperials parked outside, including his daily driver.

Don went through the transmission for a reasonable price. He reported that someone had been inside the transmission before, but they didn’t quite know how these old Torqueflites worked. The transmission was still in great shape, but needed the rebuild and a few missing and mis-matched parts replaced.

Don talked me out of replacing the torque convertor – he felt that these never go bad, and replacing them was unnecessary. Finally, a place to save money!

Don was kind enough to talk me through the re-installation process. He told me to store the torque converter separate from the transmission until I was ready to bolt it to the engine - if the torque converter was stored in the transmission it would compress the bottom of the main seal and cause leaks later on. He also showed me how to install the torque converter: it needs two clunks. When you slide the torque converter into the transmission you turn it until it "clunks" and slides into place. You then keep turning it until it clunks again and slides completely into place. If you stop at one clunk the torque converter is too far forward and bad things will happen if you try to tighten the engine bolts. Good to know!

While 1961/1962/1963 Imperials are very similar they have very different transmissions. 1961 was the last year for the iron body Torqueflite transmission. 1962 saw the introduction of the aluminum bodied Torqueflite 727 transmission which became famous for performance and durability. The 727 is larger, so the transmission hump had to be redone for 1962. In 1963 a parking lock was added, securing the car from rolling without needing to apply the parking brake/emergency brake. This is one of the reasons I consider 1963 the best year for this series of Imperials.

Having some end of year vacation time to use up and a new heater in the workshop I planned to rebuild the front suspension and upgrade to disk brakes.

The heater was only able to warm the workshop about 20 degrees above ambient, so if the outside temperature is in the 20’s the workshop will be in the 40’s – and New England is about to drop below zero! OK, I have to insulate the workshop before working in the middle of winter. I decided that “this just isn’t fun” and found indoor things to do after a couple of days. But I did make progress before retreating inside!

Pulling the brakes was interesting. The brake shoes were worn and both wheel cylinders were leaking. All of the brake hardware was corroded. One side was loose and the other side was dragging. No wonder the braking was so scary! I’m glad I’m upgrading to front disc brakes.

The first part of removal was easy. In this picture you can see the torsion bars, drag link, and steering box.



The drag link came out easily – undo the ball joint nut, insert a pry bar, and then pop the ball joint free. The big ball joints in the steering knuckle were a different story… After a couple of hours of prying, pounding with large hammers, and use of applicable language, they were still frozen solid.

It was clearly time to get the right tools. As I was getting ready to head over to Harbor Freight I considered how the Imperial front end is heavy duty and locked in place with with 60 years of corrosion. I really didn’t want these tools breaking at the wrong time – heavy pieces of sharp edged metal flying around can lead to a bad day. Checking online OTC got the best reviews for heavy duty use.

So, two days later an OTC front end set showed up:



All of the tie rod ends popped off easily with no problems. Having the right tools for the job makes all the difference! Now to the Big Job – removing the steering knuckle from the ball joints.

The ball joints use the separator tool in the middle of the box. Slip the separator onto the upper ball joint and tighten it down. Nothing. Not really a surprise… Next step is to hit it with the impact wrench. Again, nothing. OK, I got the OTC set to be able to abuse it. Set the impact wrench on its highest level and just let it run.

After several seconds of the drive bolt slowly turning there was a loud “spoing” and the separator popped off. Checking it, the tool was fine – the the ball joint was free! Pro tip: always leave the nut loosely on the ball joint when freeing it; then when it breaks loose the heavy parts don’t go flying.



With the top ball joint free it was time to do the bottom one. Slide the ball joint tool on it – and discover that it is just a little bit too small. Remember when I mentioned that Imperial parts are large? None of the other pullers would fit – they hit the upper ear on the steering knuckle. So, back online. Found one source for an over-size spreader that looks like it should work. It will be here in a few days; hopefully it is strong enough for the Imperial!

