Page 1 of 1

Tom Fox - Welches, OR, USA

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:50 pm
by Faulkner
The Car Chrysler Should Have Built

1a.jpg


Tom Fox says of his masterpiece: "This is a car that Chrysler should have built. This car could have come off the assembly line like I built it. Everything is period and built by Chrysler. It has a 413 engine which was in the 59 Chrysler, the long ram intake system was being readied for introduction in late 59 for the l960 models. The interior is correct except for vinyl color. The grille, side spears, and toilet seat hubcap have been anodized gold. The buckles on the seats and door panels are gold, as well as the squares in the hubcaps. This is a frame off restoration and was completed in 1994."

1b.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg


"The Gold Fury came to me as a drag race car. It had a 413ci (bored to 426) engine, solid lifters, adjustable push rods, race cam, 780 Holley on a TK7 manifold, headers and 4.56 Sure Grip rear end. The interior was modified, and no swivel seats. At the rear wheel wells, some of the body had been cut away to make clearance for racing slicks. I had been thinking for years about the Limited Edition Furies of 56-58, and that Chrysler should have continued the performance models. Now I had the makings in my hands."

4.jpg
5.jpg
6.jpg
7.jpg
8.jpg
9.jpg


"I started stripping the car, repairing, and removing the body from the frame, stripping the undercoating, sandblasting, and painting the underside. I restored the frame, adding new brake lines and fuel line. I changed the rear end to a stock 3.31 Shure-Grip I purchased a parts car that had power windows, which are now in the Fury, and several other items, like under hood wiring, brackets and other pieces to make the project 'stock'. The parts car body is now part of Matthew Keij's Sport Fury convertible."

10.jpg
11.jpg
12.jpg
13.jpg
14.jpg
15.jpg


"I bought a 1960 Dodge 4-door hardtop, that had a complete long ram intake system on a 383ci engine. The block was split from a water freeze and the car was rough. I paid $500 for the car, removed all of the long ram related pieces and left the car where it sat in the woods."

17.jpg
25.jpg
16.jpg


"The engine work consisted of converting back to hydraulic lifters, a milder, purple cam, stock ignition and adding the Sonoramic intake. My Mopar buddies gave me a bad time for tearing up a good running race car, but I think they have gotten over it. They sure enjoyed helping getting it to run again at the start up party!"

20.jpg
23.jpg
24.jpg
21.jpg
26.jpg


"The interior came together with a set of swivel seats from a Chrysler, and upholstery fabric from SMS in Portland. An upholstery shop made door and side panels, and seats, using my white SF that I had at the time, as a pattern. I have parted out a total of three Sport Furies and one Fury over the years, so I had things like a steering wheel, interior trim, etc. This Gold Fury is the recipient of several donors."

30.jpg
31.jpg
32.jpg


And here's some details about the donors: "The three SFs in the salvage yard, I ended up owning in a trade. I sold a 58 Fury for cash and these three cars. The red one in the foreground is the red one in the other pictures. The white one and the red one with the white top were both parted out. Several things were used in the Gold Fury, and other parts were used to make the red car complete. I kept the red car for several years, but finally sold it unrestored. The white Sport Fury I owned from Oct 1986 until Jan 1998. It was a 361 Golden Commando with a red interior."

33.jpg
34.jpg
22.jpg
Here's an impressive shot! 4 -- count 'em -- four '59 Sport Furys in one picture! Tom says, "The first three were mine and the fourth was Wil Eichelberg. The red hardtop went to Australia, and the white Fury was sold at Barret Jackson in 1998. It would be neat if we found either one of them someday."


The white Fury has been found, and Larry Flynn (elsewhere in the Showcase) is the owner. And the same for the red Fury - it has been found, and Arthur Lee is the owner (again, elsewhere in the Showcase).

Tom writes, "Here are some photos taken at our WPC Regional in Portland. The two convertibles are Wil's and mine. The Gold Fury, now sporting Sonoramic Commando Power badges, and for you to look at, my white DeSoto Adventurer."

40.jpg
41.jpg
42.jpg

Re: Tom Fox - Welches, OR, USA

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2020 11:14 am
by Faulkner
I spotted some photos of Mark J. Hash's '57 Fury along with Tom Fox's '59 Fury, and there's a prominent feature that differs between the two. I asked Mark for permission to use his photo, and he obliged by arranging a special photo op with Tom and providing more pix! The feature will be mentioned in an upcoming Plymouth Owners Club Bulletin. See if you can guess what the distinctive feature difference is!

108362901_294549921663516_71194894631829004_n.jpg
109889097_301000337813050_1766242013345806678_n.jpg
115974476_289600765711055_4327227229552524910_n.jpg
115974625_2748690412020957_1057023872903507717_n.jpg
116226955_876999156125432_441081288961998930_n.jpg
116293991_339626623722500_5111832349262351453_n.jpg
116318665_727324101174783_2560823120575262648_n.jpg