1970 Plymouth Fury

1970 Plymouth Fury            The 1970 Plymouth Fury was probably one of the better examples of Chrysler's full size "Fuselage" styling that was first introduced for the 1969 model year. For 1970. Fury styling was enhanced to promote more of a performance image. with a muscular power bulge hood. the availability of hideaway headlights set in a new loop front bumper. and improved rear styling. Sport Fury S-23 & GT performance models were also added. the latter having the 440 Super Commando engine as standard equipment. There was also a seldom seen 440 six barrel 390hp engine available in the GT.
Brass Hat Special      This car was ordered in October of 1969 under the Executive Lease Car Program (Sales code Y22). and originally came with Black Velvet exterior paint (X9). a two-tone black/charcoal bucket seat interior (M6XA). and was topped off with a white convertible top (V3W). Designated as a Plymouth "Public Relations Car" ('Q' order code prefix). the intent of this car seemed to be to create a Sport Fury GT convertible. but since that model was only available as a 2 door hardtop. a Fury III was used. The 440-4 Super Commando engine was ordered along with a trailer tow package that gave it extra heavy duty suspension & engine cooling components. Every available option that was part of the GT model was also ordered. including the 15" chrome rallye wheels. fat Polyglas GT raised white letter tires. dual exhaust. 3. 23 sure-grip axle. and bucket seats with floor shift console. Only 7 known 1970 Fury convertibles with the 440 engine are known to exist.
Loaded with Options!     This car came with over 30 factory assembly line installed options as documented by the original build sheet. I have listed them below. A01  LIGHT GROUP PACKAGE                       A35  TRAILER TOW PACKAGE      B41  POWER BRAKES                    B51  DISC BRAKES                         C16  CONSOLE                               C55  BUCKET SEATS                     C92  ACCESSORY RUBBER FLOOR MATS  D32  TORQUEFLITE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION     D53  3. 23 REAR AXLE RATIOD91  SURE GRIP DIFFERENTIAL         E85  440 V8 4BBL ENGINE SUPER COMMANDO             F13  60 AMP HEAVY DUTY ALTERNATOR      G11 TINTED GLASS                        G31  LEFT REMOTE CHROME MIRROR            G33  RIGHT CHROME MIRROR                            H51* AIR CONDITIONING WITH          H53* AUTO TEMP CONTROLS       J21  ELECTRIC CLOCKJ55  UNDERCOATING WITH HOOD INSULATOR PADL31  HOOD MOUNTED TURN SIGNALSL42  TIME DELAY HEADLIGHTSM81  FRONT BUMPER GUARDSM83  REAR BUMPER GUARDSN41  DUAL EXHAUSTN88  CRUISE CONTROLP25  6 WAY POWER DRIVER SIDE BUCKET SEATP31  POWER WINDOWSR31  REAR SPEAKERR35  AM/FM MULTIPLEX STEREO RADIOS77  POWER STEERINGS83  RIM BLOW STEERING WHEELW23  15" CHROME ROAD WHEELSU75  POLYGLAS H50x15 RAISED WHITE LETTER TIRESV5X  BLACK BODY SIDE MOLDING* The Auto-Temp Air Conditioning system counts as two separate options.
The Restoration     After years of collecting parts. a full restoration of this automobile began back in 2010. It took about 2 years to complete. and pictures were taken along the way to document all the work. Given what the car originally was. It was felt that a high quality restoration was warranted. and that's what it got. The following are highlights of the various areas of the restoration:Exterior      NOS Parts used: All six body side moldings. rear bumper Aluminum trim panel. All four bumper guards. 3 piece grille. left & right outside mirrors. nbsp;right tail light lens. and two of the four wheel opening moldings.   New reproduction parts used include the side marker light lens and reflector set (same as 'Cuda). door handles. convertible top. pads & boot. windshield. P-L-Y-M-O-U-T-H hood letter set & door glass catwhisker weatherstrip kit. The front and rear bumpers were re-chromed. All stainless moldings were sent out to be polished and any defects removed. Die cast belt moldings were re-chromed. Deck lid key guard was restored with new decal.      The body was extensively primed-sanded-primed. and painted the original X9 Black Velvet in Urethane. All other the areas including the door jambs. under the hood and around the trunk lip were also painted. The exterior was then color sanded and buffed out. The interior of the trunk got the Spackle paint treatment as original.
