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hampstead38 · 01-22-2009, 11:37 AM

I'm a truck guy through and through. My dad owned a '57 Chevy Belair that would have pulled the Airstream... but I'm not sure it would have the most stable towing rig. I'm not a fan of older automatic transmission. I think the manuals just work better unless you want to swap in a new engine/tranny combo.

slowmover · 01-22-2009, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Road Ruler

Saw this nice old Chrysler on Kijiji as I was viewing the Classic car tab. Bet it would look great in front of a Bullet.

Yup, that '68 Imp coupe would be "ultimate" in my book. A friend of mine owned an unmolested, loaded '67. We scaled it with him in it and full fuel. Came to 5,270-lbs, the same as my 2001 Dodge half-ton.

That Imperial has it all, IMO: low weight, low-center-of-gravity (engine is set back farther, and lower, than a GM or Ford as the torsion bar suspension loads the LOWER control arm instead of the upper), better F/R balance, bullet-proof drivetrain, and the 127" wheelbase unibody that was banned from demolition derby competition as it was indestructible. Plus, the rear axle was located with a Panhard Rod.

Just need to get the optional Trailer Towing torsion bars from a '69 Imperial, and up the rear gears from 2.94 to 3.23 limited slip. And the heads and camshaft from the optional '69 New Yorker motor; add backcut valves and a little clean up with 8.8:1 true compression. Still some KONI shock absorbers for these, out there, last I looked.

Only downfall on a big Chrysler was the steering. Trailing type, versus the later GM leading type. Both were Saginaw-sourced, but unfortunately Mopar never went with a variable-ratio pump.

Then this car would be almost as hot as the Monaco my grandparents used, and not a lot heavier. But it would have those fantastic leather seats, the best I've ever rode in, and the better front end geometry that Imperial -- as a separate car line -- had over Chrysler. Imperials were simply fantastic road cars.

And what the youngsters don't know is that with that long wheelbase -- and the driver being low in relation to it -- is that one's tailbone was nearly five feet back from the front wheel centerline. Incredible ride. And it was, from the drivers head, about nine feet in either direction to the opposite-side fender tip.

My buddy's '67 turned 16 mpg at 70 mph. And would scoot past 110 mph (GPS corrected) faster than a few 'vette drivers could imagine. Took 'em a while to get fully past . . . .

(And some trivia: We took the BUDD disc brakes off to be shipped off for a rebuild at a specialist. Unsprung weight was FORTY FIVE POUNDS for those discs & calipers. Each side!)

hampstead38 · 01-23-2009, 07:14 AM

"Hop in my Chrysler, it's as big as a whale and it's about to set sail!
I got me a car, it seats about 20
So come on and bring your jukebox money."

"Love Shack," the B-52s.

Ganaraska · 01-23-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ganaraska

I

By the way if your car has the original engine it's a 354. They didn't go to a 392 until the following year. Don't let that bother you, it will have all the power you need.

The 392 hemi was used in 1957 and 58. So you were right, your Imperial is a 392. This is about the best towing motor you could get. I apologize for the error in my original post.

hampstead38 · 01-23-2009, 10:58 AM

I don't know much about the 392, but we had a 70 Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi. That had as much giddyup as any teen-aged boy might want. On the subject of Chrysler Imperial, I haven't seen one of those big boats in years. Maybe they just didn't last in the rusty northeast.

Road Ruler · 01-23-2009, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hampstead38

I don't know much about the 392, but we had a 70 Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi.

hamp... You might find post #21 here interesting... http://www.airforums.com/forums/f463...ar-3486-2.html

Ganaraska · 01-24-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hampstead38

I don't know much about the 392, but we had a 70 Dodge Charger with a 426 Hemi. That had as much giddyup as any teen-aged boy might want. On the subject of Chrysler Imperial, I haven't seen one of those big boats in years. Maybe they just didn't last in the rusty northeast.

Both were good engines, but in some ways the 392 was better. It was designed from scratch as a hemi and was always meant for regular road use. In its day it was about the most powerful long lived car engine in the world. They only stopped making it because of the cost and weight.

The 426 came later and it was actually an adaptation of the 413. The 413 was a simpler, lighter and cheaper (but still excellent) engine that replaced the hemi. They missed the hemi in the 60s when racing became important to selling cars and so they brought it back.

The new hemi was compromised in some ways because it was adapted from an engine that was never meant to have hemi heads. In other ways it was compromised because it was basically a racing engine too "ornery" for ordinary street and road use.

This is why I say the old 392, in some ways was a better engine. It was a superior power plant for all around use while the 426 was more of a pure racing engine.

By the way drag racing legend Don Garlits stuck with the old 392 as long as he could find them in junkyards. He just couldn't get the new 426 to put out the power and consistency of the old engine. In the end he figured out how to make the new engine work but I think in some ways he still prefers the old 392 "whale motor".

You are right about the hemi Imperials and New Yorkers being rare. In the first place they only made about 1/10th as many as Buick and Cadillac, their main competitors. Then, when they got old, most people were scared of them as used cars. They lost value quickly and got run into the ground with no maintenance or repairs. Then, the hot rodders were combing the used car lots and ad columns for cheap hemis. Thousands of cars were junked for their motors. The rest were eaten by the dreaded salt rust. Very few good examples survive. But if you drove one in top shape you would be sure to be impressed.

Road Ruler · 01-24-2009, 08:44 AM

Back in the early 70's my buddy and I decided to drive from Ontario to Nova Scotia in his 1969 Dodge Super Bee (383). We got down near Kentville NS and he tapped the brake to get ride of a tail gater. The Bee quite running immediately. We coasted into a closed Irvine station and scratched out reads for a few minutes.

By chance one of the local boys walked over and asked if he could help.
Within 5 minutes he discovered the distributer shaft gear down in the engine had broken off.

He said he may have a part back at the house.

We walked about a 100 yards to his place and he rolled up the back garage door. Wow, our mouths dropped. There in front of us was 5 racing Hemi engines on engine stands. Turns out the guys brother was the engine builder for a major Hemi powered professional Drag racing car.

The guy quickly found a dist shaft. We returned to the Bee and he had installed in the blink of an eye.

We tried to pay the guy but he wouldn't take a dime. Many thnxs to the friendly, helpful Nova Scotian who saved our day.

Rapa Nui · 12-06-2014, 05:27 PM

Whistler... Posted this elsewhere, but I just saw this thread. Thought I'd post again. It's a '55 Ford Sedan Delivery, 460 Lincoln engine, GearVendor over/underdrive, air shocks, a/c, power everything else. Built especially for towing the Airstream QuikSilver.