It’s our fourth day of project cars, and today we’re going to look at a pair of diamonds-in-the-rough that are both missing one crucial element: the engine — the beating heart of the machine. But before we kick the dry-rotted tires on these two, we need to settle up yesterday’s results:
Wow. I thought you all had more intestinal fortitude than that. C’mon, where’s your sense of adventure? Where’s that can-do spirit? Oh well, suit yourselves. If I throw out the chicken vote, it looks like the Range Rover takes the win, so it will move on to Friday’s bacchanalia of bad ideas.
Today you’ll need a good deal more gumption than that to make a choice. Today, you will need to take the most critical part of some other car and put it into one of these cars to make it complete. On this day we must choose an old car upon which to bestow new life. From this day to the ending of the world, but we in it shall be remembered, we few, we happy few, we band of… well, anyway. [Editor’s note: This is William Shakespeare’s St Crispin’s Day speech. I’m not sure how it’s relevant here, but let’s let Mark be Mark. -DT]. Let’s take a look at the cars.
1957 Imperial – $2,300
Drivetrain: Torqueflite 3 speed automatic, RWD
Location: Wenatchee, WA
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Nope
First, you’ll notice that the ad says “Chrysler Imperial,” but that’s not quite right. In 1957, Chrysler Corporation had five divisions: Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial, which was split off from Chrysler as a separate marque two years earlier. So it’s a Chrysler, but it’s not a Chrysler, if that makes sense. This would have been the flagship of Chrysler’s lineup, designed to go head-to-head with Cadillac and Lincoln.
And let’s talk about that design for just a minute, because, well, look at this thing. It was created by automotive design demigod Virgil Exner as the crowning jewel of Chrysler’s “Forward Look” design philosophy. Exner gave a unique but familial look to each division’s cars, always pushing for longer, lower, wider, more futuristic shapes. His designs had style, weight, and unmatched presence.
And OK, yes, one of the Forward Look cars got all possessive of its owner and turned into a homicidal maniac, but that was Stephen King’s fault, not Virgil Exner’s.
This particular car is missing its signature 392 cubic inch “FirePower” Hemi V8, but the rest of it looks remarkably good. You’d have to look underneath to be sure, but it doesn’t look rusty at all, which makes sense for a high desert car. It also looks complete in terms of trim pieces, which is important, because where the hell are you going to find them otherwise? My personal choice for bringing this beast back to life would be a modern Chrysler Hemi, preferably in the correct 392 size, but the push-button controls for the Torqueflite automatic would have to stay.
1962 Ford Fairlane – $1,500
Drivetrain: none at all except the rear axle
Location: Garden Grove, CA
Odometer reading: unknown
Runs/drives? Um… how hard can your friends push?
For something a little plainer, cheaper, and a few years newer, we have this Ford Fairlane, which also seems to be listed incorrectly. The seller calls it a ’61 with a ’62 front clip, but looking at photos of dashboards of both years leads me to think this is all ’62, so that’s how I listed it.
The Fairlane was Ford’s midsized bread-and-butter car, slotting into the lineup between the compact Falcon and the larger Galaxie. It would have originally had either an inline six or Ford’s then-new Windsor V8, dubbed the “Challenger” at the time, and in this car it looks like there would have been a two-speed Ford-O-Matic (love that name) automatic transmission.
This Fairlane has had a lot of body work done already, which for someone like me who hates sanding and filling is a big plus. I’ll turn wrenches all day, but don’t make me fix dents and rust. The interior needs some help, but plenty of reproduction parts companies stand ready to take your money in exchange for new door cards and seat upholstery. And it looks like a lot of the exterior trim pieces are in the trunk, waiting until the final paint job is done.
Between the primer and the complete lack of a drivetrain, this car is a blank canvas. It’s not anything special or rare (which cannot be said of the Imperial) so you can build it pretty much however you want. Drop in a nice junkyard 302 and a C4 automatic, fix up the interior, give it a nice coat of paint, and it’d be a good summer cruiser. Or go hog-wild with the power and turn it into a vintage dragstrip beast.