Interior     All four Door panels were sent to SMS in Washington State. and they were completely remade using new backing material. padding and NOS material. They also applied the heat pressed "stitching" and styling lines. New 80/20 molded carpet from Auto Custom Carpets (ACS) was installed. The dash was removed and completely disassembled. The frame. glove box door and ashtray were all painted low gloss black. It was then reassembled using many NOS parts. including RH dash (radio) bezel. rear speaker control bezel. Auto-Temp A/C control head assembly. top switch. and center & passenger side A/C dash vents. The rest of the dash plastic bezels were sent out to G-CAR to have the plastic chrome restored. and they also did the lettering & detailing on them. The dash pad is an un-cracked original (priceless) with an NOS wood grain applique on the passenger side. An NOS black rim blow steering wheel was found and installed. but It wasn't cheap (over $1k). It is the exact one specified in the build sheet. and it works perfect. The front and rear seats were completely rebuilt; stripped down. frames painted. and new foam cushions and padding made. Because no reproductions of 1970 Fury seat covers are available. all new seat covers had to be made from scratch. patterned off of the originals using all new NOS materials. All this work was done by Fibertech in Huntington Beach. CA. The bucket seat backs and side shields were replaced with new. heavier reproductions which do not break like the originals. The sill plates were sent out and restored. The console is the original one and was not broken. It has new wood grain applied on it that matches the type used on the dash pad applique. A new chrome plate was also installed on the back of the console. The original assembly line type floor mats (option C92) were found and installed as well as a new convertible well liner.  The clock was rebuilt and was working until a few weeks ago when it stopped. amazingly just as the warranty expired.   This car has seven lights (including two that are time delay) that come on when the either door is opened. and they all work. as well as all the dash lights. speedometer and gauges.
Engine compartment      The engine compartment was completely stripped out and restored as per the way it would look when the car was new. The Engine. brake booster. power steering pump. alternator. starter. carburetor and radiator have all been rebuilt. New date coded plug wires. part numbered belts and hoses. Mopar group 27 restoration battery. clutch fan. brake. fuel & transmission cooler lines were installed. The correct distributor was rebuilt with an NOS Vacuum advance. NOS battery cables were used. An NOS right exhaust manifold with the heat valve was installed so the choke would work properly.  A rare. NOS Cruise Control unit sits on the left inner fender. An original molded hood insulation pad (try to find one of those!) is fastened to the underside of the hood. The Air conditioning system includes a new drier. low pressure cut-off switch. compressor clutch. nbsp;NOS Auto Temp heater control valve. NOS compressor ambient switch. and a rebuilt compressor.  The A/C system has been converted to R134A. and is fully charged. It's a little overwhelming to touch on every aspect of restoring this area of the car. but you can look at the pictures to see the final result.
Suspension & undercarriage      The bottom side of the car was stripped down. pressure washed. and then re-undercoated to match the factory application.  The front suspension has been completely re-built and detailed. Everything is new including the tie rod ends. idler arm. pitman arm. upper & lower ball joints. rubber bushings. wheel bearings. and shocks. The front brake calipers were rebuilt. and new pads and rubber hoses installed. One of the rotors was replaced with an NOS one. and the other one was like new. so it was just turned. The 11x3 rear brakes are all new including drums. shoes. metal axle lines. hoses. hardware kits. self adjuster kits and wheel cylinders. The axle assembly removed. cleaned and then painted and detailed. and new axle bearings were installed. New leaf springs were made by the OEM manufacturer to the original blueprint specs.   A brand new gas tank and sender unit were installed. The exhaust system was replaced with a complete. all-new front to rear system from Accurate Exhaust products in Oregon; they are the only people that make the correct style parts for these cars. The driveshaft was checked for straightness. new U joints installed. and then had a high speed balance. The transmission has been rebuilt and doesn't leak. The original date coded 15" chrome rallye wheels are still with the car and are in excellent condition. They were cleaned and repainted. and have the correct rings and caps. Recently. a new set of Goodyear Polyglas GT G70x15 Raised white letter tires were installed when they finally became available reproduction.  
