Re: IML: '81-83 Imperial headlamp doors

[Christopher Hoffman <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

All '81-83 Imperials were built with headlamp doors. They were a standard
and integral part of the clean front-end styling. The doors pivot downward
and lay flat under the headlamps when they open, to form the "floor" of the
headlamp recess. This provides a finished look with the lamps on (two of the
years had chrome trim on the inside of the doors for an even nicer
appearance) that could easily fool someone into thinking there were no doors
at all.

Most cars with hidden headlamps do not have any finishing detail behind the
lamps... the doors just reveal the headlamps and their hardware as if no one
ever exposes the lamps in daylight (this was the assumption... they'd only
be open when it's dark, as if it never rains in the daytime). A '74 Imop-'78
NYB, for example, is not pretty with the headlamp doors open!

The '81-83 Imperials were different, and looked finished even with the
headlamp doors retracted. This is normally only supposed to occur when the
headlamps are one, but if you shut the car off before you switched off the
lamps, the doors would stay open (as on all Mopars with hidden lamps). This
was useful if you wanted to leave the doors open with the lights off,
perhaps to clean the lamps or to park overnight when you expect weather than
might freeze the doors shut. The also stay open if the motors fail, of
course. But the doors are still there, just well-concealed!

-- 
Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon






On 12/9/04 9:03 am, Larry Noska (lnoska@xxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote:

> The owner one-bay said there were no head light doors.  I think I found  a
> 80's with out head light doors in Coeur D' Alene Idaho.  I will have to
> revisit the car to make sure but I don't remember seeing headlight doors on
> the car in Coeur D' Alene, Idaho.
> 
> 
> Dads 82
> 
> Lawrence R Noska



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