“Drive It Home”: 1963 Imperial Crown

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Ah, to be a fly on the wall in Chrysler Corporation’s styling department in the early 1960s, where asymmetrical and anachronistic sketches were immediately stamped “OK” and sent to the sculptors. OK, that’s an exaggeration, but there’s a refreshing level of “why not?” about this entire era of Mopar history that makes it endearing. Thus, we have fascinating creatures such as this 1963 Imperial Crown Four-Door, which is for sale on Marketplace in Stockholm, Wisconsin. To paraphrase my home state’s motto, if you seek a quirky luxury car, look about you.

We might as well get the bad part out of the way: cosmetically, this ’63 needs help. Since restoring an Imperial is neither cheap nor easy, it’s going to take a fanatic to provide that help. Since Imperial fanatics are themselves a rare breed, I think this example will fall into the “fun beater” category, which is admittedly antithetical to the Imperial’s image. Plus, “fun beaters” need to be inexpensive, and the owner’s asking price of $5,300 is perhaps a bit higher than people in this market will consider. But I hope someone is able to haggle with the owner and clean this car up as a driver, with maybe a new carpet and some decent seat covers.

Because what a great three-season daily driver this would be, gas mileage notwithstanding. The early 1960s were “peak dashboard,” and 1963 might have been the peak of the peak. Even the gauge cluster has fins, although fins had already passed out of style. Plus, you still have a push button gear selector for the Torqueflite. Being in Wisconsin, it appears that the car’s original owner was in the minority of Imperial buyers in not ordering air conditioning (only about 35 percent of ’63 didn’t have it). In my mind, that’s one less thing to go wrong on a car that’s already fairly complex for its era.

Under the hood, a yard or two behind those wild free-standing headlamps, is Chrysler’s tough 413 in 340-horsepower tune. American luxury cars of the early ’60s had some robust drivelines; it’s hard to choose a winner, but the big-block Chrysler has to be in the discussion. The seller has replaced the master cylinder and carburetor and says that the Imperial is a good driver. Just a guess, but the carburetor is most likely a new Edelbrock, as the air horn won’t fit the original air cleaner on a car that originally came with a Carter AFB, hence the K&N air cleaner.

So there you have it: a cool Imperial that’s possibly a little too rough to leave alone and probably too expensive to restore. Would this be a candidate for a coat of matte clear and some interior restoration? I think that’s where I’d be if the price were right. What do you think? Thanks to T.J. for sending this one our way.

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Comments

  1. Curt

    Much better buy than the Rolls after this one in the listings. I can work on this myself and the parts will not be too much. Both cars say the same thing, more or less.

    Like 7
  2. Todd J. Todd J.Member

    Forget that Rolls, it will only take you to the poorhouse. Drive this Imperial and arrive in style!

    Like 12
  3. 370zpp 370zpp

    This could be a very cool “driver”.

    Like 2
  4. Kenneth Carney

    As a young man, I had a ’58 Crown
    Imperial 4-door hardtop and what a car it was too. I got it cheap because
    the sellers thought the engine was locked up but that wasn’t the case. Yeah, it sat a few years after the owner died, but getting it running wasn’t all that hard. Once I did, I came to realize what a wonderful car
    it was. The floaty ride, that butter smooth shifting of the transmission,
    and all that torque made me appreciate the car more and more while I owned it. Wound up selling it back to the owner’s widow after she saw the car at the grocery store after
    I got it running again. Both she and her late husband were friends of my
    parents. And when he passed away in 1965, she was devastated and sold
    the car because it reminded her of him. Well, once she saw the car, she
    had to have it back so I sold it back to her for a lot less money than I put into it. That was the only time I lost a bundle on fixing up a used car and felt good about it.

    Like 20
  5. ben

    Pass on this unloved dinosaur. There are MUCH better cars to spend your time on – Milburn Drysdale

    Like 1
  6. Lance

    I remember as a teenager me and a buddy oif mine changing out a door on an Imperial coupe. It was like removing a bank vault door. Thing weighted a ton.

    Like 1
  7. PRA4SNW PRA4SNWMember

    It’s a 61 year old big block Wisconsin car that runs and drives and isn’t rusted to the gills.

    And it probably seats about 20.

    That’s what $5300 is going to get you nowadays.

    Like 1
  8. John Sanderson

    The Carter AFB IS the Edelbrock Performer carb.

    Like 0
    • Aaron TothAuthor

      The airhorn on the Performer is not the same size as it is on a ’60s AFB; I’ve made the swap on several cars.

      Like 0
  9. NicMember

    Sade that it is not possible to contact the seller on Facebook.

    Like 0

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