1965 Plymouth 50th anniversary

Transcription

Dan Payne photo
November-December 2015
24-time Old Cars Weekly Golden Quill Award winner
335 Volume 57 Number 1
The Fiftieth of the Roaring ‘65s
Ed Parker photo
W. Vernon Alldredge’s 1965 Fury III sedan
Founded 1957
Ed Parker’s 1965 Sport Fury convertible
TECHNICAL SUPERVISORS
Plymouth® Owners Club, Inc.
®Plymouth is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC and is used by special permission.
MEMBERSHIP
The PLYMOUTH BULLETIN is published bi-monthly by the Plymouth Owners Club, Inc.,
PO Box 416, Cavalier, North Dakota 58220. Periodicals postage paid at Grafton, ND.
Membership is open to all persons genuinely interested in Plymouth or Fargo vehicles.
Ownership of a club recognized vehicle is not a prerequisite for club membership. Club
dues entitle members to receive all BULLETIN issues published within the 12 month period following establishment or renewal of membership. Membership in the Plymouth
Owners Club is a prerequisite for membership in one of its regions.
GROUP I
Patrick Dolan
GROUP II
Dave Geise
GROUP III
Jeff Berkheimer
9099 S 250 E
Hamlet, IN 46532
765-413-8529
417 Tennessee Tr.
PO Box 187
Haxtun, CO 80731
970-774-6337
[email protected]
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Browns Mills, NJ 08015
609-893-5969
2366 Glasco Trnpk.
Woodstock, NY 12498-1013
(845) 679-6185
[email protected]
DUES
Dues for first-time members are $32 per year payable in US funds. Renewals are $30
per year payable in US funds. Payment can be made by VISA or MasterCard. No personal checks outside of USA please. Overseas members may get airmail delivery for $45
per year.
MEETS
National meets are sponsored by the Plymouth Owners Club. Such meets are held on a
rotating basis with location of the meets determined by local regions upon application to
the Officers and Board of Directors. Notice of the dates and locations of such meets will
be announced in the PLYMOUTH BULLETIN. At least one meet will be held east of the
Mississippi River and one meet west of the Mississippi with meets held in the Spring,
Summer and/or Fall. On years ending in "8" a single Grand National Meet is held in the
Detroit area in honor of Plymouth's 1928 beginning.
1930 30U - 1931 PA
Robert McMulkin
Box 40
AWARDS &TROPHIES
MAYFLOWER AWARD is awarded to the highest scoring 4dr sedan not winning Best of
Show at each national meet.
EDITOR’S AWARDS are presented annually by the Editor for outstanding contributions by
the members to the PLYMOUTH BULLETIN.
(845) 657-6287
JUDGING CLASSES
Class 8 -- 1960-61 full size; 1965-77 C-body
Class 1 -- 1928-1932
Class 9 -- 1964-1974 Barracuda
Class 2 -- 1933-1939
Class 10 - Commercial (pickup, sdn del, stn wgn)
Class 3 -- 1940-1948
Class 11 - 1976-80 F-, 78-89 M-, ‘80-81 R-bodies
Class 4 -- 1949-1954
Class 12 - 1978-1989 Early FWD - L-, K-bodies
Class 5 -- 1955-1959
Class 13 - 1987-2001 Late FWD - P-, PL-, AA-, JA-bodies
Class 6 -- 1960-76 Val.
Class 14 - 1971-1994 imports
Class 7 -- 1962-78 B-body Class 15 -1997-2001 Prowler
Senior -- Best of Show vehicles since 1996
JUDGING GROUPS: Group I: 1928-39 / Group II: 1940-59 / Group III:1960-89 RWD /
Group IV:1971-2001 FWD & imports
(408) 749-9233
[email protected]
MEMBERSHIP ROSTER
A complete listings of all current members along with their address and Plymouth and/or
Fargo vehicles roster can be downloaded at any time via e-mail or a member can obtain a
disc with the information. Contact Membership Secretary Jim Benjaminson.
(517) 675-5717
[email protected]
(845) 247-3158
[email protected]
Lemon Springs, NC 28355
[email protected]
1932 PB
Bruce E. Buton
2366 Glasco Tnpk.
Woodstock, NY12498-1076
[email protected]
1933
Tod Fitch
P O Box 51
San Clemente, CA 92674
1934
Dennis Williams
377 West Bigelow Ave.
Plain City, OH 43064
614-873-7055
Advisors wanted: 1942; 1961; ‘72-73 C-body; ‘73-74 B-body; Group IV cars
VOR 2W0 CANADA
[email protected]
1951-53
Neil Riddle
20303 8th Ave NW,
Shoreline,WA 98177-2107
[email protected]
[email protected]
1968-70 B-body
Clif Nelson
2122 Sommer Dr. N
Mandan, ND 58554
[email protected]
1969-71 C-Body
Edwin C. Hill
412 West Temple St.
1956
Dick Friedman
1502 Elmwood Ave.
Wilmette, IL 60091
847-256-1432
[email protected]
1959
Dan Morton
7111 Wayne Avenue
Upper Darby, PA 19082
1946-49 P15
Frank J. Marescalco
2610 D Street
California City, CA 93505
<[email protected]
1955
Jason Rogers
208 E. Highland Ave.
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273
(360) 982-2465
[email protected]
1940
Jim Benjaminson
Box 345
Walhalla, ND 58282-0345
1941
Mark Walker
2621 Adrian Street
Turlock, CA. 95382
(209) 634-0625
[email protected]
1942
Tech Advisor wanted
1965-66 C-Body
Bob Coburn
2434 East Madison Ave.
DesMoines, IA 50317
515-771-2254
1966-67 B-Body
Dennis Mohr
9323 Columbine Ave
[email protected]
1957-58
Wally Breer
66 Stanway Bay
Mitchell, MB R5G 1H5
1939
Roy G. Kidwell;
9 St. Andrews Garth;
CANADA [email protected]
1967-68 C-Body
Mark E. Olson
707 4th Street
Proctor, MN 55810-1722
(407) 330-9100, 701-4493cell (218) 624-4482
1937
Scott Oller
PO Box 7006
Greenwood, IN 46142
(317) 371-7109
1938
John Sbardella
11 Heritage Path
Millis, MA 02054
1964-65 B-body
Rob Elliott
307 - 30 Ave. NE
Calgary, AB T2E 2E2
1954
Darrell Davis
100 Tech Drive
Sanford, FL 32771
1956-58 Fury
Tom VanBeek
3006 Emerald Street
WestBend, WI 53095
(262) 338-8986
Severna Park, MD 21146
(410) 987-6081
[email protected]
TECHNICAL ADVICE
Technical questions may be submitted to the individual advisor for each model.
Technical questions should be brief and specific. A SASE should be included with your
enquiry (please do not affix stamps if mailed out-of-country but enclose within envelope).
1950 P19, P20
David Pollock
Box 196
Shawnigan Lake, BC
1935 - 1936
Wayne Brandon
5715 Forest Green Dr.
Perry, MI 48872-9197
BULLETIN DEADLINE DATES for ads, articles, photographs, etc.
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MAIL DATE
The BULLETIN is to be mailed by the last week of the even numbered month of the cover
date (i.e. the Jan-Feb issue is to be mailed in February, etc.).
1949 P17, P18
Bob Nolan
Vermillion, SD 57069
[email protected]
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All items sent to the BULLETIN will be returned if requested with a SASE (please DO
NOT affix US stamps to the return envelope--as it will be mailed from Canada--but
enclose within envelope).
314-704-5608
TECHNICAL ADVISORS
1928 Q
Earl Buton, Jr.
1929 U
Jeff C. Buton
275 Dutchtown Road
Saugerties, NY 12477
ADDRESS CHANGES
The PLYMOUTH BULLETIN is mailed by periodicals postage. The postal service WILL
NOT FORWARD YOUR COPIES IF YOU CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS. If you plan
to move, use the postal address change form on the cover and send it to the Membership
Secretary BEFORE you move. The Plymouth Owners Club WILL NOT replace issues
not received because of an address change.
GROUP IV
Ed Lanfer
5875 Robert Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63109
CANADA
[email protected]
215-206-2214
<[email protected]>
1960 Sav/Belv/Fury
Randy Wilson
PO Box 647
Maxwell, CA 95955
(530) 438-2376
1960-76 A-body
Bruce Pine
1458 Nunneley Road
Paradise, CA 95969
(530) 876-7463
[email protected]
1961 Sav/Belv/Fury
Tech Advisor wanted
1962 B-body
Gerald Klinger
1027 N.W. 1st
Gresham, OR 97030
(503) 665-8330
[email protected]
1963 B-body
Omaha, NE 68107-1622
(402)733-3153 [email protected] Darrell Davis (see 1954)
[email protected]
Lenox, IA 50851-1228
[email protected]
1970-74 E-body
Clif Nelson (see 1968-70 B)
1971-94 imports
Tech Advisor wanted
1971-72 B-body
Edward F. Weingart
334 Creekview Dr
Hampstead, NC 28443
[email protected]
1974-77 C-body
Wally Breer (see 1957-58)
1975-78 B-body
Ed Lanfer (see Group IV)
1976-80 F-body
Wayne & Karen Fowler
6902 Ruckles Road
Mt. Airy, MD 21771
(301) 831-7150
[email protected]
1978-89 M-body
Michael Bonadonna
455 North Cherry Pop Drive
Inverness, FL 34453-7975
(352) 341-1019
[email protected]
1978-01 4/6-cylinder FWD
Tech Advisor wanted
1980-81 R-body
Tech Advisor wanted
Plymouth Commercial
Bob Manke
6037 E. Canal Rd.
Lockport NY 14094
(716) 625-4048
[email protected]
Fargo Commercial
Cam D. Clayton
Box 725, Kaslo, BC
V0G1M0 CANADA
[email protected]
335-FULL ISSUE-_FULL ISSUE-48 2016-01-10 11:45 PM Page 1
Plymouth®
Owners Club
Box 416
Cavalier, ND 58220-0416
Phone: 701-549-3746
Fax: 701-549-3744
e-mail: <[email protected]>
plymouthbulletin.com
FOUNDER
Jay M. Fisher
The Plymouth Bulletin
No. 335
LANNY D. KNUTSON, editor
204-889-8008
288 Strathmillan Road, Winnipeg, MB R3J 2V5 CANADA
<[email protected]> or <[email protected]>
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Earl Buton, Jr.
2366 Glasco Turnpike
Woodstock, NY 12498-1076
845-679-6185 <[email protected]>
OFFICERS 2014-15
PRESIDENT
Larry Nuesch
77 Meadowbrook Lane
Chalfont, PA 18914
VICE PRESIDENT
Bobbi Berkheimer
36640 Hawk Road
Hazard, NE 68844
PLYMOUTH DIVISION, CHRYSLER CORPORATION
MEMBERSHIP
SECRETARY-TREASURER
Jim Benjaminson
Box 345
Walhalla, ND 58282-0345
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY
Tom Nachand
5215 NW Cavalier Ave.
Lincoln City, OR 97367
BULLETIN EDITOR
Lanny D. Knutson
288 Strathmillan Road
Winnipeg MB R3J 2V5 CANADA
DIRECTOR 2010-15
Robert S. Kerico
4640 Boardwalk
Smithton, IL 62285-3662
618-444-6966
<[email protected]>
DIRECTOR 2012-17
Carl D. Wegner
19600 Cardinal Drive
Grand Rapids, MN 55744-6189
DIRECTOR 2014-19
Nick DeSimone
1423 Pecan Grove Dr.
Diamond Bar, CA 91765-2536
JUDGING DIRECTOR
Joe Suminski
68226 Winchester Court
Washington, MI 48095-1244
(586) 752-3140 <[email protected]>
The 50th of the Roaring ‘65s
-1-
Class of ‘65
From the Editor
Still alive…
“H
ey, hey, we are still alive, we’re
the Class of ‘65!” One of us
came up with the chant and so
it went, on and on, while we proceeded down
the parade route on our hay wagon float as
members of the “Golden Class” reunion of
Augustana College (now, University) in Sioux
Falls, South Dakota.
As a dozen of some seventy 1965 graduates gathered that October weekend for reunion activities during the Viking Days
homecoming celebration, we float riders had
other things to say.
“Don’t laugh, you’ll be here before you
know it,” chortled Clive Rosengren, on my
right. A drama major, he is an author and an
actor who played the only character in Cheers
to throw Sam Malone out of his own bar.
On my left, “Cuz” Sharyl (Knutson)
Nestor piped up, ‘We may be old, but we are
good!”
Actually, we didn’t think of ourselves as
being “old.” In our minds, we were still the
22-year-old fresh graduates we were in 1965,
although most of us needed help getting on
the wagon.
Then a realization came to me: when we
were new grads in 1965, celebrating their fiftieth reunion was of the Class of 1915. Now,
that is old!
And so we may seem to those fresh grads
of 2015 standing on the sidelines, watching
the ‘65s go by.
IS A ‘65 PLYMOUTH REALLY THAT OLD? Is it
really as old now as a 1915 Maxwell was
when the Roaring ‘65s were introduced in the
fall of 1964? Many of us can remember that
new car introduction, and a good number preceeding it. It was long ago, but not so long
ago, as our minds go back and forth.
The advancement in automotive technology is readily apparent when a 1915 Maxwell
is parked beside a 1965 Plymouth. Can the
same be noticed when a 1965 Plymouth is
compared to a 2015 vehicle? At first blush,
we may claim “no.” A ‘65 Plymouth can be
safely driven at highway speeds, and even in
air-conditioned comfort. But as we consider
the computer-controlled conveniences we take
for granted in our contemporary vehicles, we
may think, “maybe so.” And, now they’re
even developing driverless cars!
UPCOMING BULLETINS will feature the
75th (now 76th) anniversary of the 1940
Plymouths, the 75th of the 1941 P11 and
P12 models and the 50th of the ‘66 Plymouths. I also have a growing collection of1931-32 PA articles and stories I
hope to compile into an issue.
