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Customs Just got a new project!!! '64 Imperial....What should I do to it?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by RoadFarmer, Oct 21, 2010.

  1. Just got a '64 Chrysler Imperial, I was thinking 3 inch Wide whites, and maybe some sunburst caps. Drop the car about 3 inches.....what else could I do? My budget is pretty low.
     
  2. Here's a pic of it
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Cool car. Save up for gas, and electrical parts.
     
  4. They are a great road car...and not as bad as you might think on gas, but he speaks the truth about the electrical,

    Dad and I have them from '59-64...the torsion bars are easy to lower down in front, and the rear is just leaf springs...
     

  5. I've never lowered anything with torsion bars....any tips? How many inches do you think I will be able to get it down that way?
     
  6. 2-3 inches should be easy...I'd absolutely run radial tires though...trust me. They really handle well at speed compared to everything else of the era.

    (Personal experience with 60's Caddy's, Lincolns, & Imp's)

    The torsion bars run toward the rear, and you'll see large bolts on each one. Loosen them a little bit at a time with the weight of the car suported on jack stands. Loosen both sides equally (less than you need) and let the car settle in for a week or so while you drive it.
     
  7. caseyrod
    Joined: Feb 9, 2008
    Posts: 138

    caseyrod
    Member

    one off my favorit cars off all time's.great choice.hope you enjoy this car for a long time.
     
  8. Revhead
    Joined: Mar 19, 2001
    Posts: 3,027

    Revhead
    Member
    from Dallas, TX

  9. Green Hornet clone!
     
  10. low budget
    Joined: Nov 15, 2006
    Posts: 5,566

    low budget
    Member
    from Central Ky

    Just make sure to roll all the windows down after the lowering.
    Thats the only way to cruise a 4 door hardtop.
     
  11. truckncoupe
    Joined: Apr 4, 2009
    Posts: 1,428

    truckncoupe
    Member

    Drive the heck out of it...nice looking car!:D
     
  12. 4406
    Joined: Dec 29, 2009
    Posts: 659

    4406
    Member
    from Oklahoma

  13. BOWTIE BROWN
    Joined: Mar 30, 2010
    Posts: 3,252

    BOWTIE BROWN
    Member

    huh, damn , have'nt figured it out yet .
    maybe later . Kool kar. Just drive it & see if you want to do anything to it.
     
  14. I broke a 3', 1/2" drive pull bar trying to crank up the torsion bars on one of these cars, a very good impact gun wouldn't touch them. Be careful, and use some PB blaster. Good luck. Again, cool car. Good to see they all didn't get destroyed.
     
  15. The green Hornet costume would be funny, but the movie don't come out till January....so this year I would just be the Masked Chofur! hahah (not sure how to spell that...I know thats wrong!)
     
  16. pwschuh
    Joined: Oct 27, 2008
    Posts: 2,827

    pwschuh
    ALLIANCE MEMBER


    Fixed!
     
  17. mrforddude
    Joined: May 30, 2010
    Posts: 134

    mrforddude
    Member

    Well, I am assuming that it has wheels...drive it 'til they fall off and replace (More Old Parts Are Required)
     
  18. SoCalChevy54
    Joined: Mar 4, 2009
    Posts: 147

    SoCalChevy54
    Member

    Classic looking 60's ride...very cool
    Some astro-supremes i think would look badass with that drop your talking about
     
  19. K-88 ghost
    Joined: Nov 5, 2009
    Posts: 214

    K-88 ghost
    Member
    from Nevada

    Wash, wax, tune, rat-bans, and cruze!:cool:
     
  20. BigBlockMopar
    Joined: Feb 4, 2006
    Posts: 1,361

    BigBlockMopar
    Member

    When lowering, as said, jack up the car first to get the load of the suspension a bit. Then try to turn the torsionbar bolts (located in the tranny-crossmember somewhere around the frontdoors) an equal amount anti-clockwise.
    Start with 2 or 3 full turns each. Then drop the car back on the street and jounce the front-end. Check height.
     
  21. Nomad
    Joined: Aug 10, 2006
    Posts: 40

    Nomad
    Member
    from Gretna, NE

    Considering that it's a '64, I'd stick with a skinny (1") whitewall - most rods and customs were staying away from wide whites by the mid-'60s.
     
