It's hard to tell, but the new paint didn't quite blend with the old that well. Still, for 17 year old paint they did a pretty good job as you need good light to see any difference at all. Hoping the weather and Father Time will even things out.

The headlight doors had more than a few paint chips in them, and the passenger side had a thick white line where the doors had impacted the top of the opening (see the old pics lower on the page). The doors have now been adjusted to not do that anymore, so hopefully the white line is gone for good.

The passenger door had vandalism damage where someone shoved a screwdriver under the door handle, and the lower molding strip was missing. Thanks to a member of Allpar, the new molding strip was donated off a junkyard Fifth Avenue.

Hooray, no more rust spot! The shop also straightened out the molding strip on the back door as well.

Passenger side from another angle.

This is the driver's side rear door where the dent used to be - they did a good job pulling it out.

Another angle on the driver's side back door.

You can just make out where the paint chips above the driver's door were. I'm glad I don't have to see them anymore when I get into the car.

I am pleased to report that while the car was turning heads before, it's really turning heads now. All in all, I'm very happy with the job they did at the shop. It's almost like a new car now. Thanks, A&B!

And now, the old pictures:

The Story - Part I

I had been scouring the net for one of these for three years when one fateful day I found myself scouring the Vancouver Craigslist. This car was the single result of that search, advertised at $1000 Canadian. I immediately emailed the owner, not really expecting I would get the car with more than a month to go before I could afford to go to Surrey, BC, to get it.

As time went by, I kept in touch with the owner, making it pretty clear that her car was at the top of my list of suspects to buy. The pictures she sent made me drool, and she claimed that the only rust on the car was a small spot on the front right door. She also went on to tell me that there was a mechanic in the family who had just converted the malfunctioning ABS system to standard brakes.

Folks, if the pictures and the price hadn't gotten me by that point, I was absolutely sold on the car after hearing that one of the major trouble spots had already been taken care of. Now, all I would need to worry about was the A604 transmission. But, the car had 199k kms on it, she said, so I was pretty confident I could get it home without doing any work there.

July ended, and August began. I kept looking for Imperials to buy. Found a 1990 in Manitoba I could have gotten cheap, but initially wrote that one off because it didn't have the 3.8 engine I wanted. I actually changed my mind on that one later, but it had been sold by then. Found more possibilities in Edmonton: a 1991 priced at $1900 and another 91 for $2500. Passed on them due to price. A black 1992 model came up in Montreal... right year (I wanted 92 or 93), right options, but too far away. Several came up in Ontario, but I didn't want to go to Rustland to get one.

And so I saved and saved and saved, and as my bank account built up I kept in touch with the owner; asking as many questions as I could think of. Surely there had to be some kind of catch for the car to be only worth a thousand dollars. I mean, you can't find a car like the one described to me in Saskatchewan for much less than four grand. But, the owner was nice and didn't sound like she was in any way someone I couldn't trust, and so I started making plans to go out there. Hey, at least I would have a nice vacation if it didn't work out, right?

And then, I found another one. Also in Surrey. A 1993 white model at a dealership. That decided things - I was going to go out and do my best to buy an Imperial in Surrey. As August drew to a close and my bank account passed my minimum cutoff amount for the trip, I knew for certain that there were two Imperials waiting for me to see them. A 1992 model that had only drawn interest from one other person, owned by someone who saved it just for me solely because she liked me and could tell I would take care of it, and a neglected 1993 model at a dealership that apparently had been there for quite some time.

September 1st came around, and I got on the Greyhound bus at Gull Lake, SK, with the wallet about $215 lighter. The bus ride out was agonizing for many reasons. First, I was still harboring lingering fears that the 1992 model had to have something wrong with it to be that cheap. Second, I am six and a half feet tall, and coach builders don't tend to care about that when designing a bus. By the time I got to Coquitlam, my body was in more than a little pain and I was dead tired. But, I got off the bus and proceeded to the nearest Sky Train station on foot so I could head on into Surrey.

I looked at the 1993 model first, since the banks were closed yet and I didn't want to waste the time of the 92's owner by making her wait for her money. The 1993 turned out to be a sad reflection on the way these cars are perceived - the salesman immediately tried to sell me a nearby Fifth Avenue instead. I told him I had two New Yorkers, and was there for only one car - the Imperial. I would work with him on the price, I said, but make no mistake I would take the bus back to Saskatchewan if I couldn't buy the Imperial. The salesman then hurried into the office for the 93's keys, looking more than a little relieved I was there for the car that had been there longer.

While he looked for the keys, I looked at the Imperial. Paint was a little scuffed in places. Hood ornament and trunk emblem had been torn off. The car was missing several desired options. But, it had no rust anywhere. The dealer said there was no way he could do $1k on that car though, and I said there was no way I could do more than that at the time. Had to pay for the trip home, after all. The salesman said to come back and see him though if the 92 didn't work out, and I agreed. There had to be some way to make a deal, I reasoned, for I was right there with at least half the advertised price in cash.

And so, I headed off to the Guildford Town Center mall, where I knew there was a CIBC and an Autoplan broker. I did my banking, called up the owner of the 92, and stood by the mall entrance closest to the CIBC to wait. I was nervous and excited. I had just seen a totally rust free 1993 Imperial. Would this 1992 model be as nice? Would it live up to the description?

I'll continue the story on the next page.

Page 1 - Exterior
Page 2 - Interior
Page 3 - Audio
Page 4 - Transmission Service
Page 5 - The Drive Home