We’ll certainly be looking forward
to coverage of the 2016 National Spring
THE 1965 PLYMOUTHS COVERED in this issue
are definitely drivers’ cars. Three of the member-cars covered are in the hands of their original owners or remain in original family
ownership. Three writers also bought new
Plymouths in 1965, two of whom are reliving
their first ownerships with recently acquired
‘65s. These Plymouths are definitely drivers’
Plymouths.
Interestingly, although Plymouth offered
four lines of cars in 1965—Valiant, Barracuda,
Belvedere and Fury—and each is represented
on our club roster, only the new-for-1965 Fury
line is covered in our members’ stories, and all
but one of them is about the top-of-the-line
Sport Fury. There is where Plymouth passion
seems to lie for ‘65.
Meet, hosted this May by the Lone Star
Region in Kerrville, Texas. Numerous
reports are heard of members planning
to attend. And with the Lone Star people diligently making plans to host, it
should be a good one.
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NOW, on to Plymouth’s Class of ‘65.
They’re still alive, to be sure.
— Lanny Knutson
The Plymouth Bulletin
No. 335 November-December 2015
LANNY D. KNUTSON, editor
LEEANN LUCAS, asst. editor
The
Plymouth Press
2015 election tallied: new v. p.
CLUB NEWS
R
uss Nardi takes office as
the POC’s twenty-second
vice-president as a result of
the 2015 election. He replaces Bobbi Berkheimer
who chose not to run after
serving six terms since 2004.
Bobbi had distinguished
herself in establishing the
vice-presidential office to
serve as the liaison between
the national club and the regions. Several new regions
were established under her
watch, others took up the
challenge to host national
meets and the general activity
of all was enhanced. Many
members join national president Larry Nuesch in offering
thanks to Bobbi for a job well
done.
This is
Russ Nardi’s
first election
to national
office. A
POC member
since 1985,
he has served
as the Detroit Region president since 2009, overseeing
their hosting of the 2014 National Summer Meet in Port
Huron, Michigan.
Assuming a new office
but not new to the board is
Bob Kerico. His term as director completed, he is taking
on the duties of correspon-
Plymouth Owners Club
2015 Election Results
TOTAL BALLOTS
PRESIDENT
Larry Nuesch
VICE-PRESIDENT
Russ Nardi
412
403
400
write-in:
Bobbi Berkheimer
1
CORRESPONDING SEC.
Robert S. Kerico
402
MEMBERSHIP SEC./TREAS.
Jim Benjaminson 405
4
Ten ballots did not have
votes for all candidates.
BLANK BALLOTS
Tallied and reported by
Paul Curtis
December 16, 2015
ding secretary previously held
by Tom Nachand.
Having served since
2008, Tom chose not to seek
reelection. He, too, has been
thanked by Larry Nuesch for
his years of dutiful service.
Bob Kerico
was national
president from
2006-09 and a
director for the
2010-15 term.
Outgoing
presidents are named as a director for a five-year term. In
years such as this when the
president continues for a sec-
ond term, the board appoints
a director.
Reelected to their positions are Larry Nuesch and
Jim Benjaminson, as president and membership secretary / treasurer, respectively.
Larry begins serving the second of two consecutive terms
permitted a president. Mem-
No. 335
bership secretary since 1974,
Jim took on treasurer duties
in 1996.
Although having a seat
on the board, the BULLETIN
editor is appointed, not
elected, as is the technical director.
— LDK
Members Remembered
William Groskopf, Sr., Libertyville, Illinois, died on
November 12, 2015, at the age of 76. Bill joined the
POC in January, 2006, and owned several Plymouths
over the years including 1933 PD, 1947 P15 and 1951
Cambridge sedans and, at his passing, a 1954
Belvedere hardtop. Bill loved all vintage Chrysler products and
was a very diligent swapper who found many rare items for himself
and his fellow
Mopar lovers. Bill
leaves Mary, his
wife of fifty years,
two sons, a daughter and six grandchildren.
George Caraway, Dallas, Texas, died November 13, 2015, at the
age of 75. Owner of a 1935 PJ, he joined the POC in September,
2004. He is survived by his wife Pamela.
Gerald Seacat, Greenwood, Indiana, died December
30, 2015, at the age of 73. He joined the POC in
March, 1993, and was a member of the Hoosier Region, owning a 1957 Belvedere convertible and a
1958 Suburban station wagon. He is survived by his
wife Ann, two sons, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. “Gerald’s ready smile will be missed by all,” say his fellow
Hoosier
members.
The Plymouth Bulletin (ISSN 0032-1737) is published bi-monthly. Subscription
through annual dues: $32 new; $30 renewal. Published by the Plymouth Owners
Club, PO Box 345, 603 Central Ave, Walhalla, ND 58282-0345. Periodical
postage paid at Grafton, ND 58237. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
The Plymouth Bulletin, PO Box 416, Cavalier, ND 58220-0416.
-3-
From the President
Happy New Year!
W
ith the end of 2015 upon us as
I write, it’s hard for me to believe my first term as your
president will be complete by the time
you read this.
I say “first term” because the results
of our election are in and our officers
have been selected. With all votes tallied, the results confirm I will be returning to serve as president and Russ Nardi
will be serving as our new vice-president. Also returning to serve will be Jim
Benjaminson as our membership secretary and treasurer. Former president and
director Bob Kerico will be serving as
our corresponding secretary. Although
all candidates ran unopposed, it was encouraging to see 408 properly cast ballots returned and all officers received
402 votes or more. I thank all who took
the time to vote. I also thank Paul Curtis
for once again volunteering to count the
ballots and report the results.
I also thank our outgoing vice-president Bobbi Berkheimer for her years of
leadership, most recently for her six
terms as vice-president. It is the duty of
the vice-presidents to be the liaison the
regions and the national board. Bobbi
did her job well and her hard work for
the club will be remembered, especially
by the regions formerly under her care.
I also thank Tom Nachand who has
served five terms as corresponding secretary. Although the duties of this position may not be widely known, it was
Tom’s job to organize our periodic conference phone-call board meetings and
publish minutes of our discussions. Tom
did a great job and he will also be
missed. As I understand, Tom will be
focusing on some personal projects, including a new home he is building.
Please join me in wishing both Bobbi
and Tom well in the future.
Speaking of the future, even though
the election is over, I ask all members to
consider how they might be able to serve
our national club. I know it’s almost
two years away, but the next election is
one in which I’d like to see at least two
candidates for each position on the ballot. Not only a sign of a healthy club, it
is an indication of the number of people
we can draw upon for help we could use.
In addition to candidates for national
office, one of the hallmarks of our club
is our Tech Advisor list. As of this writing we have openings in several categories, especially for many of the later
model years. If you have any experience
at all with 1978 through 2001 FWD cars,
for example, don’t sell yourself short.
You could well be ahead of a new-tothe-hobby owner of one of these “later
antiques.”
The quality of our magazine is key
to our club, and one of the things making any publication interesting is contributions from those who “come at the
hobby” with different interests and perspectives. If you like to write, even occasionally, please consider doing a short
(or not so short) story for the BULLETIN.
(And if you’re okay with a camera, so
much the better, but it’s not mandatory.)
Remember, in the same way in
which you don’t need to own a Plymouth to join the club, you only need an
interest in the Plymouth automobile and
its history or a personal experience to
write a story. The themes of upcoming
issues of the PLYMOUTH BULLETINs are
usually loosely outlined by the editor, so
if you’d like to create something to compliment a future issue, just ask us.
-4-
In other news, our website discussion board had to be rebuilt when support for the software driving our former
platform essentially ended. Many
thanks go to our website moderator and
custodian Mark Olson for his hard work
in getting it back up and running.
Unfortunately, some of our recent
data and membership log-ins have been
lost. If you are affected by not being
able to sign on, contact Mark and he will
get you reconnected. If discussion
boards are your thing and you’re not already a member, please consider signing
up. The dispersion of technical knowledge taking place on the discussion
board is important to the hobby.
With over a thousand Facebook
“members” now, our page has exceeded
my expectations for exposure of our club
on social media. While not all are duespaying club members (yet), we do have
the opportunity to keep the Plymouth
Owners Club on their radar, and more
than a few have asked about joining our
club. Not only are we reaching many
who cannot otherwise be identified as
Plymouth owners, we are “building our
brand” without incurring the cost of direct mail or placing ads in many magazines. One of the realities driving social
media traffic is the daily stream of new
content on the page incentivizing participants to return to see “what’s new.” The
content on the page ranges from how-to
repair tips and pictures of cars and activities to cruise videos and more. For
those of you contributing and interacting
with others who are checking us out, you
have my sincere thanks. If you are on
Facebook but are not a member of our
page, I invite you to join us. To those
who are involved in other ways, I offer a
big “Thank You” and stress that without
efforts put forth by so many dedicated
members, our club would not be the
great club it is.
That’s all for now. As it was in the
1970s on Christmas Day in the northeast, winter seems to have reasserted its
control this Christmas Day and it won’t
be long before the roads are salted. I’m
glad I got in one last run the other day.
Thankfully, there will now be fewer days
to count before the car’s cover comes off
again.
-- Larry Nuesch, president
Letters
A PJ picked up
Dealerships
HERE’S ONE I have not seen
before. The owner is starting
a restoration and furnished
me with the serial number.
Yes, I did tell him that the
pickup box was not an option
for the PJ!
Paul Curtis
Roseville, Michigan
REGARDING ANDY
WEIMANN’S ARTICLE and
pictures concerning Plymouth dealerships: I am a
retired banker who started
banking in 1955 in
Rushville, Indiana. At the
time, three Plymouth dealerships were within a block of
one another. A Dodge truck
and Plymouth dealership is
now the Rushville Fire Station. A Chrysler and Plymouth dealership is now a
Pizza King restaurant. A
DeSoto and Plymouth dealership is now an insurance operation. It is sad that we
could not have one of these
today!
Thanks for your super
magazine. I am a proud
owner of a ‘52 Belvedere
two-door hardtop and a ‘56
Plymouth two-door sedan.
Richard Eckel
Rushville, Indiana
Sincere thanks
TO JIM BENJAMINSON: Just a
quick note to let you know I
will not be renewing my
membership this year. Over
the past forty years, I have
very much enjoyed being a
member of the Plymouth
Owners Club. Over these
years, I have participated in
several events and contributed to, and thoroughly
enjoyed, the club BULLETIN.
My sincere thanks to
you, Jim, and all the other
many volunteers who have
made, and continue to make,
this club very enjoyable, and
a great benefit for all Plymouth enthusiasts.
D. B. (Dave) Allen
Sarnia, Ontario
FOR COMMENTS on Dave’s
contributions to the club, see
BULLETIN 328, p. 2. His ‘38
P6 convertible is now owned
by his son, member Robert S.
Allen of Belvidere, Illinois.
— Editor
Christmas greetings from Orlando “Orly” Bongiardino, Buenos
Aires, Argentina. See BULLETIN 295
Good article
A GOOD ARTICLE on the 1937
Plymouth pickup of member
Nelson Thorpe, Bloomfield,
New York, appears in the
February 2016 Hemmings
Classic Car magazine.
Dave Geise
Browns Mills, New Jersey
Nice gesture
I RECEIVED THIS LETTER from the new owners of Andy Bernbaum Auto Parts on December 16, 2015. I thought it a very
nice gesture I‘d like to share with the readers of the BULLETIN.
Bob Drown
Neversink, New York
-5-
Dealing with disaster
AUGUST 9, 2015: I am sending this message on behalf of my father, Jesse Curry of Peoria, Illinois,
a member. He has had and driven his 1940 P10
Roadking for more than forty years. It is his pride
and joy and all of us kids grew up with his car.
Last Monday a car pulled out in front of him,
smashing the front end. To make things worse, the
driver was uninsured.
Luckily it is fixable. The hard part is finding at
least one good headlight bezel and center chrome
strip. We do need other parts such as the driver's
side front fender, both grille sides, bumper bars,
fog lights and other front end parts. We would like
to find a good parts car, but if anyone has parts that will work,
we would love to talk about them. He has many other 1940
Plymouth parts to possibly trade for parts needed in restoration.
Dealing with disaster: Jesse Curry’s Roadking [ABOVE] after the accident; fender and grille panels [LEFT] repaired and primed; the Roadking [BELOW] looking good after reassembly, although some important
unseen items remain missing, most notably hard-to-find grille bar
clips [MIDDLE]. Help in locating the clips would be much appreciated.
NOVEMBER 29:
Dad has his Roadking back together
but had to make
do without some
trim pieces as nice
as those destroyed,
including hard-tofind trim clips.
The biggest hit was to the trim strip going down the center
of the grille. The smashed strip was perfect. Dad is making do
with one that has issues. The strips we found online are outrageous in price. We are not holding our breath on that one.
Doug Curry
<[email protected]>
DECEMBER 12: Dad is still trying to get the front
end lined up. Some gaps still need shims.
Among people helping out, Bob Drown sent
Dad some grille bars and some okay headlight
bezels, wanting only shipping cost. That is great
as we needed a few. The smashed grille bars
were NOS and spotless. Bob is a good guy and
we are thankful for his help.
The biggest problem now is the lack of clips
for the grille bars. There are two sizes that are
1940 only. The larger bars take clip #872641 and
the smaller upper bars need #872640. Most of
the clips he had were broken. The bars are
rigged on for now with plastic push pins—not
perfect but it will be okay until we track down
some proper clips. They’re not easy to find.
-6-
NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT
Regional Report
Carolina Region
OUR FALL TOUR was scheduled for October 17. We were to visit an AACA car
show, cruise to the Rowan museum,
have lunch at Hoff’s Grill and visit several antique stores. Tanya and I gassed
up the old ’64 Plymouth and cruised to
the North Carolina Transportation Museum where the AACA show was taking
place. We got there and met up with
Rockey and Karen Rozell who were
Nice, indeed: ‘70 Superbird
BUCKEYE REGION
Dairyland Region
WE HAD OUR CHRISTMAS BANQUET on
November 7 with a very good turnout.
Ed and Lenora Wilkinson did an outstanding job setting it up and hosting.
The food, the hotel and the fellowship
with our Dairyland members were excellent.
