My imp imperial drawing

[Bryan M.]

Correction: a pre-production LeBaron coupe. Looks like they were still trying to get the quarter-window treatment down when this one got put together.

 

[My imp]

Whatever the name (I thought it was LeBaron), that's the car I was thinking of. Thanks for the pic.

 

[My imp]

Never saw the side shot, that looks more like an M & not a B body.

 

[Mr.Lopar]

Mirada with imp nose

 

[R/T Mirada]

Damn that looks good!

 

[My imp]

Now I REALLY have a full on CHUBBY! Wish there was a rear shot so I could see if they modified it Imperial style!

 

[Mr.Lopar]

IIRC it was stock Mirada taillights

 

[My imp]

I think it's a Doba, there are no fender louvers. Wish the hideaways worked. Out of all the tasks, getting that 10 lb. of spaghetti a.k.a. The wiring harness from the Imp to mate with the Mirada/Doba wiring harness. I'd love to sit down & go through mine wire by wire to dispose of the 764 extra wires left over from EFI removal, unneeded wires from the Viper alarm, Sirrus stereo the PO removed & left the wiring behind. Are the antennas that Sirrus uses inside the car any good? Or should I stay with the factory power one? It fits right above the rear view mirror, sort of a T configuration.

 

[Mr.Lopar]

plug it in and find out. I would think theyed be good as satellite radio picks up just about any station

 

[My imp]

See what I mean about how much better a convertible Imperial the convertible Mirada makes? The 1/4 panels flow smoothly, unlike the 1/4's on an Imperial.has anyone ever seen the photos of the FS blue Imp with a white convertible top? They could've stapled & duct taped it on & it wouldn't have looked any worse! Even though the red one has a genuine/imitation conv. top, you get the general idea. It looks like the 1/4 extensions are missing from what I can see. I think that re skinning the deck lid with either Imperial skin, or, fabbing up a reasonable facsimile would be alright. All the wiring is there. Hopefully the bumper mounts frt. & rear are the same or close enough. Then the interior! I guess you could swap the Imp interior with the digital dash & all. The rest is straight nuts & bolts, unless you run a console.

 

[Mr.Lopar]

I never liked convertibles, bodyline just don't flow the same

 

[My imp]

Which cars?

 

[Mr.Lopar]

all, I have yet to see a convertible that looked good

 

[My imp]

That red one flows identical, unless the tops down. Then it's up to the individual craftsman to make sure the boot fits well. I've seen some butchered top installs too! Some of the back seats look like they were narrowed with a chain saw & reassembled with a Ronco vinyl repair kit. "And let me tell you folks! It really, really works!".Just like that shit he spray paints the bald spots on his head with! It used to be that people had to serve an apprentiship before they got to work on customer cars. Now the people that should be doing the training don't know what the hell to do because they were never trained. I've talked to many people through the years that remember the business motto of yesteryear, " The customer is always right!". Now it's, "If ya don't F'n like it, sue me!". There used to be pages of auto upholsterers in the Yellow Pages, now there isn't even a column! That's why places like Legendary exist. People have found they can afford to completely ruin a set of covers, buy another set, & install those for less money than a shop would charge to do it once. With no guarantee that their job will be any better. That's why I started doing this in the first place. I read many books, watched TV shows, went to seminars, & taught myself how to do paint & body work. Same with mechanics when I started working on the family cars with my Dad back in the early '60's. I attended school after I started working in the field.

 

[Bryan M.]

Mirada with imp nose

Oh. My. *drool*.

 

[My imp]

Oh. My. *drool*.

That's a real rag top, isn't it? Or is that one of those plastic fantastic POS's? Do you still have contact with the owner?

 

[Mr.Lopar]

looks like one of the fakes
I took the pics off a craigslist ad that was posted a few months back so I dont

 

[My imp]

It's hard to tell. If you look real hard, it almost looks like the back seat is narrower to fit the top mechanism. The 1/4 extensions appear to both be gone, so if the price is good, it might have been a good start on an Impdoba? Corderial? Miradial? Impada? I doubt if the headlight covers are wired in. That's one of my biggest fears, is to mate those wiring harnesses together. Although it shouldn't be as hard as trying to mate an Imperial harness to anything else.

 

[Mr.Lopar]

I think the quarter extensions were missing, I just didn't save the pics of the back of it
too hard to tell if its a real vert or not, I know there was no top down pics if it is
and im not sure if the imperial headlamp doors are even on there, he mighta left em off so he didn't have to try and coble the wiring together

 

[My imp]

This is true, top does look a little too good to be real. Headlight doors look like they're missing upon closer review. I guess I'll never get a job reviewing NFL plays. But given their track record, maybe I will! lol It is, however a hell of a good starting point. If mimicking an Imp rearend was the objective, it would be a lot easier to pull a mold & cast custom 1/4 extensions. Other than cutting the leading edge to match the trunks angle, the rest is pretty much flat cardboard with a slight arch to it. Hardly any break work except perimeter lip. You wouldn't have much on the re skin either.it would be interesting to get the two different bodies next to each other to measure for differences. Maybe I'll pull a deck lid off one of my parts Imp.'s & measure Troys 'Doba against it! It's all just a pipe dream now as I have more than enough projects to keep me busy! I appreciate all of your effort though. Thanks, Larry