I never really liked 1970s American cars back when they were contemporary – they seemed big, wasteful, ponderous, boring, and they gave me motion sickness, especially sitting in the back seat with the hood ornament floating up and down on the swells all the way up front. Blech, thinking about it now still makes me feel a little queasy. Call it nostalgia, or the influence of Streets of San Francisco and the French Connection, but at this point I’ve grown to appreciate the design statement they were making back then. And after a lifetime of owning 4-cylinder cars, I have to admit I’m curious as to what life on the other side of the fence is like.
Ever since my fiancee moved up to Noe Valley, and I started walking past this pea-green metallic Plymouth Fury II pillarless coupe in her neighborhood (since sold/moved), I’ve had a particularly strong appreciation for the Furies. Compared to contemporary cars like the Ford LTD and Chevrolet Impala, these cars look really menacing, with fold-away headlights, wide & low grilles, slab sides, and obscene length. Nowadays, they look ridiculously big, even parked by full-size modern sedans and SUVs. Makes you wonder how people managed to park back when this was a more ubiquitous form of transportation. Let’s take a look at the first of two cars currently listed at our price point.
I know you saw this car on TV reruns back in the 80s. Allegedly a police car, it has the light bar to back up its claim… but on the other hand, how can a cop car be family owned since new? Was the police department a family operation? With the rooftop lights and civilian paint, it’s neither an undercover or dressed-up patrol car. Either way, it looks pretty cool with the light bar, white-on-gold paint job, and steel wheels with dog-dish hubcaps. And at $2200 in Queen Creek, AZ (near Phoenix), you really can’t be too picky about claims regarding its past.
This 1971 Sport Fury coupe in Queens, NY for $3000 looks like another catch for the money. This car, dressed in the same color as the car that inspired this post, epitomizes Chrysler’s fuselage styling. However, the pillarless look (maybe he just needs to lower the windows for the photos) would go further towards making the car have that meanness that makes these so attractive. With a smallblock 360 V8, this car is largely original and apparently just needs minor rust repair. Check out http://www.fuselage.de/ for more info on these distinctive Chryslers, collected by a clearly-obsessed German. He even has some humorous period sales materials you can check out.
If you’ve owned/driven one of these cars, drop me a comment and let me know what it’s like.
Tags: american, c-body, cop, Feature, fury, fuselage, gran, plymouth, police, sport
Rusty But Trusty 
October 19, 2011 at 9:34 am |
1971 plymouth sport fury is a good ride a bid big look great is this going to be for sale
October 19, 2011 at 9:41 am |
if this sport go up for sale call mike 414 324 6420
November 13, 2016 at 2:45 pm |
Had a ’73 Dodge Polara Custom 2 -dr. Beautiful car, drove like a dream on the Interstate – when it was running that is. Seemed like it was in the shop half the time. Still, wish I still had it. Bought it in ’81 for $800.00. Traded it in two years for a new Ford Escort which wasn’t much more reliable, and nowhere near as nice.