It was nice to meet Bill Ables and
see some members we have not seen for
FlORIda sUNsHINE REGION
Michael Bonadonna
455 North Cherry Pop Drive
Inverness, FL 34453 352-341-1019
Dean Yates
P.O. Box 69, Faith, NC 28041
704-223-1195
<[email protected]>
Kenneth Wilson
312 Bagshaw Court
San Jose, CA 95123 408-227-1837
<[email protected]>
Bob Westphal
10503 NE 36th Ave.
Vancouver, WA 98686
360-334-6037 / 425-231-3608
Harold Norton
38209 S. Canada Del Oro Dr.
Tucson, AZ 85739
CasCadE PaCIFIC REGION
<[email protected]>
COlONIal REGION
Judy Whitman
3326 Hancock Rd,
Williamstown, MA 01267
daIRYlaNd REGION
Bill Gellert
110 E. Lincoln Highway
Franklin Grove, IL 61031
815-456-2023
<[email protected]>
dElaWaRE VallEY REGION
Warren Nelson
643 Pierre Ave.
Mantua, NJ 08051
dETROIT REGION
Joseph B. Lewis, editor
9145 Hazelton
Redford, MI 48239
Russ Nardi, pres: 586-566-5838
<[email protected]>
586-566-5838
showing their Corvette. We waited but
no one else showed up. The weather was
great and the four of us had a good time
doing the AACA show and eating at BeBops where we each had a really great
hamburger.
Only one Plymouth was in the show
but a very nice one, indeed.
— Dean Yates
Jerry Rhoades
3765 Africa Road
Galena, OH 43021 614-507-1909
<[email protected]>
CaROlINa REGION
Russ Nardi
(responsible for regions)
quite a while. It was great to have Brad
Aylesworth not only come to the banquet
but include two guests and rejoin the
Dairyland Region. It was also very nice
that Jerry Nelson and his daughter were
able to join us.
We had election of officers for the
coming year. Butch Brown was elected
vice-president, Ken Bartz was re-elected
treasurer and Ed Wilkinson was reelected secretary. Ed did not wish to
continue with the membership duties.
Since Helen Gellert is doing the newsletter and has the membership information
at hand, she has graciously agreed to
take care of the membership and the roster as well.
On behalf of our region, I thank Art
Krolikowski for the hard work he did as
president to keep the Dairyland Region
successful. Thanks, too, go to Deb
lONE sTaR REGION
Mike Morrison
PO Box 3218
Bandera, TX 78003 916-205-8099
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
GOldEN sTaTE REGION
lONG IslaNd REGION
Peter Marks
47 Flintlock Drive
Shirley, NY 11967
GRaNd CaNYON REGION
MId-aTlaNTIC REGION
Harvey Rapp
7105 Rivers Edge Road
Columbia,MD 21044
HEaRT OF aMERICa REGION
MId-IOWa REGION
Mike Stewart
5133 Newton
Overland Park, KS 66020
Bob Coburn
2434 E. Madison Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50317-4139
<www.plymouthclub.com>
MIssOURI "show Me” REGION
HOOsIER REGION
Tommy G. Pike
1602 East Dale
Springfield, MO 65803
Scott Oller
PO Box 7006
Greenwood, IN 46142
Jan Peel, Editor, <[email protected]>
<[email protected]>
<[email protected]> (Loyd Groshong)
Richard Wahrendorff
1471 Rt. 213
Ulster Park, NY 12487
Jim Stoudt
1290 Bankson Rd.
Oil City, PA 16301 814-676-6678
Ed Lanfer
5875 Robert Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63109 314-704-5608
<[email protected]>
Robert E. Duncan
1438 Arrow Wind Ter.
Charleston, SC 29414 843-766-6391
editor:<[email protected]>
Pa OIl VallEY REGION
HUdsON VallEY REGION
<[email protected]>
lINCOlN laNd REGION
PalMETTO REGION
-7-
PRaIRIE REGION
Fred Fleming
2119 No. 58th St
Lincoln, NE 68505
402-467-2488
<[email protected]>
ROCKY MOUNTaIN REGION
Wayne Kreps
8911 Ithaca Way
Westminster, CO 80031
303-427-5543
<[email protected]>
Tall PINEs REGION
Richard Tetzlaff
23383 Malanie Trail North
Scandia, MN 55073-9745
612-759 2103 <[email protected]>
Winter: R.Ramberg <[email protected]>
TUlsa REGION
Jerry Burch
1111 South Florence Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74104-4104
<[email protected]>
UNITEd KINGdOM REGION
Barry Reece
“The Meadows” Cookley Halesworth,
Suffolk IP19 0LU, ENGLAND.
tel/fax: 01986-784305
<[email protected]>
Krolikowski for all that she has done for
our club. At the banquet, we presented a
plaque to Art in appreciation of his service.
As I write this the temperature is
falling and we have the chance of getting
some of that white four-letter S-word
this weekend. I hope they do not have to
salt the roads. Helen and I have a
Thanksgiving Day tradition of going for
a short ride in our Plymouth, after which
it pretty much goes into hibernation for
the winter.
— Bill Gellert
Grand Canyon Region
IN SEPTEMBER we had a fascinating visit
to a most unusual museum. Called The
Mini Time Machine, the museum is located in Tucson. It has a fantastic display of miniature houses, buildings—we
might call them doll houses—covering
every aspect of life from the 1700s to the
present.
Following an Italian lunch, our
meeting focused on the important issues
facing the club. One upcoming event is
the May 2016 national POC meet to be
held in Kerrville, Texas. I encouraged
our members to attend this meet by signing up with the registration form in our
newsletter. Further, I informed members
of the Plymouth 90th Anniversary Grand
National Meet to be held in Detroit in
2018.
WHEN YOU LOOK OVER the history of
the Plymouth, you’ll find a long list of
major events having taken place in my
lifetime, clearly showing Plymouth as
one of the outstanding vehicles of the
twentieth century. I vividly remember
you would see Plymouths in the city, on
the farm and on American byways during the Depression and World War II
years . This was the vehicle of duty and
service for those toiling at their jobs, and
then driving home with a paycheck to
help feed the family. For many Americans, the Plymouth was the affordable
family car to buy and drive. Despite the
shortages of World War II and the period
immediately thereafter, the Plymouth remained the stalwart of affordable family
cars. This shepherded the industry to
amazing innovative styling and design
changes, bringing the industry to new
heights. However, as we approached the
twenty-first century, a new American au-
Detroit Region
HERE IS A PICTURE of Bob Greer and his 1948 P15 four-door sedan. In the background is Bill Benenati’s 1939 P8 four-door sedan. Both Plymouths were driven to
the North Gratiot Cruise on Saturday, September 26, 2015.
— Joe Lewis
tomobile management team decided on a
different styling and a standardization
process calling for a reduction in the
number of makes and models offered.
In part, this development was due to the
craze for SUVs and trucks along with
competition from foreign-made cars.
The stalwarts of the industry—the traditional family sedan and station wagon—
were the first to go, in favor of vehicles
with bells and whistles. With all the
heartaches faced by the Chrysler Corporation, the Plymouth was one of those
cars phased out of production.
Well now, that makes the Plymouth
a unique and noteworthy classic car,
which the Plymouth Owners Club promotes with vim and vigor at its yearly
national meets and among the antique
and classic car industry shows held
around the country.
Our club’s magazine, the PLYMOUTH
BULLETIN, continues to illustrate the interest and desires of the club members
for a wide range of classic-designed cars
that made the Plymouth famous. Many
of the members’ fabulous stories about
long trips in their classic cars continue to
demonstrate the versatility and performance of Plymouth vehicles.
Whether it was the Peking to Paris
trek or Richard Petty and Johnny Mantz
winning stock car races, Plymouth remains one of the lead cars of the industry’s past.
— Harold Norton
-8-
Heart of America Region
WE WERE BUSY over the summer. A
group of us attended the Show Me Region swap meet in Eldon, Missouri, as
an overnight cruise. We attended a musical and had some great food and camaraderie.
Our annual picnic was at Mike
Stewart’s home with thirty-five members
and several guests attending. The club
furnished fried chicken and everyone
brought potluck dishes.
We also had a day trip to Fort Scott,
Kansas, where we toured the old Fort
Scott and several historic homes. Lunch
was at Nate’ Place in Lyons Twin Mansion, after which we were treated to a
tour of the mansion.
During the summer several new
members joined us. Our regular
monthly meetings are well attended with
an average of thirty members present.
Seven to ten old cars are driven to the
meetings, and we all spend some time
after the meetings in the parking lot
looking at and discussing the cars.
In August, eleven members and one
guest ventured to Pizza Ranch in a torrential downpour for a luncheon cruise.
After lunch and conversation, we departed to bright sunny skies. Who knows
about Missouri weather?
Our September meeting saw nineteen members present. During the regular meeting, president Mike Stewart
announced the election of officers was
coming up and invited nominations.
Several members attended the
Turkey Creek car show, reporting that
475 vehicles were displayed.
Nine members attended a lunch
cruise to Cinzetti’s Italian Buffet, with
five driving old cars. The meal was
wonderful, as usual.
Our November meeting was held at
the Trailside Center. The election of officers was held and Mike Schaefer was
elected president, Ron Holloway was
elected vice-president, Jerry Elwood will
continue as treasurer and Jim Gustafson
will continue as secretary. We discussed
our upcoming Christmas party to be held
at Places Restaurant in John Knox Village.
— Winona Krenzer
residents from the early- to mid-1800s.
Most interesting and fun to watch was
the working water wheel powered gristmill which was built in 1817.
Kevin Reeves reports he has sold all
of the 1956 Plymouth model cars we
have offered since our 2006 meet. Our
thanks and congratulations go to Kevin
for his diligent work in selling them out.
This past July, our region was well
represented at the 46th Annual Walter P.
Chrysler Club National Meet held in
Springfield, Illinois. Tom and Teresa
Kelly, with grandson Isaiah, took their
1968 Hemi Road Runner. Bob and
Wanda Van Buskirk drove their 1947
Special Deluxe wagon. Kevin and
Kristin Reeves drove their 1950 fourdoor sedan.
Hoosier Region
1968 Hemi Road Runner: Tom and Teresa
Kelly
JERRY AND SUZIE TRANBARGER, driving
their 1952 Belvedere, Dennis Buchholz,
driving his 1935 coupe with Tom Lewis,
and Scott Oller attended the Hoosier Region Fall Tour. Dennis, a national POC
member from Louisville, Kentucky, had
also participated in the 2006 National
POC Meet held in Indianapolis. Tom,
who rode with Dennis, is into hot rods
and has an altered English-built Anglia
dragster.
Kevin and Kristin Reeves and Scott
Oller were the Hoosier Region members
in attendance at the Plymouth Owners
Club 2015 Meet held in O’Fallon, Illinois.
Bob and Wanda Van Buskirk hosted
our 2015 Christmas party at their home
on December 12. The club bought the
Christmas Pizza and we had our White
Elephant gift exchange with those wanting to take part in the fun, bringing
wrapped gifts.
— Scott Oller
Hudson Valley Region
1935 PJ coupe: Dennis Buckholz with Tom
Lewis
We had a nice fall day for the event.
Spring Mill State Park welcomed those
of us who met there. The buffet lunch at
Spring Mill Inn was good. Touring Pioneer Village was interesting as we saw
artifacts depicting lifestyles for Indiana
IN AUGUST we joined some members of
the P15-D24 Forum group and toured
sites of the Hudson Valley, including the
-9-
FDR home, the Vanderbilt estate, the
Maritime Museum in Kingston and the
Huguenot Village in New Paltz. Other
points of interest were on their agenda,
but there wasn’t enough time to visit
everything as planned. The weather was
good and everyone had a great time.
— Richard Wahrendorf
Long Island Region
OUR PRESIDENT Pete Marks continues to
make progress towards his recovery of
health. He was able to attend the Hershey Swap Meet as well as Flowerfields.
He sends his thanks to all from whom he
has received messages of well wishes.
We have had preliminary discussions with Knights of Columbus in regards to the preparation for next year's
car show. We decided on July 17th with
a rain date of the 24th. The Knights are
contacting the owners of the venue to get
a commitment for the dates above. As a
result of our efforts last July, the owners
and local management were extremely
happy with the way the show was run
and with the conditions of the lot. From
the pictures taken at the show, the KOC
has made a nice video, with period
music in the background.
Our club wishes all members and
families a very happy and joyous holiday season. As Pete would say: “Keep
them Rolling.”
— Dave Wegenaar
Mid-Atlantic Region
WE HELD OUR ANNUAL MEETING and
holiday buffet and auction since we last
reported. In November, it was our annual meeting where we plan activities
for the coming year and elect officers.
Our current officers will continue, Harvey Rapp, president; Paul Connolly,
vice-president; Karen Fowler, secretary;
and Sandy Resch, treasurer. Perhaps,
one of the more successful practices for
the region is our planning process. It involves all of the members which improves the quality and variety of ideas
and participation. In advance of the annual meeting a planning sheet is distributed to solicit ideas, from which each
month's activity is selected at the meeting.
The first Sunday in December has
been, since our founding, the holiday
buffet, awards, and auction. It is usually
a great turnout of fifty to sixty members.
The day is also a major fund-raising
event as members contribute automobilia, holiday and other items to be auctioned off. Folks are looking for
presents, and it has resulted in well over
$1,000 dollars most years.
The other highlight of the affair is
announcing the winner of the Byard and
Hobbyist Awards. The Byard Award is
given to the member(s) giving greatest
service during the past year(s). Adam
Neilson, who
served as
treasurer for
several years,
was awarded
the plaque.
Adam was
unable to be
present but is
pictured here.
In 2011, while president of the region, Dianne Taylor proposed a Hobbyist Award be initiated to honor the late
Bob Mackenzie who had been president
and excelled at promoting the antique
car hobby by word and deed. He not
only had restored an immaculate ‘34 PE
coupe that he and Jody drove everywhere and to numerous national meets
no matter how far. Bob also promoted
various activities and was always there
to help his fellow members with his
technical expertise. This year the award
was made by Dianne to Tom Kenney,
who drives his vintage automobile
everywhere and has given leadership to
the development of numerous tours, vintage automobile shows and other events
for national, regional, and local clubs of
various marques.
— David Young
Mid-Iowa Region
IN OCTOBER, twenty-two members met
at Cal Wiseman’s home for a meeting.