Obviously, these are both serious projects, but both have the potential for greatness. Which one is a more worthy starting point for that hero’s journey is up to you. And please do comment any grand plans you might have for either of them.
62 Fairlane needs a 427 Hi-Riser stroked to 500 + with computer controlled injection stacks, Top Loader trans and a 9″ with a Detroit Locker. Tub it out and cage it.
Poor mans Thunderbolt
Having considered and for various reasons rejected both a ’65 Fairlane convertible and a ’59 LeBaron,\* I’d say it depends on what you want and how far you’re willing to go to get it.
The Ford could be fun (I once considered a ’65 Fairlane convertible as a project) and would be a lot cheaper and easier to complete with essentially no pressure to restore rather than customize, since the landscape is littered with them. I do wonder why the seller did all that surface prep (at what level of quality, though, given that he sprayed the bumpers instead of having them rechromed) and shaved the door handles and then abandoned the project.
The Imperial is more in the grand-commission end of restorations, and a lot of parts are near unicorns by now, but they’re just so exemplary of a period in history, and you have something special when you’re done (all the more so because a lot of the Forward Look cars became little more than car-shaped rust outlines on the street a long time ago).
* It proved to be in the hands of an interesting but plainly at the end of his driving days fellow who added oil to the running engine while we looked at it and got some, perhaps even most, of the quart bottle in the hole. My impression was that, despite his having advertised the car, he may have wanted somebody to talk with more than he wanted to actually sell the thing. Such poignant occasions are part of the old-car hobby…
The Imperial is by far a more beautiful beast, and yet it truly does nothing for me.
The Fairlane is plain, and a great sleeper candidate. I hear the EV conversation, and it is tempting.
But
S#@%box, not pebble beach.
Fairlane with 300 I6 and reliable C4 backing it up, not Grand, but reasonable. Sorry 😉 not sorry
I’m all for the EV Swapped Imperial, especially after what ever Stellantis has planned hits the streets, then something else, just to keep it as close to “all Mopar” as possible. I’d want to clean it up and make it look nice and probably paint it the Jeep Moss Green my late, great ’98 XJ was painted, since these Imperials have the curves for that paint!
Fairlane for me. You could have a very cool car for not much money with the Fairlane. That imperial is rare, but you would put way more money in it than it ever would be worth because it is a 4 door.
I had to agree. While the Imperial, once going, would be amazing, it’d take way more work than the Ford.
I think this comes down to a stylish cruiser versus a potential muscle car resto mod. I think I’d go for the Fairlane and work on a Thunderbolt style build. (I’m not a fan of the hood bulge, so a good 289 would do the trick for me.) I’ve never been much for the 50’s styling unless maybe the wagons. The 1960’s coupes just seem RIGHT to me.
I’d be tempted to try an EV conversion.
Imperial, especially if the floors are solid.
And while I’m sad the OG 392 hemi and Torqueflite is missing, imagine this with a Gen 3 392 Hemi and a NAG1 5-speed or a Torqueflite 8? I’m sure a little bit of fiddling with an Arduino or something could translate the pushbutton inputs into the electronic signals those new slushboxes would need to shift. That would be a way-cool ride.
The Fairlane solely because that’s what I learned to drive in.
David Tracy needs to drop the FC project and electrify this Imperial instead.
My god, just imagine that retrofuturistic land yacht with an electric drivetrain.
one of these is in my top 10 wish list, the Imp. but then I looked at the ads. And clicked the Falcon. Only 4 pics of the Imp, and nothing under hood/under body. Having lived both in rust belt and high deserts, it’s so easy to fall in love with the desert bodies only to find a different rot / rodent issue under everything. I’ve helped friends with their restos and this Imp is one that will be unready for years, decades, then probably sold again looking like it looks now., but filled with stuff the ex said to get out of the house or it will be thrown out… just sayin.
I have the perfect powertrain sitting in my storage unit for the Fairlane for what I’d have in mind for it, so it gets my vote. I swap in the 4.6/TR3650 I have laying around, paint the car in an early-to-mid-60s Nascar livery, and put the loudest exhaust on it I can get away with and live out my fantasies of roaring around the high banks of Daytona back in the day with the engine roaring at 6000rpm plus.
