I found this Chrysler Imperial 80 under a pile of gravestones in Bill Aldertons stonemasons yard in Harpenden. It had been used during the war for tow starting the diesel trucks, the back of the body having been removed to fit a small crane. It was a 2 seater with rumble seat at the back and a locker at the side to take a golf bag. At the time, in the early 1970's, I had intended to restore it, but at roughly the same time I found a Vauxhall 30-98 in Australia which seemed a much better proposition. Interestingly the Chrysler had a fluted radiator cowl similar to that on the Vauxhall and I believe there was a court case, won by Vauxhall, preventing Chrysler from using that design in the future. So the Chrysler was sold to Harry Schell. The chassis was in quite a bad way as it was made from laminated steel which although easier to form does de-laminate in the wet weather after a time. The engine however was in good working order. The Chrysler had a cigar lighter on the instrument panel with a long sprung lead that would reach the rumble seat. These were interesting cars and were made in the first year of Chrysler production. They were capable of 100mph. It is interesting to note that Chrysler who had recently left General Motors produced 120,000 cars in his first year of production. This gives a good idea of the huge numbers of cars that were made in the USA
I was surprised to come across this Chrysler again at an Auction in London and it was nice to see that it had finally been restored.
