This 1972 Plymouth Fury III caught my eye a couple days ago on my way to a meeting downtown, so when my path brought me by again, I simply had to stop. From this angle, the car carries its 3,790 lbs of (dry) weight quite well, if you can look past the plastic “augmentation” on the hood and trunk…
The Fury was redesigned yet again for 1972, which saw a sleeker interpretation of fuselage styling. Instead of a Fury GT or Sport Fury, one could now order a Broughamy Fury Gran Coupe or Sedan, both of which featured hidden headlights (initially) not available on lesser trim levels such as our subject car.
In fact, this Fury III appears to be pretty lightly optioned, with manual window cranks, and unless I’m missing something, I don’t even see a radio on the dash. I suspect it has the base 318 cu. in. (5.2l) engine under the hood, rather than one of the larger options (360, 400 or 440 cu. in.).
While small cars were all the rage in 1972 (think Pinto, Vega, etc.), the Fury was aimed at folks who still wanted a “standard size” car. Given that Fury rode on a 120″ wheelbase and was a whopping 217.2″ (5.5m) long, I’d love to see what Plymouth felt was “full size” in this era!
In fact, it was this specific “plus size” view that caught my eye—what an incredible expanse of sheet metal lies between the normal B-pillar location and rear bumper. And yet, the car actually looks nicely balanced for all that.
1972 would also be the last year for beautifully integrated bumpers, as federal regulations would drive nearly all manufacturers to adopt “battering ram” 5mph bumpers the next year.
While I’ve never been a huge fan of full-size cars, I do feel Plymouth (Dodge/Chrysler) had some really nice-looking ones in the very late 1960s through about this model year. While the plastic surgery and cheap, flashy “shoes” on this example don’t really do anything for me personally, they aren’t enough to hide what I feel is a beautifully-executed design.
I spotted one of these, semi-abandoned in someone’s front yard several months back. Same color too. I wish I could remember exactly where I saw it. It was somewhere in Gardena, Ca.
I have a full set of 15X8 Mopar cop rally wheels ( including a matching spare ) just waiting for a fuselage or 69-70 Coronet to go on. 🙂
Love the hood scoops, I’d lose the wing on the back, change out those rims for some vintage Crager SS and cruise it as-is…
+1 in traffic, other drivers always seem to get nervous around old cars that aren’t restored to the hilt. 🙂
I’ve been curious, and meaning to ask this: Given the unit body construction and similar size to competitors’ cars, were the fuselage Chrysler products noticeably roomier inside?
Not that I remember BuzzDog…roomy but not more than a comparable GM/Ford…
They were notably taller than the ’71-’76 GM full-sizers, so head and shoulder room may have felt greater.
I did not find the fuselage Chryslers very comfortable. I’m 6’4″, and found myself short of headroom and legroom in my father’s 1969 Dodge Polara.
I’d give it a flashover in boganblack yeah fix the rim problem and just drive it around Ive never seen one like that but its a fuselage Chrysler and now with the internet and all I can get the parts easily, we are permitted LHD cars on the road and this is nearly the last of its kind, the individually designed grille/bumper.
I think it would be cool to see what the 1970 Sport Fury GT 440 v8 treatment would do to the ’72.
http://www.sportfurygt.com/Billy70BlackVelvetGT.html
426 for the Hemi, and Chrysler has never had a 350, but a 360. Got to call you on that. Do some better fact gathering.
They had a 350 b engine in 1958. That was enlarged to 361 in later years. The 360 available in this fury was an la engine.
Oops! Thanks for the catch – fixed!
And no Hemi was ever offered in any Fury, any year.
Fixed.
Thx.
I agree, the “augmentations to the body and the shoes don’t do it justice.
As to the amount of rear this car has, I think what helps is where they planted the rear wheels, it kind of helps to break up the expanse of sheet metal from the door latch to the rear bumper, and yes, the proportions were pretty good on these, for their overall shape/design.
However, I tend to prefer the 70-71 Fury’s the best, though this one is nice, in its pedestrian sort of way.
