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61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht
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imp610
Posted 2009-07-24 6:06 PM (#182543)
Subject: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Hi all, I thought I have to fill you guys and gals in and about the story of my 61 Imperial. I have been a gearhead all my life, thanks to my dad who had a auto repair shop when I was little. So from a child I was "involved" in many car and other vehicles and so on... When I grew up and read a lot of car-magazines and came aware of my interest in American automobiles wery soon, I was on my way to...

So to jump over this, fastforwarding, I spotted the car that I have today sometimes in 1983 or 1984 when we used to visit my grandma out on the countryside... I spotted this Imperial sitting there nearby, and by reading the magazines I could tell it was an -61 Imperial. I got my drivers licence as so happens in 1984 and when I cruised around the same countryside I got in touch with the owners buddy and I told him that I was interested in the car. But what I was about to find out was that the owner didn`t want to sell the car, and if he did wan`t to sell the car, the price was to astronomic for me... So I let the thought of buying it go and...


1961 Imperial


...I kind of forgot over the car when I entered the army in 1986 and started my hobbies with some "Brand X;s"...
Until 2004, the car appared to my sight in an Finnish car-forum called "www.overdrive.fi", only to find out that the car hadn`t improved much over the years it sat hidden, even got much worse...


1961 Imperial 2004

I was at the time recovering from an car-accident athome and thought that; what the hell, that`s MY CAR! So I `contacted the seller who had bought it from the original owner and you couldn`t spell a "cat" when I brought it home with a local towing truck, limping with my crotches... :D
After that it has been slow movements in the restoration project but the car is allready driveable and slowly progressing... This is somehow how we sit today;

1961 Imperial

It has been out off traffic since 1971 but maybe someday soon... If the stars sit right and the moon shines...

This is the story in short...

- Christian

Edited by imp610 2009-07-24 6:12 PM
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Kenny J.
Posted 2009-07-24 9:06 PM (#182576 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: RE: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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50001000
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada		I like it!

More pix, please.

This Imperial (like ALL Imperials) will be a great road car when done.

K.
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dukeboy
Posted 2009-07-24 9:39 PM (#182578 - in reply to #182576)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Big pimpin'		WOW! Helluva job! Hard to believe it's the same car...Don't wanna derail the thread here, but someone was asking for Imperial hub caps and I have a full set that look like the one that's on the front of that car......

Edited by dukeboy 2009-07-24 9:40 PM
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suburban61
Posted 2009-07-25 1:48 AM (#182597 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Australia		original owner should have sold it to you back when you wanted it... im glad you ended up with it, somethings are meant to be... adriana
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imp610
Posted 2009-07-25 5:39 AM (#182603 - in reply to #182578)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland
dukeboy - 2009-07-24 9:39 PM

WOW! Helluva job! Hard to believe it's the same car...Don't wanna derail the thread here, but someone was asking for Imperial hub caps and I have a full set that look like the one that's on the front of that car......


No problem, but those hubcaps are 1962 model, because I am short of hubcaps too... I only have one 1961-model and that is missing the emblem.

-Christian

Edited by imp610 2009-07-25 5:49 AM
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imp610
Posted 2009-07-25 5:44 AM (#182604 - in reply to #182576)
Subject: RE: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland
Kenny J. - 2009-07-24 9:06 PM

I like it!

More pix, please.

This Imperial (like ALL Imperials) will be a great road car when done.

K.


Thanks, here`s one picture, Id like to get there behind that renovated streering wheel asap...

1961 Imperial

I just love the view from behind the steering wheel... big and wide wiew!

-Christian

Edited by imp610 2009-07-25 5:57 AM
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imp610
Posted 2009-07-25 5:48 AM (#182605 - in reply to #182597)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland
suburban61 - 2009-07-25 1:48 AM

original owner should have sold it to you back when you wanted it... im glad you ended up with it, somethings are meant to be... adriana :)


Yes excactly my thougts too when discovered it again in 2004... Would have been much easier project then... So sad how some people just sit with their cars and won`t sell to one with more motivation or something...
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antonellomopar
Posted 2009-07-25 3:17 PM (#182633 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht


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Location: milano, italy		Great car, seems to be the story of my Fury.....
Good luck with the resto...
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MoparBrew
Posted 2009-07-25 5:50 PM (#182641 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Brooklyn NY		You've made big strides already, I hope the ol'413 and tranny are working OK so you can drive and enjoy it. ....Ralph from Brooklyn
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d500neil
Posted 2009-07-25 7:25 PM (#182647 - in reply to #182641)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Location: bishop, ca		Wow, that's a gold cloth-and-LEATHER interior!

What other options does your car have, Christian?




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imp610
Posted 2009-07-29 5:06 PM (#183130 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Sorry guys for the delay in answering you, but Neils question has bothered me for day`s... Because I think that the car has no special options, except maybe for that there is helper coilsprings at rear which has had air-bellows inside? The bellows are gone but the helper coilsprings are there. And the airlines are still there in the inside of the rear frame rails... Is that an option ? It looks stock, doesn`t look like aftermarket stuff at all... The car has no A/C, no cruise, no toilet lid and not so whatever... No wait, it has electric windows, allthough they are rusted stuck... 6-way front seat is there and works...

