Imperial Home Page -> Imperials by Year -> 1972 -> Jeff Ingraham
This is a 1972 Imperial LeBaron 4 DR hardtop I purchased off ebay in December 2002 from Iowa City, Iowa. I bid more then I had hoped but the derby folks around the midwest seem willing to pay top dollars for cars to smash and as clean as this car is, I hated to see it smashed so I kept bidding!
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It was in long term storage in the building of a classic car collector for approximately 10 years until the previous owner passed away at which time it was purchased at auction in a lot which included full sized train cars and parts and very early cars, and so it ended up with the man I purchased it from almost as an accident.
He basically wanted the train equipment and the cars from the 1910 era and this car came along with the bunch so he just wanted to sell it off so he listed it on Ebay.
After I won the auction, My brother John and I drove to Iowa city and towed it back to Omaha Nebraska on our trusty tow dolly.
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Once home we started working to get it running and cleaned up. The interior was really quite nice. Basically just very dirty.
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The main problem in getting it running seemed to be fuel system related. Most notably the Holly carb which I had rebuilt by a friend who is a Holly carb GENIUS. With that carb and a clean fuel filter, we were able to get it running although not real well. So after doing a tuneup (BOY ARE THOSE 440 SPARK PLUGS HARD TO GET AT!!!!)
Anyway it is now running fairly well. We plan to next drop the gas tank and have it boiled out and get into the brakes and replace hoses and other items as needed to get it roadworthy after it's long slumber. I am hoping to get it dependable enough to be a daily driver for me. My main limitation is my 60 mile per day communte and the price of gas!
My favorite aspect of the car is the front fenders. They are just so massive it is awesome to see! I like the plush interior and the massive amount of room inside the car. The trunk is large enough to haul a VW beattle I think! ;-)
Looking forward to many happy years of motoring in my "new" (to me at least) 1972 Imperial.
Great car!!
Jeff Ingraham
Omaha Nebraska
