A Vacuum Collectors Dream Car!

VacuumLand – Vintage & Modern Vacuum Enthusiasts

Help Support VacuumLand:

hismastersvoice

hismastersvoice

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2014
Messages
179
Location
Ferndale, MI
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of showing my 65 Chrysler Imperial Crown Coupe at Eyes on Design, an invitation-only design based show at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford estate in Grosse Pointe Shores, MI. To my supreme delight, I was just 1 car away from one of the 4 1963 Chrysler Turbine cars in the Elwood Engle section. From what I understand, all but 4 of the prototypes were destroyed by Chrysler when they decided not to produce it. Chrysler owns 1, another is in a museum in St. Louis, Jay Leno owns 1, and the 4th is owned by another private collector. To see and hear the car in person was awesome! The color "Turbine Bronze" is stunning, and it's full of quirky futuristic looking details.

Back to my point, the engine in this car is a turbine, and will burn any type of combustible fuel. Gasoline, tequila, Chanel No. 5, you name it. I had waited all day for the chance to hear it run (it was there before I arrived). When it was time to leave, they finally started the car. I had expected it to be loud like an airplane, and a blast of hot air shooting out the backside. To my surprise, it emitted the barely audible sound of a vacuum cleaner! (Extra points if you can identify what model of cleaner it sounds closest to).

hismastersvoice-2015080608324102831_1.jpg
 
As if an Imperial is not amazing enough--

Chrysler did a lot of turbine research from the 50s to the 70s.Most were road tested in mostly ordinary Chrysler vehicles.But the 63s were very special.There were 50 that were sent all over the US to dealers to then be driven by 'ordinary' drivers to test and get opinions.Some of us here know someone who saw one driving through his city at that time.Just last night as I was looking through some car magazines I noticed a letter from someone who worked in a Chrysler dealership in the 60s.He stated they had 2 local families that drove one for 3 months each.It was brought in weekly to be washed and was only checked by the service manager.When the program ended all but the 4 mentioned above were scrapped to avoid paying import fees as the bodies were from Europe.The St Louis museum also has an extra engine.
Edsel Ford home--Have you toured and seen the D Deskey room for the then teenage Ford sons?
Imperial--Even though there are more than 4 left these are very scarce.The closest I have seen to one as nice as yours in years of local car shows(one is 1 block away every Sat-Apr/Oct) was a green 68 Sedan that was bought new by the owners aunt.More show & tell please!
 
I saw one of those at Harrah's

I saw one of these cars at Harrah's car museum in Reno, NV in the summer of 1978. It was the week that Mr. Harrah died. Much of the 1,100-car collection was sold off at auction a year or so later. I have no idea of the fate of that particular Turbine but it's reasonably safe to assume that it's one of the survivors.
 
Jimmy: what else would you like to see?

Edgar: yes these cars are well accounted for. Jay Leno is technically the first owner of his, as he bought it from Chrysler directly (for $1!). There are also a few of them with no engines, perhaps it was one of those.
 
Pretty...BUT I will take the IMPERIAL!!LOL

One of my all time favorite cars and the best handling .driving big car ever, no one has equaled Chryslers power steering and suspension, it makes todays cars drive like wagons!You can truly drive and park one of these huge land yachts with one finger!
 
Interesting-this could go with the thread I tried to start about turbine engines.Yes,Turbines can burn an sort of combustable fuel--but not so fast--you need to replace the burners in the turbine combustion chambers to do this.One burner can't do for all fuels.
Gas turbines in wheeled vehicles like cars,locomotives,and even tractors(IH made a turbine tractor!)Gas turbines work best when they are run at constant speeds and at the top range of their loading.In vehicles like cars and such the loading is just too variable to make the engine efficient.In airplanes the engines run at constant speed-for takeoffs,cruising.For power generation,natural gas pumping and compression,again constant speed.
The car sounded more like a "start cart" or "huffer" for starting larger gas turbines as shown on the turbine sites.Garret and Bendix made those.-As well as the gas turbine air starter motors used with a start cart.The start carts turbine engine is about 90hp and can be started with two car batteries.(24V motor)Start carts are still used today at airports to start airliners and such and without having them using their APU's to start their primary engine.And that car sort of sounds like an APU(gas turbine Auxillary power unit usually in the tail of the aircraft)used in many airliners and military jet aircraft for starting,electrical power,and airconditioning when the plane is not in flight.
 
Cars & Houses

We have briefly seen your Ford,Packard and now Imperial from 3 different decades.Do you have others?Or prefer one period over another?More pictures would be great.I have seen otherwise still good 67 & 69 Imperials in junk yards as the 440 V-8s were pulled.Other 65 & 66s were said to be junked for the Batman(?) movie.As great as muscle cars can be car collecting should still include the 'rich'mans car.And muscle cars can include Chrysler 300s,Riviers GS,etc and not just the affordable teenagers Chevelle,Roadruuner,etc.
Edsel Ford home-At one time E ford was part of a long list of well known Electrolux users.H Ford Srs Fairlane had central vac and all other modern mechanical features mostly in a separate building with a tunnel to main house.Have you found or visited other auto execs homes.I think V Exner had a very nice colonial style home.Do homes of Harley Earl,Bill Mitchel and others still exist in original condition?Although it would be without THE Lesabre or other show cars in the driveway!

