Walt Flathers in Connecticut - anyone know him?

[ImperialAtom]

I just did some looking around and it seems a man by the name, Walt Flathers, owned my 66 Imperial conv before I did. It did change hands a bit between some dealer on the west coast and Kansas, but Walt owned the car from 2006 through 2016. In Dec 2016 it seems Walt unfortunately passed, so I thought I'd ask others here if they had known him as I'd like to put together as much history as possible on the car. It seems he really invested a lot of time on it - wish I could let him know my appreciation for taking such good care of this car.

[watchfatha1]

Did you buy Hoovie's 66 Imperial? If yes, I can add a bit of detail.
Norm

[ImperialAtom]

Yes, that's the one. It seems that a man named, Walt Flathers, was the last real owner of it before changing hands a few times through a dealer or two and finally landing with me. From what I can tell from Walt's facebook page, he restored the car and called it the red "brick". Other than that I don't know anything else.

[watchfatha1]

I chased that car when it was at the Blackhawk garage in lower Connecticut. I was one day late; a West Coast collector had put a deposit on it. ( I have had many Imperials, including the twin to that car-twice). Anyway, from what they told me it had a rebuilt engine and tranny. They represented it as "original" but it had clearly been painted. It has the MOST comfortable seats I've experienced in a 66 and felt great to sit in. Unfortunately, they would not let me start it-because it had been sold.
Fast forward about a year later. I live in the San Diego area and saw an ad for a car I thought might be that one, offered by a Laguna dealer. I went to look at it and, sure enough, it was THE car. It seems some collector bought it, got bored with it, then had the dealership offer it for sale. This time I was able to start it (NOISY-Cherry Bomb Mufflers) but not drive it because of the fact that it was raining. Anyway, the dealer wanted what I considered to be too much money for it, so I didn't make an offer. I think it traded to Hoovie for the Low 20's.
I watched Hoovie's video on the car and saw that Hoovie and his mechanic knew NOTHING about it, mechanically; it needed a heater core and he was prepared to go under the dash-NOT. The heater core in an air conditioned MOPAR car of that era has THE EASIEST heater core repair in automobiledom-on the firewall and EASY to remove.
If I remember correctly, the car had a paint rub-out area on the trunk, some little bit of rust on the chrome, some rust pimples on one half of the grill and some wavy area on the passenger door. It also has a very garish pinstripe (not to my liking) but is a VERY stand-up car. I have a 45k mile version of that car and it is a joy to drive, currently about to come out of the paint shop.
In addition to my current "twin" I've had 3 other 66 converts, a 67 convert, a 65 convert, 4 64 converts and a bunch of everything in between from 59 to 68. If you want to talk pm me at watchfatha@yahoo.com and I'll give you my number. Enjoy it! Norm

[ImperialAtom]

You are correct, it went through the Laguna dealer. I did find their site by searching for the VIN and downloaded their pictures and videos of the car.

It has been repainted, I figured that out recently by looking a little closer at it. There is a mark on the trunk where it looks like something fell on it and they tried to paint over it with touch-up paint. The chrome is in great shape, but there are a few spots of rust coming through where the license plate goes.

I believe the engine and and trans have been rebuilt - they perform far too well to be untouched. Hoovie said that David (the car wizard) handed the car over to his old mentor who was retired to work on this car and fix the issues with a few leaky seals and a tune up. Did a good job, it hasn't left a drop of anything on the floor since I got it, but it does blast out some soot from the exhaust when it first starts. They also fixed the heater as it works excellent. The only thing on the car that is not working is the AC, but I haven't tried it, so who knows, maybe it does.

And yes, the exhaust has a rumble to it. At first I couldn't stand it and had planned to replace it, but after driving it some I don't really mind it. It's not loud unless you accelerate a good bit - otherwise it's only a whisper of a rumble. May still buy some replacement exhaust for it just in case I change my mind.

Not sure why the collector you mention didn't want it. It's a VERY solid/honest car that has been well cared for. I ended up paying 20k for it, and trading about 3k worth of cars to Hoovie, so I'm in it for 23k. Hoovie shipped it to me for free in a covered trailer, so that was 1k savings right there so I really see it as I paid 22k for the car in that deal. It's more than I'd like to spend, but I really love the car, and it's been a great car so far. Starts up every time, runs great, everything just works. Car shows 88k miles right now - I think that is probably correct. And I like the history of the pinstripe of the original owners.

[watchfatha1]

I agree: the car is a VERY stand up example (one of the nicest I've seen, and I've seen LOTS of them) which I would have purchased had it been available when I saw it at the dealer in CT ($18k). If I remember correctly when I saw it at the Laguna dealer, the AC compressor cycled on correctly but the air that the system emitted was just lukewarm-probably just some freon. You bought a WINNER!
As to why the collector sold it, who knows? I have an original (paint, interior, engine, et.al) 1964 Cadillac Sedan DeVille 4 window "Old Lady" car that is truly spectacular inside and out (and has working ac and working EVERYTHING) that I will be selling. I want a 57-58 DeSoto or a 62-63 Dynaflow Buick and I only have room for my 66 Imperial convert and one more car, so the Caddy has to go.

[ImperialAtom]

That sounds like a really nice caddy. I'd really like to see it - can you post some pictures of it over here: viewforum.php?f=18

I'm trying to find a way to store more vehicles. I have 2 classic cars and my wife has 1, so I'm currently at one too many. But I'd still like to get some more, so really need to find some cheap storage or a barn or something.