What a beautiful wagon! My dad and I owned quite a few Chryslers and Imperials from the 1950s and a couple more up to a new 1971 Newport. This site does a great job of furnishing tips and parts sources for these Grande Dames of Automotive History: This is not the main home page, but you can easily see how the 1953 Imperials shared parts and styling: http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/index.htm This is the home page: http://www.imperialclub.com/index.htm Radio Repairs? Here they are: http://www.imperialclub.com/Repair/Accessories/index.htm Kudos on your find, she's a real gem. EDIT: Oops - Radio Repairs The radios used tubes. There is also a regular fuse (LittleFuse) usually, inside the radio. If yours has a power antenna, it has a fuse also. In the older Mopars, if the antenna fuse was gone, the radio would turn on, but only provide local stations. DO NOT let some automotive radio shop take it out or reinstall it. They're like bulls in a china shop. The radios in these old Mopars had excellent reception. My dad and our family drove from Toronto, Ontario, Canada down to Fort Lauderdale, Florida in his 1958 Imperial, and we'd pick up stations on AM or FM bands as far a Mississippi and New Orleans even though we were driving through Pennsylvania! Outstanding radios. The original speakers were outstanding too. Its worth having them reconed, if you can find a shop.
Wow, thanks for those links! Had no idea these had high end equipment, I'd always assumed mobile audio was more of an afterthought until the 1990's, but I guess that's not the case. I'll look into preserving / augmenting what's already there. Somebody along the way hid a newer stereo inside the glove box (likely during the 1980's based on the cassette player), and went to the trouble of adding an entirely separate 12v battery in the engine bay, just for the radio.
yah...a lot of guys over there don't have much patience once you start talking about frame swaps and using new technology. pretty sure there is some sort of HAMB signal that lights up computer monitors so some can race in and start bashing away. anyway, i'm really looking forward to when you start posting pictures of all the progress. good luck.
I agree, there's almost assuredly a red phone that lights up somewhere to let the old guys know when somebody is trying something stupid. Not that I disagree - most of these swaps are real tearjerkers! In researching this project I've seen everything from old Hudsons, to big-finned Buick Electras, and even a Rolls-Royce... many of which hover 3 feet off the ground on discarded SUV frames. And not in a hipster, ironic way, either. Once we get the wagon body off, we'll examine the original frame very carefully to determine whether we need the Durango frame at all. I'm not stuck on the idea of forcing one solution over another, and am satisfied to have all bases covered with options. Having the whole Durango on hand was smarter than buying a pile of parts... only to discover we have nothing to attach them to. In fact, besides the previously discussed options of: 1. Durango frame vs. 2. fix the rotted original, there is a third potential solution that may be shaping up as well: Long story short, I first connected with my hot rod shop (back in April or May 2012) through a Craigslist contact. Turns out he also has an '53 Chrysler wagon, which for the past couple years he's also planned on fixing up. Turns out he may instead move onto something else... without ever touching it. If he does, it could be a big opportunity for me: sure, it's sunbaked to bare metal and has almost no interior... but it's pin straight, has no dents I can recall, and it's a western car with a dry, solid frame. So. If it starts looking like the Durango mods may cause more problems than they solve (significant lengthening, channeling the wagon's body, losing headroom, etc.) I may try and get the other wagon for its "plug and play" frame. Then, using my body and the Durango mechanicals - it could wind up being shortest, least expensive distance between the dots. The icing on the cake, of course, is that I would also own an entire spare body: panels, trim, glass, knobs, everything. I would likely disassemble and keep it in storage, so that if we ever got into a fender-bender... its bolt-on replacement would be sitting at home in the garage.
That last option sure sound great Brad, if it comes to pass. What ever you end up doing, you have pretty good ideas on what you want and you'll make sure it is done correctly. That in the end is all that counts. This is getting very exciting.
Thanks a heap, I appreciate that! I started daydreaming this afternoon about Melissa and I hitting the road next spring - and the new friends we'll undoubtedly make along the way. We plan on visiting many national and state parks, staying on the road for several months at a time (our only children are a pair of retired greyhounds). Being that my day job is as a graphic artist, we thought it might be fun to create a little letterpress "calling card" with our email addresses to stay in touch with new friends... or at least a logo to toss on a blog covering our travels. So I put this together this afternoon. I'll most likely add the trailer as well, eventually. Thought you guys might enjoy.
LOVE the calling card idea! That is super. When I have a wagon, I'll probably do the same sort of thing. Super idea.