Update: the over-size spreader worked on two of the remaining three ball joints, but the last one absolutely refused to budge. After fighting it for a few hours I noticed that there is a space between the body of the ball joint and the steering knuckle – just enough room to get in there with cutting disk without touching the knuckle or the suspension arm. One minute with the angle grinder cutting the ball joint apart and the knuckle was off. With the knuckle off and on the workbench, there was plenty of room to get the heavy duty separator tool in place, tighten it down, and smack the body of the knuckle with the BFH (“Big Forceful Hammer”). The remnants of the ball joint popped right out.

The power steering box is out and has been sent off to be rebuilt. The brake booster is out and has been sent off to be rebuilt and to have the master cylinder upgraded from single reservoir to dual reservoir – an important part of the disc brake upgrade.

And hopefully it will warm up enough to get back into the workshop before July.

Every time I touch something I uncover more to be done. While the car is structurally sound and in amazing shape, there is surface rust everywhere. With all the work and money going into the car I just can't leave it like that.

The entire front suspension, down to the torsion bars and crossmember, is out. All new bushings, tie-rod ends, and balljoints are going in. A front disk brake conversion kit, all new brake lines, and an upgraded 1" sway bar are ready to go back in. The power steering box has been rebuilt, as has the brake booster. As part of the disk brake upgrade, the master cylinder has been upgraded from single to dual. It is going to be interesting putting this back together, as the Autopilot cruise control sits where the new brake lines need to be run.

As a side note, the Chrysler ball joints are screwed it. I had been warned about this, I had the proper 2-9/64" socket as well as a 3/4" x 3' breaker bar and a 4' cheater pipe ready to go. I had also acquired a 2' long ratchet. Surprisingly, I didn't need the cheater - the 3' breaker bar provided enough leverage, once I put all my weight on it. This may be a hint that I need to go on a diet... In any case, the ball joint came out fairly smoothly.

Cleaning the suspension parts was "interesting". There was a thick coating of grease, dirt, and other substances on most of the parts. Extensive scraping removed most of it. Some had hardened to the consistency of concrete, and had to be chiseled off. After the bulk removal, it was over to the parts washer and spend lots of time scrubbing and scraping to get the rest of the gunk off. There are too many front end parts and they are too big on this car!

After cleaning and painting the control arms, it was time to install the new ball joints. These are much too easy to cross thread. What should have been a one minute job took over two hours. The big ratchet and the 3/4" breaker bar got a good workout. Once the ball joint was started straight it screwed in smoothly - but took major muscle on the breaker bar to drive it in.

While the engine and suspension were out, it was time to clean and prep the frame. Normally I would just pull the fenders, inner fender wells, and other front end pieces. The 1961-1963 Imperials have a one piece front end - the fenders and nose are all one piece! Actually they are made from several stampings, but the individual stampings are welded together and all of the seams are leaded. This looks great, as the entire front end is smooth and unbroken, but is a pain to work with.

The original plan was to leave the front end sheet metal in place and clean and paint the frame. This was difficult to do, as all the sheet metal was in the way. Studying the situation showed that there were only 6-10 bolts holding the inner fender wells in, so I pulled those out. Much more space! And everything now exposed was covered in surface rust. It looks like Chrysler didn't even prime the hidden parts of the firewall; it looked like bare steel. Nothing rusted through, but there is a uniform coat of surface rust.



Concealed parts of firewall after inner fenderwell removed

I didn't want to pull the front end off because it is one piece and large, heavy, and floppy. Picking it up and moving it seemed like an invitation to seriously bend things. Then inspiration struck - put in some cross bracing across the back, use the engine hoist with straps to pick it up, and call a friend.



Front clip removed from car. Notice 2x3 brace; will add another one to the top of this picture after repairing rust holes.

This worked great; the front end is now off the car and upside down to work on. There are a couple of rusty patches that were under the rocker panel trim piece; other than that, everything is surface rust. You can clearly see rusty areas, especially the large pan in the center, that I couldn't get to while this was on the car. This had been really bugging me - now I can treat it properly.



Front sheet metal - I can now get to everything with it off the car.

