Chryslers by the Bay highlight – 1964 Imperial Crown Coupe

The 26th Edition of Chryslers by the Bay, hosted by the Bay City Chrysler Car Club, Inc., was another showcase of vehicles from the Mopar world. Aussie Valiants were lined up alongside all the American Chrysler brands, like Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto, as well as Jeeps and RAM pickups. This year’s Chryslers by the Bay also saw examples of rarer models from the broad Chrysler family, like this Imperial Crown Coupe.

Imperial had been introduced as a premium Chrysler model in 1926 and would continue to represent the upper end of their range for the next three decades. In 1955, Imperial became a standalone brand and was Chrysler’s luxury marque until 1975, when it was discontinued. Briefly returning from 1981 to 1983, the nameplate hasn’t been used again since, meaning there hasn’t been a new Imperial in the market for more than 40 years.

Aimed primarily at Lincoln and Cadillac, the Imperial occasionally outsold the former, but never the latter during its time in the marketplace. In terms of engineering, Imperial underpinnings usually mirrored that of existing Chryslers. There were some anomalies, though, like retaining body-on-frame construction for several years after the rest of the Chrysler range had moved to unitary construction.

Imperial styling was distinctive, adding some very individual features at times, but never straying too far from Chrysler family design themes. The main difference was that the Imperial, being a premium car, was more expensive and usually longer and larger, too. Opulently trimmed, Imperials were also stuffed with just about every premium feature imaginable, like electric windows, power-adjustable seats, cruise control and the like. In 1956, Imperials were among the first Chrysler family vehicles to receive push-button transmissions and transistor radios.

After platform and/or body sharing with Chrysler for many years, Imperial was given its own exclusive platform from 1957, which was also its best year in the market to date, with 37,593 built. Sales fell by more than half the following year and remained in the teens until 1964, when sales rebounded to more than 23,000. Part of the reason for the jump was the fact that the ’64 saw Imperials now fully reflected the aesthetic of Elwood Engel, who had replaced Virgil Exner as Head of Design at Chrysler in 1961.

Formerly with Ford, where he had designed the iconic 1961 Lincoln Continental, Engel brought much of that style to Chrysler, which explains the Lincoln-esque look to models like the Imperial Crown Coupe shown here.

Imperial’s lineup for 1964 consisted of the ‘Crown,’ ‘LeBaron’ and ‘Crown Imperial’. A 413ci V8 and Torqueflite three-speed automatic was the only drivetrain offered across the range. The LeBaron and Crown Imperial were available in one body style, but the Crown (the “entry-level” model) could be had as a hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan or convertible.

The Crown Coupe shown here was brought to Chryslers by the Bay by former Touring Car Masters racer, Brett Youlden, who purchased it off a mate a few years ago. The early history of this car is unknown, but it’s believed to have been with a collector in Georgia for some time before coming to Australia a little over a decade ago.

Along with power steering, electric windows, leather seats, retractable seat belts and super-soft suspension, this car is also fitted with dual-zone air conditioning that was a hefty US$777.75 option over the car’s US$5,718 base price when new. Other options fitted include cruise control and an AM/FM radio with power antenna. An option for ’64 not fitted to this car is a vinyl-trimmed roof.

For sale at Chryslers by the Bay, this car was still on the market at time of writing. For more details, click HERE.

For JUST CARS’ report from the 2024 Chryslers by the Bay, click HERE.