1961 Chrysler Imperial Crown

The 1961 Imperial is one of the best expressions of Virgil Exner designs. It has a number of unique features he loved in cars from the 1930's like freestanding headlamps and tail lamps and the "spare tire" on the trunk lid. I looked for some time to find a clean '61 given the very low production of only 12,200 total cars. 62's and 63's are everywhere, but chopping off the fins kills intent of his wild design. So after owning this for 4 years, I am now selling. Why? I have been thinning out my collection of stock Exner cars. I was on a buying binge for awhile and have recently sold '56 and '57 Chryslers and a '60 DeSoto (here on eBay see FEEDBACK). I'm keeping the ones I've restomoded, but will probably be listing my stock 300D convertible at some point. I've now shifted to collecting late 1990's/early 2000's BMWs and am making room, much room, by selling this giant Imperial.
I bought this car from an older gentleman in Southern California who had owned the car for 15 years (CA plates included if buyer wants them). He had bought it off a local Imperial Club member. Looking at the undercarriage, there is no question this car was in the area its whole life as it is super clean, original. Not covered up with a spray can "restoration" of black paint and undercoat. Just original metal. See the couple of pictures I took of underside. If anyone wants better shots of the underside, I'll put it on the lift and take some or do a Facetime. I just didn't want to shuffle cars in the rain to open up the lift. It is VERY CLEAN underneath. The PO had the interior carpet and seats redone with SMS leather. They are very nice. He also had a repaint done a couple years before I bought it. It's a decent job, it shines and looks good, but not up to my standards. I'm especially picky with paintwork. But the key is there is no bubbling or any evidence of rust on the body after being done now for a number of years, but it should be noted (and wasn't by PO) that battery acid, I suspect, splattered on the top of the driver's fender and made some yellow spots--see last picture. The chrome appears to be original, and thin in spots, especially on the rear bumper. A few pits in the pot metal, but overall nice for being almost 60 years old.
Since I've owned it, I did the usual fluid flushes/changes (transmission, coolant, oil, brake etc). I rebuilt the brake power booster and put in a new master cylinder. The wheel cylinders and linings looked new so i left them alone. Included with the sale is a new water pump, fuel pump, and belts (bought but never swapped them). I put in new plugs, cap, rotor, points, air filter, hoses, valve cover gaskets (and repainted them with new decals). Exhaust from resonators back had been replaced by PO. I did the rear shocks. Put the correct fan and clutch back on (had some flex fan). Car runs well. Runs smoothly and quietly. Does not smoke or use oil.

The heater core is bypassed, though not leaking, apparently it was letting in warm air so PO bypassed it being in S. CA. A/C not working, though i have not attempted to mess with it, but it's all there. I just don't have the tools to work on it, nor do i really care that much if it works or not. It has that second unit in the trunk under the package shelf (see picture of grey box in trunk). I'm sure if the new owner gets it working it would be quite effective. I repaired the electroluminescent dash light power supply with an updated solid state unit. Looks cool with that green glow at night. While I did get the panels working, the rheostat on the light switch is finicky and hard to get it to stay on. It took me years of looking, but I finally found an NOS switch, which is included with the sale. I didn't get around to installing it. Too many projects and it's a pain to get at. Lastly, the odometer is not functioning (a whole instrument cluster out of '62 is included with the sale). It reads 33,245. The PO told me there was about 40K on the car (based on the functioning trip odometer, and I've only added a couple thousand, at most. Looking at the original battery cables, original 5/8" dot headlamp bulbs, the key teeth, the pedal wear, and OEM windshield condition, I believe it to be legitimately a very low mileage, rust free car.
Overall, this is a solid, honest car that looks and runs well. It needs to be used more by the next caretaker who can give it the attention it deserves. The wild Exner styling always gets attention when you drive around or take it to a show. As was my DeSoto buyer (and 58 Lincoln also sold on eBay), the new owner will be pleasantly surprised seeing this car.
Please note, it was raining lightly when I took the car outside for pictures today and it seems there was dirt on the bottom of the camera lens you will see in a number of the close up pictures as black specks. The car is for sale locally and I reserve the right to end the auction early. Please message or call me with any questions on my cell 917-847-1690.

Also published at eBay.com