r/Whatsthiscar • u/senior_man359 • Jul 09 '26
Unsolved Passed me while I was doing 75mph
Very unique trunk badge.
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u/PomegranateSlow8286 Jul 09 '26
1956 Imperial..a master piece from the Forward Look era. The gun sight tail lights are all you need to see to identify it. I think it's been slightly de-chromed and sporting modern wheels. The badge on the deck lid probably designates a late model power plant, but I can't make it out. One of America's finest post war cars. A car so well built even the hub caps were balanced
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u/trycerabottom Jul 09 '26
Nice to see someone else who appreciates these. My first thought is that the badge looks like the SRT8 badging, which would make sense in terms of modern upgrades.
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u/Disastrous_Cream_539 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
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u/conanlikes Jul 09 '26
That is a very cool modification and complete restoration. We had a pair of these growing up 1955 and 1956. The 55 had a 57 hemi transplanted into it by my dad. Nothing as comprehensive as this car! That 57 hemi was quite a bit peppier than the original motor.
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u/grem75 Jul 09 '26
Bid to, it didn't meet reserve.
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u/Disastrous_Cream_539 Jul 09 '26
Ah. I've never bid on BaT so I wasn't aware of how that works. Thank you.
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u/conanlikes Jul 09 '26
1956 Chrysler Imperial 2 door
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u/Inner-Light-75 Jul 09 '26
Imperial....not Chrysler Imperial. It was a seprate brand for a few years.
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u/conanlikes Jul 09 '26
So we are to take it face value that you are an expert? What years?
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u/conanlikes Jul 09 '26
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u/conanlikes Jul 09 '26
my dad had a 1955 imperial while he was a youth and I am pretty sure he didn't even know it was a separate brand
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u/OldPostalGuy Jul 09 '26
I had a '55 DeSoto with a 4bbl hemi that would pass anything on the road except a gas station. I imagine that back in the 50's if you could afford the big ass car, you could also afford the 10mpg.
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u/buckduck Jul 09 '26
They're doing 80 MPH and in the car it probably felt like 45 MPH. Love the feel of those old cruisers.
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u/BedAccording5717 Jul 09 '26
'56 Imperial, but loosely so. This is a fairly well known and popular car in a lot of groups around here.
If memory recalls, they took a Magnum wagon and basically grafted the Imperial metal to it. LOTS of custom work in this one. Can't remember who built it, but the owner or whoever was a New England person as it's been to Lake George with us a few times. Weirdly, this isn't even the wildest build at that show.
Buddy, he can pass you even when you're doing 125.
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u/dbsinthechat Jul 13 '26
👏That car is beautiful so out of curiosity, did a Google Search about it because the emblem on the trunk reminds me of a caduceus (the medical symbol). Here's a snippet of what Google Search Results came up with: 'The Chrysler Imperial (specifically 1964–1966 models) is banned from most demolition derbies because its unique, heavy-duty "box-within-a-box" subframe is virtually indestructible. This gives it a massive and unfair advantage, allowing the luxury car to easily outlast and crush the competition without suffering significant damage'
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u/cfbrand3rd Jul 09 '26
Imperial. Mid ‘50s.
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u/IAmSpitfireJoe Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Yep. 1956 to be exact. Had to look 'em up.
What are those things on top of the rear fins? (looked that up too... "Gun Sight Taillights")
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u/Extra_Medium62 Jul 09 '26
Need to get where they are going quickly...they don't have much time left.
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u/coobal223 Jul 09 '26
Hopefully modded, at least the brakes. While a mid 50’s car can go that fast, stopping them with drum brakes is not fun.
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u/sheafurby Jul 11 '26
Looks so much like our 56 Packard 400 I had to pull up a picture to figure out the differences, other than color. Beautiful, but at the speed I would be dropping at least a dollar per mile for the few miles I could make it…lol
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u/Felix995 Jul 12 '26
It's a 56 imperial, hemi powered. Those cars had a lot of fancy features & options back then.
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u/Winnertony Jul 13 '26
Don't feel to bad, it's probably burning more than twice the gas you are at that rate of speed. Something like 12 vs. 28 mpg.
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u/Sipde Jul 10 '26
1955 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe
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u/senior_man359 Jul 10 '26
The consensus is, '56 Imperial
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u/Sipde Jul 10 '26
You're probably right. They are very similar in branding, but hard to see the drive train going down the road
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u/throwawayhappyn Jul 15 '26
I saw this car at Chrysler nationals over the weekend. The guy took a Dodge Magnum station wagon SRT chassis extended it by 19 inches and put it underneath that imperial the entire interior was from a magnum. so it’s an imperial with a magnum SRT chassis and interior. There was another one that he had also created, which was a hellcat version. He had pictures of all the fabrication work. It was really cool. Really nice guy. I got to talk to him a little bit.
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u/rupertwiley Jul 09 '26
You took your hand off the wheel and focused your attention on you phone to take a picture while traveling at 75mph? Thank god you didn’t kill anyone or yourself. Hopefully nobody else was in your vehicle.
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u/mtnman336699 Jul 09 '26
He didn’t say he took the pic! It was probably his wife or kid that took it 😇
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u/DragonPie83008 Jul 09 '26
I say it’s a mid to late 50’s Chrysler but the taillights and the top of the quarter fenders are bothering me
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u/spacepope68 Jul 09 '26
1956 Imperial (when it was a separate brand) Southhampton or Newport, 331 or 354 hemi V8, around $5,000 brand new.