Imperial Custom

Imperial
Imperial Custom (1959)
Custom
Production period:	1957-1963
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Coupé , sedan , hardtop sedan
Engines:	Gasoline engines : 6.4 and 6.8 liters
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Imperil Custom Southampton Hardtop Coupe (1962)

The Imperial Custom was a series of the American automobile brand Imperial, which belongs to the Chrysler group . It was offered from 1957 to 1963 and was the entry-level model of the luxury brand at that time .

background

At the beginning of the 1950s, the Chrysler Group was set up on four tracks. In the upscale market segment, the group entered with the Chrysler brand, including the Dodge , DeSoto and Plymouth brands. Unlike General Motors and Ford , Chrysler did not have an independent brand in the upper class at that time. Instead, this segment was served with high-quality variants of Chrysler vehicles, which were sold under the Chrysler Imperial model name, which had been used since 1926 . The affiliation of these models to the mass manufacturer Chrysler had an adverse effect on sales because the name Chrysler was given less radiance than Cadillac or Lincoln, for example . Therefore, from 1955, Chrysler made Imperial an independent fifth brand in the group. In the first model generation , Imperial competed with standard models; the vehicles were only called Imperial Coupé and Imperial Sedan in 1955 and 1956 .

With the change to the second model generation, Imperial nominally diversified the model range. From 1957 the program contained three different series. The Imperial Custom was the base model that was offered at the lowest price. The middle model was the Imperial Crown , and the top version was called the Imperial LeBaron . In the factory codes, which changed annually, the addition “L” (for “low”) marked the custom series from 1958; In the first model year, the number 1 was used as a differentiation criterion. All three series were largely identical externally and technically. They differed only in the equipment and - in the case of the LeBaron - from 1960 also in the shape of the rear roof section. When Imperial launched a third generation of models in 1964, the custom was discontinued. The entry-level model was then the Imperial Crown.

Model description

→ Main article : Imperial (1957–1963)

The Imperial Custom from 1957 to 1963 received a revised body almost every year. Regardless of this, the cars of this period are often assigned to a common model family in automotive literature, because the technology under the sheet metal remained largely unchanged.

From 1957 to 1960 the Imperial Customs were technically identical to the full-size models of the other Chrysler brands (e.g. Chrysler New Yorker ). They used the same chassis and had a body designed by Virgil Exner , which was designed according to the so-called forward look . It initially had very simple lines, but after two revisions in 1959 it was already considered "overdecorated". and from 1961 developed into a vehicle that looked classic or outdated, depending on the source. The custom models were offered as two-door Southampton hardtop coupes and four-door Southampton hardtop sedans with two side windows and no center post. From 1957 to 1960 there were also four-door sedans with center posts and three side windows. There was no convertible in the Custom range; the open version was only offered in the Crown line.

Like all other Imperial models, the Custom used from 1957 to 1963 an “ordinary” box frame to which the body was bolted. The Chrysler Group's largest eight-cylinder engines with 6,423 cc (392 cubic inches) displacement and 325 net horsepower (SAE) (1957 and 1958) or 6,767 cc (413 cubic inches) 340 to 350 net horsepower (SAE) ( from 1959).

Imperial's custom models cost approximately $ 4,800 in 1957; In the last year of production, the price had risen to US $ 5,058 below for a hardtop coupe and US $ 5,243 for a hardtop sedan. The custom models were thus around US $ 500 less than the medium-sized Imperial Crown and US $ 1,500 less than the exclusive Imperial LeBaron.

production

The Custom series was initially the most successful of the three model series. In the year of introduction, it covered more than half of the entire Imperial production. Later, the Crown series, in which a convertible was also offered, sat in front of the Customs.

Production numbers
generation	Model year	Factory code	Custom Southampton Hardtop Coupe	Custom Southampton Hardtop Sedan	Custom Four Door Sedan	total
First generation 1955–1956	1955-1956	no Imperial Custom
Second generation 1957–1963	1957	IM1-1	4885	7527	5654	18,066
	1958	LY1-L	1801	3336	1926	7,063
	1959	MY1-L	1743	3984	2071	7,798
	1960	PY1-L	1498	3953	2335	7,786
	1961	RY1-L	889	4129	-	5,018
	1962	SY1-L	826	3587	-	4,413
	1963	TY1-L	749	3264	-	4.013

literature

• Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2
• Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, p. 3 ff.
• Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models . Part 2: WPC News, June 1982, p. 4 ff.

Remarks

1. ↑ Other authors see the models created between 1961 and 1963 as an independent family; The reason for this is that these vehicles have a comparable front design; Still others let the second generation of models end as early as 1959, because from 1960 onwards Imperial was technically parted with the other Chrysler brands. See Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models . WPC News, May 1982, p. 6.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , p. 387.
2. ^ John Katz: 1955 Imperial . Special Interest Vehicles No. 129 (May / June 1992), p. 52.
3. ↑ Time Magazine, November 15, 1954, p. 100.
4. ^ NN: The Imperial Family . Motor Life, November 1959 issue.
5. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961-1963 Imperial Models . Part 2: WPC News, June 1982, p. 7.
6. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, p. 6.
7. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, p. 9.
8. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, pp. 3 ff, p. 8.
9. ↑ Information from Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , pp. 392 f.