We have taken a 1963 Chrysler Imperial from its resting place of over 15 years, and resurrecting it back to road use on a shoestring budget. Here is the story of that car:
Resurrecting Grandpa’s Dinosaur
This particular dinosaur is no reptile at all. It’s a creature created in 1963 right here in the USA out of steel and manpower. A true work of art with gleaming chrome and voluptuous body lines,
only 14,121 of these vehicles were built that year. Although this particular brand of “Dinosaur” is nearly extinct, there are a few chances to keep them from dying out completely. This is where we need your help. I am a car nut at heart. I believe vehicles are true works of art, and can be one of the most beautiful forms of artistic expression. It saddens me that many of these pieces are lost over the years, just left to rot. This 1963 Chrysler Imperial is a great example of that. This particular vehicle has an even deeper meaning to me though. This car was purchased new in 1963 in New Orleans Louisiana by a man who kept it through 1974 when he decided to give it to my grandfather in exchange for some work he was doing for the man. The car had a mere 15000 miles on it at that time. My grandfather then put many miles on that car throughout the rest of the 1970′s driving back and forth to work, until it was finally parked due to some mechanical issues in 1984. Once I had gotten to the age where I was thinking about driving, or at least thinking about wanting to build a cool car to drive, my grandpa thought it would be a good idea to give the car to me. I was around 13 or so at the time in 1997-8. We took the car from its place of rest, and brought it to my father’s mechanic shop, where I began to dig in to it, and find out what it needed to be a sound car to drive. Once we got in to it a ways, we realized that the car was already quite rusty, and that it was nearly impossible to find replacement parts due to its rarity. We then made the decision to park it behind the shop, and find me another more suitable car to fix up. Nearly 15 years later, I have noticed myself looking at that car sitting there, rotting away, and feeling bad for leaving it that way. My grandpa passed away in October 2011, and it makes me think of him even more. He was always so supportive of all of my endeavors, whether it be cars or music, and since he had a particular connection with this vehicle, I feel like he would be happy to see me resurrect this dinosaur from it’s resting place. He always enjoyed the fact that I was in to cars and liked hot rods. Even though he wasn’t a gear head so much when he was younger in the Air Force, he began to get in to that sort of thing in his older age through being around my dad and going to races after he and my mom were married, and of course when I got a little older and began taking interest in building cars. I think my grandpa would be stoked that I could take this car, even though it had been written off as not repairable, and make a cool, custom, low budget hot rod out of it. Even though it may not live up to it’s former glory, with my creative mind, and some collective ingenuity of my friends and family, I believe we can take this monster, and make a true work of art out of something most would see as junk. Renewing what was a beautiful work of art in the 60′s into an abstract yet mesmerizing piece of art in 2012. Over 50% of this project has been funded by complete strangers from the internet, as well as generous local businesses and people. If you would like to help us out, and enjoy seeing some guys do a lot of dirty work, please consider making a donation at the link below! http://fnd.us/c/8F3qd