Greeted by the
host, they enjoyed coffee and
morning treats
provided by Cal
and some of the
members. The
guest speaker, retired machine
shop instructor
John Foster, explained the fundamentals of
working on a
metal lathe and
machining parts.
Christmas greetings from Bruno Costers, Vosselaar, Belgium—his 1937
Explaining the
P4 Tüscher-bodied convertible [BULLETINs 161, 300, 331] is in the
parts of the lathe
upper right photo.
and their funcguru, Don Turpin, without owning a
tions, he demonstrated how a screw is
computer. Don has had several health
made. After answering questions posed
issues including back surgery, and I had
by some of the members, he invited any
to give up our Palmetto Pentastar.
one interested to try their hand at workOn a personal note, I encourage the naing the lathe. The lathe used for the
tional board of directors to include and
demonstration is owned by Cal and is a
welcome modified Plymouths to our
vintage model first used in the late
meets and shows. We are a small region
1910s. The lathe requires skills now reof less than twelve families, three of
placed by computer calculations on
whom own modified Plymouths. Some
modern lathes, which are much safer behave considered dropping out of the
cause the moving parts are now enclosed
POC because of our policy. This would
according to OSHA standards. Even
be devastating to the small regions like
though most of those present may never
ours, and should be avoided at all costs.
need to “machine parts,” it was most inA suggestion is to include modified Plyformative and enjoyed by all.
mouths in a special class if they are allAfter the demonstration, a noon lunch
Plymouth, including engine,
of pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans
transmission, body, etc.—a reasonable
and chips, with desserts brought by
compromise, in my opinion.
some of the members. In addition we
At our November meeting members
enjoyed John DeMoss’ Famous Potato
voted
to change from Saturday lunch
Salad even though he could not be there
meetings
to meeting on the second Monto provide additional “entertainment.”
day
evening
of the month. This will free
Our annual Harvest Dinner was held
members
to
attend
more shows, and
November 7, at the Highland Park
hopefully
allow
more
to attend and have
Church of the Nazarene social hall. A
dinner.
delicious catered meal was served to apInstead of having a Christmas party,
proximately forty people with Nancy
we
will
continue our tradition of honorJones in charge of kitchen duties and reing
our
wives
for Valentine's Day with a
freshments. Carol Livingston offered a
special
dinner
celebration.
blessing before the meal. Following the
— Bob Duncan
meal, a brief meeting was held, followed
by a drawing for door prizes furnished
by members in attendance.
— Pat Klemm
Palmetto Region
AFTER AN ABSENCE of several months,
I'm attempting to replace our irreplaceable newsletter editor and computer
-10-
Reciprocal ad with the WPC
334-Full issue_Full issue-48 2015-11-20 1:55 aM Page 17
-11-17-
-12-18-
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2016&National&Meet&
MAY&11R14,&2016&
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REGISTRATION&for&POC&Members:&&$15/person'or'$25/couple'by'April'1st;'After'April'1st'$20/person'or'$30/couple.'
REGISTRATION&for&Non&POC&Members:&'$35'by'April'1st;'After'April'1st'$40'–("Registration"includes"National"Membership"in"
the"Plymouth"Owners"Club"in"addition"to"all"2016"National"Meet"activities.)&RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTOTAL&$__________&
Participant’s'Name_____________________________________________________Spouse/Passenger______________________________________''
Address________________________________________________________'City________________________________'State______'Zip_______________'
Phone'(H)_________________________'(C)_________________________'Email_____________________________'POC'Region'__________________'
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-19-13-
The Oddball
Ash trays and lighters
By
the time you read this, the
holidays will have come
and gone. Here in Connecticut, the “big toys” are hopefully
stored and will not be out until the
third hard rain of spring has washed
away the stuff the state and towns use
to de-ice the highways and byways.
This past June, Susan and I drove
my regular driver car to a town about
thirty miles away. All was good as we
started, but by the time we arrived, we
could hear all kinds of grinding,
which, of course, only got worse by
the time we had returned home. My
mechanic said, “Stay local and have a
phone to call for help.” Okay.
The very next week we took
Susan’s car in the other direction and
the same thing happened to her car!
We left it overnight and our mechanic
called the next morning to say her car
was worse than mine. “Call the junk
yard and have it taken away.” This
was a new low record for the
Weimanns. We scrapped both cars on
the same day.
assemblies to finish out my Arcade Plymouth as well as the two crude copies
I’m reworking. They had come with
A S THE WEATHER OUTSIDE becomes
unfit for human or car, it’s time to continue to play with literature and collectibles. I am waiting to hear from
the museum in the city where the Arcade 1933-34 Plymouth toys were
made. As I wrote in Issue 333, I am
not sure of the colors used on the little
vehicles. Also, it appears the same
sized Ford toy may use the same grille
as the Plymouth. The bigger six-anda-half-inch Fords did have the dipped
front bumper.
On the models which were either
repaints or had extensive paint loss, I
have been sand blasting, repainting
and replacing tires (“safety first!”). I
still need three or four grille/bumper
-14-
metal wheels and a flush area instead of
a grille. The castings were of a much
rougher finish as well.
Another group of models is of the
rubber Auburn #609 1957 Plymouth. I
have three—blue, red and green. The
green one still has a grease pencilmarked price of fifteen cents. To the unenlightened, it is more often listed as a
1958 “Christine” car.
On to sales training aids: I have duplicate record/film strips and Beta and
VCR tapes and tech service training
aids, as well. I will swap with anyone
who would like to do so.
I will give a stack of Laser discs to
any one interested in them for the cost
of “Media “ shipping F.O.B. Harwinton, Connecticut, or they may be
picked up here.
T HE NEXT ITEMS to catch my attention are the cigarette lighter and the
lowly ash trays. I haven’t smoked in
thirty years but I do have the 1933
square (I have an extra ‘33—$9.75 pp)
and the 1934 round “P/D/DeS/C
Chicago World’s Fair” ash trays and
others pictured here.
The 1955 Plymouth V8 Program
box is cork-lined and holds either cigars or cigarettes.
Riefe Motors, Inc., was in the city
where I was born and grew up. I do
not remember it. Going through my
ex-wife’s button jar, I found not one,
but two thimbles from Riefe Motors.
If someone has a duplicate thimble, I’d
swap for another thimble.
The Zippo and other lighters with
Chrysler, Plymouth or Dodge advertising are fun to find and often aren’t expensive. If your wife or girlfriend
and/or you are into tag sales or junk
shops, you can find them to be great
places to look for such items. So, until
the next issue: Happy Hunting!
— andy Weimann
[email protected]
860-485-0300
-15-
-16-
Back to the Big
The Roaring ‘65s
Chrysler's chief stylist following the '62 flop. More significantly, the straight lines were found on a brand new car—a big
car to compete straight across, bumper to bumper, wheelbase to
wheelbase, with the large Fords and Chevrolets. The car was
conservatively styled, especially compared to the flowing
curves introduced by General Motors that year. Yet Plymouth's
conservative styling was very tastefully and pleasingly done.
The front featured a fine mesh grille flanked by vertically
stacked headlights, which were then an industry-wide vogue
initiated by the '63 Pontiac. The rear featured segmented tail-
by Lanny Knutson
REVISED AND REPRINTED FROM
TRANSCRIPTION COURTESY OF
PLYMOUTH BULLETIN 184
<allpar.com>
F
MICHAEL OWENS COLLECTION
inally, Plymouth could put itself behind the disaster of
'62. Downsizing from overly large cars might be the
sensible thing to do; it was in 1977. But when Plymouth
tried it in 1962, Ford and Chevrolet kept their big cars and it
was to them that the bulk of the buyers went. The North American love affair with the big car had another decade and a half
to go.
The smaller size combined with controversial styling came
near to doing Plymouth in that year. For 1963 and 1964 Plymouth tried to make the car bigger, adding an inch here and
there. But mostly the stretching was done visually with long
straight lines from front to back.
Now it was 1965, the long straight lines were still there,
the trademark of Elwood Engel who replaced Virgil Exner as
Sport Fury
-17-
body was not available as a six window sedan but it did come
in a two-door sedan unavailable from the more expensive marques.
When it came to station wagons, the three marques compromised and settled on sharing Dodge's 121-inch wheelbase
for this lower-production body type.
Satellite
The B-body: Belvedere and Satellite
Sport Fury interior
THE OLDER B-BODY, introduced in 1962, may have been supplanted by the new C-body Fury as the premier Plymouth, but
it was hardly gone. The 1964 "full size" body was given little
more than new front fenders and trim and called the "new"
mid-sized Plymouth—something it really was all along. As
such, it was a bit bigger than the competing Chevelle and Fairlane, but this time it was the competition's turn to dance to Plymouth's tune, as in succeeding years they increased the size of
their mid-size offerings.
Like the larger Fury, the "new" line, called Series AR, was
given a single name: Belvedere, the name used the previous
five years for Plymouth's mid-priced offerings. As with the
Fury, the Belvedere line was further broken down by Roman
numerals I and II (there was no Belvedere III) and the top-ofthe-line equivalent to the Sport Fury was given a name new to
Plymouth: Satellite, a name that would remain in use the next
ten years. The one body style not carried over from the ‘64
lineup (when it was considered “full-sized”) was the four-door
lights delineating (some say Chevrolet-fashion) the model: one
lamp on each side for the low and medium offerings; two for
the higher-priced lines.
It was quite obvious, with the styling cues taken from the
competition, that Chrysler had given up trying to take the lead
in styling. They had tried taking the lead twice, with immediate
success in 1957 and near disaster in 1962. From then on,
styling from Chrysler would take its cue from others—mostly
GM—attempting to offer their own version in a more pleasing
and appealing manner. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it
didn't.
Each model of the big car line was dubbed "Fury." Delineating bottom from top were simple Roman numerals: Fury I,
Fury II, Fury III. On the top line, as in the past five years, the
name Fury was preceeded by the word "Sport." The name Sport
Fury meant there were bucket seats, a console and special trim
with V8 power only in a two-door hardtop or convertible.
Fury III station wagon
The new Fury, designated AP, shared its body—called the
C-body—with Dodge and Chrysler. At 119 inches, its wheelbase was two inches shorter than Dodge's and five inches less
than Chrysler's. Unlike Dodge and Chrysler, the Plymouth C-
Belvedere II station wagon
-18-
hardtop. The remaining bodies were identical from the cowl
back, between the two years.
As would be expected, the Belvedere I line offered the
basic two- and four-door sedans plus a stripped-down wagon.
Surprisingly, the factory listing shows a two-door hardtop
among them, since the Super Stock hardtop coupe, with its own
number of R01, was officially a Belvedere I. No production
figures are given for this car but its list price of $4,671 was
$1,462 more than the base price of the Sport Fury convertible!
The Belvedere’s front fenders and trim were altered from
the previous year to give the mid-size car an appearance of
being a junior edition of the full-sized car, as was the industrywide practice of the time. Thus the Belvedere’s grille had the
same fine mesh texture as the Fury’s and its general shape was
also the same except the Belvedere had single headlights—
properly denoting its place in Plymouth’s pecking order—in
surrounds of a squared-off shape similar to that around the
Fury’s stacked quads. Likewise, the Belvedere’s taillights were
of a shape similar to those of the Fury. Inside, a square
speedometer, again similar to the Fury’s, replaced the round instruments of the previous year.
Barracuda
Valiant Signet, a mini-console with an automatic shift lever
could be installed. Other automatic transmission cars bore a
column shifter since all Chrysler products had abandoned pushbutton controls.
New to the engine lineup was the Commando 273, producing 235 horsepower with 10.5:1 compression and a four-barrel
carburetor. Since the Valiant chassis wasn’t designed for dual
exhaust, a single-exhaust system was installed. Ending with a
large square-tipped resonator, it produced more noise than most
dual systems.
Although available on all Barracudas and V200 Valiants,
including the Signet, the Commando 273 was found primarily
in Barracudas with the Formula S package. In addition to the
engine, the package included heavy-duty suspension parts and
Goodyear Blue Streak tires mounted on extra-wide rims.
(Fourteen-inch wheels became a mid-year option on V8 cars.)
Formula S medallions replaced the usual V8 emblems behind
the headlights.)
Valiant Signet
The A-body: Valiant and Barracuda
IN THE THIRD YEAR of its styling cycle, the 1965 Valiant
sported a new stamped-aluminum grille installed between new
fenders introduced mid-year 1964 on the Barracuda. Also borrowed from the Barracuda were round backup lenses.
The Barracuda was unchanged except for the deletion of
the Valiant script from beneath the lower deck lid corner. Although still bearing a Valiant medallion, Barracuda was being
divorced from its Valiant identity and soon would become
known simply at the Plymouth
Barracuda. Optional over-thetop racing stripes were also
made available.
Between the bucket seats
of either the Barracuda or the
Barracuda Formula S
The Pushbuttons Go
THE MOST NOTABLE CHANGE to the Belvedere’s instrument
panel was the absence of transmission pushbuttons. The heater
control pushbuttons remained, seeming slightly out of place
without the transmission buttons they were designed to match.
Chrysler had finally joined the rest of the industry in adopting
-19-
standard V8 power, as did the Belvedere’s Satellite line. The
Belvedere II convertible was the first Plymouth of its size since
1954 to be available with six-cylinder power.
Also available in the Belvedere series, for off-street racing
only, was the 426 Hemi introduced the previous year.
the column-mounted automatic transmission selector it abandoned in 1955. The entire corporate lineup from Valiant to Imperial made the switch, much to the disappointment of
countless Mopar loyalists who enjoyed their beloved pushbuttons.
Why were the pushbuttons discontinued? There are several popular theories, but one heard at the time was that the selector cost one dollar less to manufacture than the pushbuttons.
Based on the rationale of “build a million cars, save a million
dollars,” it made economic sense.
Another theory says Chrysler was out to increase its “conquest sales” to owners of competing makes and, although liked
by Chrysler devotees, the pushbuttons were annoying to people
switching over from Ford or GM cars—enough, possibly, to
keep them from buying a Chrysler product.
