TFX International
Official Carrier of the 2012 MegaSpeed Custom Car and Truck show
Show Features
Imperial Speedster
1959 ImperialSpeedster (in 1959 Imperial was its own car company, not a Chrysler brand), For 1959, Chevrolet featured its all-American Corvette and Ford offered the second-generation Thunderbird.
Chrysler teased car buyers with sleek and sexy two-place concepts like the Firearrows I through IV, Flight Sweep I and II, Dart, Diablo, XNR, and others. And while these Ghia-built wonders dazzled crowds at the auto shows, they never found their way into production. Chrysler would never produce a two-seat sports car until the Dodge Viper in 1992.
“Compactness and slimness are something to be admired in a car. An air of agility, or ready-performance of direction and purpose, are the goals we strive for in styling an automobile.” – Virgil Exner, Vice President of Design, Chrysler
For 1959, Chevrolet featured its all-American Corvette and Ford offered the second-generation Thunderbird. Chrysler teased car buyers with sleek and sexy two-place concepts like the Firearrows I through IV, Flight Sweep I and II, Dart, Diablo, XNR, and others. And while these Ghia-built wonders dazzled crowds at the auto shows, they never found their way into production. Chrysler would never produce a two-seat sports car until the Dodge Viper in 1992.
The Imperial Speedster is a “what if” look at a luxury Chrysler sports car. Starting with a 1959 Imperial Crown Custom 4-door sedan, the car was cut into 46 major sections and welded back together. It has been shortened in five places for a total of 52 inches. Then it was cut in half with 8 inches taken out of the width. Next it was cut horizontally through the beltline and 3 inches were removed from the height. Finally the body was channeled 4 inches over a custom chassis and welded together to create monocoque-type construction. All the original Imperial details have been retained while the mass of the original was eliminated.
Don’t let the classic styling and glimmering chrome fool you for a moment: Underneath lies a thoroughly modern performance vehicle. Power comes from a 425HP 6.1L SRT HEMI V8 channeled through a 518 automatic transmission to a Dodge Viper independent rear suspension. Stopping power comes from four-piston monobloc brake calipers taken directly from NASCAR super speedway cars. SuperCar tires continue the modern theme while the custom whitewalls take you back in time. The colors include Imperial Champagne and Java Brown with Atlas Orange accents. The futuristic “pod” instrumentation is from a 1960 Imperial with a custom-built, bullet tach cup. The leather is opulent Rolls-Royce with accenting orange stitching. A classic waterfall flows into the center console and divides the passenger compartment. The Imperial Speedster took over 10,000 hours to build, fusing modern technology and classic styling from the Motorama era. All of the details were standing in plain sight on the stock, four-door Imperial – there was simply too much sheet metal between them. All the ugly has been removed to create a sleek, sexy roadster that could have come straight from the drawing board of Virgil Exner. What if?
Background
- Owned it 3 1/2 years, built it starting with a 1959 Imperial Custom Crown four door sedan
- Time to build - over 10,000 man hours (and that’s not just an estimate – every hour was recorded) over 3 ½ years
Drivetrain
- 2009 6.1 Mopar SRT HEMI crate motor
- Valve Covers – Custom fabbed “coil pack” covers by Steve Langdon. We started with a pair of vintage 392 FirePower valve covers that were stretched, widened, shortened, and filled. Over 100 hours of fab and welding in them. The original front fenders gave up their letters to sit on top of the new covers.
- Dyno-Proven Flywheel Horsepower @ RPM - Factory spec – 425 HP
- Dyno-Proven Flywheel Torque @ RPM – factory spec – 410 ft/lb
- 518 automatic w/overdrive Model PT 518 SS (street/strip)
- Drive Axle Year, Make, Model - 2009 Dodge Viper IRS Drive Axle Builder - Dodge
Wheels & Tires
- Dayton Wire Wheels, Dayton, OH. Painted Triple Cross Knock Off w/ stainless steel spokes.
- Front Wheel Size – 17x8 Front Wheel Backspacing – 5”
- Rear Wheel Size – 18x10 Rear Wheel Backspacing – 5”
- Front Tire Manufacturer – Goodyear F1 GS-D3 Front Tire Size – 225/45ZR/17
- Rear Tire Manufacturer - – Goodyear F1 GS-D3 Rear Tire Size - 275/40ZR/18
- Tires have 1 ¼” whitewalls applied by Diamondback Classic Tires, Conway SC.
Steering
- Steering column – Ididit, Tecumseh, MI took the stock steering column (which seemed like it was six feet long) and cut it down to the needed 18” complete with rebuilt internals. Stainless Unisteer u-joints link it to the Unisteer Mustang rack.
- Box or Rack Manufacturer & Modifications – Unisteer Mustang quick ratio rack and pinion
Rear Suspension
- 2009 Dodge Viper IRS
- Custom two-piece hub adapters were made to assist with installing the rear wire rims.
Frame
- Schwartz Performance G-Machine Chassis, DOM steel tubing
- Wheelbase – 91”
- Special features or modifications: Removable trans support, back halved for IRS.
Brakes
- Front Brakes Type – disc Brand – Raybestos
- Rotor/Drum Size -
- Rotor Style – slottedCaliper Style (model, pistons) – Raybestos NASCAR Super Speedway 4-piston monobloc
Electrical
- Painless Performance 18 circuit trunk mount harness
Paint
- Paint Manufacturer(s) PPG Envirobase
- Jaguar Topaz/Lamborghini Atlas Orange/Volvo Java
Chrome and Brightwork
- Librandi’s Plating, Middletown, PA.
Interior
- The interior and upholstery work was handled by Pat Russell at PJ’s Trim Shop 1540 Fordney Rd, Hemlock, MI. Rolls-Royce Chocolate leather over modified Toyota seats.
- Instruments – Custom faced instruments designed by owner and rebuilt and refaced by New Vintage instruments, Ferndale, MI. Tach cup built from a ’39 Chevy taillight combined with a re-contoured ’59 Chevy instrument bezel. The base of the tach reads “HEMI Firepower”. The “Start” push button came from Del City, Milwaukee,WI.
- Sound System – Tunes come courtesy of a complete Alpine sound system featuring an IDA-X305 digital media receiver, SPX-13 PRO 5.25” component speakers, and SWS-1023D 10” subwoofer. All powered by a PDX-5 5-channel amp.
