Available as a hardtop coupe or convertible, it resembled a Fury III, save for some minor trim differences. PRI Road Tour 2020: M1 Concourse Breaks Ground On $35M. We'll send you the most interesting Street Muscle articles, news, car features, and videos every week. Wheels sported custom wheel covers with a spinner styling motif. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. He is a published automotive writer in print and online and has a network of like-minded aficionados to depend on for information that's not in the public domain. The 1961 Plymouth, here in Fury guise, is perhaps the low point for the brand in terms of styling. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. The chart below lists weights, prices, and production numbers for 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968 Plymouth Fury models. Some of Chrysler Corp’s 1960 offerings were awkward enough to make people wish it was 1957 all over again, and then the oddly designed 1961 models were final confirmation that the company was out to lunch. Weird & Wacky, Copyright © 2020 HowStuffWorks, a division of InfoSpace Holdings, LLC, a System1 Company. Plymouth claimed, “This is the high-performance street version of the biggest engine Plymouth offers . Plymouth lost its way in 1962 when its car line was downsized based on a competitive rumor. The less austere Fury III was also was available as a four-door sedan and wagon plus a four-door hardtop, two-door hardtop, and convertible; moving into this class Fury gave you full-length aluminum body side molding, dual taillights with back-up lights, parking brake warning light, electric clock, and illumination for the glove box and trunk. But the Fury I was still a Plymouth, which meant it received the roadable benefits of Torsion-Aire suspension that gave it the poise that often was missing from its cross-town competitors. The 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury, the brand's sportiest full-size offering, topped an already impressive lineup. 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Trim levels started with the Fury I, which was available as a two-door or four-door sedan plus a wagon and came standard with the Slant Six or “Polysphere” 318 with column-mounted three-speed manual transmission, color-keyed deep-pile carpeting, single-speed windshield wipers, heater, front and rear armrests, and not much else. All rights reserved. Of course, Elwood Engel and his Highland Park design crew couldn't possibly have seen those cars in advance, yet they came up with stacked quad headlamps, as on Ford's new 1965 face, and Chevy-style back panels with single (I, II) or double (III and Sport Fury) taillamps. With 10.3 to 1 compression, the Commando 426 made 365 horsepower and a massive 470 lb.-ft. of torque. Ads proclaiming that "Plymouth is out to win you over this year" were likely aimed at Pontiac buyers, as well as Ford and Chevy fans. With competition being what it is, the Chrysler executive demanded the upcoming 1962 Plymouth and Dodge models be reduced in size; unbeknownst to him, the party conversation was about Chevrolet’s upcoming Chevy II compact. Looking at the popularity of compact cars, prompted in large part by Rambler's phenomenal success, Chrysler officials apparently figured that downsized versions of full-size cars would also be a hit. . Top of the Fury line was the Sport Fury. It is molded off a old IMC kit. 1965 Plymouth Fury Models, Prices, Production In particular, the 1965 Fury with the Commando 426 is the missing link in the evolution of Mopar Muscle, from … For the 1967 Plymouth Fury, the company reshaped the sheet metal that had resurrected its full-size cars by relaxing the straight lines to form sensuous curves. Virgil Exner’s designs were practically locked-up at that point, but a crash course was undertaken to downsize the 1962 Plymouth and Dodge lines. And with the addition of the Commando 426 for the Plymouth Fury, Chrysler had its first “proper” full-size muscle car. Shop millions of cars from over 21,000 dealers and find the perfect car. As equipped in the Fury, hitting the 14s would have been possible; installed in a lowly Fury I two-door sedan, it made for a very fast, unusual, and rare machine. Image: images.classiccars.com. Combined with the 5/50 warranty and success of the second-gen Valiant, the Plymouth brand was not the compromised marque that it had been a few years earlier. The latter was especially true for the Max Wedge 413, but racing success couldn’t make up for the styling or Americans’ perception that size mattered. This is a resin body that needed a lot of work to clean up. On Plymouth’s end, the full-size void was filled by the brand-new Fury series. Things started to get interesting with the Commando 383. With a forged steel crankshaft, large-diameter valves, stamped steel rocker arms and hydraulic tappets, special high-performance camshaft, dual breaker distributor, unsilenced low-restriction air cleaner, and dual exhausts, it put out 330 horses and 425 lb.-ft. of torque on 10.0 to 1 compression. However, unexpected demand led to poorly built cars that hurt Chrysler Corporation’s reputation, something that took years to recover (the advent of the 5/50 warranty in 1963 was a response to this). Tach on the left is not stock. Certainly, the new Fury line looked more upscale and was deliberately equipped to woo a few buyers from the middle-price range. We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We will safeguard your e-mail and only send content you request. Plymouth's 1965-1968 Fury models were impressive full-size cars that offered buyers solid performance, luxury appointments, and attainable prices. I am mounting it on a Pioneer Dodge Charger chassis. This was due to President K.T. With a “proper” 119-inch wheelbase (121 for wagons) and at over 209 inches in length, this was the car that they needed in 1962. However, a number of business miscalculations have forced the Chrysler to be on the brink of disaster numerous times in its history. Finally, for 1965, Plymouth had a ''proper'' full-size car. Now let's consider the 1965 Plymouth Fury's origins. Perhaps not usually mentioned in the same breath as the GTX, the 1965 Fury with the Commando 426 is the missing link in the evolution of Mopar Muscle, from the racing Max Wedge and HEMI cars of 1962-64 to the Street HEMI B-bodies of 1966. None of that sounds like muscle car material, right? Custom Suburban Station Wagon (1968-1968) Fury 2-Door Fast Top (1968-1968) Fury 2-Door Hardtop (1965-1968) Father and son had their fun with the