Bred, I like the idea of you getting the spare frame and body before you start in on this swap on your prized wagon. Since you really don't want to alter the original look of the T&C with channeling the body and all that, the spare T&C frame is perfect to create a true combination of new and old. I guess this is what you mean by "plug and play" Sectioning in the engine cradle and modified suspension mounting but maintaining the original frame mounting and parameters. Strengthening everything as you go, but using the spare body as a mounting jig to make sure this frame fits perfectly and is as strong as you will ever need for towing. Your plug and play plan sounds like the perfect way to proceed with this wonderful project. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima And by using the spare frame and the spare body as a mounting jig, you won't have to subject your lovely original wagon to the rigors of trial and error. Then when the frame is perfect, and the engine, drivetrain and suspension is completely worked out and running with sorted out wiring, you can ready your fine T&C to accept it's new underpinnings. :2_thumbs_up_-_anima David
Thanks, yep, made it based a photo, stripping things away until it was a good balance of simplicity, but recognizable. Finished up the design a few days ago, adding the trailer at the correct scale. I'll have them letterpress printed which should add to the "old school" feel: the image pressed down into the paper so you can feel the embossing. Rather than the traditional business card size - I'm thinking about going with a larger, 2.5" x 5" size. Sorta widescreen, you could say. Not only will that size show more detail, but we can use the back for handwritten thank-you notes, etc. I agree. The other "spare" wagon I'd had my eye on isn't going to happen, but there's always an 11th hour option, since we haven't begun yet. The shop has had some trouble recently with a (now departed) manager, but they're still churning out incredible work - too much of it, frankly, as it has held my project off a few months already.
Quick update on things: I went over to the locker today to take the wagon out of storage, which shamefully - I haven't had time to do until now. Work has been crazy: thankfully so, being that I'm an independent contractor. Apparently, sitting so long froze up the ole' drum brakes, and it wasn't able to drive in forward gears. Only in the much more powerful reverse gear (you really have to cover the brake pedal, it LURCHES backwards). Found all this out after backing out of the garage, jacking up the front and running off to the gas station to air up a flat with NASCAR-like speed. Seems I needn't have bothered, since I then discovered the brakes were stuck. I didn't have the time, inclination or know-how to pound drums with sledgehammers "just so", so I ultimately gave in and utilized our AAA membership. Hopefully we can get it back in the next day or two, maybe taking her out for ice cream on a nice evening. The hot rod shop should be making room for me any day now (famous last words, right?) It's just a matter of scheduling, and they've been incredibly successful this past year. All good news though, as that has afforded the owner to continually upgrade his staff with more experienced guys and better toys. I'm happy to be the beneficiary of that.
Well these aren't the updates I'd like to be sharing - here at the end of August - but it's what I've got for the moment. Ironically, the shop where the T&C was towed to last Sunday happens to also do big buck restorations. Stepping into the modern, well-equipped work area I spied a late 60's Mustang GT350 in one corner. A clean, WWII-era Jeep sat atop a lift. And the shop manager led me over to their latest project: a '48 Buick sedanette. Dark green with metal flakes, a $20K Art Morrison chassis, and a GM 454 crate motor. Looked like it will be a lot of fun to drive when finished - a real handful. Anyhow, I felt right at home having my humble drum brakes loosened up as the guys asked about my project. The drive home was uneventful - a leisurely 14 miles, taking about a half hour in afternoon traffic. It was 92 degrees out, so I kept one eye on the temp gauge at long stoplights - but all was well. I even grabbed a few video clips so that later on, I can reminisce about these early days. Each experience driving this thing is a mixture of nervous amazement that it runs as well as it does... and the joy of anticipating how much better it'll be once its brought into the 21st Century. Couldn't be happier with our choice of wagon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_uJugwSSdo
Minor update. I've come across two potential donor wagons via eBay and Craigslist, both in Iowa. Condition of the frames are reportedly "good" but I'm waiting for photos and further inspection. Pretending that one of the two will be in good enough shape that it only needs media blasting / powder coating, I'll be talking with my shop later today to try and determine if: 1. buying either wagon (priced at $1700 and $3000), 2. plus the cost to get either one here to Chicago ($700, give or take) ...will ultimately cost less in the long run than lengthening the Durango frame, moving body mounts, new floor pans, and more. Time is money, of course, so I suspect stuffing a new Hemi to fit an old frame is easier than getting an old body onto a new frame. We'll see what he says. Both donors 1954 models, identical to mine except for the trim.