The finished product     This car turned out better than was expected. Because of the heavy duty suspension it has a tight. solid feel to it and is fun to drive. The 440 engine has plenty of punch. and will even chirp second gear when pushed. The car has been driven over 5000 miles since the restoration was completed. including a 2015 trip to the "Mopars at the Strip" show in Las Vegas where it took first place in it's class. Out on the open highway the car is in it's environment. and as steady as a rock. Set the cruise at 75 MPH and it glides down the road effortlessly. The brakes work as they should. and stop the car without any drama in a straight line. The Auto Temp A/C blows ice cold. The power windows all work. up and down. as does the drivers 6 way power seat. The power top works well. as do the time delay headlights which stay on for about 30 seconds after the car is shut off.  The instrument panel looks like an Airplane cockpit with all the optional gadgets and buttons. complimented by all the new NOS & re-chromed dash parts which make it look like it just rolled off the line. The bucket seats and console give the car a performance car look and feel. Needless to say. this car gets quite a bit of attention!More Information       There were a few deviations from the build sheet during the restoration of this car. one being the Carburetor. The car originally came with a Holley 4 barrel. and after spending considerable time and money to get one to function correctly. I have come to the conclusion that they are junk. Currently. there is a rebuilt 4640 Carter AVS and choke assembly from a 1969 440 on the motor. and they work perfect. The original. date coded Holley carburetor. special fuel line and choke are included with the car.      The other area of deviation is the grille. The Fury III model did not come with hideaway lights. However. when the car was reassembled. the while set-up was installed because: 1) I had a complete set-up  2) They look great  and 3) No holes had to be drilled or other modifications made to the car. A complete. stock three piece NOS grill with all the parts necessary for installation is included with the car.        This car came with the rare optional "Auto Temp" Air Conditioning system. As noted earlier. the A/C system is charged (R134A). and almost all of the special Auto-Temp parts in the engine compartment and under the dash have been replaced with NOS. including the complete dash mounted control head.  After the car is warmed up. you can push the "Auto" button and the fan will come on and blow cold air through the dash vents if the cabin air temperature is below where the dial is set. However. this system still needs some work to make it fully functional. and the system control ("black") box in the right kick panel will make a low. gurgling sound from time to time.  An extra system control box and system testing/diagnostic tool is included with the car.       The optional AM/FM thumbwheel Stereo radio was working. but has recently gone on the blink.  An extra (non-working) one is included with the car. All the stock speakers in the car are in good shape and work.        The short block of the motor was replaced with a new Chrysler service part assembly years ago before I got the car. The good news is that the original heads. valve covers. intake manifold. water pump housing. oil pan. etc. were re-used from the original motor when this was. I replaced the replacement short block with a more correct. rebuilt 1971 steel crank 440 short block. and installed all the original motors remaining components on it. The new short block uses a stock cam with 9. 5 compression. The transmission is the original. numbers matching Torqueflite 727. which has been rebuilt and works perfectly.        FYI: in 1970. Plymouth altered the Fury's 440 engine availability from previous years. For one year only (1970). they deleted the availability of the E86 375 horsepower 440 engine. and replaced it with the E85 350 horsepower 440. Then they made that the standard motor on the Sport Fury GT (or optional on any other Fury that year). and called it the "Super Commando". It came with a dual snorkle air cleaner with a pie tin. but was painted blue instead or orange as in the previous year.  A 440 six barrel 390 HP engine was added to the option list in 1970. but was only available on the GT model.  In 1971. the 375 Horsepower E86 orange motor returned. and the Six Barrel disappeared. Police/fleet cars were exempt from this policy. and were available with the 375HP E86 motor in 1970.
In conclusion.       I have enjoyed owning this car for the last seven years. but am now starting on a new project and need the room. It will be sad to part with it. because it has been a lot of fun and I enjoy the attention it gets wherever it goes. The motor always starts promptly. it runs quietly. drives like new. and doesn't leak fluids all over the place. It has always been garage kept with a car cover on it. but has acquired a few minor paint chips through the years.       A beautiful car show sign board will be included. as well as the original sales brochure. two original broadcast sheets. reproduction window sticker (two pages). NOS owners manual. Airtemp brochure. warranty card and Plastic storage sleeve. These items are pictured above.  The car is currently located in Cypress. California which is in Orange County near Knott's Berry farm. and I do have an enclosed car trailer for possible (extra cost) West Coast delivery. Please note that I am not looking for. nor interested in any trade deals; this sale would be strictly cash.  Please contact me if you have any questions. 714-952-4052. Greg.  
   

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