Unusual Views of a 1932 Chrysler Imperial Convertible Sedan

Today's post is a variation on those walkarounds you sometimes find here.  The subject car is a 1932 Chrysler Imperial CL Custom Convertible Sedan with the body by LeBaron.  Images are from Bonham's auctions.

By 1932 Chrysler products were beginning to benefit from its new, 1928 styling group that included such highly talented men as Buzz Grisinger and Herb Weissinger.  That probably accounts for the car's grille, hood and front fenders.  I assume most of the remainder of the design was by LeBaron, a subsidiary of Briggs Manufacturing Company, provider of mass-produced bodies for several American carmakers.

The featured car is a fine example of American classic cars of the early 1930s.  A Dual-Cowl Chrysler Imperial Phaeton has even more of the elusive mix of flash and sophistication, but the Convertible Sedan comes close enough to the ideal.

My main reason for showing the Bonham's images below is that they include several high or near-overhead perspectives, something not always found on the Internet.  The result is insight into how the major exterior automobile parts in that pre- integrated body era relate to one other.

Gallery

Establishment shot: that seriously long hood houses a long, inline eight cylinder motor.

Here's the normal viewer perspective of the car.

Now for a view from on high, but at the same angle.

This shows the spare tire mounts.  Unlike some mid-1930s designs, there's no catwalk between the fenders and hood.

A significant part of the car's width is taken up by the fenders and running boards -- the passenger compartment is narrow by today's standards.

The heavy brightwork framing for the windshield relates to the fact that each pane can be raised separately (pivoting from the upper frame).  Windshields that opened was a fairly common means of ventilation in those days.  What was unusual here was that Chrysler had two-pane windshields on its most expensive cars, whereas other 1932 American cars had one-pane windshields.  The heavy framing with brightwork on these two-pane windshields usually made such Chryslers and Chrysler Imperials appear shorter and heavier than they should have.  That was especially true when cars were painted in dark colors, making the brightwork stand out and becoming a focus point.  Fortunately, the car shown here has a light color, so the framing and brightwork are much less prominent.

The dashboard area.  Knobs for releasing the windshield panels are on the cowling.  A slider bar with a positioning knob can be seen on the A-pillar to the right.