Tolivac-In the mid 60s Ford had a futuristic turbine truck and trailer called I think 'Big Red'(needed a ladder to enter).I beieive that years later it was found in NC and possibly restored??
 
Green Hornet's "Black Beauty"

Rugsucker wrote: Other 65 & 66s were said to be junked for the Batman(?) movie.

I reply: That was actually "The Green Hornet" (2011) starring Seth Rogan. The Hornet's "Black Beauty" was a '65 Imperial four-door hard top. It's a nod to the short-lived 1966 "Green Hornet" TV series, starring Van Williams in the title role and Bruce Lee as his faithful sidekick Kato. They used two '66 Imperials filming the TV show, which was a spinoff from the iconic "Batman" TV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward. There's a featurette on the DVD of the 2011 Green Hornet movie where they talk about the obscene number of Imperials they destroyed (around 100) making that film. Kinda like "The Dukes of Hazzard" and '69/'70 Dodge Chargers.
 
We do have a couple of other cars. I mostly enjoy pre-war vehicles, but it's also nice to jump in a 60s car and do 70 mph on the highway once in a while. In fact, I just finished a 4 hour drive in the Imperial across the state for a Concours in the morning.

In total, we have a 1926 Ford Model T, a 1940 Dodge Luxury Liner DeLuxe, a 1949 Packard Super Deluxe, a 1956 Hudson Hornet Special (with factory A/C!), a 1964 Dodge Dart GT Converible, a 1965 Chrysler Imperial Crown Coupe, and a 1919 Briggs & Stratton Flyer. There have been many others in the past that I've sold as well, but this is what's in the garage currently. I guess the theme of the collection would be "Made in Detroit".

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_1.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_2.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_3.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_4.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_5.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_6.jpg

hismastersvoice-2015080719243908196_7.jpg
 
The Chrysler turbine car,Ford turbine truck,IH turbine tractor?Wonder just what make turbine engines these used-at that time turbine engines were usually built by companies that built them for aircraft.And since those would be small turbines-would probaly be the types used in "huffers"-Start carts or GSU-Ground Support Unit-these provided start air and electric power when the plane was on the ground.Some GSU could provide Hydraulic power as well.They would be used when a plane is parked at a gate loading passengers and crew or in a hanger for maintenance.the units could be moved around.-they were mounted on a large wheeled cart.Small ones could be moved by hand-large ones needed a truck,baggage tractor,or airplane tug to move them.The turbine engine builders-Allison was part of GM now Roll-Royce aircraft division)Rolls Royce-yes they made and still do make jet engines,Pratt and Whitney,GE,GE-CFM,Garret,Bendix,the list could go on.Never seen the Ford truck-interesting.Becuase of costs these didn't make it.And to top it off turbines can require special starting and maintenance procedures completly different from their piston couterparts.Remember a gas turbine engine is a very precise peice of hardware!They are built to tighter tolerences than pistion engines.
 
Cars

Edgar-Thanks for the correction and additional information.I was also thinking the number of Imperials destroyed was closer to 15.(Dukes Charger--A local TV station painted one for parades at the time)

Brandon-Great cars! & photo locations.Do I see AC tubes coming from trunk or was all of AC unit under hood by then?We have 2 older nice Hudsons that are regulars at the Sat car shows.Years ago a nearby junkyard had an early 50s Hornet convertible with power top,windows,wire wheels & more rusting into the ground!
 
Early factory AC

I was seeing the reflection at curve of the rear widow.There used to be a 53 Buick nearby with the 2 clear tubes coming out under rear window for the factory AC that was shared with Cadillac & Olds.The same junkyard that had the Hudson conv also had a 56 or 57 Lincoln with the same type factory AC system(next to a 58 Cad with factory air bags on the rear springs).
 
Your car collection is a great representation of the past. My favorites are the Dart and the Imperial. I get sick every time I think of all the gorgeous cars destroyed for these third rate movies. I have a feeling the new Man From U.N.C.L.E movie will be loaded with trashed cars. The time period in that one is 1963. There was a 1967 Imperial Crown 2 door years back in this area with the Mobile Director option in it. I shudder to think where that went. It was beautiful though. 
 
They had a legend on those Turbine cars, some guys at the proving grounds ran one of the prototypes on scotch! Their manager was not happy, and cited it as 'a good waste of scotch'!


 


About Jay Leno buying his for $1.....where does the line start? 
smiley-laughing.gif
 

Latest posts

Back
Top