Re: Did the public think of Imperial as Packard's replacement?

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2009/8/4 13:23:25

One minor point. Imperial never shared engines with lesser Chryslers unless you call the New Yorker lesser.

Until 1950 New Yorker and Imperial were Chrysler's only straight eight cars. Starting in 1951 they got the Hemi V8 while the cheaper Royal and Windsor models kept the flathead 6.

In 55 they brought out a Polysphere V8 for the cheaper cars. This engine though based on the hemi, was distinctly different in appearance and smaller in displacement and power.

For 57 and 58 they made the blockbuster 392 hemi beloved of top fuel drag racers, and still exclusive to the New Yorker and Imperial.

59 saw the new B and RB engines throughout the Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chrysler lines. But even then, the Imperial and New Yorker got a 413 cu in version shared with no other cars.

It wasn't until 1966 and the advent of the 440 that the Imperial and New Yorker engine was offered in Plymouth and Dodge performance models.