Imperial!

[Hydrolastic]

Hello guys, My buddy Sean. Captain of the race team. Was saying he would like a console for his house. After talking about it I came up with a imperial would be best for him. So he has been looking.Yesterday this one came up on Facebook marketplace

I had to drive 50 miles and be there by the end of the day. Long drive with rushour Friday traffic.
Steve was there he is moving to another state. he knows you guys and has had a few CG's and other brands. Has been offline for several years now. I bought a bunch of other stuff. So it was $200 total. here are more photo's of it. I am going to do some of the restoration myself as I want to try some staining and lacquering. This is a perfect canvas. Here are more photos. Hydro

[Hydrolastic]

More photo's from ad

[TC Chris]

2nd try. A good price for a really handsome device. Have fun!

Chris Campbell

[William]

Nice looking unit, I'm glad it was saved and will be appreciated. With it having the Collar conquest changer does that make it a 1960?

Bill

[hermitcrab]

That's a steal for that price... Nice!

[electra225]

My 1960 Imperial has the 81 series amp. I'd say that one is an early 1959. No matter, it's a beautiful Imperial. He'll enjoy it for many years to come. The Conquest changer is current thru the last of the 1960 models. The S-600 came out for the 1961 models. For my money, both types are nearly identical mechanically.

This Imperial has the AMP 182, which is the forerunner of the 81 series. It appears to be mounted backwards from the 81 in the cabinet. I see those speakers aren't enclosed, unlike the later Imperials. I don't recall seeing an Imperial with the AMP 182 before. The thing hanging down in front of the speaker on the front appears to be the track for the sliding panel. They will work even if broken by gluing the rails into the cabinet, carefully, on the ends. Don't glue the whole thing or you may glue the sliding panel in one spot! Many are found broken. They get loose and people ignore the symptoms, then it breaks. Check the guides on the sliding panel to make sure they are good. If one is broken, remove the good one, make a pattern, then cut a new one out of heavy plastic.

Hydro, ask your friend Sean to join the forum. We'd love to have him join us.

[William]

If I might ask, what's the difference between the 182 amp and the 8100 series amp? My Imperial has the 8100 series amp and the Collaro S-600 changer.

Bill

[Hydrolastic]

Hello Guy's, This had a 842 (late 1958) code on the speaker and both imperials I have seen have had the 182BA amps. Same as both continentals also. So I seem to get the early stuff. Glass tops are nice but is was used as a fishtank stand so the finish is ruined on the top rails. it does not look like it has ever had the remote. Its really dirty. Steve said he had a ton of response but he sold it to Sean because he said it was for a restoration and not parts. Hydro

[Swindrum]

Hi everyone,

I am the proud owner of the Imperial. Hydro has been showing off his consoles for a few years now and my interest has really been piqued.

I had been keeping half an eye out for something I would like, and to be honest, the cabinet styling was the most important element to me. I had seen a bunch of consoles for sale with the Victorian styling that didn’t interest me that much.

I was pretty surprised when this popped up on Facebook marketplace, it was the exact style I wanted!
Hydro was willing to go collect it for me, which was awesome

I have it at home now and am looking forward to learning about it.
I am a complete neophyte to tube electronics, and will probably have a billion dumb questions!

[William]

Hi Swindrum, and welcome to the forum. First, there are no dumb questions and the guys here are always helpful. After all they accepted me, so I guess you are safe. Please let us know your plans for your Imperial and we love photos.

Bill

[Hydrolastic]

Hey there! good to see you actually made it. These guys can fix anything with tubes. You have a nice unit there . But it will also be a lot of work. I have the same amp and tuner in the continental and it only worked for a short time but it sounded great! Hydro

[electra225]

We look forward to seeing the Imperial being brought back to life! And, thank you, Hydro, for inviting your friend to join us.

[TC Chris]

We need photos!!!

Chris Campbell

[Swindrum]

i have started to dig into the imperial, and decided that the first order of business is to clean the years of dust, grime and nicotine off of the old girl. I have started with the amp, removed it and have been carefully scrubbing away.




Using the schematic, I was able to identify the capacitors and placed an order with digi-key, they have already arrived!

I went with the orange drops, based on what I have read.

I found that HayseedHamfest has the correct quad can for the Maggie’s, so I have ordered one of those.

Also, one of my tubes has clearly blown, so eBay is supplying a tested used one which should be here soon







Time to dust off the old soldering iron!

[electra225]

91% rubbing alcohol cuts nicotine without fear of damage. Then use a little PB Blaster on a rag to polish up the chassis. It cleans it, and prevents the plating from turning white. I see one of the tubes is coded the 46th week of 1958, with a 274 EIA code, RCA. The 220K (red, red, yellow) grid resistors are known to drift high. It looks like you are off to a good start. Thank you for sharing, please continue to share your project and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Good luck!

[William]

Excellent job, Mr. Swindrum. Applying the PB Blaster does work on the chassis to help prevent the return of the white dust chassis are prone too. Be sure to check all of the resistor. When I did my Imperial, I replaced a lot of resistors in my Imperial chassis that I had found drifted. It sounds fantastic and I am so glad I went the extra mile to test everything.

Bill

[Swindrum]

Thanks for the tips and the encouragement!

I will continue to post updates as they occur

Cheers,
Sean

[TC Chris]

Another tip--always buy more capacitors than you need, at least the ones in common values and voltage ratings. There's always going to be another project, and then you can dig right in without waiting for the package on the porch. The shipping charges won't change much, if at all, and you'll have stash.

Chris Campbell