1928 Chrysler Imperial Series L Two-Door Custom Roadster

Coachwork by Locke & Company

309ci L-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
Single Stromberg Carburetor
110bhp at 3,200rpm
3-Speed Manual Transmission
Leaf Spring Suspension
4-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes

*Believed to be boxer Jack Dempsey's personal car
*Ex-Tom Lester
*Beautifully presented older restoration
*1974 AACA First Prize Winner
*Former Concours d'Elegance exhibit

THE CHRYSLER IMPERIAL

"Here is a fresh and virile beauty that is unapproached among fine motorcars. Its fleetness, its smart handling, its flashing acceleration and its superb dependability are qualities so pronounced that they will cause you to marvel as long as you drive it" – Period Advertising for the Locke bodied Chrysler Imperial.

The original Chrysler Series 70 six remained 3.3 liters in capacity until 1926 when it was enlarged to 3.6 liters. A smaller, 3.0-litre Series 60 six was introduced for 1927 while the 70 grew to 4.1 liters for 1928, becoming the Series 72. By this time the range had expanded to encompass not just the smaller Series 60 six but also a four-cylinder model and the fabulous Imperial, the latter larger and more expensive than the original and intended to compete with the likes of Cadillac, Lincoln and Packard.

For 1929 Chrysler's Imperial was visibly improved with a narrower profile radiator and slimmed front body pillars, additional features included dual cowl ventilators and arched hood louvers. The factory were to produce semi-custom bodies such as this penned by Locke. Founded by Justus Vinton Locke, the Rochester, NY based Locke coachbuilding company had its heyday in the twenties and were known predominantly for specifically tailored coachwork on luxury chassis, Duesenberg, Packard, Pierce-Arrow and Mercedes included. As the decade progressed, they began to produce sets of standard coachwork for Chrysler, Graham, Franklin and Lincoln among others.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

The Imperial presented here may well be one of the most famous of Chryslers of this period, for as reported by its seller and former owner Tom Lester, it is understood to be the very car that boxing legend Jack Dempsey bought new and is pictured in a well-known photograph repeated on these pages.
Interestingly, the car was bought by its current owner from Lester as he was based locally to him in Southern Florida and they shared a passion for collector cars. Lester had always told him that it was the Dempsey car, but it was not until he made his own inquiries with friends in the Chrysler archives that they were able to produce the noted photo and confirm this.
As new and illustrated, the '29 Imperial was painted a stark monotone black finish, with accents from the chrome trim around the radiator, the bumpers, wheels and windshield. The ever-dapper Dempsey looks as proud with the car as he did stepping into the ring.
There are boxers that are famous in their time, and there are those that transcend all eras of the sport, or indeed any sport, and Jack Dempsey falls very firmly into the latter category. Boxing professionally from 1914 to 1927, the 'Manassa Mauler' held the World Heavyweight Championship title from 1919 to 1926 and was notably aggressive in his style and for his sheer power. Truly one to pioneering the genre of celebrity sportsmen, a number of his fights set records in terms of attendance and financially. To put this in context, when he fought Georges Carpentier at Boyle's Thirty Acres in Jersey City one hundred years ago, on July 2, 1921, 90,000 people witnessed the event and the gate was an astounding $1.79m (which $24m in today's money, and before the advent of television), it was the first boxing event to break the $1m mark.
For the Carpentier bout, he is said to have been paid some $300,000. Not surprisingly, matches such as this set Dempsey up well for his post-boxing career and to enjoy some of the finer things in life. One interest was clearly motorcars, for he is known to have had specialty vehicles such as a DuPont and a number of McFarlan cars, at least one Rolls-Royce and Chrysler.
It seems unlikely that Dempsey would have owned the Chrysler for that long, and its transition to Lester's hands is not charted. However, he is known to have owned the car from at least the mid-1980s and quite possibly much earlier.
In the present ownership since 2001, the Chrysler has been cherished and enjoyed lightly, with occasional display at events such as the Boca Raton Concours. With a one-two punch of style and provenance, the car is simply 'a knockout'!