Bargain Convertible? 1968 Plymouth Fury III
This 1968 Plymouth Fury III convertible is just dying to come out of winter slumber, as are a lot of us in the upper-Midwest and Northeast, and Canada, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Colbert, Washington, etc… The seller pulls it out of the storage unit just enough to tease us. It can be found here on eBay in, hey, Colbert, Washington! There is no reserve and a single bid of $2,500 with just three days left on the auction.
A white Fury III convertible with a red interior? All day long for me. 1968 was the last year for the fourth-generation Plymouth Fury and the Fury III was the top model, other than the special Plymouth VIP but they didn’t come in a convertible body style. I can’t quite tell if that’s bodywork over the right rear wheel or not but it looks a bit wavier than a factory quarter panel. Maybe it’s a shadow or something.
The seller doesn’t mention rust or bodywork and from most angles, this car looks great. They do mention that it could use some minor cosmetics, or just drive it the way it is. My parents had a 1969 Plymouth Fury III sedan and it was great. It had a mere 318, unlike what’s lurking under the hood of this car… (suspense!)
But, first the interior. HEY, no sneaking ahead! The seats and door panels appear to have been reupholstered with a red velour. I’m all about original-spec so I would have to bring them back to what would have been at least close to the original material. I can see the appeal of fabric seats, though, especially in a convertible with the top down sitting in the sun.
No, the engine isn’t a 440, but it isn’t a 318 either. It’s Plymouth’s 383 cubic-inch V8 which would have had 290 hp. The seller says that it runs and drives “as intended”, which in my dad’s case would have meant that the rear tires would be new every couple of months. Maybe that’s where I got it from. At no reserve and a Hagerty #4 fair condition value of $9,360 and a #3 good condition value of $13,520, this is a bargain so far. What will this one sell for?
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Comments
2 tons of C-body love from this guy. Loves me some stackies.
Gotta love that radiator flush set up.
Yeah, with a faucet supply valve! What else you got laying around in the basement!
And a bungee cord to keep the works from sagging down into the moving fan!
We had something similar to that growing up, it was actually from Prestone if I remember right. It was a radiator flush valve that you installed on the hose so when you flushed the radiator it was right there and easy to reach. I don’t remember ever using it. Maybe it’s still in the box and is a collector’s item by now… or not.
Those were popular back when Scotty. The cap that said ‘Prestone’ unscrewed and I think it was a hose connector.
There was also an angled yellow plastic spout that snapped into the radiator so that the flushed water was directed out away from the front of the car.
I put one on my first car, a ’67 Coronet, and still have the set up on my ’66 Satellite that replaced it!
Did the same install on my 70 Challenger. Prestone cap was where the garden hose connected and the spout snapped into radiator to shoot flushed fluid out onto the driveway. Glad to see it still in use, unlike today’s unworkable cars.
I think that’s a makeshift heater control valve.
No power brakes or A/C.
It looks ok from the pics but I would need a look underneath.
But . The bungee cord that is holding the hose away from hot and or moving parts of the engine. real rubegoldberg installation . got to love it
383
Ragtop
But obviously not a California car ?
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While many of us have come to consider Cali vehicles the norm for survivor cars, there are plenty other regions in the Pacific Northwest that are just as kind (or even kinder) to old cars
Would make the perfect buddy in the garage to my Jaguar XJS Drophead coupe.
I have a good friend who is just beginning a complete restoration of his 1965 Fury Convertible, it is a very nice and should be a straight forward restoration. Even so it dosn’t make it cheaper to do. We talked allot before he committed to the project. I was surprised that as nice as it was, the market value was maybe 25 to 30k and the work could exceed another 30K. The decision was ,he loves the car,he has the finances and he wants to keep it, drive it and pass it on to his daughter. How cool is that! He knows it is not a smart investment, but I think his decision was a good one for him.
I had one, Blue with a Blue Interior and a Black top (!) took a girlfriend down the Caifornia Coast in it on US 1 with the top down. I remember that trip to this day. Fond memories in a 383 with power steering and brakes.
My soon to be 1st (of 4) brothers-in-law had one of these in avocado green with a white interior…until my sister wrecked it. She wasn’t on his insurance policy so he was left paying off a wrecked near new car. It was replaced by a 57 Plymouth sedan, what a letdown, that my sister never drove.
Anyway, this year Plymouth is not one of my favorites and it’s all down to the front grille. It looks like the design budget for the “facelift” of the nicer looking 67 was maybe $5/car, so they cobbled together scraps left in a dumpster behind the factory and management approved it.
COMMANDO V/8 usually meant 4 bbl carb. which would make this at least 325 horsepower. nice old Mopar , and if all it needs is a clean-up and minor fixing up is a bargain in my mind.
This car is doing nicely at $5121 with a day left, considering it didn’t get a bid last week at $3500. The body looks pretty good. The engine is the wrong color, possibly indicating an early 1970s-era replacement (or possibly indicating only that someone has painted it the wrong color!)
Great car. It will be interesting to see where it ends.