Question to Neil = is this gold cloth-and-leather interior something of a special kind? Never thought of it before, but when you noticed it I got a little confused... How did it cought your eye?

antonellomopar = Yes, wery similar story and I must say that I lift off my hat when I saw your topic about your Fury and the Imperial also... Great work!

MoparBrew = The 413 and tranny works fine, thank you for asking. Only could I get the turn signals to work and get the parts ordered from big m, I could maybe get on the road legally overhere...

Edited by imp610 2009-07-29 5:23 PM
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d500neil
Posted 2009-07-29 6:54 PM (#183140 - in reply to #183130)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Location: bishop, ca		Christian, that ain't (or, sure doesn't LOOK like:) vinyl, on the driver's seat bolsters.

Vinyl doesn't wear/crack like that.

I would imagine that the partial-leather upholstery was optional, but, don't know about that.

The power windows were reportedly a standard item; dunno about the power seat (probably NOT standard
but, again: don't know about the seat being optional).





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imp610
Posted 2009-07-30 3:01 AM (#183196 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Neil, it`s leather allright. It was the mention of "gold-cloth" that got me confused... No problem. Anybody got a clue about those coil helper springs? I don`t think they where standard on Imperials...

Then I just remembered, it has rearview mirror on passenger side too (Optional) and standard antenna (non-power) on drivers side in front of drivers side mirror, which I find strange because weren`t the antennas usually mounted on passenger side? And yes, I have checked that the antenna is original on the car.

I haven`t found the buildsheet in the car so I don`t know nothing for sure... The body tag is there on the radiator support but that doesn`t tell us that much, does it?

Edited by imp610 2009-07-30 3:02 AM
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Fireflite60
Posted 2009-07-30 5:51 AM (#183208 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: RE: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland

Welcome to the FL forum Christian.

Nice story and very nice project. Please keep us updated with lots of pictures. Do you mind if I add your Imperial to my Fotki gallery ( http://public.fotki.com/Juppee/finnish-forward-loo/imperial/ )   ?  I´ll add your name as "copyright".

BR

-jupe-

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imp610
Posted 2009-07-30 6:19 AM (#183210 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Thank`s Jupe, you are welcome to add an picture to your gallery. This car isn`t a secret car anymore, allthough it used to be the "urban-legend" Imperial here in Finland
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Fireflite60
Posted 2009-07-30 7:27 AM (#183213 - in reply to #183210)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Thanks for permission. I added all three pictures to my gallery. What`s the story behind this beauty getting abandoned so early (1971)?
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imp610
Posted 2009-07-30 8:33 AM (#183216 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		"Ole hyvä vaan Jupe!".

Rumor has that the car retired in 1971 when they tried drive it with petroleum instead of gas, and with the high compression it was an disaster...

Then there is another story which I found out when looking under at the car for the first time; It is supposed to have been driven out off the road on a field somewhere, it had slighty bent strutrod on the rightside and the left leafspring had notched, driveshaft support was broken and the fueltank was gone...

Christian
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imp610
Posted 2009-08-12 4:41 AM (#184880 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		I took better pictures yesterday of the seats gold cloth and leather for those who are interested;

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/Backyard_album/CIMG6047b.jp...

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/Backyard_album/CIMG6043b.jp...

Can`t get the pictures here, please click the links to view the pictures...

Edit; Still can`t get it to work...

Edited by imp610 2009-08-12 4:24 PM
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imp610
Posted 2009-08-21 5:00 PM (#185877 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Made a kickdown rod by myself from scratch;

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/Backyard_album/CIMG6107.jpg

Ok, so it`s not the correct model but it work`s in my case because the original is long gone....

Edited by imp610 2009-08-21 5:01 PM
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KcImperial
Posted 2009-08-21 6:22 PM (#185893 - in reply to #183130)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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imp610 - 2009-07-29 4:06 PM

Sorry guys for the delay in answering you, but Neils question has bothered me for day`s... Because I think that the car has no special options, except maybe for that there is helper coilsprings at rear which has had air-bellows inside? The bellows are gone but the helper coilsprings are there. And the airlines are still there in the inside of the rear frame rails... Is that an option ? It looks stock, doesn`t look like aftermarket stuff at all...


Sounds like "True-Level Torsion-Aire" I've seen this in service manuals starting around '59, never saw one in person. Works similar to modern car's air ride suspension with air shocks and a compressor. Do you have an air compressor mounted on the engine?

http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1959/59Owners/Page10.jpg

Don



(Page10.jpg)



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imp610
Posted 2009-10-17 6:44 AM (#192799 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Yesterday I went out for a drive with the car;

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/Backyard_album/CIMG6232a.jp...

Drove about 50 miles and everything went quite well, except for that the converter seal started to leak and the steering fluid boiled over, once again...