A third theory is the switch was necessitated by a decree
from on high—from Washington or the Society of American
Engineers or both. Indeed, the selector quadrant order of
“PRND12” was standardized by the SAE that year to minimize
the potential of a driver familiar with a different car getting the
transmission in the wrong gear.
At any rate, the
pushbuttons were
gone forever.
However, the
Torqueflite transmission itself was
unchanged. For
1965 only, the column selector activated the
transmission with
the same kind of
cable previously
been put in motion
by pushbuttons.
For 1966, the transPlymouth’s first column automatic transmismission was
sion selector and quadrant since 1954
changed to be activated by a positive
linkage.
A Record Year
AS THE 1965 MODEL YEAR was drawing to a close, the 14-millionth Plymouth rolled off the line (some claim this car was a
1966 model), setting Plymouth's production at an average of
370,000 cars per year since its introduction in 1928.
At 683,456 (others claim 746,4341), Plymouth's production was up nearly nineteen percent over 1964, making 1965 its
best year since 1957.
Plymouth was back to the big times!
Chrysler Canada
CHRYSLER CANADA, LTD., also basked in the excitement created by the new Fury line. The car was similar to the U.S. offering yet, as usual, different.
The most notable difference was in the complete absence
of the Belvedere series. Like its sibling, Coronet, Belvedere
had a one-year hiatus until the new 1966 intermediates were introduced. Perhaps Chrysler Canada rationalized that, just as in
previous years, it was offering one “full-sized” Plymouth line.
The Canadian Plymouth lineup was topped by a Sport Fury
little different from its U. S. counterpart in appearance except
for minor details such as fender skirts, which in Canada were
optional, not standard. The Fury III line offered the same selection of bodies, except that all of them, the convertible included,
came standard with the 225 Slant Six engine.
In the Fury II line, a two-door hardtop was available, replacing the two-door sedan offered in the United States. Interestingly, all Canadian Furys, except the Sport Fury, came with
wheelcovers appearing to be a simpler version of those available on the U. S. Belvedere (which, of course, wasn't sold in
Canada). Also of interest is the fact that the Dodge Polara 330,
440 (two model names not used by the U.S. Dodge), 880 and
Monaco used Plymouth interior appointments, most notably the
dash.
Under the Hood
UNDER THE HOOD, five engines
were available in each series.
Both Fury and Belvedere shared
the 225 Slant Six, and the 318,
383-4BBL and 426 wedge V8
engines. The standard V8 for
New 273 V8 Belvedere was the new 273 introduced mid-year 1964 on the
Valiant line. Valiant and Barracuda shared the 170 Slant Six as
a base engine, offering the 225 six and 273 V8 as options. The
273 was available in standard two-barrel form and, for the Abody only, as a high performance four-barrel engine called the
Commando. Belvedere’s two-barrel B-block engine was a 361;
Fury’s was a 383. Both Fury convertibles, the four-door hardtop, the Fury III wagon and the Sport Fury hardtop came with
-20-
The Custom 100, available in convertible, hardtop and fourdoor sedan forms, had the same trim as the U. S. V200. It was
a stainless spear that filled completely the “hairpin’ vee on the
front fenders and bore the stamping “Custom 100.”
The Valiant 200 series bore the complete U. S. Dart body
but with Valiant, not Dodge, nameplates and emblems. This series came in three lines: 200, Custom 200, and Signet. Separate
sales figures for each series are unavailable, but simple observation indicates that the Dart-bodied Valiant 200s far outsold
the Valiant-bodied 100s. Not surprisingly, Valiant reverted to a
single body style in 1966—the Dart, again with Valiant nameplates and emblems. (After 1967, both Darts and Valiants were
sold in Canada, as they were in the States, at their respective
Dodge and Plymouth dealers.)
The Barracuda too was offered as in the U. S. However, on
the hood and the trunk where the American nameplates read
“Plymouth,” the Canadian plates read “Valiant.”
As in the U. S., all four engines—170, 225, 273-2BBL and
273-4BBL—were available in Canadian Valiants.
The Canada-United States Auto Pact went into effect in
1965. The agreement made possible the duty-free shipment of
cars and parts on the manufacturer level. No longer would all
cars to be sold in Canada duty-free have to be built in Canada.
Nor would the United States charge any duty on new cars built
in Canada entering its borders if transported by the manufacturer. From then on the Chrysler Canada Windsor Plant, and
others, would build a single line of cars for the entire North
American market. The Auto Pact spelled the end of most
uniquely Canadian Mopars—most, but not all!
There was no Fury I in Canada for 1965. Instead, the car
was called the Savoy. That name, in continuous use since 1951
when it appeared on a deluxe wagon, was given a one-year
longer lease on life north of the border. Why? Perhaps to give
the line a stronger identity since there was no mid-sized series
available. Like the U. S. Fury I, the Savoy came in two- and
four-door sedan and station wagon bodies.
Just four engines were offered in Canada: the 225, called
the Economy Slant Six; the Plymouth V-8, now a full 318 cubic
inches, up from the uniquely Canadian 313 size it had held
since 1958; a 383 four-barrel called the Hi-Performance V-8;
and the 413 Maximum Performance V-8.
Since its introduction in 1960, the Valiant had been its own
marque in Canada, being sold by both Plymouth and Dodge
dealers as simply the “Valiant.”
In 1963 and 1964, this car had a U. S. Dodge Dart body
with Valiant front fenders and trim. In 1965, perhaps again to
offset the absence of the Belvedere (and Coronet), Chrysler
Canada offered two distinctly different lines of Valiants.
The 100 series bore the complete U. S. Valiant body, but
with no Plymouth nameplates. Corresponding with the U. S.
V100 was the 100 and corresponding with the U. S. V200 was
the Custom 100. (Plymouth had used the "Custom" name for
some of its uniquely Canadian models as far back as 1939.)
In Canada but not from
Canada is this ‘64 (note
the VALIANT script) Barracuda. With the Detroit
skyline in the background, the car sits on
the south (yes, south)
bank of the St. Clair
River in Windsor,
Canada. The Barracuda
[RIGHT] betrays its US
origins with the PLYMOUTH lettering on its
deck lid. The Canadian
Barracuda deck lid
[ABOVE] reads VALIANT
since it was also sold by
Dodge dealers.
-21-
The Racing ‘65s
C-body Furys in NASCAR: During the ban on the Hemi and B-body Bevederes, a few 426wedge big Furys were raced. At the Southern 500 in Darlington, Buck Baker, with son Buddy in
relief, took second with his #86 Fury behind Ned Jarrett’s Ford. Fury #14, owned by NASCAR
president Bill France and driven by the legendary Curtis Turner, did not finish.
“THE ROARING ‘65S” is what the advertising people called them, but it was the
racing people who had to live up to the
name.
Chrysler was heavily into racing by the mid-sixties, battling to outdo Ford's Total Performance claims of success on
both oval and drag racing tracks.
Ford, taken aback by the Hemi’s rapid dominance of stock
car racing in 1964, countered with a hemi of its own, this one
with overhead cams. NASCAR, fearing this engine could escalate the manufacturers into producing all-out racing engines, refused to certify not only Ford’s SOHC but also Chrysler’s
Hemi. The Mopar people got a double whammy when
NASCAR also refused to certify the Belvedere B-body used
successfully the previous three seasons. Now that Plymouth
had a big car, NASCAR reasoned, they could race it just as
Ford and Chevy had been doing with their full-size cars.
Chrysler cried “unfair,” since it was not something new but
something previously used and proven being banned, and so it
pulled its factory racing teams from NASCAR competition, including the very popular Richard Petty. With the Mopar big
boys on the sidelines, Plymouth’s colors had to be carried by a
few independents, such as Buck Baker, running 426 wedge engines in Fury bodies. Even with those handicaps, they managed moderate success. (This was the only time the C-body
was seriously run in NASCAR racing.)
With nothing else to do, the Petty team built a Hemi-pow-
ered Barracuda, aptly dubbed “43 Jr.,” for drag racing. The car
was campaigned at southern drag strips throughout the summer,
with some success, until tragedy struck. The car flipped out of
control into a crowd, killing a boy and effectively ending
Petty's drag racing venture. By this time NASCAR was relenting a bit on its ban and Petty was back, racing a Hemi-powered
Belvedere.
43 JR and Richard Petty
Back where he belongs: Richard Petty on the pole with a Hemi-powered ‘65 Belvedere at Martinsville
Buck Baker’s ‘65 Fury in the pits
-22-
rear axles were moved forward with the rear wheels relocated
to where the back seat would normally be, in a successful effort
to gain a traction advantage with the engine being closer to the
driving wheels. (Some of these altered wheelbase cars came
with a straight front axle from the Dodge A100 van.) With
their wheels way out of place, these cars looked, “well, kinda
funny.” A new drag racing term was coined: Funny Car. In a
couple of years Funny Car would come to mean a racing chassis with a flip-up fiberglass body caricaturing the real thing.
But it began with those wild ‘65s from Chrysler.
These altered wheelbase cars, like the more normal
Belvedere I Super Stocks, were factory-built cars. So, if one
shows up at a Plymouth Owners Club show in plain white paint
and stock steel wheels, it will have to be judged as a “factoryoriginal” just like all the others—because that’s what it is.
Funny: Belvedere I Class A/FX car with altered wheelbase; compare
with the Melrose Missile Belvedere II with normal wheel placement in
the ad below
This was also the year Plymouth (and Dodge) provided the
drag racing world with a name now in common use everywhere. Halfway through the season, in an effort to regain supremacy over Ford, the Belvedere's (and Coronet's) front and
PB
-23-
It made her very happy to see that someone appreciated it as much as she had.
John loved that car. After cleaning and
detailing, he took it to the 2009 National
Summer Meet in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, and won third place in Class Eight.
Due to some health issues, I bought
the car back. It has since been repainted
and now has dealer-installed air conditioning. I have driven it to many car shows in
the area and have won awards with it. It
now has 65,000 miles and it still is a real
head turner.
Fury #2
A Tale of Two Furys
by Bob Coburn
1965-66 C-body Tech Advisor
Des Moines, Iowa
Fury #1
PB
JOE DIETRICH PHOTO
This 1965 Fury III two-door hardtop is
turquoise in color and has a 318 motor
and a 727 Torqueflight transmission.
It has an interesting story. I purchased it from a “darling” older lady who
no longer needed a car, as she was moving
into a retirement home. She had bought
the car from the dealership where I
worked, and we always serviced it. It had
only 44,000 miles but the paint was faded.
When I went to pick it up it wouldn’t
start. She started crying and offered to
give my money back. She loved the car
and had taken care of it but didn’t drive it
in the winter, preferring to take the bus or
drive her other car to work. Needless to
say, I wanted to add it to my collection
and promised her I would not sell it to
anyone who would not love it as much as
she did. I got it back to my shop and replaced the points and it started right away.
My neighbor John DeMoss saw it and
talked me into letting him purchase it.
When he heard the story of the car, he
called the lady and took her out for a ride.
This 1965 Sport Fury convertible was purchased from a friend. It originally had a
426 Max-Wedge engine, but it was bad,
and I installed a 383 two-barrel engine
with low mileage. The 383 had been
parted out of a 1969 Plymouth. I then installed factory air conditioning from a
wrecked 1966 Fury.
After getting it in running condition,
I sold it to another friend who replaced the
top and had the car repainted to the original black color. He drove it for several
years and took it to many
car shows while he owned
it. For health reasons he
could no longer drive
Sport Fury and offered it
back to me. It is now another vehicle in my car
collection.
John DeMoss owned the Fury III at the time it was awarded third place in Class Eight at the
2009 National Summer Meet in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
-24-
PHOTO BY BOYER PHOTOGRAPHY
Christmas Sport Fury
by Jim Klemm
Algona, Iowa
P
urchasing it as a Christmas gift for his
wife, the original owner, H. E. Meyer,
took delivery of this Sport Fury in
December, 1965, at McColloch Plymouth,
Inc., in Habra, California. His wife drove
it until 1999 and then gave it to her
daughter-in-law who stored it until it was
sold to a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
The second owner did some repairs to
the car and in 2005 had it repainted in the
original gold base coat followed by a clear
coat. Having purchased another restoration project car in 2009, he decided to put
the Sport Fury up for sale.
I purchased the car in 2009 and am
now the proud third owner of this classic.
It is a numbers-matching, 148,000-mile,
vehicle equipped with a 383 cubic inch
engine, an automatic transmission, power
steering and power brakes. It has never
been stored, nor has it been restored,
although the engine has been refreshed to original specifications, the
front end and brake systems have
been overhauled with new shocks all
around and new radial tires have been
installed.
Since I bought the Sport Fury, I
have, in addition to the mechanical
work, also converted the original factory air conditioning system to 134A.
The only rust spots were found in the
trunk, which I patched and restored. I
repainted the trunk interior and replaced the mat with original matting.
Except for the driver's seat having
been recovered, the car’s interior is
still original and is in excellent shape.
The original clock was repaired and is
now working. The car also has an
original working AM radio with an
AM/FM stereo conversion.
In September 2015, we drove our
Sport Fury to the POC National Fall
Meet in East St. Louis, Illinois, where
it won the Best 8-Cylinder Plymouth
award.
For a fifty-year-old car, it handles
well and is a great ride and attentiongetter.
PB
The original build sheet and Certicard were found in the Sport Fury’s glovebox.
-25-
door open. Papa was found lying on the
ground about two feet from the front
bumper, dead. He had just died and the
coroner later stated death was “sudden.”
The odd point in all of this is in how
much he loved the Fury and he died in the
same month the car had been built five
years earlier. In fact, he bought all three
of his cars in the month of March.
At the time, the Fury was just five
years old and I was about three weeks shy
of my sixth birthday.
When Papa’s will was read, we
heard his statement that at the time of his
death, I was to get the Fury—yes, me,
who was only six years old.
My dad, William Aldredge, put the
car in Papa’s barn and said, when I turned
eighteen he’d sign the title over to me.
The Fury wasn’t seen again until
some time in 1972. I remember one Saturday morning sitting at the breakfast
table with my dad and mom (Papa’s
daughter).
Dad up and said to my mom, “Alice,
this is stupid.”
“What is?” she asked.
