1963 Chrysler Imperial Limousine

The 1963 Imperial is distinguished from other model years thanks to its chrome rectangle cluster grille, and the taillights were relocated inside the rear fenders. The most exciting area of the car, however, was the interior. The 1960-1963 Imperials all had a space age dashboard. The steering wheel was squared off at the top and bottom to allow more legroom and visibility. Dashboard lighting was “electroluminescent,” using no incandescent bulbs; electricity ran through a five-layer laminate causing a phosphorescent ceramic layer to glow in the dark. Chrysler called it “Panelescent”, and the effect was notably eerie and surprisingly modern with glowing blue-green faces and bright red gauge needles.

The exterior of this Imperial is deep navy blue. There is no major damage to be seen around the outside, but there are a handful of bumps and bruises to point out. There are several small scratches on the gargantuan hood, some scuff marks on the driver’s door, small chips and two long scratches on the driver’s rear quarter panel, chips and scuff marks on the trunk, several chips on the passenger side rear door, and various chips in the paint in the panel gaps. Overall, it isn’t much work to be done, but the tiny imperfections are still abundant. Moving on to the positives, chrome around the car is mostly straight aside from the front bumper, and all the chrome is clear. Glass around the car is abundant as well, but happily all glass on the car is clean and free of cracks or chips. The hubcaps are in decent condition, and while the tires appear to be in decent shape, we still recommend a new set.

The interior is black leather up front and gray fabric in the rear. The front compartment is in good shape overall. The black leather bench seat does show moderate levels of creasing, but thankfully no holes or tears have popped up anywhere to ruin the fun. The black carpets up front also appear undamaged and sit neatly in their places without issue. Both the dashboard and dash pad are in good condition. The dahs pad has no cracks, and the dashboard is clean and shows no damage. All of the car’s gauges are clean and easily readable. Although the black Bakelite steering wheel is rectangular, we assure the reader that is intentional, and it appears to be in quite nice condition as well. Each of the sunshades fold away correctly, and the headliner is both clean and tight. Moving to the rear compartment, quality improves if nothing else. The gray cloth door panels are both in excellent shape, as are the wooden inlays and the most interesting detail, woven gray leather door handles. The miniature folding seats open up just as easily as they fold into place, and the fabric on each appears uncompromised and free of holes and tears. Carpeting in the back seat is equivalent to the front, resting flat without any ruffles. Lastly, the gray cloth rear bench. Embroidered with two crowns, the rear bench is in great condition. The material shows extremely well, and there is no apparent damage on any side of the seats. The divider is also free of any chips or scratches.

The underside of this Imperial is clean. The frame and floorboards are solid, which is great news for a massive vehicle such as this one. Suspension components are all in proper order even though the leaf springs do have some minor surface corrosion in some areas. The exhaust shows minor discoloration, but this is expected given the age of the vehicle. There isn’t much to write home about under the hood. The engine bay is decently clean, and aside from a battery nothing appears to be out of place.

Based upon the documents available to us, the seller purchased the car in December of 2019.

The Imperial brand was ultimately a failed experiment from Chrysler, but the vehicles they produced along the way were extremely unique. This Imperial limousine swung for the fences and is absolutely loaded with ideas and wonderful attention to detail. The car is so stylized it almost brings spectators back to the 60s just by looking at it. Today’s example has its fair share of scrapes and scratches on the outside, but they really only need to be dealt with if the winner intends to show the car competitively. With no intention to compete, this Imperial is almost ready to go out of the box. Space age styling and an immaculate interior give us few reasons why this limo won’t meet its $15,000 -$25,000 estimate.

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL BIDDERS

It should be noted that this vehicle has been on static display for a number of years and there is no history available beyond that displayed in our photography section.

We have not started or driven the car so cannot vouch for its mechanical viability or functionality. It will require recommissioning prior to road use and is sold ‘as seen’.

Please note that the title for this vehicle is in transit.