I can now get to the entire front frame, which needs cleanup and rust treatment. And it will be MUCH easier to put it back together like this! The suspension should go back on easily and the engine and transmission should slip right in. Hmm, I may even want to put the exhaust on before the sheet metal!



Front end of car with all sheet metal removed. Can now really work on it!

A 1" dia. sway bar? My Monza which could nearly fit in the back seat of that behemoth car, has a 1⅛" dia. [1¼" used to be available aftermarket but I missed that boat] front and 1" rear bar. That will be interesting to drive after driving something more modern. You seem to be making good progress and making excellent decisions! Harry

Would love to hear exactly how you do clean up and rust treatment.
Awesome project. Thanks.

Monza Harry said:

A 1" dia. sway bar? My Monza which could nearly fit in the back seat of that behemoth car, has a 1⅛" dia. [1¼" used to be available aftermarket but I missed that boat] front and 1" rear bar. That will be interesting to drive after driving something more modern. You seem to be making good progress and making excellent decisions! Harry

Click to expand...

Well, the factory front sway bar was 3/4", so the 1" bar is at least three times stiffer. The Imperial still doesn't really corner flat, but there is much less lean in the corners. That, plus adding an aftermarket rear sway bar (bit of a nightmare, but no rear sway bar from the factory) improved the handling dramatically to the "no longer actively scary" level. We are really spoiled with the handling of modern cars.

I would be reluctant to put your Monza in the back seat - I think it would fit better in the trunk.

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. Restoring an Imperial is literally a huge undertaking. And yes, they were known for eating brakes.

Tell your 413" guys we run across the steel cranks in trucks and motor homes. For whatever reason, Mopar kept the 413" in industrial use for several years after they went to the 440" in cars.

As we read/write, there's a maroon '63 sitting within walking distance of my house.

jack vines

Just for future reference, when removing tapered studs, i.e. tie rod ends, ball joint studs, etc. my go to is to grab a BFH and smack the side of the knuckle socket where the tapered stud is installed. The force of the hammer hit will deform the circular tapered socket temporarily just enough to pop out the stud. Due to elasticity of the steel knuckle the deformation isn't permanent; picture bouncing a rubber ball on a flat floor. Everything goes back together perfectly. Sometimes on lighter parts or flex-y rubber mounted parts I hold a bigger hammer to the backside of the knuckle socket as an "anvil" to get more effect.
I did this for forty years in my shop and still do. Bear in mind I work on cars and avoid 3/4T and bigger so YMMV.
Joe

Modern Garage said:

Just for future reference, when removing tapered studs, i.e. tie rod ends, ball joint studs, etc. my go to is to grab a BFH and smack the side of the knuckle socket where the tapered stud is installed. The force of the hammer hit will deform the circular tapered socket temporarily just enough to pop out the stud. Due to elasticity of the steel knuckle the deformation isn't permanent; picture bouncing a rubber ball on a flat floor. Everything goes back together perfectly. Sometimes on lighter parts or flex-y rubber mounted parts I hold a bigger hammer to the backside of the knuckle socket as an "anvil" to get more effect.
I did this for forty years in my shop and still do. Bear in mind I work on cars and avoid 3/4T and bigger so YMMV.
Joe

Click to expand...

Same, this always works great for me.

Yup, that mostly works for me. Except on the Imperial ball joints! I started off with a regular puller. When that didn't work I tried smacking the steering knuckle with various hammers, working up to a 5 pound sledge. When that didn't work I tried simultaneously smacking both sides of the knuckle with a 5 pound and a 3 pound sledge. It was after 2-3 hours of playing with pullers and various ways of smacking it that I did a "tools down and walk away before something bad happens" and order the big pullers. Which worked on two of the three remaining ball joints...

The last one I just couldn't get while it was on the car. That was the one where I cut the tapered stud in half between the lower control arm and the steering knuckle, took the whole steering knuckle over to the steel bench, put the biggest puller I had on it, cranked the puller down good and tight, and then smacked it with a BFH. At that point it seemed to realize I was serious and popped out.

Packard V8 said:

You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. Restoring an Imperial is literally a huge undertaking. And yes, they were known for eating brakes.