Plymouth, adding American Racing Torq-Thrust wheels, mildly modifying the motor with a cam and wheel-well headers, and 4.56 gears for a 12.84 ET in D/Stock Automatic. After 10 years of storage, Dad passed on in 1984, so the Plymouth made its way to Dennis and Laura’s digs in Scottsdale, AZ. Wheelbase was less than an inch shorter than the Mopars, although length was almost five inches shorter. Chrysler Corporation’s trend of business gaffes started in 1949 when the company’s post-war redesigns did little to support the enthusiasm of a public hungry for fresh, new cars. Build your own custom newsletter with the content you love from Street Muscle, directly to your inbox, absolutely FREE! Image: oldcarbrochures.com. This mid-year quick fix was basically a Chrysler body with a 1961 Dodge front end, all on a 122-inch wheelbase. Plymouth cars, and the auto industry in general, were undergoing a revolution in 1962, although few realized it at the time. For example, it wore the same three slashes on the sides, but they were finished in red, white, and blue. Moving up to the Fury II gave you the same body style choices but with a longer list of standard equipment including a deep foam front seat cushion and a bit more exterior brightwork. This 1965 Sport Fury still has its c.1970 metalflake paint job. Chrysler’s response was the 331 HEMI in 1951, but an automatic transmission and snazzy styling would have to wait. Maybe not. We promise not to use your email address for anything but exclusive updates from the Power Automedia Network. The interior of the 1965 Sport Fury featured a console. Plymouth." There once was a time when the Chrysler Corporation was number two in sales, ahead of the formerly #1 Ford brand. Certainly 1962 would be a better year, right? For the performance enthusiast who desired to better compete with 409 Chevys and 427 Fords, the Commando 426 satisfied those pangs. The Sport Fury was chosen as pace car for Indy in 1965. The waiting was over with the debut of Virgil Exner’s 1955 creations and, by 1957, his “Forward Look” stole GM’s position as THE style leader. White; We are proud to offer for sale a 1965 Plymouth Fury that is one of only 35 festival Pace Car examples that were used on the track during race day in 1965! You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. But with some clever platform reshuffling for 1965 and the introduction of the new full-size C-body, the Chrysler Corporation was back in the saddle. It certainly didn’t help that FoMoCo introduced America’s first “intermediate” cars, the 1962 Ford Fairlane and Mercury Meteor. Keller’s insistence that drivers and passengers should be able to wear a hat inside; in contrast, the rest of the industry were producing sleek vehicles that – in GM’s case – had high compression motors and automatic transmissions. © 2017 Power Automedia. 1965 and 1966 Furys share sheet metal, but have different trim. Design and styling was utterly conventional, as former Ford design honcho Elwood Engel’s pen was used with restraint. However, it’s likely that most of the Commando 426s were installed in high-zoot Sport Furys like this one owned by Dennis and Laura Kerry. . We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. The corporation shuffled its 1964 full-size offerings and moved them into the burgeoning intermediate class (Belvedere I, II, and Satellite). . Diego is an automotive historian with experience working in Detroit as well as the classic car hobby. Sales rebounded for 1963 with more conventional styling, added length and, for Dodge, an increase of three inches in wheelbase. But, by 1965, the Plymouth Fury returned to a proper size. and it doesn’t require the special fuels and extra servicing needed by competition-tuned engines.” Commonly known as the 426 Street Wedge, it was introduced the year before, placed just below the Max Wedge 426 and its HEMI successor. Legend has it that a Chrysler executive overheard a Chevrolet executive at a party talk about downsizing their car line. 1965 Plymouth Fury $35,900 . The Commando 426 was rated at 365 horses but this one has a few more. All Furys received unibody construction, rust-resistant body, buffable acrylic enamel paint, servo-contact self-adjusting brakes, and an alternator. 1965-1966 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP Specifications, Information about the device's operating system, Information about other identifiers assigned to the device, The IP address from which the device accesses a client's website or mobile application, Information about the user's activity on that device, including web pages and mobile apps visited or used, Information about the geographic location of the device when it accesses a website or mobile application. Years before GM made "downsizing" an automotive catch word, Plymouth (and Dodge) offered a full line of "little" big cars. Styling for the 1965-1966 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP somehow blended 1965 Ford and Chevy. One of Chrysler’s biggest boners was during the dawn of the muscle car era. This series really best epitomizes the "Fabulous Fury" for 1965. Nineteen sixty-four continued the marginal improvements with even more mainstreamed styling. Even though the market was headed towards intermediate cars like Plymouth’s own Belvedere/Satellite (which, of course, was formerly known as a Savoy/Belvedere/Fury/Sport Fury from 1962-64), there still were performance options for the big 1965 Fury. More than 386,000 were built, compared to less than 173,000 full-size Plymouths and even fewer full-size Dodges, but Dodge was lucky enough to have the Custom 880 join the lineup. (Imagine it as a precursor to 1967’s Super Commando 440 and you wouldn’t be far off.) The VIP … 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 Plymouth Fury Models, Prices, Production, Information about the device's operating system, Information about other identifiers assigned to the device, The IP address from which the device accesses a client's website or mobile application, Information about the user's activity on that device, including web pages and mobile apps visited or used, Information about the geographic location of the device when it accesses a website or mobile application. 1965 Plymouth Fury [Finished] October 5, 2020, 10:46 PM. Dennis eventually ordered a Dark Red metallic 1967 GTX, while Dad had the mighty Mopar repainted with this custom metal flake paint job in 1970. Eclipsing Plymouth's Fury I and II in price and plush, as well as in popularity, was the darling of the line, the 1965 Plymouth Fury III.