Mirada/Cordoba Interiors

[My imp]

Yep, the 20 yr+ experienced lineman couldn't have given two shits as to what they were doing. Body lead in the door jambs of the Imp.'s were finished with stone grinders, & then the painters did their best rendition of Niagra Falls to try to cover the grinder marks. The F body was at the time the most recalled car. Then along came GM to save the day with the X car! Remember those gems? Citation, Phoenix, Omega, & the other abortions that followed. My Mom bought an '81 Diplomat S6 that absolutely devoured fuel! I think that thing got about 12 mpg. My Mom first looked at the Imp, & I'm sure she would've bought one until she heard the price. She said she bought her first house in '53 for less money! There was no talking her into it. I agree that you should never buy these cars to make money or an investment. If I give my 2 yr old my Imp, by the time she retires it might be worth something. But all of these cars have very polarizing styling. You love 'em, or hate 'em, not many riding the fence there. With a Continental kit on the back you'd have a hard time convincing people it isn't a Lincoln. Or add a couple more doors & get rid of the hideaways & you have a Caddy. Not a lot of originality for over $18K. When I get done with mine, I intend to build the car Chrysler should've built for the money they were asking for. I won't have anything that'll match a new car, however, I'll have something that will more than overmatch the '81 standards in every way with the possible exception of fuel economy. I won't go all out performance, but I will up the ante by quite a bit, while remaining totally streetable with every option I can fit in the thing.

 

[NoCar340]

Your plan is very similar to what mine was until life got in the way. I guess the easiest way to describe it is that I wanted to build a Mopar Mark VII LSC. Luxurious, comfortable, and fast. Not a drag car but as a grand touring type of car, eating up long stretches of highway with never a question about its capabilities.

 

[kkritsilas]

Let's face it folks, we are a discerning, lunatic fringe group of people. We drive these cars because we WANT to, not because we have to. Had Chrysler chopped $5-6000 off the price of the Imperial they'd have been flying out of the showrooms (until the quality glitches became apparent), but they delivered too little for too much. A Cordoba with a rubber nose pretty much sums it up. They heaped a lot of gingerbread on it, but not near double the price worth. Most of what they considered the selling points of the car became its Aquillies heal. EFI, digital dash, heavier sheet metal (during a gas shortage), & the most expensive American car in 1981, effectively killed the car before it really got started. I know hindsight is 20/20, but some common sense should've prevailed. Sensitive electronic equipment inside an air cleaner? Backfire? Chrysler has always been an engineers company, I just don't know who they listened to during owners clinics & research groups. It's easy to blame the accountants, but the blame is higher up the food chain. But look on the bright side, had they gotten it right, a lot of us wouldn't be driving these cars.

The people to blame are the marketing guys, no two ways around it. Don't look at Chrysler only, though, they were all doing it back then. Remember the Lincoln Versailles, the gussied up Ford Granada? How about the first (and for that matter, second generation with the bustle butt) Cadillac Seville, the gussied up Chevy Nova? Marketing then just wanted as much glitz and chrome as could be shoved onto the cars as possible (marketing now is about "high tech", like navigation systems, LCD screens, and little electric motors doing all sorts of trivial things). Never mind that the cars then had engines that were so underpowered that you timed 0-60 and quarter mile times with a calendar, and you were lucky to get 15 MPG. It was all about the "Corinthian Leather" and "Loose Pillow look velour" interiors. The fact that many of these cars would lead to a visit to the chiropractor after a 10 hour drive wasn't the point. I don't know that the Imperial was any different (better or worse) than what the other makers were offering. I think it was a much better looking car, but has somewhat of an identity crisis due to the front end design looking like a Lincoln.

Anybody who expects any sort of investment return on our cars is probably going to be disappointed. Do what you want with them. I personally believe that the market will come around to our cars, not as a high buck collectable, but as an affordable collectable, something that can be worked on without needing to know exactly where the paint marks on the chassis were so that they can be reproduced after the frame up restoration, but as a car that can be enjoyed and worked on. Something like the A bodies were 15-20 years ago.

