RALPH’S IMPERIAL:
“Chrysler’s Y-Job“ Was the Imperial That Foretold the Future
The basis for this car was the last of 36 CL Imperial Dual-Windshield
Phaetons built in 1933. This was the second year of a disappearing
tonneau windshield, an idea adapted from a Gordon Buehrig design
for Duesenberg.
The dual rear-mounted spares, an original
feature, unclutter the front fenders and visually
lengthen the car, to very powerful effect. They
make the Imperial so long that Roberts had to remove
the bumpers just to get it into LeBaron’s freight elevator!
This is the only CL Imperial DualWindshield Phaeton to have had its
radiator shell painted, instead of being
chromed, a very unorthodox idea in 1933.
The rear fender skirts are similar
to those used for the subsequent
Chrysler Airflow of 1934 and
Chrysler Airstream of 1935.
The headlamps are unique to
this car and are mounted very
low on the fenders, lowering
the frontal appearance of the car.