Imperial Q's

banger68

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I've had several Cordoba's in the past ... and I'm getting the itch again. But I was thinking something a little different and trying to get a 81-83 Imperial. I found one but has rust in the middle of the c-pillars. I presume there is a factory joint here that is popping through?
 

FredMcJoe

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That is a common point where the roof gets welded on. I've had good results using products like Evaporust or Rust 411 to remove rust with. They use a chelating process which rinses the rust out of the oxidized worm holes its made. Products of this type used on both sides of the steel would go a long way to restoring that weld joint, along with repainting. I'd like one of those Imperals too.
 

FredMcJoe

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Well, the process is more technical than a simple rinse... it detaches a molecule leaving behind a carbon residue that is washed off after the treatment, specifically.
 

89.Fifth

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PrepEtch.jpg


That's what I use. Same as evaporust (phosphoric acid) but much cheaper. I pay about $15 a gallon where I live. Follow the directions on the site, but also rinse with water+baking soda.

Klean Strip | Phosphoric Prep & Etch
 

FredMcJoe

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View attachment 27484

That's what I use. Same as evaporust (phosphoric acid) but much cheaper. I pay about $15 a gallon where I live. Follow the directions on the site, but also rinse with water+baking soda.

Klean Strip | Phosphoric Prep & Etch
There ya go. I need some of that for my '88 5A's rust around the base of the roof cap.

I should clarify that these products work best when they can continuously wash over the affected piece of metal. Using an aquarium water pump has come to mind for large body areas, and letting it run down into a collection bucket. I need to look at doing that for where my rust is in that car.
 

FredMcJoe

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Be sure to read all the detailed info on those cars. www.imperialclub.org has a lot of repair info, and the brochures on those were info deep.

It was advertised that some mechanical parts were specially set aside for use in Imperials.The Chrysler pentastar is stamped onto these specific parts for their special adherence to specification to guarantee durability and/or smooth operation. Things like crankshafts, power steering pumps, etc, could have unique stamped markings specific for the Imperial.

Otherwise, yep, they were all that way and almost right out of a Volare. Not sure about the rear axle ratios. Not sure any used the 727.
 

banger68

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IMG_0381.JPG


It's bubbling in the top of the C-pillars, bit of rust on the trunk, bit at the bottom of drivers door. Also all the headliner material has gone crappy. Fuel injection long gone and looks like it's converted to regular electronic ignition (not using the lean burn) What kind of $$$ you guys think it's worth? Hard to compare ... don't see any for sale.

Not sure what kind of ugly will be in those C-pillars when I start grinding.
 

FredMcJoe

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Most of the work is done. You'll need to deal with the headliner anyway so treat the rust as you find it on the inside of the body panels. Those solutions that chelate the rust away make fast work of rust removal if you can get a flow of it going over the rusty areas for a few hours. Less damage to the steel, too.

There is more steel there, though. The rear 1/4 panels were X amount thicker than the Mirada/Cordoba cars.

My 5th Ave had foam still mostly stuck to the backing of the A pillar covers and the B pillar piece I recovered. I removed just the cloth material off the foam keeping most of the foam intact. The areas where some tore off aren't very noticeable after its been covered with new cloth. I used 3M spray adhesive on the backside, be sure to test the adhesive's tendency to melt the foam before large application to a concave area.

Nice combo, black with gray.... no pesky moonroof, already carbed... doesn't get much better than that.
 

FredMcJoe

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or.. do an Imperial thing and install large electroluminescent panel lighting on the backside of the headliner plastic substrate. If I recall, the substrate is a translucent material and you can be like that Quiz Game in a Taxi show?

The ideas keep spewing!
 

FredMcJoe

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2-tone Imp.png


There's an interview with one of the guys who worked on the 81 Imperial body design on the Imp Club website. He said he'd like to see a good two tone paint job on one of them sometime. So.. .uhh.. I .. uhh.. kinda used your car...
 
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