From: K C <chromacolor2@xxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: Fuselage Era - further notes
Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 16:21:28 -0700 (PDT)
> I myself have always preferred the fuselage era
> cars, especially the
> 69-71. Maybe it's because I myself am a 1969 model,
> or those are the
> only ones I've had personal exposure to.
I remember my first fuselage experience as a child. My
parents brought a book for me from the library called
"70 Years of Chrysler" (Which should have been titled
"50 years", as the book stopped around 1974!). I was
probably around 8-9 at the time (1980). No one in my
family had a fuselage car, they were all cheapskates
and drove Darts! Anyways... I remember looking through
this book and loving the massive, mean-looking 69-73
Imperials. Yep, I skipped right past the Chargers,
'cudas, etc. and right into the land-yacht section.
This was not to say that I didn't like the other cars
(I did) but I thought the Imperials were the bomb.
I bought my first car at age 15, a 1969 300 4drhtp. I
did a lot of crazy stuff with that car, but I loved
it. That smooth, extruded look was just so cool. The
loop bumpers were distinctly "Mopar", except for the
best-looking Chevy ever, the '69 full-size, but even
that looks cheap next to the real deal.
Fast-forward to 1996, when I'm dating my future wife
and driving a '69 300 Coupe. She had a '69 Cadillac
Coupe DeVille (she was 21!) First time I drove that
sloppy Caddy on a date, it was like "Yeeech! This is
why people dis' big American cars!" I let her drive my
300, and she was like "I need to sell this Caddy."
So one day we're flipping through a car-book, and she
says "Wow, what is this?" I say, "that's a 1969
Imperial.." (Without telling her it was one of my
favorite cars.) Long story short, we drove out to
Minnesota in my '77 NYB and came back with a '69 Imp.
Well, we eventually sold that one to Tony Fortner (on
the list) because we needed the money/time to start a
business, but I'm happy to say she soon was driving a
big 'ol C-body wagon!
There has got to be something about these cars, with
all the loyal customers... Too bad for the late
Chrysler Corp, they were 30 years too late!
Another C/Y-body note... One of the houses I just
re-habbed and have on the market
(eastsidehomes.5u.com) had just one owner until I
bought it in 2004; a 94-year-old man who worked his
entire career on the line at the Jefferson Avenue
Assembly plant. I was really hoping to find some NOS
goddies stashed away, but have only found a few NOS
hood releases and one set of CHRYSLER block letters
from 1966. Ironically, I'm storing two '73 Imps in the
garage! An old neighbor came over one day, and looked
over the yellow '73. He said he owned several
Imperials when they were new, and always wished he had
ordered a sunroof.
Finally, there is a '71 New Yorker coupe with a
sunroof on Ebay right now! '71 is my favorite NY'er
year, but I dare not bid!
Carmine F.
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