“Your daddy’s car sitting in the
barn, going to waste. I’m getting it out and we’ll drive it
some.“
Dad and I went to Papa’s barn, opened the doors—and
there she sat, so covered with dust I thought someone had
painted her brown. Spider webs were everywhere and all four
tires were flat.
With my help… well, you know Dad did all the work
Showcase Plymouth
Jesse’s Fury, Again!
by W. Vernon Alldredge
Baxley, Georgia
I
was eleven months—yes, months—old when my granddad,
“Papa” Jesse Vernon Smith of Roanoke, Virginia, brought
his new car home: a 1965 Plymouth Fury III four-door
sedan. (His trade-in was a 1958 black and
white Plymouth.)
The ‘65 Fury was “born” on March 2,
1965, at the Newark, Delaware, Plymouth
assembly division plant and shipped to
Salem Motors Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge
in Salem, Virginia.
My Papa bought the Fury on March
26, 1965. That’s about as new of a new
car one can buy!
Papa was very proud of his Fury, putting it in his work barn and only taking it
out on Saturdays to visit family and
friends and on Sundays to go to church.
The only other days it came out were for
doctor appointments and to attend funerals.
On Sunday, March 15, 1970, Papa
drove alone in the Fury to the family
cemetery—Big Sand Cemetery—atop
Floyd Mountain in Virginia. He was
checking on a cemetery lot. We don’t
know how long he’d been there but one of
his cousins saw the car with its driver’s
-26-
DAN PAYNE PHOTOS
The Mayflower Award was presented to
Vernon and Donna Alldredge by National
Corresponding Secretary Wayne Brandon
[RIGHT] at the 2007 National Fall Meet in Concord, North Carolina.
needed to get the car going.
From that time in 1972 until 1981, the Fury sat in a garage
at Dad’s house in Goodview, Virginia.
On April 26, 1981, five days after my seventeenth birthday,
Dad said, “It’s time you had your car.”
From 1981 until 1999, no changes were
made to the car. No engine or transmission work was done, either. The Fury
was one hundred percent original.
But, at thirty-four years old, she
was showing signs of aging, as
cars—and we—will do: seals
and rubber dry-rotting, chrome
becoming dull and paint fading,
but no rust could be found anywhere—none!
I love this now-old Fury, as
Papa and Dad had in its early years. I
have spent my entire life with this car and
cannot imagine life without seeing it in my garage.
Time came to do some “resto” work. I found out about the
POC, joined in early 1999 and have been a member ever since.
When I first joined, I thought it would be nice to attend a national meet one day. That chance came in 2007 when I attended the National Fall Meet in Concord, North Carolina.
Now, back to 1999-2001 when I was restoring the Fury:
just as the restoration was compeleted, my wife, Donna, found
out we were going to have our first baby and I was pushing
forty, "Yea! God is very good,” was my response.
I thought, “How cool would it be if we had a boy and I
could pass the Fury on to him.”
On Groundhog’s Day, February 2, 2002, my "sun” was
born.
Now, back to 2007 when Donna and I were at the National
Fall Meet: I really enjoyed the meet and all the POC folks from
“everywhere.” Earl Buton and Bob Kerico were very helpful
but the special memory I have is my time spent learning from
the now-late Merrill Berkheimer. What a smart man!
The highlight of the meet for me, to that point, came when
Earl Buton asked me to be one of the judges. I judged in
Group III, giving me more time to be with Merrill and learn
from him. How great that was!
The end of the meet came with a shock for me. My Fury
placed second in Class 8, scoring 93 points and won the
Mayflower Award (BULLETIN 287) as the meet’s top four-door
sedan not winning Best of Show.
After celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in
this year of 2015, the Fury’s next big
thing will occur on February 2, 2020,
on my son’s eighteenth birthday. I
guess I’ll be signing the Fury
over to him that day.
Oh! By the way, my son’s
name is Jesse Vernon Alldredge (named after his greatgranddad). So, it will be
“Jesse’s Fury, Again!”
PB
Jesse’s Fury: young Jesse Vernon Alldredge, namesake and
great-grandson of the original owner, poses with Alice Cleo,
daughter of the original owner, and the Fury that will one day
be his. Now nearly fourteen years of age, Jesse is set to inherit
the car in four years.
-27-
the Scottsbluff, Nebraska, drag strip.
Both times it was raced a trophy was
brought home (see the attached cards).
Alliance, Nebraska, had a quarter-mile
oval asphalt racing track. The Plymouth
was used a few times to transport a young
lady around the track to present trophies
to winners of the trophy dash races. The
car also took part in several parades.
The car had another important role
in my life as it became the honeymoon vehicle for my new wife Diana and me in
May of 1968. We were married in Alliance and drove to Lake of the Ozarks in
Missouri. The trip included many other
stops, including the Grand Ole Opry show
in Nashville, Tennessee. The Plymouth
performed beautifully with no problems.
Having a new wife inspired me to drive
more sensibly, and I achieved better gas
mileage to boot.
When we got married I was blessed
with Diana’s two little girls, Brenda and
Jeannette, so the Sport Fury immediately
became a family car.
In 1970 we moved to Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, and moved
again in 1972 to Omak, Washington. The Plymouth survived
both moves.
Our Plymouth had been driven a lot of miles over the
years. By then having four children, we had to upgrade to a
station wagon for a family
car, but we kept the Plymouth. It was used as a
high school car in the late
1970s and 1980s. During
that time, it saw action
during regular school use
and at homecoming parades and other activities.
Other than a valve job, the
383 was holding up well.
Cover Plymouth
Fifty-year Sport Fury
The admiration is still there
by Ed Parker
Omak, Washington
My
first glimpse of our white
1965 Sport Fury convertible was in the showroom
of the Plymouth dealership in Kimball,
Nebraska. I was immediately attracted to
it, and it being a replica of the 1965 Indy
500 pace car made it extra special. The
top was light blue and the interior was
dark blue. As a Sport Fury model, it had
bucket seats with a center console.
Mounted in the console was the floor
shifter for the Torqueflite transmission.
Under the hood sat a 383 cubic inch Commando V8, the high performance version
rated at 330 horsepower. With the dual
exhausts coming out the back, it had a
nice throaty sound. The whole combination looked very sleek and fast.
After negotiating a trade for the 1962
Ford Thunderbird convertible I was driving, the white beauty was mine. Soon I
was behind the wheel headed home to Alliance, Nebraska. Now almost fifty years
later, the car has never been sold and sits
in our garage in Omak, Washington. The
admiration is still there when my wife
Diana and I put the top down and take the
Plymouth out cruising.
In its early years the car was taken to
-28-
After all four kids were out of high school the car was getting a well-deserved rest. Daughter Jeannette used it as a college car in the fall of 1980. Otherwise we just drove it for fun
and used it in some parades. Two special trips were made with
some other classic car people to the Sandpoint, Idaho, car
show. The Plymouth also took us on several trips into Canada
for fun in the sun at the lake and beach.
I retired in December 2007 after 29 years with Okanogan
County PUD, which is our electric power company.
In 2009 we began the process of restoring the Plymouth
which then had almost 150,000 miles on it. Some early
changes I had made on the car included installing dump pipes
to bypass the mufflers. This helped in drag racing. Unfortunately this also got me a traffic ticket for using them on the
street. Other changes included painting part of the grille black
and removing the Plymouth letters and the ornament from the
hood. After being repainted, the hood had a much smoother
look. The stock hubcaps were replaced with Baby Moons.
Diana and I replaced the convertible top twice over the
years, as we didn’t always have a garage. While
in Omak, we had the seats recovered and
new carpet installed. Also, we had
to have a new top boot made
by a local upholstery shop.
Years and miles had
taken their toll on the
engine and body. We
started in the summer
of 2009 by getting the
Carter AFB carburetor
rebuilt. Through our
local Plymouth club we
found a shop in Portland,
Oregon, still rebuilding old
carburetors. The owner was getting close to retiring so we wanted to
get the carburetor done before he closed up
shop. He made it look brand new.
The rest of the summer was spent removing the lights, outside trim, seats, inside door panels, engine and transmission.
The engine went to a shop in Omak to be completely rebuilt.
This included being bored out .020 over and new pistons, rings,
crankshaft, camshaft and valves were installed. When we
picked up the engine it was painted just as if it had come out
from the factory. The transmission was
taken to a shop in Wenatchee, Washington, to be rebuilt.
The stripped-down car was loaded on
a trailer and taken late in the fall of 2009
to be painted at a shop in Malott, Washington. We left it there until spring of
2010 when we returned from Yuma, Arizona. The driver’s door had to be replaced due to a previous accident and
apparently having not been repaired properly. Fortunately we had a parts car with a
good door. The engine and trunk compartments as well as the dash were all part
of a new paint job.
It was May
of 2010 when
we took our
trailer and
picked up the
car. The paint
job looked
great and we
could hardly
wait to get it
home and start
putting all the
pieces back on
it.
The first job was to install the engine and transmission as
well as the wiring in the engine compartment. We ran into a
problem installing the gas tank. A short piece of rubber hose
needed to be replaced and I didn’t realize it was differently
sized on each end. We had no luck finding a new one. With
help from a local machine shop we found a solution. The other problem was finding a
vacuum advance for the dual-point
distributer. A new one was not
to be found, but I did find a
place to get the old one
rebuilt. It was exciting
to hear the engine run
again.
Diana and I then
began to reinstall the
body trim pieces including the grille, headlights
and taillights. The seats
and door panels came next,
and it was beginning to look like a
car. Four new narrow whitewall tires
were put on to make it look like a 1965 again.
By September we had the car ready to go and we headed
off on a trip to California and then drove east on Route 66. We
thought this was a good way to celebrate the restoration of our
fun car.
PB
-29-
Timing slips issued the Sport Fury by the
Scottsbluff, Nebraska, drag strip
-30-
Plymouth’s Indianapolis 500 Pace Car
W
hen Plymouth’s first, and only, opportunity to field
an Indianapolis 500 pace car presented itself in
1965, the all-new C-body Sport Fury got the nod.
The more lithe and likely B-body Satellite was probably passed
over because its carry-over 1964 body was deemed by Plymouth General Manager P. N. Buckminster as not having the
sales promotional panache of an all-new car.
For on-track pace duty, two Sport Fury convertibles were
equipped with the 426 wedge engine. An additional thirty-five
identically appearing convertibles were prepared for VIP duty.
All thirty-seven were declared official Pace Car Edition cars
identified by a dash plaque under the radio, although some people dub the VIP cars as “replicas.” All VIP cars were 383-powered. One magazine reports “of course” the 383s were the
four-barrel versions but Jack Wygant’s Sport Fury, certified by
Galen Govier as an official pace car, is powered by a two-barrel
383 engine.
The two track-use Sport Furys had lettering high on the rear
quarter panels (for better viewing from the stands?) while the
VIP “replica” versions bore lettering mid-panel (for better viewing on the street?).
Following tradition, the actual pace car was presented the
race winner, who in 1965 was Jim Clark, the first to drive a
rear-engine car to victory.
The thirty-five VIP pace cars were spread out to dealers
across the United States to be sold into private hands. In time,
many owners tired of the attention garnered by the Indy 500 let-
Indianapolis 500 lettering is above the rear trim strip on the
track-use cars as seen in the ad above. The VIP “replica” editions
bore the lettering mid-panel.
tering and had them painted over.
Additionally, an unspecified number of white-with-blue-interior convertibles were reportedly given dealer-installed dash
plaques and possibly lndy 500 graphics to make them “pace
cars.” That reality, coupled with the creation of a number of
pace car clones in recent years, can call into question the authenticity of a declared Pace Car Edition 1965 Sport Fury convertible. It can be verified. In 2002, Galen Govier declared
Jack Wygant’s convertible the sixth of seven official Pace Car
Edition Sport Furys then known to exist.
—Lanny Knutson
-31-
sheets decoding the options my car
has and two letters telling me the
Sport Fury is a dealer-ordered car.
After getting the information from
Galen, I knew my car deserved to be
restored back to its former state.
Being retired, I had time but not
a lot of money. Living in northwestern Pennsylvania, I knew winters
could be long enough to work on the
car for prolonged periods of time. A
friend of mine has a body shop from
which he turned out some awardwinning Mopars. I took the car to
him and he helped me lay out a
restoration plan. Since money was
a prime consideration, he gave me
an idea as to how much each of
these tasks would cost. I then laid
out a plan as to what I could afford
each winter and still have the car
out the next summer. However
there were several years when the plan didn't work as anticipated. Part of the delay resulted from difficulty in finding parts
for this first-year C-body.
My Sport Fury is as close to original as I could get.
Changes include a rebuilt 1966 motor with a bigger cam (it is a
very heavy car with stock gears), a Pentronic electronic ignition
under distributor cap, showing no extra wires, and a dualchamber master cylinder.
On Pace with Plymouth
My 1965 Indy Pace Car
by Jack L. Wygant
Erie, Pennsylvania
I
bought my Indy Pace Car Edition Sport Fury in 2000 from
its third owner. Her late husband, an owner of an upholstery shop, had done some work on it. After he died in
1993, the car had been put in storage and remained there most
of the time since.
The Sport Fury had just over 52,000 miles when I purchased it. One of the first things I did was to have a Pennsylvania inspection done to see what needed fixing before I started
cruising. Luckily, only routine maintenance was necessary to
get it back on the road. However, I had spotted numerous
items needing to be replaced or repaired.
I sent tracings of my fender tag and door tag to Galen
Govier, considered the guru of Chrysler numbers and data.
From the information I provided, he was able to produce three
MARKEL PHOTOGRAPHY
“Homebrew” undercoating was everywhere
Photos on this page were taken prior to restoration
-32-
I had the body stripped and repainted, the brake and suspension systems
rebuilt, the gas lines replaced, the seats reupholstered and the bumpers rechromed.
Much of the work, especially the
smaller detail and assembly work, was
done in my garage. The bigger, more
complicated jobs I had to send the car out
to get done. The biggest was removing
the extra undercoating a previous owner
had put on over the factory coating. It
was a homemade brew sprayed over
nearly every exposed surface of the firewall, fender wells, radiator support, frame
rails and trunk. Some was over three-
Interiors: Original [LEFT]; Replacement [RIGHT] by Legendary, installed by the current owner.
eights of inch thick. I still have the area under the front seats
needing to be finished.