Tell your 413" guys we run across the steel cranks in trucks and motor homes. For whatever reason, Mopar kept the 413" in industrial use for several years after they went to the 440" in cars.

As we read/write, there's a maroon '63 sitting within walking distance of my house.

jack vines

Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you need to grab that '63 and start your own journey!

The plan was to wire brush the rust off of the front end frame, paint it, and start putting things back together. This plan immediately hit several snags…

First, there were rust holes in the firewall behind the doubler plate – the black piece in the center just above the transmission tunnel. This is underneath the large heater box, and is an area that traps leaves and pine needles. I had to clean out a lot of gunk in this area when I started working on the car, so this wasn’t a major surprise. It wasn’t a large area – roughly 4” x 6” to get back to solid metal. So, cut out a piece of the doubler, cut out the rust-eaten area on the firewall, and weld in a patch.



Of course I didn’t cut out enough of the doubler. After fighting the edges of the patch for a while, I finally just cut out the whole bottom half of the doubler to get enough room to work on the patch. Started a new, larger patch, formed it to the curves of the firewall, and then welded it in place. This actually went quite a bit easier than I expected.

The next step was to weld the pieces of the doubler back together and then weld it back in place. Except that the doubler was now too narrow! After studying it for a while, I realized that I had just butted the pieces of the doubler together, resulting in the doubler being narrower by the width of the cutting disk for each cut I had made.

This wasn’t enough to really make a difference, and no one would ever notice it when everything was back together. But I would know it, and it would bug me for years. So, cut the doubler in half, mount the two pieces back in place so that everything fit and lined up, make a filler piece for the cut, and tack it in place. Then remove the doubler, weld it up and grind smooth.

Since water tends to get trapped in this area, I took advantage of the opportunity to prime and paint this area of the firewall and the doubler piece with two coats of paint. The next step was to liberally coat the firewall and the back of the doubler with seam sealer, and then position it in its original location. The doubler was originally spot welded. I had drilled out the spot welds, which left me with holes that I could plug weld. After grinding down the plug welds you couldn’t tell anything had been done.

The frame responded well to a wire brush on an angle grinder. Fortunately and unfortunately, the bottom of the car was covered with undercoating. 50 year old heavily applied asphaltic undercoating... When new, this protected the floor and contributed to the quiet Imperial experience.

When 50 years old it was a combination of missing, cracked, falling off in sheets, and stubbornly attached. Now, this undercoating was a good part of the reason the floor was still solid, so I could have left it in place. But the poor condition of the undercoating bothered me, so it had to go!

I had discovered that the best way to remove this undercoating was a heat gun and scraper. Hold the heat gun on a small area for a minute or so, scrape off the softened undercoating, and then move to the next small area. Keep in mind that the bottom of an Imperial is roughly the size of a football field…

Inspiration struck – make an arm to hold and position the heat gun! After raiding the scrap wood pile I had this arm which would hold the heat gun in whatever position was needed.



The routine was to crawl under the car, point the heat gun at the next patch of undercoating, and lay on my back for a minute while the undercoating softened. Then move the heat gun a few inches, scrap the softened spot, and wait for the next spot to soften. Over and over and over.

It took me a few months to actually get the whole thing done.

Of course, scraping doesn’t remove all of the residue. So the next step was to scrub down the bottom with Prep-Sol and a sponge or abrasive pad. Did I mention that the bottom of this car is roughly the size of a football field?

After finishing removing the undercoating, I still had surface rust on the frame and various areas of the floor. The obvious thing was to use the wirebrush on the angle grinder. But the angle grinder was far to heavy and awkward to use under the car.

Die grinders, on the other hand, are light and small. Another chance to buy tools! A few days later these showed up, along with Roloc adapters and a variety of abrasives.

Roloc is an absolutely great system. The 3M abrasive disks do a great job of surface prep. You go through quite a few of them covering this much area, but they are relatively inexpensive and much faster and easier than trying to do hand prep.

After a few more days of prep, the frame, firewall, and floor were ready for primer and paint.