Edited by imp610 2009-10-17 6:45 AM
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SalesGuy
Posted 2009-10-18 5:18 AM (#192925 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht


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Location: Sydney		Great to hear that another '61 is on the road !
Why is you steering fluid boiling over ? That sounds really strange.
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imp610
Posted 2009-10-18 2:45 PM (#193009 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Well I can`t think of something else, it seems that the fluid gets terrible hot. Must be too much pressure that the pump creates, I must open the pump and check the bypass valve if it`s stuck.
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imp610
Posted 2010-01-06 5:27 PM (#204057 - in reply to #193009)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Greetings from freezing Finland, been busy moving to a new home and starting an own business. Finally got new years day pictures uploaded, I took the car out from the garage alltough it was only -18 degrees celsius outside.

You can see it moving here;
http://s121.photobucket.com/albums/o213/Backyard_album/1961%20Imper...

Edited by imp610 2010-01-06 5:29 PM




(CIMG6501a.JPG)



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d500neil
Posted 2010-01-06 7:21 PM (#204081 - in reply to #204057)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Location: bishop, ca		Christian, you DID fully warm up the car, during that cruise, right?

Snow that cold gives pretty good traction, huh?





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1959 Belvedere Conv
Posted 2010-01-06 8:12 PM (#204088 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht


Elite Veteran

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Location: Arvada, Colorado (NW Denver Metro Area)		Great clip of the car under its own power. Finland and Minnesota looks so similar in the winter time....Same winterscape..... Brrrrr.

Nice 61 Imperial! Glad you were able to save it!

John Q.
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imp610
Posted 2010-01-09 4:51 AM (#204445 - in reply to #204081)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland
d500neil - 2010-01-06 7:21 PM

Christian, you DID fully warm up the car, during that cruise, right?

Snow that cold gives pretty good traction, huh?







The car was warmed up to normal operating conditions, had it idling outside for awhile when moving another car inside the garage. About the traction I´m not so sure what to say, maybe too much power in my 413... ?




(CIMG6500a.JPG)



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d500neil
Posted 2010-01-11 9:17 PM (#204892 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!

Posts: 19146
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Location: bishop, ca		....As your tire treads show, really cold snow (not icy) gives decent traction.





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imp610
Posted 2011-03-15 6:24 PM (#264759 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Finally got it figured out to create an album, go at check it out. I will ad more pictures soon.. Have to do some resizing first..
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imp610
Posted 2013-04-09 3:26 AM (#368612 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Finland		Hello all, sorry for not posting fo a while, the project hasn`t died, allthough moving slowly I painted the first layer on the car on sunday, see pics.



Edited by imp610 2013-04-09 3:29 AM




(CIMG9775a.jpg)



(CIMG9776a.jpg)



(CIMG9777a.jpg)



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imp610
Posted 2013-05-09 12:03 PM (#374351 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Posts: 129
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Location: Finland		Hello folks, some pictures taken today. Moldings and gems finally installed.



Edited by imp610 2013-05-09 12:06 PM




(CIMG9826a.jpg)



(CIMG9834a.jpg)



(CIMG9840a.jpg)



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Tuxedo
Posted 2013-05-09 1:22 PM (#374364 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Belford, NJ		Looks GREAT!!!
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lownslow
Posted 2013-05-09 2:38 PM (#374375 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Location: Vermont		Wow! Love those fins!
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wizard
Posted 2013-05-09 3:13 PM (#374379 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Board Moderator & Exner Expert 10K+

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Location: Southern Sweden - Sturkö island		Way to go - nice car in FinLand!!!! Chrome looks decent too
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imp610
Posted 2013-05-10 3:12 PM (#374549 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Veteran

Posts: 129
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Location: Finland		Thank you for compliments, luckily for me the pictures lie a bit It`s not flawless but it`s good enough for me. Still much to do, interior and so on...
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69coronet
Posted 2013-05-17 6:19 PM (#375759 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht


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Location: Nashville, TN		Geat looking car! Black IS THE color for these beauties.
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FIN ME
Posted 2013-05-18 12:13 PM (#375877 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



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Simply gorgeous!

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imp610
Posted 2013-05-28 1:39 PM (#377537 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Veteran

Posts: 129
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Location: Finland		Thanks. On last sunday i put lowering blocks of two inches between the rear axle and springs as i thought it looked a little to high in the rear...

Looks a little better now?

Comparsion, before and after;



Edited by imp610 2013-05-28 1:43 PM




(CIMG9826b.jpg)



(CIMG9864b.jpg)



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FIN ME
Posted 2013-05-28 2:13 PM (#377546 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Expert

Posts: 2788
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Location: USA - KY
I like your car with the lower rear end, as in the second pic.

Super nice ride!


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imp610
Posted 2013-06-25 3:11 PM (#382849 - in reply to #182543)
Subject: Re: 61 Imperial Crown Southampton 4dht



Veteran

Posts: 129
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Location: Finland		Thank you for your compliments. Looks better now for sure. Maybe a bit better steering behavior also, havent tried yet.

Just repaired the worn out steering coupler in nylon instead of rubber, hopefully we go on a pick-nick run next weekend?!



Edited by imp610 2013-06-25 3:16 PM




(CIMG9929a.jpg)



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