Through the 1954 model year, Imperial was the top-of-the-line offering within the Chrysler brand. Starting in 1955, the Imperial became a separate make from Chrysler for marketing purposes in an effort to be more competitive with Cadillac. From 1955 on, the "Chrysler" nameplate appeared nowhere on an Imperial. With the 1960 model year, the Chrysler line adopted uni-body contruction (along with other Chrysler Corp. passenger cars) while the Imperial retained the body-on-frame architecture. For most of the 1960's, the Imperial was a totally different car from a Chrysler and the two makes shared almost no common parts except for the drivetrain.

Although Chrysler Corp. was never totally sucessful in divorcing the Imperial name from the Chrysler line in the minds of the general public, it is incorrect to refer to a 1955 or later Imperial as a Chrysler Imperial. Why is this important? If you call our sales desk and ask for a brake drum for a 1964 Chrysler and what you actually have is a 1964 Imperial, you're going to get the wrong part.