Kostas

 

[My imp]

Amen, I come from a family that drove nothing but land yachts. LTD's (Latest Trash from Dearborn), Marquis's, Impala's, etc.. I swore never to have one. Charger's, 'cuda's, Coronet's, Dusters, etc.. Fast forward 40 yrs & a few back surgeries, & I bought my Imp. Having only rode in one Rolls Royce (I was more interested in the interior accouterments than the ride) the ride really didn't leave an impression other than those things are skinny! I've put over 10K miles on her stock suspension, & can say that I've never had a more comfortable car that I've taken on many long trips & without a shadow of doubt it's the most comfortable car I've ever owned or ridden in. I agree, I only build my cars for me w/o a concern for resale. Through the years I've owned some of the most collectible Mopars out there. If I had a dollar for every time some "expert" told me that I used the wrong year bolts, with the wrong "anchor" in the bolt head, wrong spot for the turn indicators on the front fenders, paint daubs, chalk marks, paint "too nice", factory didn't use BC/CC back then, etc.... I could afford a HEMI Daytona! Mopar freaks are worse than Porsche freaks! I know, my cousins a Porsche freak! I don't know which faction's a-hole could sharpen a pencil (or snap it in two!) faster! One major bone to pick; who decided to do away with the drip guards? While more asthetically pleasing, everytime I open the door that the roof is wet, that thing takes a piss right on me. It seems to hold the last little shake for me to stick a leg out of the car! It doesn't matter how long you wait, there's always enough to put the cold water down my leg! Marketing can only push what they're given to push. Once again, those decisions come from above. Engineers design the best product they can. Then the Bigwigs approve, or disapprove. Once approved, the bean counters figure out how to make it cheaper (i.e. F it up), then back to design, then back..... Eventually you get a new car. From the mid '70's on, Chrysler didn't give a hoot, & I doubt if they thought they'd still be in business when the decade ended. Along came St. Lido! Took credit for everything he didn't do, & shifted the blame for everything he did do! I'm not saying he (or someone else) wasn't needed at the time. Having his turd cutter adjusted by Henry Ford II or III, I forget which one? left a bad taste in his mouth, but THERE'S your flam flam marketing man!!! Buy American! (when did Canada & Japan become the 51st & 52nd states?) the Falcon er a Mustang was his claim to fame, along with getting rid of all but the "Yes" men. He's the one who decided to bring back the Imperial. I'm forever grateful for that half-baked effort! The rubber nosed Cordoba's held a soft spot in my heart since day one! Everyone from the President down deserves some of the blame (or credit) for these cars. An engineer only designs what he's told, acct.'s cut where they can, line man only assemble what they're given, etc.. Anyone laying down on the job can screw it up!

 

[jasperjacko]

I agree with you guys about investment. These are not good investment type cars. But you can build a nice Mopar with these cars without laying down 10,000 just to get started. I'm doing my car the way I want it, and I enjoy every minute I get to work on it.

 

[72Dodge]

Malaise-era cars will never have the value that true muscle-era or even late-muscle-era (early '70s) cars have, generally speaking. I got into A-bodies partially because I got bored looking at all the B & E body cars at shows... I like having something a little different. But even those, as great as Darts etc are, are a little too recognizable. Most people have no idea what they are looking at with FMJ, especially J & R bodies. And though I very much appreciate these cars, I know if I do something "my way", I'm not mucking up something extremely valuable. I don't need that stress!

 

[My imp]

I agree, no one has said anything about what's been done to the Imp other than positive! Any of this would've been sacrilegious! (see above) It feels good to have a 1 of 1 ('81 Imp) in a sea of A, B, & E bodies. Been there, done that, bought all the t-shirts. Now all I hear is the stories (good & bad) about the Imperials, & what a nice car I have. Feels much better than bitching about paint daubs & such.