This 1956 Crown Imperial was bought new by B.F. Goodrich Company for use
as an executive car at the
headquarters in Akron, Ohio. It saw service there for several years and
was later acquired by car collector, Bob Porter, of Cleveland, Ohio. Bob
changed the color to the current Embassy Gray and eventually sold it to
Reginald Boland of Salisbury, NC. Randy's first sight of the car was at
an organizational meeting of the Carolina Chrysler Club in Salisbury, NC
in 1981. he loved the car immediately since the '55-'56 styling has always
appealed to him. The appeal of the Crown Imperial long wheelbase cars is
that they
were designed as such and not merely an extended body. This results in a
limousine styling that is truly stunning.
Reginald Boland and Randy became
good friends through the ensuing years in the antique car hobby. Reginald
toured the car extensively with the Milestone Car Society and took it to
several WPC and AACA Club events. It was often shown at the Charlotte Autofair..
In recent years Reginald had loaned the car to the North Carolina Museum
of Transportation 
where it was a popular exhibit in their car collection. Reg & Randy attended
the AACA's Hershey, PA Meet several years and were both spellbound by the fine Crown
Imperial currently owned by Brad Cerra. When Reginald
decided to change to a Classic Car Club of America approved Classic as his
prime antique, he knew Randy would be most interested in owning the car.
Randy purchased the car in November of 2002 and picked it up from the museum
in May 2003.
This car is
the 8 passenger Formal Sedan (no divider window) but otherwise is the same as
the Limousine. The driver's compartment is upholstered in two shades of
gray. That color scheme is repeated on the beautiful dash. It has the push
button controlled 2- speed transmission. The passenger
compartment is a gray fabric and the carpet is gray throughout. The car is basically
original except for the paint, exhaust, some brake parts, etc. These
items have been kept as original, but either replaced or rebuilt to keep
the car roadworthy since it has been driven over 112,000 miles. Those
miles have left some blemishes but the overall style and beauty of the
car still come through.
Randy owns several antique
cars, but none draw any more attention than this 1956 Crown Imperial when
he has it on the road or at a show. It is a privilege for us to see Randy's
beauty!
Here are a few interior shots of Randy's wonderful Crown
Imperial.
And two detailed images of the jump seats:
