Although I am not the in-house Mopar expert, one of my favorites has always been the Mobile Director cars. It just tells you so much about the era in which it was made that a rear-facing seat, writing table and accommodations for an executive and his secretary were considered optional equipment. Find this barn-find Imperial Crown coupe here on craigslist near Philadelphia.
The other component, of course, is that you’d have a driver to handle the actual transportation duties. You, the high-power executive, cannot be bothered by such mundane chores. It’s nice to see an original Mobile Director’s car retain the necessary fixtures inside, though no word of whether the high-intensity map light is still attached. Seats look pretty good for a car this age, though a cleaning and re-dye will help immensely.
Body-wise, aside from being huge, this Imperial looks fairly tidy. Glass looks nice, if not downright shiny. The seller, who needs a quick lesson on how to write a craigslist ad, seems convinced that the body is in sound condition and there are only “small” areas needing attention. The carpets have been removed, which could be tell-tale sign they were damp. This being a Northeast car would require a thorough examination of the floors.
The seller further claims the 440 is free and that the previous owner assured him it ran, a little under ten years ago. Crunching the numbers, the seller believes this Mobile Director car is one of just 55 examples fitted this way in the 1968 model year, and he issues stern warnings for those of you who are light on cash or heavy on spousal approval. These things are so unique that I can’t see them losing value any time soon; for our Mopar experts in the room, does a swivel seat and writing table make this Imperial a must-have?
I did not realize you could have this option in a two door, neato! not a big mopar fan but I think this is cool!
Actually I think it was only available on the two door. The key feature was the swivel bucket seat. You would not have been able to get a bucket seat on the sedan.
That single-sentence ad reads like the owner just did three lines of cocaine.
Snorting coke would be 1 way to utilize the table. Wonder if Tony Montoya had 1 of these😄
Does it come with that can of ether?
Someone say Coke? I love me some fresh cola, especially on the nice wooden table.😨
I had a 1969 Chrysler Imperial with a bar and hot water 4 sprouts in the glove box
That has got to be one of the longest trunks ever- I bet an average adult could probably lie length-wise in there!
1968 Crown Coupes were rare at around 2500 produced….and that option does make it rare – er. That said and having had a 68 Crown coupe I drove for over 50,000 trouble free – these cars just aren’t for everyone. He needs to make a little profit and move one….car has been for sale a while….
I want the motor., let’s divide this car up for the goodies and sell what’s left to some sled driver.
Motorhome 440 engines are much easier and cheaper to get than ruin this car.
This is a run of the mill auto, nothing “special” at all.
They are prone to boxy flex, over heavy and even with this motor vastly underpowered.
Correct on abundance of 440s, and still quite a few 413, in motorhomes but most are smogger low compression, it makes no diff on resale if this tank has a 383.
You can bet bottom $ that collectable, when talking of this auto is but pure seller bull crap, and 3 years from now if done fairly it will still be low value.
Right now you have a lot of old darts and some young who are priced out of real collectible markets that are grasping at dreams not reality.
A down turn in easy credit econo.y and autos like this go back into the barns.
A couple grand after refreshing at most to a sucker buyer.
But then again you will always find those who think that a 25 and over yrs vehicles are worthy of being “antiques”.
Take a look at price drops of even mid 50-80 autos with good and expensive work at auctions.
But to each their own and take
Agreed. The thing is, Imperials were never very popular…maybe simply due to low production rates and high purchase prices when they were new, and rust/build quality issues. I have had a couple Imperials and they were the hardest cars to sell out of anything I’ve owned, and I always took a loss on them. Additionally, parts (especially trim pieces) are almost impossible to find, and when you do finally locate what you’re looking for, the cost is insane compared to what you’d pay for the equivalent Ford/Chevy equivalent.
Having said that, I have personally always liked the design of Imperials over their era brethren from more “popular” makes.
It certainly is lamentable that proper writing, grammar, and punctuation are evidently a thing of the past in this country. I don’t see the situation improving, as the upcoming generations can only write with their thumbs, and our “leader” isn’t any better. Since January 20th, I don’t recall that education has been mentioned at all. It truly is “sad”.
That’s putting it mildly. Illiteracy and ignorance are now patriotic! Lets just hope the car is in better shape than the sellers syntax.
