1959 Sport Fury Hardtop - new member

[schlaaj]

I have recently purchased a beautiful 1959 Sport Fury hardtop from Robert Hinds of Birmingham Alabama and brought the car home to Danville, Kentucky (30 miles from Lexington). The Bronze with white top Fury is presently on this web site listed under Robert Hinds. He has taken maticulous car of this car over the 15 or so years he has owned it and I intend to keep it
that way. I am a Tech Advisor to the national plymouth club on the 67 B-body plymouths. I am also heavily involved in putting on the Keeneland Concours held each July who's benefactor
is the UK Children's Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. (Ref: "Keenelandconcours.com"). I love originally restored MOPAR's. I am also the original owner of a 67 Plymouth Belvedere II, and a
1966 Sport Fury convertible that I purchased out of California 15 years ago. I am just getting to know this 59 Fury and yesterday I took my wife for a ride in it for the first time. Car's
passing me, kept giving me the "Thumbs-up". My wife commented "this is embarrasing". I told her "No - in old car lingo it is a compliment ". I just installed new white-wall tires and the tire alignment garage owner, told me after, he had to pull the car and put it around back because his floor was getting wet with customers drooling over it. I think I am going to enjoy this car. I have a few questions that perhaps someone can answer: 1) How many Fury Hardtops were produced ? 2) Are there any other 59 Plymouth owner's here in Kentucky ? (in the20 years of showing cars here, I have never seen one) 3) I would like to put together a window sticker showing prices and options but can't seem to find information on it. 4) What is the
base cost of this car new ? 5) My car has a light tan-ish carpet, yet I notice places that sell original carpets list a Dark Copper 80/20 Loop for the 59. What was the color carpet that
went the the Plymouth Bronze exterior & interior ? Best Regards to Everybody. Art Schlachter (Danville, Ky)

[Dick Koch]

Hi Art - Welcome to the site. The 59 Sport Fury was the top of the line in 59. The Fury was relagated to 2nd. place in 59. They produced 17,867 two door hardtop coupes, Factory Price $2,927.00, Weight 3,475 lbs. There were 5,990 Convertibles, Factory Price $3,125.00, Weight 3,670 lbs. Swivel Seats and Sport Deck Trunk were standard on this model. The next Sport Fury wasn't until 1962. There is a ton of information on these cars and engines on this site, just type in what you are lookiing for in the "Search Box" upper right. Also www.alpar.com is a good source for info. You have a beautiful, well kept car. I met Bob Hinds several years ago at a AACA meet in south Florida, he is a judge for the AACA.
Good luck and enjoy your car.
Dick.

[Dick Koch]

Art - Don 't make the mistake I made. The carpet for these cars is cut pile, not loop. There is a company in Portland, Oregon that can supply the correct carpet and upholstery material for your car. Just email them the trim number on your data tag and they will send you samples.
Dick. www.smsautofabrics.com

[schlaaj]

Dick, I really appreciate your reply. I am just getting to know this car. I knew about SMC Fabrics, but I didn't realize they did carpets in addition to the original interior materials. Bob Hinds is a great guy. While buying the car from him, he had been going through radition/chemo treatments. I believe he is now done with them and is recovering. Continuous treatments
had been wearing on him. Hopefully he is on the road to recovery. Best Regards, Art

[Bernie B.]

Art, congratulations on your new car, and welcome to this website.

Did Bob Hinds give you the full history of this car? I assume he did as he served as the advisor for 1959 for the POC for several years, and I corresponded with him a couple times then, shortly after he had finished restoring the car in the present color scheme. It was written up in the Plymouth Bulletin more than once and in some other magazines as well, and Bob himself took the initiative to have the 1959 Sport Fury awarded milestone car status with the AACA.

I have a Sport Fury convertible (not running - long story) that was my first car from long ago. Over the years I became more and more interested in the details for true authenticity such as serial numbers, assembly plant info, various location sightings, and hi performance info, as mine has the Golden Commando which was the main reason I got it. Your new car was built in Evansville, Indiana as he probably told you, sometime in May 1959, so get a 55th birthday cake ready soon. Bob gave me his vin and date built info, and it stuck in my mind as a reference point. Mine was built there in April and I think our cars are about 500 units distant in serial number, again this is more or less personal curiosity but some others do care as we like to track survivors, etc.

I know yours also has a re-cast steering wheel from the 1990's, hope it held up good as there seems to be fewer resources for doing them lately. Your car also was filmed on the Talladega Speedway which I hope he made you aware - as a selling point!

Again, congrats and welcome.

Bernie B.

[schlaaj]

Bernie, appreciate the information. Yes Bob Hinds gave me a lot of information on the car including a complete list of prior owner's. It had been an Alabama car all it's life and the body is very sound - I and another guy went over it quite thoroughly before I purchased the car. Bob gave me the copy of the TV interview tape that was done at Taladaga. He also gave me
a tape on the assembly line back in 59 as well as several TV advertisements for the 1959 Fury. Plymouth was a big sponsor back then of the Lawrence Welk show. I do not own a trailer and have always driven my cars as did Bob Hinds. I am going to do my best to keep it as nice as Bob has. Already have five gallons of engine oil with all the old additives that was present back in 1959. The car is in such beautiful shape there are only two things that I would like to address. The light beige carpet has been in the car since Bob had it restored and it appears (to me anyway) that it is a little faded over the transmission hump and also the strips along the lower doors. I am considering putting new cut pile carpet on the floor and on the lower doors. I am wondering if the carpet is the actual color for the bronze-white & dark brown interior. I have looked at several Bronze interiored cars on this web site but in nearly all the photo's there is no clear shot of the color of carpets installed in these cars. Another nice gentleman Dick Koch, suggested I contact SMC interiors in Portland, Oregon as they can send me a swatch based on the trim code on the vehicle I.D. tag, which I will do. The only other problem that I would like to address on this car is a leaking differential where the drive shaft enters into the differential. Bob made me aware of this and said he has tried unsuccessfully to get it to seal off. It is not a serious leak but one has to keep and eye on the oil level in the differential on long runs. Otherwise the drive train, engine & transmission seem to be in great shape. I just love the gently slopped wings and the faux tire Plymouth put on the trunk decks. It was Chrysler's answer to the continental kits used on Ford and GM cars in the late 50's. It was quite a controversial move by Chrysler back then - some liked it, some didn't. But regardless of one's opinion, the 59 Furies stand out from other's in the crowd and faux-tire on the rear deck is great eye-candy to the observer. Personally I think it is a classy touch that blends well with the overall design of the car. The re-cast steering wheel has held up just fine over the years. (I noticed and NOS one on Ebay and the clear sections looked significantly "yellowed" - still had a big price tag) Bernie, where do you live ? Is there a list of 59 Plymouth owner's available from this web site along with contact information ? Like I say, I am new the this web site and still learning my way around.

[Dick Koch]

Art - I heard one of the reasons for the Sport Deck Trunk was to give the car "that Imperial look". If you notice when standing at the rear of the car looking at the tail fins they are mimicked on the dash right in front of the driver with the two fins on top of the dash right above the instrument module. For a list of members on this site look up to your right and click on MEMBERS. In the search box above type in DIFFERENTIAL TIPS, a thread will come up, click on the top heading DIFFERENTIAL TIPS. It's where I talk about using a Pinion Speedi Sleeve made by SKF, it's NAPA part #99187 because my differential had developed a leak at the seal on the pinion yoke. The yoke had become severly grooved where even a new seal wasn't much help. The sleeve eliminates the groove and along with a new seal "problem solved".
The yokes are 10 pline and extremely difficult to find.
Dick.