John & David Wilson - Alexandria, VA, USA

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Faulkner
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John & David Wilson - Alexandria, VA, USA

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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."

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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
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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.
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Taken at the "Mopars at the Beach" show around 1986 in Mayo Beach, Md.
"If it's new, Plymouth's got it!"
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