David writes, "My
father bought his Sport Fury convertible on July 3, 1959 from Fred Frederick
Motors in Laurel Maryland. The convertible was advertised as a 4th of
July special and cost him just $2995.00. It was his first new car. The
car was slated to be used in the 4th of July parade the next day and
was to drive Ms. Maryland through the ceremonies. Needless to say the
dealership was not too happy when he picked up the car early and refused
to let it be used in the parade. Fred Fredericks, originally a Desoto
Plymouth dealer still exists today. The franchise has moved to Easton,
Maryland and is now a Jeep dealership." |
These front and
back shots of the convertible were taken in 1986 at a Chrysler show
at County Chrysler Plymouth in Upper Marlboro Maryland. |
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"The convertible is flame red with a white convertible top
and of course a red and black interior. The car has the standard 318
super pack engine and came with power steering, power brakes, and
undercoating. It was built on the Newark Delaware assembly line. Oddly
enough, the car was delivered with 58 Plymouth hubcaps. I eventually
convinced my father sometime in the 80's to replace them with a set
of 59 caps which look better on the car anyway. My father never used
the car as his everyday driver, he always had a second car. It was
4 to 5 years old before he had a garage to keep it in. He and my mother
went on their honeymoon to Miami in it in 1963. This is where it suffered
it's only major problem. Upon accelerating away from a stoplight an
axle broke. No damage was done to the car and the axle was replaced
at a local dealership on a Sunday for $15.00. It was determined the
axle broke because of a manufacturing flaw. My father drove and enjoyed
the car for years and never had any other problems. The car performed
flawlessly. He started taking it to car shows when I was a kid. I
can remember when it was deemed too new to be an antique and was always
placed in the classic category. He has had the car painted once, and
rebuilt the original engine in the late 70's. I have fond childhood
memories of the two of us taking the Fury to Hershey for the weekend
during the Fall swap meet. We also drove it out to Indianapolis in
1984 to the Mopar Nationals."
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"Some time ago we both lost our minds and decided
to do a concours restoration on the car. We obtained a 59 Golden Commando
engine and decided we would make the switch. We took the body off
the frame and had the front sheet metal acid dipped. The entire car
only had one small spot of rust smaller than the size of a dime under
one of the headlight eyebrow mouldings. The rest of the car is rust
free. Other upgrades include the installation of 12" brakes,
heavy duty torsion bars and rear leaf springs, front sway bar, and
a 3:31to 1 suregrip differential. Cosmetic upgrades include dual rear
antennas, dual outside remote mirrors, front bumper end wings, mirrormatic
and electronic headlight dimmer. We are also installing a factory
instant gas heater assembly which was available that year. The system
is very unusual and uses a unique set of pulleys and generator mounts
for the 361 engine. The generator mounts on the driver's side of the
engine much like with factory air conditioning. Progress has been
slow going since my father sold his auto body shop but, we hope to
get back on track and get the car finished soon."
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"My father bought his 59 Sport Fury hardtop in 1978 from the
second owner who resided in Newport News Virginia. The car had always
been garage kept and the second owner was selling because he was losing
his garage space. We took a Greyhound bus down to Newport News and
my father drove the car home. The hardtop is Iceberg white with a
blue interior. It also had the standard 318 super pack engine and
was built on the Newark assembly line. The only original options on
the car are power steering, padded sun visors, dual outside rear view
mirrors, undercoating and solex tinted glass. We later added dual
rear antennas, front bumper end wings, skirts, clear plastic seat
covers and a aftermarket continental kit. The kit was made for the
car back in 59 and was still wrapped in 58 news papers when my father
bought it in the late 70's. He removed the "sport deck "tire
cover on the trunk upon installation of the continental kit. This
car is mostly original and has only been painted once shortly after
we got it. We have done the usual maintenance such as brakes and exhaust.
Several years ago we rebuilt the entire front end and installed a
set of Coker's whitewall radials. We also converted to silicone brake
fluid. There are a few small spots of rust showing around the eyebrows
and at the rocker panel mouldings, but the car looks very presentable.
For now, we are content to drive and show the car as it is. We are
looking forward to the day when we can drive both cars together again."
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The two black and white
photos above were taken by The Washington Times for a piece they
did on the cars Friday, July 22, 1988.
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Taken at the Plymouth Owner's
Club (Mid-Atlantic Region) National fall meet in Annapolis, Sept 6,
1997 |
John Wilson sits behind
his '59SF hardtop at The Washington Times yearly meet in Sept 2003,
at Springhill District Park
in Tysons Corner, Virginia
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This picture
of the white hardtop was taken in the early eighties at a local show,
likely a speed shop in Manassas, Va. |
Taken at the "Mopars
at the Beach" show around 1986 in Mayo Beach, Md. |
