Two 1959 Plymouth Sport Furys
July 16, 1959, I bought my first Sport Fury in Cincinnati,
Ohio. I had to take my second choice of colors and engines due to the few
remaining unsold cars. I was a twenty year-old college student and barely
scraped together the purchase price and cost of insurance. I babied that car
and three years later when I got married, it still looked like new. In 1965
I traded in my ’59 on a new Barracuda. Having regretted losing a car
that drove and looked like an almost new car, I
hoped to be able to find another one in the future. Meanwhile,
another 1959 Plymouth was enjoyed for many years; it was a Sport Suburban
purchased as a second car in 1970. That station wagon was not rust free so
I let it go to a needy neighbor in the ‘70’s.
In 1990 my college age son was selling a car and placed
an ad in the Auto Trader magazine. While looking at that issue I saw an ad
for a 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury for sale in a nearby town. The following weekend
my son
and I took a look. It was a Palomino Beige hardtop with
the Standard 318 Super Pak engine. Having been an Alabama car since new, it
was free of rust.However, it would need paint and a new interior to look its
best. Much to my delight, the owner said it drove just fine, and a test drive
proved him correct. On September 20, 1990, I became the owner of a second
1959 Plymouth Sport Fury with 56,000 miles.
This is the car shown in the photographs. Except for radial
tires, the drive train is still original and unrestored, now with 76,000 miles
(it smokes a little when cold, but runs & drives well). Since this car
was sold by a rural dealer, the only options on this car are Torqueflite,
power steering, power brakes, heater, outside mirrors, variable speed wipers/washer,
whitewall tires and two toned paint. I changed to color to Iceberg White over
Bronze to better show off the styling.
After waiting for 3 1/2 years to obtain the correct interior
fabric, the car was once again beautiful in late 1994. This car has been featured
in Auto Restorer magazine, the Plymouth Club Bulletin and featured on National
TV (Car and Driver and Legends of the Road).
In 1959, Alabama did not issue titles to vehicles so tracing
the car’s ownership was difficult. I already knew from whom I purchased
the car and from whom that owner purchased the car. By chance, while attending
a local car show, I met a man who gave me the name of a long-time former owner.
By talking with the man’s widow, I found out about the other previous
owners, one still alive.
Chrysler Historical provided the build date and other information,
so now I have a complete history of this specific car. It is a late 1959,
built in Evansville, Indiana, May 15, 1959, and originally sold in Blountsville,
Alabama by King Motors to Mr. Walter Moore, a local farmer.
I wanted a car to drive and enjoy but it looked so good
that we drove 300 miles to Hiawassee, Georgia in June, 1995, and won a National
First Prize at the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) Meet. In the
fall of 1995,we drove 300 miles to Panama City Beach, Florida, and won an
AACA Senior award. In 1996, we entered the AACA Grand National Meet in Huntsville,
Alabama, and won a Second Place (First Place went to a trailered 1958 Edsel
convertible that was a megabuck restoration.) Not bad for an amateur partial
restoration that is driven! There are few of these Milestone Cars left, so
help preserve history by saving a 1959 Sport Fury from destruction, unauthentic
restoration or rodding.
