Plymouth Fury buyer's guide

Overview

The Fury was Plymouth's flagship name from 1956 to 1978 — beginning as a limited-production performance hardtop (the 1956–58 Fury, a one-model halo car in white and gold), becoming the top of the full-size line for 1959, riding the famous downsizing drama of 1962, headlining the fuselage era (1969–73) and closing as the Gran Fury of the formal 1970s. Along the way it was Christine (the 1958 Fury of Stephen King's novel and film — technically a Belvedere dressed for the role, which tells you how deep Fury mythology runs) and a generation of American police cars. The Fury market values the finned cars and the big-block convertibles; the vast 1970s cars are presence-per-pound bargains.

Generations and year breaks

1956–1958 — the original Fury

• A single-model flagship: hardtop coupe only, Fury-only colours (white with gold anodised trim), the dual-quad 318 in 1957–58 form (the "V-800" poly-head engine, and for 1958 the 350 Golden Commando option).
• A 1958 Fury is a cornerstone 1950s Plymouth — and one of the most-restored, most-claimed cars of its era. Verify colours, trim and engine with care.

1959–1961 — Fury as the flagship line

• The name spread across the top full-size range: hardtops, convertible and wagons, tailfins at their tallest (1959–60) and the finless 1961 "Fury" oddity with its distinctive face.
• The 413 crossram ("SonoRamic") cars of 1960–61 are the performance footnotes — long-ram induction in a full-size car.

1962–1964 — the downsized years

• Plymouth's B-body-sized "full-size" cars: light, and with the Max Wedge engines (in the Savoy/Belvedere line more than the Fury) drag-strip famous. The Sport Fury was the bucket-seat flagship.
• Styling recovered for 1963–64; these are the value way into early-1960s Mopar.

1965–1968 — the C-body Fury

• True full-size again on the C-body: Fury I/II/III and the Sport Fury, the 426 wedge and then the 440 as the performance options, VIP luxury trim above them.
• The 1965–66 cars are handsome, the 1967–68 fasttop Sports Furys genuinely rakish; convertibles ran through 1970 in the following generation.

1969–1978 — fuselage and formal

• The fuselage-styled 1969–73 cars (Sport Fury GT with the 440 in 1970–71 is the muscle footnote) and the formal 1974–78 Gran Furys, by then fleet and police staples.
• The police-package cars (440-powered Pursuits) have their own following; a documented CHP or state-police Fury is a piece of working history.

Engines and options that matter

• 318 poly (1956–58 Fury) — the Fury's original engine with dual quads; correct cars carry the specific intake and the Fury engine codes.
• 350/361/383 — the late-50s and 60s working big-blocks; the 383 is the sweet spot in the C-body cars.
• 413/426 wedge/440 — the performance ladder; a Sport Fury GT 440 (1970–71) is the last Fury with real muscle intent.
• The Fury's value options are trim-level: the VIP's luxury specification, bucket-and-console Sports Furys, and the convertible body in any generation.

What to check before buying

• 1956–58 authentication: the Fury was one specification per year — colours, gold trim, engine and interior are all codified; the data plate and the engine stamp settle claims of Fury identity on cars that began as Belvederes.
• Rust: C-body and earlier patterns — floors, trunk, rocker panels, the frame rails on the pre-1965 perimeter-frame cars, torsion-bar crossmember on unibody cars (1960-on except the framed years — know which structure your year has), and the fuselage cars' vinyl-roof and rear-window traps.
• Christine effect: red-and-white 1958 Plymouths are everywhere because of the film; a Fury is white-and-gold, and a red '58 is a Belvedere (or a Fury repainted — the data plate knows).
• Numbers: the VIN (door jamb plate on the 1950s cars, dash from 1968) and the data plate decode series, body and colours; engine stamps are on the distributor pad (big-blocks) or the front of the block.
• Size economics: as with all full-size cars, chrome, glass and interior acreage cost more than mechanicals; the 1969–73 cars' hidden-headlight mechanisms (Sport Fury/GT) are a test-everything item.
• Parts: mechanical support is good; Fury-specific trim, finned-era brightwork and fuselage panels are the hunts, with the police-car community a real resource for the late cars.