1955 Chrysler Imperial Convertible
Check the production numbers for 1955 Chrysler Imperials. The total, including two-door hardtops, four-door hardtops, four-door sedans, and four-door limousines, is 11,430. The number for Imperial convertibles is 0. But you could say it’s 1.
It’s not every day that one sees a 1955 Imperial Convertible. If the body design doesn’t ring a bell, it’s not a surprise. The introduction of the Imperial as a stand-alone model in 1955 did not include a convertible release. Chrysler Chairman K.T. Keller had a single one-off example built as a styling exercise and personal car. That singular prototype car was the prime influence to this modern rendering that was directed by Wayne Davis himself, blending the best of old and new to create not just a tribute to Keller’s Virgil Exner-dreamed prototype, but an inspired construction that stands on its own merits.
Instead of sourcing an era 331 CI engine, power comes from an SRT-8 392/485 HP Hemi V-8 engine, gorgeously modified by Bouchillon Performance. If it doesn’t look like the SRT-8 in the C300, it’s because the powerplant now wears modified original 1955 valve covers and a customized air cleaner over its 21st-century components. The unique 2-inch mandrel-bent exhaust with Flowmaster series 50 mufflers exits through the rear bumper below the tail lamps as the original did. There is a Brice Thomas aluminum radiator with Flex-a-Lite dual electric fans up front and it is backed by the heavy-duty Chrysler 545RFE 4-speed automatic transmission. A Bowman custom one-piece driveshaft connects all of that to a Dana 60 3.70-geared Sure Grip differential.
It is matched inside with a Paul Atkins Kalahari-colored leather interior. Fabulously appointed, this car uses a Vintage Air Gen IV system, a one-off Flaming River tilt column for the actual 1955 Imperial steering wheel, a rare 1955 Town and Country radio that has been upgraded with iPod and USB connections, and OE Green-tinted glass. A true highlight here is that Classic Instruments rebuilt the 1955 gauges to appear stock but operate in conjunction with the modern upgrades. A Painless wiring harness was used to make the systems easily identifiable.
Of course, not everything was changed. The stock headlights and gun-sight tail lights help to quickly identify this as a 1955 model, and in place of the optional factory wire wheels, a set of Wheelsmith 16×8 Chrysler OE-style wheels with caps were shod in Diamondback radial whitewall tires, truly completing the rendering of beauty and luxury with 21st-century enjoyability.
Wayne drives all his cars and already has road trips planned for his incredible Imperial. After all, it’s not called Best Street Cruiser for nothing.
