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I purchased the car in February of 2000 from R.C.
Young, who is the same seller that Ross Klein bought his 56 Imperial,
"Wadsworth",
from. In fact I responded to the ad (too late) for the car Ross
bought, which was two tone green. I had owned a similar color 4
door hardtop from
about 1959 until 1966. I was disappointed when I found the green
car was sold, and was somewhat amazed to find he had a second 56
Imperial for sale. I flew to Toledo and looked at the car and
decided to buy it. It looked good, but I was aware there were many
mechanical shortcomings, even though R.C. said the car was in good
enough shape to drive back. It wasn't, and I didn't. I
had it shipped for about a $1,000, to Houston, in a closed trailer.
Since bringing it to Houston, I have done the following: replace all
brakes and wheel cylinders, replace idler arm, repair AC (3 times),
overhaul
carburetor (twice), install points, repair broken steering wheel,
replace the rear leaf springs, replace all four shocks, repair the
radio, converted to a quartz drive for the clock, replace the antenna,
put on correct radiator cap, have correct ignition and door lock keys
made, install grab handles for rear passengers, and maybe a few other
small things. The AC does work at this time, but I expect it to
require a fair amount of maintenance. My mechanic believes it will be
fairly reliable, which is an absolute necessity much of the year in
Houston. The car looks "younger" since I replaced the rear
springs. I didn't realize how much it was drooping, and it
definitely improves the appearance with proper rear height.
Handling is much better too.
Things left to do that I know about - replace the power brake booster
(has significant vacuum leak), install new weather stripping on all
doors, put on a new carburetor, fix the odometer reset cable, and
overhaul the steering gear. The steering is the most objectionable
problem right now. There is
about 4" of excessive play in the steering, which makes driving in
heavy Houston traffic a thrill. But, there was about 16" of play in
the wheel when
I first got the car, so the problem has been reduced. Oh, I have also
found out the OEM type tires on the car are way out of round, but this
is only a
problem from about 65 mph and up. That's a fairly low priority fix at
this point.
I bought the car to enjoy driving when and where I wanted. I owned
a '56 Imperial from 1959 until 1966, and I have a pretty good idea of
how the car should drive. At my current rate of improvement, I hope to
be close to original derivability by the end of this summer
(2001).
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