Its the end of August 2001. I bought this car Nov. 11, 1994, so
for almost seven years Ive owned an Imperial without having driven it, except for a
very short initial spin that persuaded me of the need for an extensive overhaul. Now I
need to make the leap: fire up the engine, open the garage door and plunge into the
unknown. I admit that while waiting so many years for this moment, Ive had many
qualms about actually getting behind the wheel and shifting into "D." What might
happen? Will the brakes and steering do what theyre supposed to, the gears shift,
the electric system not fail, the motor run well? Ive got a bad case of nerves this
evening of August 21, 2001. Its almost 8 p.m., a good hour with little traffic, and
the weathers fine. Here goes then: ignition switch, starter, Drive. One of my sons
immortalizes with video camera my passage through the door and into the world. My other
boy and my daughter are in the car with me, but I listen to nothing but the rumble of the
Hemi, see nothing but the gauges on the dash. That and watching for any other car that
might come down the street. Were on the road!
I stop after about 50 yards, shift into R and back up to see if theres any
hemorrhage. Fine, nothing leaking, no stains on the pavement. Another foray, this time
about 200 yards to the end of our street, turn around, drive back. Super, Ive driven
a good quarter of a mile. The braking is fairly good, with the pedal traveling too far,
and the car wanders some but does come to a stop. Engine performance is only so-so, with
sluggish response, and second and third gear of the automatic transmission dont
engage properly. Now I take a short drive around the neighborhood, a little more than half
a mile. What joy to be driving the Imperial at last! This evening Ive put nearly a
mile on her, three times her previous total in the last seven years!
The next day, a search for whats wrong. The Torqueflite was a good quart and a half
low on transmission fluid no wonder the gears didn't change right. The engine is
more worrisome. It isn't smooth, seems to be missing. It turned out to be missing on four
whole cylinders. Four of the eight new spark plugs had died I think that came from
running the engine in the garage with the rear wheels up on blocks. I concluded that you
shouldnt test an engine for the equivalent of over 100 miles under unreal
conditions. Its as if you drove that far with the engine at idling speed.
So change all the spark plugs and add fluid to the transmission. Thats better. The
engine runs like, well, like a V8. The gears change perfectly. Lets take another
drive, at least several miles
With fine weather prevailing at the beginning of September, I decided to take
the car to its first vintage-car meeting. Bertrand Hughes, who had done the body work for
me, was the host, and the meeting was just six miles away. My Imperial seemed to run well,
but when I had to slow on a hill to let another car cross the road, my car didnt
regain speed well. It was mushy and lacked the kick it should have had. Time to look into
that later; for now it was a pleasure to see the success my Imperial enjoyed at the little
meeting.
Two days after this debut the new convertible top is ready, so I set
out on the 25-mile drive to Tarbes, home of my upholsterer, A. Pérès. On this long ride
I am followed by José in his truck, pulling a large trailer, just in case. The trip goes
well but again I notice the lack of power. With the Hemi engine I should leave everyone
behind, but thats not happening. Besides the speedometer doesnt work it
hovers feebly around 10 to 12 mph. At Tarbes José tells me my top speed was 50 to 55 mph,
at times when I had the gas pedal almost to the floor. Thats certainly abnormal and
Ill have to investigate.
A two-week pause intervenes. I need to get the car ready for a meeting
at Casteljaloux, but the upholsterer is keeping the car to wait for a warm, sunny day, so
the top fabric will smooth out and let itself be installed easily on the convertible
frame. Okay, Ill try to forget my Imperial for a few days. Its a shock to see
the garage empty