Well, hello beautiful!

[NoCar340]

Come here often? :love10:

Back home where she belongs...

 

[ramenth]

I'm waitin' for the day when I can say the same thing about all my projects.

 

[Jack Meoff]

The Imp is home!!
Sweet!!
What are the plans?

 

[NoCar340]

I want to get the 360 done and installed, which will include de-wiring the engine bay while I've got it wide open. All the EFI stuff is still there, even though the car was converted to a carb by some backyard hack (the carb and intake are from a 360, none of the factory-retrofit stuff at all). Next course of action after the 360 is in place & broken in will most likely be to tackle the dash area, specifically making room for the EFI's ECM and replacing the digital cluster with analog parts. My one junkyard hunt for a J-body cluster bezel was a bust, so I'm still looking for one of those but my leads are not yet exhausted. I may just use the Imperial setup with a custom insert, though. I need to spend a lot of time with a tape measure in there...

 

[Jack Meoff]

Well here's hoping this will be a play by play thread.
I want to see this build for sure. :icon_thumright:

 

[NoCar340]

I'll start a different thread for that, once I've got room in the garage for a second car.

 

[Jack Meoff]

I impatiently await....

 

[NoCar340]

Though the paint is beaten down from its life in Texas and the interior's about shredded, this is a really nice car with which to start. For instance, when was the last time you saw original bushings like this under a 32-year-old car with 163,000 miles on it?

There are a couple of problem spots on the outside... the passenger door and fender have a combo-platter crease that's been there since prior to my buying the car the first time back in '08, and there's a little bit of rust on the bottom of the passenger quarter panel, which is an easy fix. Other than that, it's solid as a rock.

Anyone see anything they need besides the air cleaner lid in this picture? Other than lamp wiring it's all coming out eventually, and most of it hasn't been used in years--just hanging there doing nothing. The air cleaner base is junk, by the way--it's been irreversibly hacked to fit a 360 2-barrel carb.

 

[Jack Meoff]

The cars up here are great interior wise but trashed body and underneath due to the constant salt baths....down south it's roasted interiors.
That's in pretty damn nice shape.

Always liked those air cleaner lids....

 

[NoCar340]

I actually tried thinking up ways to keep the air cleaner lid in use, which is still possible since my throttle body is a 4150/TQ/Q-jet top flange. The problem is that it would essentially have to be welded down since it would (eventually) be under boost as high as 14-16PSI.

 

[Jack Meoff]

It would be very cool if you could.

 

[NoCar340]

I've been thinking of ways to get dual charge-air tubes disguised by factory snorkels. I need to hit the junkyard and find a base and a couple of junk air cleaners, and maybe some of the factory bellowed ducting that goes from the end of the snorkel to the fender...

Not a bad ol' girl for a total investment of less than $320, though, huh?

 

[Jack Meoff]

$320?????!!!!!
You stole that thing.
Is that including getting it dropped off?

 

[NoCar340]

Well, when I originally bought it I had to go get it about two hours away. I can't remember for sure but I think my winning eBay bid was $312.00. My friend and I went to get it, and he didn't charge me anything to do it. Then I sold it for $500 to a different friend, who sold it back to me for the same amount, so that money's a wash. Yet another friend is the one that went and got it, and no--he would not accept any payment for doing so. "I live right by there and I have to go past your house to drop the kids at day care, so don't worry about it."

I know when I originally got it, I paid less than $350, and I gave the guy $35 for a set of cop wheels he had lying around but never put on the car. :eusa_dance:

 

[Jack Meoff]

Can't beat that deal....
I'm digging your air cleaner idea a lot....

 

[72Dodge]

Looks like a fantastic starting point! Really looking forward to seeing this one take shape.

 

[NoCar340]

Started in on the instrument cluster tonight... something I can do without killing the car as far as able to being moved or driven. I want to get started on the custom cluster; as it turns out I can't use Miradoba stuff because the Imperial dash structure is different. So, I've got to work with what originally housed the original digital cluster. This actually looks like an easier solution, thankfully. More pieces with which to deal, but that actually gives me some flexibility with the design.

I ordered my front tires for it last night, so I'm hoping that in a couple of weeks I can have it sitting on the "final" rolling stock. I have to see how busy my machinist is at the moment, though, since's got to machine the wheels for me. I found the rear axle I need to place the wheels where I want them in the quarters (E-body axle) and if I need front spacers I'll have them made when I determine a thickness. In the meantime, I've got to dismount the old front tires and finish polishing all four wheels. Front tires are 235/60R-16 on 8" rims, rears are 255/55R-16 on 9" rims, so the front tires are actually just a shade taller than the rears.

I'm going on vacation next week (anyone else going?) and won't be home Thursday-Sunday, so I won't make any progress then.

 

[Jack Meoff]

Looks like a great vacation!!!
Have a great time!!!

 

[jasperjacko]

Are those the conquest wheels? Those will look great!

 

[NoCar340]

Yes, they are the Conquest SHP wheels I've had lying around for several years. They actually look like they were designed to be on the Imperial, I swear.