  22. Squablow
    Joined: Apr 26, 2005
    Posts: 17,388

    Squablow
    Member

    If you insist on wide whitewalls, consider the 2 stripe kind, or the ones where the white is like 2" wide and it doesn't start right at the bead. Not sure what they were called, but that would be more period-correct for a mid 60's luxury car. Or Vogues, those would look nice too.

    Then the lowering and some kind of nice caps. If you can afford Supremes or some other 60's style wheels, go for that. I've got some 15" Kelsey Hayes "Star Mags" that would look cool on there, mine are the Sears brand and they actually say "sears" on them. Something like that would be good.
     
  23. I can't afford any Astro right now, but I'd definately like that look! I found some 1.6" whites on Coker's site....I wasn't big on the idea of skinny whites, but It's definatley grown on me. Plus they are abut $400 cheaper haha. I was thinking about running the "Sunburst" Caps that Mooneyes has....you know the ripple ones....what do you guys think?
     
  24. thebugbox
    Joined: Nov 29, 2009
    Posts: 255

    thebugbox
    Member

    You can get standard 1" or so white walls from most local tire shops for ~$75 a piece. Just ask for them.
     
  25. TexasDart
    Joined: Oct 11, 2007
    Posts: 853

    TexasDart
    Member

    Also if you lower the car too much with the torsion bars then you won't have as much spring rate and it will tend to bottom out. 1" is usually pretty good...without too much issue. But after that you may need bigger diameter Tbars. Course I'm not sure how much bigger you could get..cause your's are probably pretty big. Nice Imp by the way. Looks to be in pretty good condition.
    Oh yeah after adjusting you will need a front end alignment.
     
  26. starion88esir
    Joined: May 15, 2006
    Posts: 198

    starion88esir
    Member

    Wow... ok, to lower it more than an inch in the front and retain the ride quality, you will want to re-index the tortion bars. bars. It's simple, you just need to mark the starting location before you remove the bars so you know exactly how many splines you've moved them. To lower it you will want to move them towards the outside of the vehicle. Along with the appropriate shocks and just moving the bars a spline you can retain a quality ride on the front.

    As someone else said, skinny whites are where it's at. Wide whites don't belong on a post 60's car. Don't go to Coker for them either. Overpriced. You can get skinny whites at any local tire shop worth a crap. Depending on size, you may have to go with a slightly smaller size than o.e. The tires for my New Yorker are very hard to find in the o.e. size and expensive. To alleviate the financial strain (if this would apply to your Imperial) you can go with a narrower tire or slightly smaller profile. (Which will also give you a little more drop)

    The rear you can simply do with blocks, but with the weight of the Imperials I would suggest a solid, not hollow, lowering block and you will need to have custom u-bolts made as Mopars use larger axle housings and an off the shelf kit will not work. A local spring shop can make them for you, just make sure you know what size drop you want before you have them made.
     
  27. forty1fordpickup
    Joined: Aug 20, 2008
    Posts: 298

    forty1fordpickup
    Member


    I think you got it nailed. Nice sweet clean ride as is. I'm liking it.
     
  28. stealthcruiser
    Joined: Dec 24, 2002
    Posts: 3,748

    stealthcruiser
    Member

    AND>>>>>>>>>>........................Should you decide to remove them, to re-index them.........Be advised, that they will probably be stuck TIGHT, at the aft anchor point!!!!......................Just letting you know...........They make a tool, ( I have not seen one in a while), to wrap around the torsion bar, that you can strike with a hammer, to remove it from it's receptacle.

    You will be driving it forward, ( the torsion bar).

    Just telling you this, 'cause you're not supposed to put any "dings" or gouges, in the bar, as it will cause a "stress riser", and therefore, a potential breaking point..............

    After all, it is spring steel, and pretty highly stressed!!

    The tool keeps you from dicking up the torsion bar, ( ideally!)

    Have fun with it, and as others have mentioned, electrical spares, and a wiring diagram, are good ideas!!!

    I had a '65, so I just thought I would share some "Mopar knowledge" with ya'.:D
     
  29. Gotgas
    Joined: Jul 22, 2004
    Posts: 7,175

    Gotgas
    Member
    from DFW USA

    I'm about 99% sure that describes how to lower a VW but not a Mopar. Mopars don't use splines (that I'm aware of), they use a hex - meaning if you rotate the bar within it's housing, you do so in 60* increments. And that's a lot. :D

    You can get a Mopar pretty low with just the adjusters. They're designed to allow the torsion bar to slip out for maintenance/replacement, so just how low do you want to get it? :D
     

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