1964 Plymouth Fury Project (“Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday’)
After an ill-fated downsizing that saw full-size Plymouth sales slump to 43,000 Fury’s in 1962, the make had bounced back by 1964 with a tally of more than 115,000 cars (though still far below that of Chevy or Ford). Some of that rebound may have come from the car’s success in NASCAR that year, winning several races (including the Daytona 500) and the Grand National Championship. You remember, “Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday” was the day’s mantra. This ’64 Fury is a project that has been largely disassembled and needs further restoration, including a rebuild of its engine. Located in Chiloquin, Oregon, this Mopar has had just one bid of $4,000 so far here on eBay (the reserve is unmet at that level).
Assuming it’s the original engine, this Fury had plenty of power under the hood in 1964 with a 383 cubic inch V8. The transmission is an automatic, which would have still been the push-button variety that year (column-shift returned in 1965). It’s one of 26,300 Fury 2-door hardtops assembled in 1964 (along with another 23,700 Sport Fury’s in the same body style; combined they were 43% of sales with Fury badging). Someone (not necessarily the seller) started a restoration, including removing all the chrome and most of the interior.
There are scads of new or used parts coming with the deal and most of the photos show various piles of them. The 383 is out of the car and awaiting a rebuild (the heads have already been done). The transmission has received that same treatment and has been reinstalled. The interior pieces seem to be there, but they may need attention before going back into the machine.
The seller does not refer to rust and the photos show a solid body that has had some sanding done. Turquoise was the color of the day for both the paint and the inside trim. If you don’t mind finishing something started by someone else, this Mopar might turn into quite a looker and runner. IMO, the Plymouths were better-looking cars than the Galaxies and Impalas in 1964.
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Comments
Really? Nobody? ( sigh), yeah, he’ll be the next one to go, the King is 87. If I have to say who that is, I may as well stop right here,,,but you know me at 4am. That “win on Sunday” , I believe, was coined by the great Bob Tasca Sr. The author only briefly touched on this cars success. Someone may correct me, but the 426 hemi was THE hottest stick. Not only Petty, but it was without question the most popular race car, both NASCAR and USAC. Drag racing too. Some big names raced early 60s Mopars. You could say, this was the last hurrah for Plymouth, as in ’65, the hemi was banned, Chevy got the 396, and Ford, of course, still dominated. 1965 changed everything, and Plymouth became a cushier ride, but if you were into racing in the 60s, you simply cannot overlook this car. ( crickets chirping)
That is correct, but it returned in 66 with Petty winning the Daytona 500 and Pearson grabbed the championship in a 426 Dodge. They also got Mr Garlits a couple of Hemis in 64, replacing his 392 setup “Swamp Rat” dragsters. Garlits immediately realized the potential of “The Elephant” with aggressive tuning and additional lead, eventually pushing top fuel performances from 6 second passes to less than 4 seconds at more than 330 MPH. I think it is amazing that both of these legends are still alive and doing pretty well.
The push button shifter went away after 1964, but the 1965 TorqueFlite automatic still used the cable shift setup from the earlier cars. Trust me, I have one. The 1965 transmission is not the same as the earlier ones because the cable lengths and shift strokes are different.
The normal rod shifter didn’t make and appearance until 1966. If you have one of those “Cable shift” transmissions and you can find somebody who knows how to adjust it, find out everything you can because the people who used to know how to do it are likely in a nursing home these days.
Always like the 64 Plymouth, a buddy of mine had a black Sport Fury with a transplanted 383 in it (originally had a 318 Poly engine). A few years before that a guy 5 years older than me worked at the local SOHIO station. He had a bright red 64 Sport Fury with a 426 Wedge and a four speed. 55 years later I still salivate when think about that car. Too far away to even think about this one.