Even though today’s classic car market is loaded with restored gems, the truth is most vintage rigs have sad stories to tell. That’s because millions of them are still waiting to be rescued from junkyards and barns. This 1956 Chrysler Imperial is one of them and it just got lucky.
Saved after decades of neglect, this old Mopar is one of many classic rigs that was parked for a restoration that never happened. The vehicle got some sheet metal work done, but life got in the way, and the owner abandoned the project. The Imperial ended up as a parts car and was eventually forgotten in storage.
It’s unclear how many years it spent off the road, but the amount of surface rust suggests it’s been sitting for at least three decades. The two-door hardtop emerged back into the light with much of its exterior trim missing, but surprisingly enough, it still has the original engine under the hood.
Our host decided the Chrysler was worth returning to the road and revived the old FirePower mill. If you’re unfamiliar with this powerplant, it’s part of the first generation of Chrysler HEMI engines. Introduced in 1951 as a 331-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) unit, the engine found its way into all Chrysler vehicles, including the iconic C-300.
Chrysler increased displacement to 354 cubic inches (5.8 liters) in 1956 and again to 392 cubic inches (6.4 liters) in 1957. The FirePower was retired in 1958, and Chrysler did not produce another HEMI until the iconic 426-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) second-gen unit debuted in 1964.
This Imperial features the 354-cubic-inch version, which Mopar had just introduced for the 1956 model year. The lump was capable of an impressive 355 horsepower in the performance-oriented 300B, which made it the first American engine to be rated at one horsepower per cubic inch. However, the Imperial and the New Yorker got a more pedestrian version good for 280 horsepower.
The engine bay of this Chrysler looked surprisingly clean compared to a vehicle that had sat for decades, and it didn’t take long for our host to fire it up. Sure, the revival required temporary hoses and wires, but the V8 agreed to run without a rebuild, which is amazing. The automatic transmission also worked, enabling the owner to take the Chrysler for a spin. Yay for yet another classic saved!
This Imperial arrived at a time when the nameplate (first introduced in 1926) was operating as a separate brand. Created to compete with Cadillac and Lincoln, the stand-alone make survived until 1975 and was briefly revived from 1981 to 1983. This hardtop is also part of the Virgil Exner styling era, which debuted in 1955.
It’s also a rare vehicle. Imperial sold 10,628 automobiles in 1956, a figure that includes 170 extended-wheelbase Crown models. Of the remaining 10,458 Imperials, only 2,094 units left the assembly line as two-door hardtops. The factory pink color makes it even rarer. Here’s to hoping this 1956 Imperial gets a complete restoration!