By the late 1970s, Chrysler Corp. was in trouble. They had been stuck with mostly gas guzzlers when the energy crisis arrived mid-decade. To help bail them out, the board of directors lured Lee Iacocca away from Ford, and he decreed that a new luxury car was needed to promote the company. So, the Imperial name was dusted off and applied to a 1981-83 personal luxury coupe. They even got crooner Frank Sinatra to help sell the car. This beautiful 1981 example may need nothing more than an owner who will have time to enjoy it. Located in a garage in Floral Park, New York, the low-mileage survivor is available here on craigslist for $18,500 OBO. Accolades go to “Zen” for the tip.
Chrysler used the J-body platform for the revived Imperial, one that had already served the Cordoba and Dodge Mirada. Only one engine and transmission combo was used, the 318 cubic inch V8 and A904 automatic tranny. The cars were smaller and sportier than Imperials of days past, and they continued to use the practice of omitting Chrysler badging as they had done back in the 1950s. The bustle-back look was borrowed from the second-gen Cadillac Seville.
Fuel injection was used but proved to be troublesome, and we understand some 1981 models were retrofitted with carburetors, which may be the case with the seller’s car. It now has a 4-barrel carb with the appropriate intake manifold. The new Imperial may have bolstered Chrysler’s image, but not its sales book. Just 12,385 were built in three years, with nearly 10,000 being built in 1981 alone. This car may have had just two owners, including the seller, who is busy with work and doesn’t have time to drive it.
We’re told the Imperial is a great runner, so you have to wonder why the seller didn’t bother to pull it out of the garage for better photos. All of them are close-ups that don’t show the true lines of the fine automobile. With just under 46,000 miles, the car has been seldom used and is often tethered to a battery tender. Everything seems to work as it should, so the Imperial should be turnkey for its next caretaker. “It’s a beaut, Clark”, so do you see this Imperial in your garage?
It’s nice, but is there enough of a following to command an asking price of nearly $20,000?
It also needs a different air cleaner.
Steve R