If you’re going to have to a 100% restoration anyway, how can you not choose the Imperial? I mean look at the potential of that thing! That is the car you steal when you’re the lead in a time travel movie back to the late 50’s and you’re hunting Satan.
I’ll loose all faith in humanity if the Chrysler doesn’t win out. I love all old iron equally, but given the opportunity…I’d scratch the extra coin for that Chrysler!
Since I have a 55 Fairlane naturally I would need the 62 for the strip.
There’s a lot of modern HEMI/Hellcat talk here, but honestly, what that Imperial needs is a big honkin’ truck motor. Nothing that revs about 3000RPM. Just a lump with maybe 100HP but 300LB/FT of torques to nudge it along without anybody inside noticing they are moving. It’s a living room after all, or at least bigger than my living room.
I agree. A big block, preferably a 440, would be more fitting for this ride. Putting a modern performance engine in it would be a waste because the car will never handle well enough to adequately deal with that sort of power. It was designed for the highway.
I was leaning towards making the Fairlane into a gasser, but then I saw the fuel filler cap on the Imperial, so it has to be the Imperial. I could stare at the filler cap hovering over those sculpted rear bumpers all day.
I spent a few months last summer working on a similarly painted ’55 Dodge Coronet. Having had the opportunity to drive that beast, I can say with certainty that despite its long and low looks, the Imperial would be a bear to drive. Comfortable maybe, but not a terribly fun car to use, no matter what power plant gets placed between the fenders.
Therefore, my vote goes to the smaller, lighter, and cheaper Fairlane. Throw a random Ford motor between the frames, and let it rip. 289, 302, 390, 427, really doesn’t matter. Or go full fuel-mizer on it and put a 200ci inline six and a small turbo in it.
Two words:
Imperial Hellefant
If the car needs a whole new drivetrain regardless, then style is all that matters. The Imperial is the clear winner.
Since I can’t have both, I guess I’ll go with the one I already have the engine for and pick the fairlane. Of course I’m pretty sure I could convince my buddy to sell me one of his Donovan block blown 1st gen hemis but it would cost a pretty penny, and he kind of actually uses them.
I hate big cars, and I loathe cushy isolated rides. Therefore the Fairlane gets my vote.
I’d have to go with the Ford. Throw a nice period-correct paint job on it, toss in a new interior and newer drivetrain and you’ve got a sweet ride. While it’s a classic it’s not a grail car, so you’re not going to be considered a heretic if you update it with some modern mechanics and technology, as long as you don’t hot glue an iPad onto the dash.
The Imperial looks like it would indeed be a noble project to take on but from a practical standpoint, it would be a nightmare to actually drive. It’s a true lead sled and maneuvering it around a city would be akin to puttering around a marina in a 60′ yacht.
Besides, if I was in the market for an Imperial it would be the ’66 and it would be done up like the Green Hornet’s Black Beauty. Of course, that would create the even bigger challenge of finding a super cool Kung Fu master to drive me around in it.
Not a lot of love for the Ford in the comments. All the body work is finished, and its a coupe. Easy choice for me. Find an old cop car and swap the subframe over. Take the cash you didn’t spend on the imperial for a new interior.
I voted for the Fairlane, I’d go full heretic and drop in a Lima 4 with a big turbo and adapt a Tremec 6 speed to it.
Style wise, I’d throw big plastic fender flares and 15×10 square wheels, full interior refresh with Bride or OMP buckets and sparse but functional, definitely a Broadway rear-view. Live out my JDM Fanboy dreams in the completely wrong car, since I can;t afford the right ones now that I could buy them.
If the Imperial were a coupe or convertible I would be all in on it. Throw a Hotchkis Suspension under it and give it a EV Heart and it would be awesome. However, it is a sedan. I will have t cast my vote for the Fairlane, drop a Rousch 5.0 SR Heart into it and terrorize the County.