While the car looks great, some things are wrong, but I
think anyone who has done a car knows a restoration is never
done. Still, I am proud of what I have done myself in my
garage on a limited budget.
A NYONE WITH QUESTIONS about the car, vendors or anything
else, can reach me at 814-899-6732. I have been tinkering
with Mopars for over sixty years. I am a member of the Lake
Erie Tri State Mopar Club. We have a pure Mopar show the
first weekend in June every year. This year’s show was our
thirtieth and we had over 270 cars registered.
PB
“I have done it myself” Jack and his Sport Fury
Newly painted inner fenders and other panels; the homebrew is gone!
-33-
Notes to Jack Wygant
from Galen Govier
As of January 3, 2002, 1965 383-2BBL
Plymouth Sport Fury convertible,
VIN P452247749, is in the Chrysler
Registry.
There were 6,272 1965 383-2BBL Plymouth Sport Fury convertibles built to
spec for USA. Detailed production
figures ae not available. Canadian
and export figures are unknown.
As of the above date, yours is number
six of seven in sequence of 1965 3832BBL Plymouth Sport Fury convertibles registered, built in Hamtramck,
Michigan, and sold new in USA.
Hamtramck is the only plant in which
these cars were built.
I believe your Sport Fury to be a real
Indy Pace Car (one of eight) but not
necessarily one used at the Indy 500
track.
I have the book from Chrysler with all
options and packages; it has no sales
code for the Indy Pace Car. It was
probably in a sales bulletin and any
dealer was able to order it within certain guidelines. I believe white-witha-blue-interior was the standard color
and trim.
With that in mind, I highly recommend you install the lettering for the
Indianapolis 500 Race Pace Car on
your 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury convertible.
-34-
Good Deal
Sport
by Lloyd and Jean Graves
Long Prairie, Minnesota
We
bought our 1965 Sport
Fury new on October 5,
1965, at Johnson’s
Garage in Browerville, Minnesota. It
was a leftover ‘65. I liked the ‘65 models better than the ‘66s and, besides, I
got a very good deal on this white hardtop with a black interior.
We traveled around the country in
this Sport Fury with three kids in the
back seat while pulling a pop-up trailer.
In 1974 it became our second car
when we bought a Fury station wagon.
After fifty years, our Sport Fury remains a good car.
PB
Lucky boy gets his own Fury, a go-kart even his dad or mom could
drive. Built for Avis for the New York World’s Fair, the go-karts were
commended to Plymouth dealers for promotional purposes.
Has anyone seen one?
-35-
Plodge, Aussie-style: Pure Plymouth except for five letters on the
hood instead of eight, and other badging, the RHD Dodge Phoenix was
advertised as a status car—but a practical one. A brown four-door
sedan with blackwall tires is featured on the brochure cover.
Fond Fury Memories
This was important to me, as my car would have to be my daily
driver with an occasional "trip to the strip." Those trips could
never survive an encounter with another car with an engine
even remotely prepared under the aegis of guys like Hoover,
Eckstrand, Thornton, Nichols, Mancini, et al, so the Commando 426 the logical powerplant.
The car magazines of mid-1964, such as Motor Trend, Car
Life and Hot Rod, hinted the '65 Furys were to be virtually a
separate marque from the rest of the Plymouth line and a little
bit bigger. That was somewhat of a concern to me, but one I
could address in its own good time. Besides, the name
Belvedere did not have the panache as did Fury.
When I walked into the Hunter Brothers Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in Pueblo, Colorado, early in September,
1964, I told the first salesman approaching me (he knew me by
name because of the '60 Fury I was currently abusing, which I
parked very obviously in front) I was interested in the 1965s. I
knew ‘65s hadn't yet made their official debut, but I was just
wondering if he had any preliminary info on them. Of course
he didn't, but he did say as soon as the store got any data,
someone would contact me.
by Joe Godec
Colorado Springs, Colorado
In view of Bob Kerico's efforts in featuring the 1965 Sport Fury
at the 2015 National Fall Meet, I sent a few of my memories about the
meet's showcase car. He suggested I share them with the rest of the
club. While I do not currently own a '65, I was very fortunate to have
had one in the mid-1960s. I have fond memories of it, so, here goes:
My
dad bought a new 1960 Fury two-door hardtop
with the SonoRamic Commando engine in the
spring of the year when I was a senior in high
school. It was supposed to be his car, but since I was very devious and devoid of any scruples, the passage of time saw it set
up for drag racing—with 4.10 rear end gears, low-restriction
exhaust headers, etc.—and with my hands on the steering
wheel, my right foot on the accelerator and my left index finger
on the "typewriter" Torqueflite controls. When Dad and I
talked about it (much) later, he admitted he really didn't know
how it all came to be. He just couldn't understand how his son
snookered him!
By the spring of 1964, with some 50,000 miles on its
clock, that car was showing signs of being ridden hard and put
away wet. Although I was still in college, I had worked construction during the summer months, earning fairly substantial
wages (more than $1,200 each summer—not bad in the '60s).
With tuition being minimal, I had a few bucks burning holes in
my bank account by September 1964. Time and technology, as
well as wear and tear, had not only caught up with the "BigTailed Beast" (my '60 Fury) but went roaring by. I thought it
time to replace the car, especially since Dad had informally
given it to me as a graduation present. (This "graduation" bit is
somewhat misleading, as I would not actually graduate until
June 1965 since I was in the process of cramming four years of
college into five. Still, Dad's generosity was all I needed.)
Seeking a ‘65
I had been a devout Plymouth "gearhead" from my teen years
and the "Plymmer's" performance since the mid-1950s had always been evident to me. But I did consider other possibilities.
The new Mustang was becoming very popular, but it didn't
offer much by way of horsepower. Pontiac's latest, the GTO,
was also smoking tires on streets and strips, but even in those
days I considered it overrated. The three cars holding the most
interest for me were Chevrolet's Corvette and El Camino and
Plymouth's Sport Fury. My visit to the Chevy store was a bit
disappointing, as there was no way I could come up with five
grand-plus for a new ‘Vette, and the biggest engine available
for the El Camino was the 350 HP/327 CID "Mouse." However,
during the preceding 1964 model year, I had been especially
fascinated with the new Mopar 426-S or "Street Wedge," the
365 horsepower version of the 426 RB wedge engine. It offered great performance without the notoriously horrible everyday maintenance demanded by the 426 Hemi in any guise.
To my surprise, in just about a week, I got a call saying
they had received some material they would be glad to show
me. It was hard, but I restrained myself to delay a couple of
days before I strolled into the showroom in my best "Joe Cool"
manner. I had a slight reputation in town for being one of the
hotrod set and I think the salesman and the new car sales manager thought "Here is the buyer of a new '65 Belvedere 426
Street Hemi!" I looked over the sales brochures rather disinterestedly until I saw the one for the Fury, particularly those pages
displaying a Medium Red Metallic Sport Fury convertible with
matching vinyl interior with bucket seats, console and all. It
was the old case of "love at first sight." Somewhat surprised at
my interest in that car, the manager said the 426 Hemi wasn't
available in any of the Fury line. My reply was I had never
-36-
Fury out on the streets ASAP and he was very accommodating,
believing I would let it be seen, heard and felt. To get such a
car out there, the dealership president called me at home to say
he, his new car sales manager and the first salesman would like
to see me with a great offer. When they drove up in a new allblack Sport Fury, the first one his company had received (but
with only the 230 HP 318 CID mill), I was duly impressed and
signed the order for mine on my dad's dining room table. (I
still have the table, but not the car—drats!) As I remember, I
paid just about $2000 difference with my beat-up trade-in. (I
Nearly fifty years ago, Joe and Mary
Ann stood by their then-current Plymouth,
a ‘65 426-S Sport Fury, baby moons and
all. Almost a half-century later they stand
by their current Plymouth, a 1960 Sonoramic Fury, chrome skirts and all.
been interested in a Hemi, but in the Commando 426 instead. I
asked if I could keep the brochure for a day or two and I would
get back to them on exactly what I wanted.
do think it worth calling attention to how dealers were willing
to work with buyers in those days. Can you imagine trying to
get a radio-, A/C- and power steering-delete car now?)
The deed was done and all that remained was to wait. . .
and wait. . . and wait. Actually, it was just a few weeks but
seemed like forever. Finally, fairly early on a sunny and warm
Colorado November morning, I was doing some work on an
apartment building next to the dealership. As a big auto transport truck pulled up, I couldn't help but notice the first car to be
unloaded was a Medium Red Metallic Sport Fury two-door
hardtop. I was over in a flash to where the 426 hood emblem
became obvious and the sexy "burble" of the exhaust was just
that—sexy! I had to tell the driver, "Please be careful with that
car, sir. I think that one is going to be mine." After he parked
it and got out, his words were only, "You be careful with this
car, son. It can kill you."
Needless to say, I didn't waste time getting to the dealership to see when I could take possession. I hoped that it being
a Saturday wouldn't delay things, and I was assured it wouldn't.
I was to come back around lunch time. By noon, I was there to
finish the paperwork and receive the customary briefing on
maintenance, on warranty, and on driving the car, as if this
know-it-all (there’s a more vulgar term to describe me: "S****
A**")… in other words, did a twenty-two-year-old kid really
need to be told how to drive a '65 Sport Fury? Still, it was a
proud moment pulling out of the dealership at about 1:00 PM
with all eyes on us.
Those were the days of "If you want a fast car, break it in
fast," but I was more circumspect. In the aviation arena, the
normal procedure of breaking in a new or freshly overhauled
The Order
It didn't take me long to decide upon:
• 1965 Sport Fury two-door hardtop in Medium Red Metallic
with matching interior (just like the red convertible on pages
six and seven of sales brochure)
$2920.00
• 426-S engine, including heavy-duty suspension, brakes
(11x2.75 inches, front and rear), high capacity cooling system,
oversize tires (8.25x14), wide wheel rims, four-speed transmission
483.00
• Sure-Grip differential with 3.55 gears
50.00
• Power brakes
43.00
• Tinted glass all around
40.00
Total list price $3536.00
Note, I listed no radio (I was trying to save a few bucks),
no power steering nor air conditioning (the last two rob power
from the engine). Shipping, sales tax, and licence added another $300-$350 to the tab. I also call attention to the oversize
tires and heavy-duty brakes of the 426-S package, as these will
come into play later.
Out on the Street
Quite unexpectedly, the negotiations went smoothly in spite of
none of us having yet seen an honest-to-goodness '65 Sport
Fury in the flesh (“in the steel” is more appropriate as cars were
steel then!). It seems as though the dealer wanted to get a 426
-37-
reciprocating engine was to "slow time" it to make sure the surfaces of all moving parts receive proper lubrication as well as
the more mundane necessity of gently removing the burrs,
spurs, or glazings resulting from the casting and machining
processes. With this firmly in mind, I didn't "punch" it, nor
stomp on the brakes. My '60 Fury had a "hard spot" cast in the
left front drum which would almost tear the steering wheel out
of my hands upon applying the brake when cold. I had to leave
that car overnight at the shop for the techs to experience this reality and it was only corrected by replacing the drum. No problem (yet) with this gorgeous '65. Plus, the Hurst four-speed
shifter in the console was a very smooth joy to work.
Yet there was opportunity for adventure. Even the owner's
manual suggested that an occasional full power burst was good
to clear the plugs and that drivers should avoid long periods of
idling or cruising at one constant speed. That was the red flag
in front of this young bull's face: that "occasional" full-power
burst!
After the dutiful display to relatives and friends, I had to
"cruise the gut" down Main Street looking for "chicks" and
drags. I found the latter almost immediately at a stop light just
three short blocks down the street from the court house. A silver '65 Pontiac GTO pulled alongside me at a red light. As you
might expect, there was the customary sideward glances and
subtle engine revs. When I did my part in the dance, the other
guy looked surprised as I don't think he expected a four-speed
manual to be in my Fury. Then the fun began! We both were
watching the traffic lights, not only the ones facing us, but also
those on the intersecting street as when they turned yellow it
was an alert that the ones facing us would soon turn green.
That green light really meant " GO!" in every sense of the
word. The new Sport Fury was quick all right, as by the time
we passed the court house the "Goat" (aka GTO) was in my
rearview mirror and my speedometer was indicating about 85.
I have always maintained that the Goat is the most overrated
muscle car of all time, and what happened is evidence for my
contention. Two significant results of that confrontation: first, I
was able give the Fury its first "occasional full-power blast,"
and second, Hunter Brothers Chrysler-Plymouth got a new '65
Commando 426 (with a four-speed, to boot) on the streets
where it definitely got noticed.
However, not all was beer and skittles. After every few
hundred miles or so, all four sets of brakes began to chatter.
Over to the shop I went, where I was told "That's no problem.
The car's still under warranty, so we'll take care of it." That
they did. They turned the drums and eliminated the chatter
without adversely affecting the stopping power. Nonetheless,
again after a few hundred miles, the condition surfaced again. .
. and again. . . and again. At least during one of those "agains"
I was able to sit in the driver's seat of a black 300F convertible
(I didn't get to drive it, as it was in the showroom, but I did get
to sit in it!).
If Hunter Brothers had any ideas of me campaigning the
car on the various drag strips in Colorado during the 1965 drag
season, they came to naught when a rather attractive blue-eyed
honey-blond coed came into my life. From that point on, I didn't care about people thinking I had a "sweet" Sport Fury or
how fast it was, but more like "Look how lucky that guy is to
have that girl sitting next to him” (which was rather hard to do
in a car with bucket seats and a console, but she was able to do
it!).
While my drag racing days came a screeching halt before
graduation in June 1965, I still had the Sport Fury and I was
going to grad school at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. That honey-blond received her degree on time, but
she got a job teaching in Pueblo. She was rather concerned
about me driving alone from Pueblo to Albuquerque and back
again, so she convinced me to get a simple Plymouth
Transaudio AM radio ($59) to keep me awake during those long
drives back and forth. You have no idea how many times I
heard Al Martino's Spanish Eyes on the highways between
Pueblo and Albuquerque from September 1965 to June 1966.
