Chrysler R.V. -- by Orlando Geigee
From the December 1977 issue of the WPC NEWS, the monthly magazine The WPC (Walter P. Chrysler) Club.
Have you ever seen a Chrysler recreation vehicle? Mr. Marlin Fox of Kutztown, Pennsylvania has a unit which he built on a 1962 Imperial chassis. He bought the Imperial sedan in 1971 for $125 with the intention of converting it to a self-contained camper unit capable of transporting and sleeping his family of five.
The first thing Mr. Fox did after purchasing the vehicle was to check out the drive train and and the undercarriage of the car. He found it to be in very satisfactory condition. He then proceeded to cut off the main body behind the centerpost and stripped it to the frame. He saved the interior and the taillights to use in the unit which he was going to build on the chassis. The trunk, floor andthe gas tankwere left onthe frame. The trunk floor to be used as storage space for jacks, tools, and other gear.
The rear springs were beefed up with heavier leaves taken from a junked truck and heavy duty shocks, with helper springs, were applied to the chassis. Angle irons were welded to the frame and the camper body handmade to fit the cab of the Imperial. Ingenious use was made of the space inside and under the camper body. Access doors to the trunk space were built into the sides of the unit and a hinged door was put in the rear for access to the gas tank.
The unit was fitted with aluminum siding and metal roof, caulked and sealed to form a weathertight rig. There is room in the camper to sleep seven people. A stove, sink, refrigerator, and table are also built into the camper. It's lined with refinished plywood and has wall-to-wall carpeting and is wired for 110 plug - in electricity. All in all, it is a very nice, compact camping unit.
Mr. Fox built the unit in five months of part time labor and has driven it about 10, 000 miles since the conversion. He says it is an easyhandling outfit and has given him performance without trouble for these several years as well as giving gas mileage of 10 - 11 miles per gallon. The entire rig cost less than $1, 000 and should be good for at least another 100, 000 miles of traveling enjoyment. Proof again of Chrysler superiority in the motoring field.
