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1960 Chrysler Imperial Update, 4/18 Starting Over


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My original plan was to move on to a 1959 Mercury Parklane convertible, but I'm a little burnt out on the Fomoco projects after just finishing the '59 & '60 Edsels as well as a '60 Mercury. So I thought I'd give another Mopar the green flag. This kit should be a nice easy build. No restoration on this one. This is an original "pristine" '60 Imperial I picked up a while back & it definately "needs" to be built. Going with a "Dawn Mauve" paint job on this one. Not sure about interior color yet. Wish me luck! :) Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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Hey guys. I'm having a hard time making a decision on this one. 90% of the pics I see of 1960 Imperials have the "toilet seat" spare tire cover. I'm not hugely partial to them, although I did order the correct chrome cap for it. (the kit never had the correct cover, this is a re-pop of the promo peice). Only problem is, without the spare tire cover, the trunk lid should have a chrome spear & handle/ornament. So either I do the tire cover or replicate the standard trunk trim. What do you all think? Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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Steve, I bought a 60 Imperial convertible (plus a 62) off ebay only last month. They're both painted and assembled but in otherwise reasonable condition. I also have an original 58 plus the 59 kit and a 68 promo - I love Imperials.

I would tend towards the seat - less work than the trim - but John is probably right, if you have a 61 as well.

Either way I'm looking forward to progress.

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Steve, I bought a 60 Imperial convertible (plus a 62) off ebay only last month. They're both painted and assembled but in otherwise reasonable condition. I also have an original 58 plus the 59 kit and a 68 promo - I love Imperials.

I would tend towards the seat - less work than the trim - but John is probably right, if you have a 61 as well.

Either way I'm looking forward to progress.

I don't have a '61 Peter, but I built my '59 with the tire cover & was thinking I'd do something a little different this time. So far the concensus seems to be without, but I'll still have to give it some consideration & maybe a little extra research. The "toilet seat" isn't 100% correct as is anyway. There should be a small chrome "handle" on the rear of it which isn't there & the cover needs to be molded into the trunk lid, unlike the '59 which had a chrome ring around the base. So there's work involved either way. :) Thank you everbody for your suggestions! Steve

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Well, the concensus seemed to be to go with the trunk moulding, so that's the direction I went. Still needs a little fine tuning, but I think it'll prove to be a good decision. It should make it somewhat unique anyway. :) This was all done with peices of sprue. The hole in the ornament wasn't planned, the sprue used just happened to be hollow. I may leave it. There's no way I'm going to recreate the tiny gold crown in the center anyway. Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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Good luck with this! I have a soft spot for Imperials, and am myself a fan of the faux spare tire cover, as it just seems to be a part of the Imperial image. This is YOUR car, so build it your way!

I'm currently bogged down in an Imperial project- the Model King release of the '59 that I'm converting to a 4-door hardtop LeBaron. ( In the midst of moving, so it's on hold for now.) I'll be watching your build closely; I gotta get me one of those body-styles, where did you find it?

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Good luck with this! I have a soft spot for Imperials, and am myself a fan of the faux spare tire cover, as it just seems to be a part of the Imperial image. This is YOUR car, so build it your way!

I'm currently bogged down in an Imperial project- the Model King release of the '59 that I'm converting to a 4-door hardtop LeBaron. ( In the midst of moving, so it's on hold for now.) I'll be watching your build closely; I gotta get me one of those body-styles, where did you find it?

Thanks Rusty. I already have a '59 Imperial & a '59 Fury with the "tire cover" so I thought I'd try something a little more "unique" on this one. I got really lucky on this kit! I picked this up on ebay about a year ago for $75.00. It was a complete, pristine, in the box kit. All of the parts were still on the trees. So this is basically a "brand new" build. Steve

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Well, the concensus seemed to be to go with the trunk moulding, so that's the direction I went. Still needs a little fine tuning, but I think it'll prove to be a good decision. It should make it somewhat unique anyway. :) This was all done with peices of sprue. The hole in the ornament wasn't planned, the sprue used just happened to be hollow. I may leave it. There's no way I'm going to recreate the tiny gold crown in the center anyway. Steve

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I think its going to be sharp Steve with your choice...

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Finished up the color coats on my '60 Imperial today. I know this type of color is not everyone's cup of tea, but I love these unusual 50s-60s colors. This one is called "Dawn Mauve" & is a correct '60 Imperial color. A sort of pale purplish pink. Hard to get a good photo that shows the color well. Still have to clean the paint off of the "Imperial" scripts & then several days of clear coating, sanding & polishing. Still tossing around whether I want to use aluminum BMF or "Polished Aluminum" Alclad on the roof panels? Steve

Edited by StevenGuthmiller
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