Tire Adventure
Now to the issue of oversize tires and wide wheel rims. The
warranty on the Sport Fury was very good, but it required preventive maintenance (oil changes, lubes, etc.) to be done and
certified by a Chrysler Corporation dealer. Shortly after I
started grad school at the UNM, the car came due for such
maintenance. The Chrysler-Plymouth dealer in Albuquerque
was Lloyd McKee (incidentally, a brother-in-law of the Colorado Hunters, although I didn't know it then) so off I went.
Being ever so careful as to how my Sport Fury was being
treated, I watched from the tech's workbench to see what he
did. On a lift next to my car was a '65 Fury I two-door sedan of
the New Mexico State Police. Being a curious soul, I strolled
under and noticed its wheel rims had enough clearance between
them and the drums for me to insert my fingers. The rims on
my car were snug up against the drums. Both cars were supposed to have "heavy duty brakes, oversize tires and wide
wheel rims." I pointed this out to the tech. He went to the shop
foreman who came to look the scene over, after which he said,
"You're in luck. The regional Chrysler representative is here
now, so we'll see what he has to say." The rep came, gave a
quick look, and said, "Put some new wheels and tires on this
young man's car right now!" No more problems were had with
the brakes.
Since becoming a member of the POC, I enjoyed discussing this with member Darrell Davis. He informed me that
'65 Furys with the complete 426-S option should not have the
Sport Fury "spinner" wheel covers or, if they did, should not
have fender skirts. When my car came down the line, it already
had the big drums, but whoever put on the wheels, grabbed the
smaller 7.75 wheels and associated parts. So my car had been
delivered with the wrong wheels and associated trim, although
by then I had removed the skirts and replaced the stock wheel
covers with "baby moons." So much for the line claiming all
factory cars have matching numbers.
Happy Anniversary
A few days after the new wheels and tires were installed, I was
informed UNM was hosting the 1965 New Mexico state teachers' convention and the campus would be closed down on a
Thursday and Friday in late September. Great! It was a chance
to get home to see that honey-blond. As (bad) luck would have
it, I had a Wednesday class from 7:00-8:30 PM and the professor kept it as scheduled. I attended, but rather casually strolled
-38-
ico, and on through San Luis, Fort Garland, and Walsenburg,
Colorado, to Pueblo is just over 300 miles.
What's dumber: driving tired at night or driving fast (very
fast!) at night? I must offer two excuses: for the first dumb
trip, I wanted to get home to ask that blond a question. For the
second trip, I wanted to hear her answer as I told her to think it
over until Thanksgiving to definitely be sure.
It must have worked because in 2016 Mary Ann and I celebrate our fiftieth anniversary!
back to my apartment, grabbed my stuff, and got into the Fury.
It had to be at least 9:30 PM before I was on I-25 and on my
way. At age 22, I had no idea of my limitations and after about
three hours on the road I began to get tired. About an hour
later, I started to “hit the wall” and it came hard. In 1965, I-25
was not complete in Colorado—the few stretches of four-lane
were each marked at beginning and end with a flashing doubleyellow beacon. I swear one of these flashing beacons woke me
up about 35 miles from home! I would never let that happen to
me again.
The Thanksgiving weekend presented the same scenario,
but this time I was ready. As soon as the prof dismissed us, I
was off l like a shot and on I-25 just before 9:00 PM. A little before midnight, I pulled into Dad's driveway. Going from where
I lived in Albuquerque, through Santa Fe, and Taos, New Mex-
PB
-39-
Plymouth Miniatures
Plymouth Surprise
An
old adage says, “The truth
is in the details.” Maybe
you can recall a teacher or
a boss reminding you not to overlook the
details or miss the fine print. “The
devil’s in the details,” one might add.
Occasionally, as followers of my column may know, I can become so fascinated by a miniscule reference about our
favorite make of car I can’t help writing
about the topic, even though it is not
specifically about a miniature auto.
Glance at the pictures accompanying this
text. If you have sharp eyesight
or a good magnifying glass, you
will see what I mean when I claim
the devil is more often than not
found in the details. In this case
the “devil” is a sharp, very attractive color illustration of a 1961
Plymouth Suburban station
wagon. More likely, you probably first looked at the little cars or
the gas bay before you fixated on
the Plymouth wagon, if you noticed it all. I know I did.
I was surfing eBay one
evening a few years back when
the little set in the picture caught
my eye. Actually, the Studebaker
Hawks caught my attention, and
“WOW! two of them in one set!”
Plus, I love any miniatures having
gas station accessories as this one
does. My “tank” was full and little did I realize at the moment an
oil change was included for
dessert, because I hadn’t yet noticed the Plymouth station wagon
highlighting the packaging.
The other two cars in the lot
of four did not much interest me,
as I knew right off that they were
not Plymouths or Studebakers or other
makes I collect. Once I received the set
from the seller, I could examine it better
and learn the other two cars are a Pontiac
Tempest and a Chevy Impala ragtop.
Both are ’61 models like the Hawks. I
liked the set so much I contacted the
seller to inquire if he had any more of
them, again dreaming of more Hawks and
thinking of several collector friends who hunt for
rare and unique Studebaker
items. I ended up purchasing another eight sets. All
have two Studebaker Hawks together
with two other cars. Differing from the
original set, these sets’ “other cars” are
mostly Triumph roadsters and Lincoln
Continental convertibles. There are no
Plymouth vehicles nor was I expecting
any, since, of course, at the time I hadn’t
paid attention to the packaging (that is,
concentrate on the details—”Right,
boss!”),
Over a period of a year or so, I sold
or traded the eight extra sets to a number
of Studebaker friends and one went to a
TR-3 collector. The original set I kept.
One day while contemplating where to
place it in one of my display cabinets, I
took a serious look at the packaging and
-40-
this time the ’61 Plymouth wagon on the
topper practically jumped out at me.
How could I have missed it all this time?
Suddenly those Hawk miniatures took on
a lesser grade of importance. The Suburban is a ’61 model, no different from the
model year of the cars in the gas station
set—talk about accuracy in packaging.
Moreover, it is the Plymouth,
not the Studes, the Triumph,
Lincoln or GM vehicles that is
being gassed up with its hood
opened by the service station
attendant. The man and boy
with the Plymouth wagon in
the illustration could have been
any of us with a son or grandson out for a cruise.
This little gasoline bay
set, made in Hong Kong in the
late sixties, is a item I hadn’t
seen previously in my years of
toy car collecting, although the
cars, or similar cars, had been
made in the USA back in 1961
and did include a Plymouth
hardtop of that year. The gas
station accessories, as far as I
can tell, are a Hong Kong addition, as is the superb packaging
with the illustration of the Plymouth wagon which had escaped my observation for so
long.
Now, take a lesson
from me, and don’t forget to
read that fine print and do try to
grasp those little details (even if
you need your specs to do so, as I do!)
for the reward may be a Plymouth surprise like the ’61 wagon topping off the
Studebakers.
-- Bill Brisbane
[email protected]
PLYMOUTH BULLETIN back issues
102 - Jan/Feb '77
111 - Jul/Aug '78
113 - Nov/Dec '78
116 - May/Jun '79
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142 - Sep/Oct ‘83
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Spotlight Sketches, 1928-35
50th Anniversary Plymouth Meet
1978 Fall Meet
Old Cars Price Guide; 1953-54 ads
Retail sales bulletins
1979 Fall Meet
Life of Walter P. Chrysler
Plymouth in Australia
Fargo commercial vehicles
Plymouth in Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Plymouth-bodied Dodges, DeSotos
Turbine cars
1962 Plymouths; Chrysler Engineering Bldg.
1958 Plymouth
1960 Plymouth
1938 Plymouth
1932 PB Plymouth; '92 Denver Spring Meet
1967 Plymouths; '92 Indy Summer Meet
1942 Plymouth; Richard Petty tribute
1961 Plymouth; '93 Kansas City Spring Meet
1968 Plym.; '93 Plymouth (MA) Summer Meet
1928-30 Plymouth Models Q & U
Plymouth miscellany
Maxwell history; Ellis (KS) meet
1930-31 30U Plym.; '94 Faribault Spring Meet
1994 Newark (DE) Fall Meet
1969 Plymouths
1949 Plymouths
Mayflower mascots; Petty '49
1955 Plymouth; '95 Frederick (MD) Summer Mt.
1995 Nebr. City Fall Meet
WWII Plymouths
Plymouth dealerships
Plymouth miscellany
1954 Plymouth
Des Moines Spring Meet; '54 Plymouth
Newark Fall Meet; '54 accessories
1970-71-72 Plymouths
1957-63 Australian Chrysler Royals
1970 Superbird
1997 Kansas City Spring Meet
1997 Annapolis Fall Meet
40th Anniversary issue
First Valiants; Mayflower winners
1973 Plymouths
1998 Grand National Meet
1998 Great Race ‘32 PB; GN Meet revisited
1946-49 P15 50th Anniversary
1960-74 Plymouth A-, B-, C-bodies
1974 Plymouths
1999 Springfield (IL) Spring Meet
1999 Hancock (MA) Summer Meet
1949 P17/18 50th Anniversary
1999 Doylestown (PA) Fall Meet
1966 Valiants; 74-81 Trail Duster
1956 Plymouths
2000 Rapid City (SD) Spring Meet, ‘56 Ply, cont
1950 P19/20 50th Anniversary
Plymouth at races; ‘75 Ply; ‘74-83 Voyager
Ply Down Under, ‘56 Miniatures, ‘32 PB sequels
2001 Reedsburg (WI) Spring Meet
2001 Newark (DE) Fall Meet
Plymouth voyages; Arrow pickup; ‘51 sequels
1960-61 Plymouths; Stretched Plymouths
1976-77 Plymouths (Volaré)
2002 Hollywood (MD) Spring Meet
2002 Grand Rapids (MN) Summer Meet;‘52 50th
Touring with Plymouths; ‘83 Scamp pickup
1928-29: Plymouth’s first years
1953 Plymouth 50th Anniversary
Most Significant Plymouths
1954 Plymouth 50th Anniversary
1964-74 Barracuda Anniversary; Ont. 4cyl. meet
Plymouths at Iola ‘04; Maxwell Centennial Tour
269 - Nov/Dec ‘04
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2004 Battle Creek Summer Meet; ME 4 cyl meet
Plymouth Travels with P10 cnv; P15 wgn
Finding Mrs. Miller, ower of milestone Plys.
Valiant history; Yellow Rose ‘40; Swedish ‘49
‘55 Plymouth 50th Anniversary
2005 Peoria Spring Meet; Woodies
2005 Vermont Summer Meet; 4cyl, Ont/Ohio
Plymouths in Alaska, Hawaii; Fargo tanker
Plymouth Belmont; Valiant convertibles
2006 Indy Spring Meeet; Ont. 4cyl Meet
Club history-1; ‘29-31 Fargo trucks
Club history-2; Fargo at Work, northern roads
Club history-5; ‘07 Tulsarama; ‘57 Plymouths
Club history-6; ‘07 Carolina Nat Fall Meet
Ply deuces:‘32,‘42,‘52,‘62,‘72; Econ Run Plys
Ply Memories: long-term owners; Econ Run Plys
Ply Memories: Petty; Aust. utes; Econ Run Plys
‘57 Again; Ont 4cyl meet; Dempster Hwy
50th of the ‘58s
Plymouths of the Southern Hemisphere
Plymouth Things, Movies; ‘36, ‘50, ‘63 Plys
‘59 50th Anniv; Ont. 4cyl tour
2009 Wisconsin Summer Meet; ‘66 Sport Fury
2009 Maryland Fall Meet
Reprise: Tüscher; Plainsman; Berkheimer
Memorials; Italian ‘28-9; ‘71 police Fury
Ply weddings; ‘31 PA travels; NZ Plys
‘60 Plymouth 50th anniversary
2010 Portland Summer Meet; oldest Ply
4 cyl tour Vermont; Tüscher PJ; driving P15s
Peking to Paris ‘32; ‘31, ‘54, ‘60 Plys
‘49 Plymouth convertibles; ‘54 Ply
1956 Fury
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2011 California Summer Meet; Minnesota Fall Tour
Buried Belv. in Snow; 1975-78 Fury; Emissions
1934 Plymouths; NY 4cyl. tour
1970-76 Dusters, ‘49s, ‘68 GTX
1951-70 Belv sport cpes; Ont. 4cyl. tour; ‘41 spare tire
1962 Plymouth/Valiant 50th anniversary
2012 Kansas City Fall Tour; PJ Tour; ‘35 PJ Plys
318 V8; Ply Trouble Shooting Contest; Petty ‘Cuda
First Plys (‘28-32); Monte Carlo ‘33; ‘39 PlySoto
2013 Tucson Spring Meet; ‘40 Plys; ‘30, ‘31 Plys
Salvage, Swap, Show & Go; Ont 4cyl; ‘63s; Hemi hist.
1973 Ply 40th anniv; Hemi history
VT 4cyl tour; NZ Plys; Belmont; Hemi history
Swedish PJ in Poland; ‘36 sdn; ‘38 truck; Hemi history
SP15 Diplomats; Ed Peterson;‘42 P14 cpe; Hemi hist.
1939 Ply 75th anniversary; M. Berkheimer tribute
2014 Port Huron Summer Meet; Normandy Plys
Barracuda 50th anniversary; ‘39s; Hemi history
1964 50th anniversary; Ont 4cyl, Arctic Circle tours
1937 Plymouth; Dutch Meet & Greet
1938 Plymouth
1959 Belv. cnv, ‘34 PE cpe restos; ‘47 P15s
2015 O’Fallon, IL, Fall Meet; ‘28 Ply, ‘36 Fargo
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Nick DeSimone
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Diamond Bar, CA 91765-2536
(909) 861-4950 / [email protected]
Dan Payne photo
24-time Old Cars Weekly Golden Quill Award winner
335 Volume 57 Number 1
The Fiftieth of the Roaring ‘65s
Ed Parker photo
W. Vernon Alldredge’s 1965 Fury III sedan
Founded 1957
Ed Parker’s 1965 Sport Fury convertible

1965 Plymouth 50th anniversary

Transcription

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