part 1 Previous history of the car; how I found and bought it (1994)

part 2Diagnostic inventory, dismantling, survey work to be done (1995-96)

part 3  Mechanical matters (1997-98)

part 4 Body repairs (1999)

part 5 Painting (1999-2000)

part 6 Begin reassembly (2000)

part 7 Reassembly continued

     

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part 8 Problems with the top

part 9 At last the upholstery!

part 10 Getting wired for music

part 11Still more reassembly (2001))

part 12 Seats and door panels go in

part 13 First venture out of garage; lining the top

part 14After 7 years, roadworthy!

The story without end ... (12)

actualised 10/01/2001

Rear seatSummer is at hand and my cabriolet still isn’t finished! I had hoped to have it ready in July or August, but it didn’t work out that way. The upholsterer and the chrome shop held things up. As usual the latter said "next week" and the next week passed without result. I almost gave up hope of finding a new hood ornament, the long one, and even thought of filling the three holes punched in the steel to receive it. Then providential help came from François Mendez, who owns three Dodges of ’58 and ’59. He knew a craftsman in Spain who could reproduce the emblem in bronze. On the spot I entrusted the corroded old emblem to François, for he was about to leave for a month in Spain. I wasn’t disappointed, for he brought back with him a splendid new reproduction. Several ’57-’59 Imperial owners I know were so impressed that they wanted copies of their own, even at a challenging price. One problem solved!  

The upholsterer, Alain Pérès, took his time, but I didn’t press him. It was vacation season, for me as well as him, so I decided to wait and see. At the end of June the seats were ready. A beautiful result, especially if you’d seen the old ones. A few weeks later came the panels for the doors and the sides of the back compartment. I’ve got plenty of work ahead now, with reinstallation of all the decorations, chrome, stainless steel, aluminum and so on. And I’d better proceed cautiously so as not to screw up the new material I’m working with! As it turned out I spent eight hours on one door panel, chiefly because certain mounting holes wouldn’t line up without many tries. But what joy to see the car interior come back to life under my hands!

Working on door panelNow it was time to move through the installation. The rear quarter panels, with their little round lights, slip into place. The back seat is in two pieces, bench and back. The door panels snap into place, all their clips new. Then the screws across the top - when I can locate the holes behind. Check to see that the damping strip that touches the glass doesn’t keep the window from going up and down. Connect the wires to the window controls (the bundle of four on the driver’s side needs some modification because the original bakelite connector was broken). Next the front seat, held to its rails by just four bolts. At last, climb in! Try all the electrical switches - yes, they work - and look with satisfaction in the rear-view mirror at the eagle on the back seat and, in the distance, the tailfins. A touch on the starter just to move the car a few yards back and forth. No road trial yet!

I forgot to mention the tires : Coker radials, 225/75R/14, with full whitewall. I can’t tell you where I got them, but they’re beauties, not quite as big as the original 9.50 x 14s, 70 cm in diameter instead of 75. That makes the car sit an inch lower than it did when new, but the visual effect is good, that of a slightly bolder, meaner Imperial. The price of the tires, even in the U.S., is in proportion to their rarity, and you can be sure I’ll keep the front suspension in perfect adjustment, so as not to have to buy new tires after a few thousand miles.

So what’s left to do now that we’re in early September?
- Install the top (the upholsterer is busy but I should have it by the middle of the month).
- Try the car on the road.
- Make final adjustments to the exhaust system, which is in place but not tightened up.
- Get through the paperwork (insurance, gray card, inspection etc.).
- Details, including the air conditioning system.

There aren’t many chapters remaining in this History Without End…

The interior is done !

Other pics (click to enlarge)

57moi65.jpg (24560 octets) 57moi66.jpg (28085 octets) 57moi67.jpg (24975 octets) 57moi68.jpg (35063 octets)
Door panel during reinstallation Back seat A little problem : broken hood hinge .. Compare these two hinges. The one at left has been reinforced where mine is broken, yet both are ’57 factory products
       
57moi78.jpg (37444 octets) 57moi79.jpg (36156 octets) 57moi77.jpg (41122 octets) 57moi80.jpg (34273 octets)
For seven years my seat was this wood block ! door panel No front seat but "floor mats".. 392 hemi
   
57moi70.jpg (44845 octets) 57moi71.jpg (41714 octets) 57orn1.jpg (25035 octets) 57moi69.jpg (28833 octets)
Back seat with side panels in place Interior New hood ornament New WWW radial

 

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