Neat article on a 1970's 'big boat'....

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Been around these large cars and have driven many of them over the years/back then. That's all we had at one time in our family was large vehicles in excess of 20ft long.

From the 50's-70's...DeSoto's, Chrysler Imperials/NewYorkers/NewPorts and Chevy BelAir, Biscayne's BUICK Electra 225/Pontiac Bonny's and Caddy Fleetwoods/Coupe/Sedan DeVille's. This what I was in our family what I was younger. Several Grand Marquis went through the family IIRC, along with a few Mark III/IV and TownCars. I can't even remember who in the family/friends ownd'em any more!
 
We still have big boats. They're called Hummers, Suburbans, Expeditions. Ever since CAFE exempted trucks and SUVs, consumers traded their Imperials and New Yorkers for SUVs.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
No offense, but those living in the past need to get out more.

There is no comparison between the land yachts of old and new cars today. You can still get a HUGE sled that will blow away every single comparison you can make. More of everything, even durability. Styling is the only nitpick available.

The old cars are a memory that is always hard to beat. I loved mine like children, but I don't fool myself that they were better cars.


I put 89000 miles on a new Magnum RT...and on a long trip, it canmot hold a candle to the T&C.
 
I've driven the big cars of the early 70's (my father used to restore and sell them). When it comes to comfort IMHO i've always thought the Ford Panthers and the downsized fullsize Chevy's from 1977-on were just as roomy inside and road just as nice as the cars they replaced. I drove a 1977 lincoln mark v from detroit to southern Kentucky and it was nice, but was no more comfortable than my 2006 Merc that has taken the trip a few times.
 
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the styling was the thing. mechanically they were horrible. chrysler was thinking too far ahead w/ the hated lean burn box (hey, lets mount the electronics RIGHT ON TOP of the engine!)
my Dad eventually had his replaced w/ a standard distributor.
lots of guys liked tinkering w/ those things though; I've seen a few w/ odd wires going in and out of the boxes, one guy had cooling holes drilled all over it.
my favorite barge from that era I think would be a '69 T&C.
 
Originally Posted By: morris
the 1976 new yorker is the Imperial that never was. my dad had tw 1977 new yorkers, a 2 door aka "big foot" i still have the plate, a 4 door. that lean burn system took tons of fuel. dad found out that it would not advance the timming till it ran 10 min. so out it came in went the reg ignition. the factory service manual saved my tail. the trick is that they made two boxs one with 5 pins ( must use 4 pin bailest) and one 4 pin use 2 pin bailest. note on that system ALL WAYS carry spars bailests in the glove box. that the first no start, just swap it straight off.

here's a hint: when you type a word, and a red squiggle appears under the word, that means that isn't a word. then, if you right click on it, it will suggest the correct word.
but I still have no clue what "spars bailests" are.
 
Originally Posted By: JasonC
I can't imagine why anyone would have ever wanted to drive one of these monsters. These boats are longer than most extended cab trucks.


You're wrong about the size. They're about the same length or a little shorter than a modern quad-cab standard-bed pickup, and a good deal shorter than a long-bed. My '66 Dodge Polara (same chassis as a New Yorker, just not as luxurious) is 18'2" long. My Ram 1500 is 19'. And the visibility out of the Polara is better and it has a tighter turning radius.

But why would anyone want them? Because they are like no other class of vehicle ever built, and driving a nice one will put such a big grin on your face you wouldn't believe it. There's really nothing like them anymore- pleasure in driving is not all about carving the corners as fast as you can or running the fastest quarter mile. Who actually does that every day anyway? Sure, they're not practical because of fuel economy, but then a Lotus isn't practical for taking the family out to dinner either. Before you condemn them, you should experience one. And I'm not talking about a ragged-out beat-to-heck heap. I've driven a '76 Town Car and a '77 New Yorker with less than 20k miles on them back in the day. I've driven a '72 Cadillac right after a complete restoration just a couple of years ago. I say again... a-frickin-mazing machines. I would wager that most of them, but the Lincoln in particular, are quieter and smoother at 70-80 mph than just about anything you can buy now.


Living in the past? Nah. There are cars today (the Chrysler LX cars being top among them) that are far better when you look at the TOTAL package- efficiency, quiet, acceleration, handling. But the big boats... man there's just something about the quiet rush of heavily muffled big-block acceleration and the UNBELIEVABLY smooth and quiet highway ride (admittedly at the expense of road feel and handling) that can't be duplicated. Back in their day, they were RIGHT for the day in many cases. Roads were less crowded, people spent more time on the interstate vs. the city, and gas was cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
spare ballasts. Every old Mopar man would have one with him!


Or a just wire with alligator clips to just bypass the dag-nabbed thing in order to get yourself home. Also serves as an emergency replacement for a blown starter relay, neutral safety switch, or ignition switch ;-) Got one or in all 3 f my old Mopars. As long as the engine is running, the coil and control box won't burn up if you bypass the ballast. The ballast's main job was to prevent the coil from heating up and burning out when sitting with the ignition on but the engine stopped.

That said, in 25+ years of driving old Mopars with ballasts, I think I only had 2 of them fail. Toward the end of my time using those cars as regular transportation (early 2000's) it was the chinese-built ignition modules for which I had to carry spares. :-/
 
In looking back through some of those pictures I posted, it prompts a question: Where the heck have concealed wipers gone? And why? I mean even some of the most pedestrian cars back in the day had concealed wipers, but today even the most expensive cars have the butt-***** wipers hanging out in the wind and creating drag.

And the articulated driver's side wiper that kept the windshield clean right up to and parallel with the A-pillar? Another cool feature that's non-existent today. And concealed headlamps?

Just observations apropos of nothing. :p
 
steve said"No offense, but those living in the past need to get out more." remindes me of an old man i knew in 1968. he said " the past remembers well, but it didnt live to good."
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It really is true, eh Morris?

The good ole days are here and now!




Oh God help us if thats the case.
 
Originally Posted By: lexus114
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
It really is true, eh Morris?

The good ole days are here and now!




Oh God help us if thats the case.


Well, we have the cars that have the performance, there are just too many of the darn things. Now we need open spaces.

Oh yes, and $1 a gallon gas.:)
 
My first experience with American cars was in 1975, My brother in law had an honest to god, Griswould, Family vacation, Green, Park vista station wagon.
To me, at that time, this was like some entirely new type of transportation, some kind of Car, Truck, watercraft hybrid.
I had driven an Iso Lele in the u.k. That had an American V8, so I was quite excited to try the wagon. OMG!!
It had a huge brake pedal, that needed the slightest touch to make the hood drop about 6" when braking at low speed, but, Just try and stop that sucker when traveling at 70!
Steering was totally numb, exactly like a Boat.
Ride was very smooth (but nowhere near as smooth as a Citroen DS) until you hit some bumps in the road, then it would wallow, just like a boat crossing another boats wake.
The interior was field of Green vinyl, the smell could make you puke on a hot day.
No attempt to provide lateral or back support in the seats.
Electric Everything! There must have been 20 chrome buttons on the drivers arm rest.
No instrumentation, just Gas and Speed.
Hard to believe how thinks change in just 30 odd years.
 
I'll be running the '70 about 160 miles tomorrow. Don't worry, I won't feel a thing.
smile.gif
 
i have a Q for SS1970chrysler. not a trick Q. just a Q. i had a 1965 chrysler 300 L with glass head light covers. the Q does an imperial in 1965 and 1966 have glass covers, or just 1965? by the by i have some imp covers.
 
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