Rex, thanks for bringing this up, as it really needs to be said! Just a few days ago I had written a long letter to send after reading a really bad offering here, describing his car( A T-bird)……full of bad punctuation, or NO punctuation, no capital where needed and horrendous spelling. The car was even equipped with “costume wheels” LOL, but sad. My letter was long, but I deleted it as I thought it might be considered a personal attack. It almost seems like there has been an attempt to dumb down this country. Do any of you realize that students today, and probably for a long time, are no longer taught to write in cursive. They print everything. My 14 year old niece hates to read anything written in cursive! In a recent high school survey 70% of students asked could not find Florida on a blank US map.
I have to agree with you guys re the grammar, spelling and punctuation that appears on some of the BF comments, however, I put it down to the USA having so many different nationalities trying to express themselves in a medium that maybe so different from their own. The countries that they originate from might not have anywhere near the same quality of education that you have in America, but hey, they are old car enthusiasts so let’s give them a break.
While I agree with you wholeheartedly, remember, these are car ads, not a Walt Whitman novel. They are written by everyday folks, that may or may not have a good education,( quite possibly in pain) and quite frankly, proper grammar is not needed today. With no interaction face to face, you can sloppily type out a message, ( with abbreviations to save precious time) and others that are doing the same thing, get the message. They don’t have to face someone and try to find and use correct grammar. Rex, I feel your anguish, but rest assured, it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
Now, as far as the Imperial, while outlawed, they made the best demo-derby cars,,period. Milburn Drysdale knew what to drive.
His secretary quit. She kept getting car sick riding backwards taking his dictation. In that time period, especially with it being a two door, the executive would be doing the driving while dictating letters to his secretary.
Me is good with that,
I need the sub frame for another derby car lol… owned several of these 67/68 imps. Fun cars to drive on the road and even more fun on derby track
Sorry I profaned such an Icon, and meant not too cause distress to those Preachers within the hallowed halls of written and spoken English Tenets.
Ti’s my Gaelic pagan roots I cannot control, and as gramps said ,” Listen Sonny, just cuz you are not having a paper saying you are educated, does not mean you should not sell an old lame and blind horse to those whose education is but a sheet of paper.”
In that way maybe someday they will be educated enough to know not to buy when a horse is old, blind, and lame.”
In an effort to help educate, I present the following automotive ad related items:
RPM=revolutions per minute, not RPM’s
MPG=Miles per gallon, not MPG’s
Brakes=Used for stopping; not “Breaks” (what will happen if you hit something)
VISE grips; not “VICE” grips (Some kind of law enforcement tool?)
Needs Restoring, or needs to be restored; not “needs restored”
Knowledge is power! :-)
You forgot “A/C needs charged”
You forgot VIN = Vehicle Identification Number, not VIN number
Brings to mind the song from Man of La Mancha……The Impossible Dream……………..
Thanks MoparMann……. These are things that have always bugged me too, especially the Breaks thing!! Now Please let us all know how to use: There…………………Their………………and They’re. Well, off to the kitchen I go, the body here needs eating.
Okay:
There you go
This is not Their car
They’re not car people :)
What about the
Motor – externally powered
Engine – internally powered
?!?!
Lest us not forget:
Edelbrock, not Elderbrock. See that multiple times per week.
In UK they are known as VICE grips, as in a VICE mounted on a workshop bench. You know, English as she is supposed to be spoke! Ha Ha.
I’ve always found the Mobile Director to be a curious option. Who was the intended audience? Executives who could afford a chauffeur and a secretary, but somehow couldn’t afford a limousine? I suppose that would explain the low take rate.
WOW, take this ’68 plus the rare white on white ’66 Dodge also listed and combine the 2 to have an ultra rare white on white with swivel seat and table. A little spit and polish and you’ll be an instant hit at the next Cars, Coffee, and Chrysler meet.
Moparmann……. how aboot truck floor instead off trunk floor
I think a Mopar person would be happy with this and I also agree that the Country is suffering from creeping illiteracy. It is apparently more acceptable to be stupid then wise. I’m sure the car is worth a few more dollars equipped with this option, but don’t look to be floored at its value. Another $1500. car
The question is, will anybody pay more for the car because it has this option?
I am not sure they will.
This is all a sad commentary message trail; seems to me a bunch of old guys here who all need to get outside more. Yes, our education system is a mess and has been for many many years, but this is not the place for perfect grammar, or to criticize who has not. Its certainly not just about English grammar being a priority in our education system either.