As to the radio, can’t see in this photo, but if there, it’d be above the H/VAC controls in what looks like an expanse of black plastic in the upper right quadrant of that large binnacle housing.
I’ve always liked the modern dash design of these cars, as was the steering wheel too.
I does appear that this car has no radio. I do not see any evidence of a fender antenna that is on the car in the brochure. Also, it has no clock. It must be a southern car as it does have air conditioning. Two unusual options for an otherwise low optioned car I see are the remote control mirror on the driver’s door, and a matching one (manual I’m sure) on the passenger side. I miss the days where you could pick and choose the options instead of the package deals we get today.
I, too prefer the earlier versions over this one, in particular the ’71 model. I don’t care for the front end, but it does look better with the hidden headlamp version. However, a one year style makes them all the more unusual 40 years later.
The Fuselages have always left me cold… Too slab-sided, too high a belt line, so little ornamentation. But these Furys are the nadir for me. The front bumper/headlights just look tacky.
A ’70 Sport Fury coupe or an Imperial would be my pick
Same here. I really dislike the almost complete lack of distinctiveness between the Fury, Newport, New Yorker and Imperial. Brand continuity is one thing, but the resemblance to the Fury probably hurt sales of the senior lines, while the Newport’s low price canibalized sales of the Fury.
As others have said, Chrysler probably stayed in business as long as it did in spite of its management’s and directors’ best efforts to destroy it. Or perhaps it was simply a lack of product development dollars?
How about “Yes” – that cover all the bases? Everything you speak of was involved at that time; in what proportion it all played out, anyone could guess. Townsend was too busy huckstering the stock to worry about actually designing and building CARS; and the product-planning people were overwhelmed with the emissions-controls challenges. The bumper laws were on the horizons and with that, nobody wanted to spend precious product-development dollars for cosmetic differentiation.
It was around this time that Chrysler contracted with its rival, Ford, to buy machine tooling for body stamping. Chrysler was being stretched too thin; and it was starting to show. Shortly afterwards, they’d give up on the idea of having their own four-cylinder for their new FWD minicar…and by that time they were in the face of the storm.
Remember, too, it was about this time when dealers were getting tired of being jerked around by the boiler-room sales operation to offload marginally-saleable cars from the Sales Bank. Instead of cars made to dealer orders, as has always been the custom, Townsend’s people were just building them. Townsend himself compared it to stacking cans of beans on the shelf at the grocers – which showed the depth of understanding of the biz that top management had.
Alienated retail dealers; stagnant product development; money worries getting worse; scaling back of plans on future product…they were starting to circle the bowl.
Those wheels, scoops and wing all probably came from the same J.C. Whitney catalog. I could probably tolerate the latter two if they were actual Mopar parts (Dusters used similar twin scoops and a 71 B body wing would probably be just wide enough to look proportional) But the wheels? Let’s just say they don’t paint a pretty picture of the owner who installed them. They make me think he/she didn’t print “4 SALE” on the sign just to save space.
My father also had a ’72 Fury III in this exact color scheme only his was in very nice shape and had a vinyl top. The air didn’t work but it had cruise control oddly enough and that did work. I enjoyed driving it around because it was so different than the GMs and Fords I was accustomed to.
If I had ended up with it, it would probably end up being black and get the Gran Fury hidden headlamp grille. It would not get clown rimz & stick-on hood scoops though.
Nice car. I guess the owner thought if he added big, ugly wheels, hood scoops and a spoiler it would look just like a ‘cuda. Uh, not really.
When I saw the side view I thought the wheelbase may have been cut down, but it’s not. The big, ugly, stupid wheels make it look like it has a shorter wheelbase. With 15″ wheels and whitewalls, it looks much better.
In short, ditch the big, ugly stupid wheels. They’re ugly, they’re stupid, and they look like crap. Yes, I am feeling curmudgeonly today 🙂
“he added big, ugly wheels…”
“The big, ugly, stupid wheels…”
“In short, ditch the big, ugly stupid wheels. They’re ugly, they’re stupid, and they look like crap…”
Are you feeling curmudgeonly today because you’ve misplaced your thesaurus? 🙂
No, just driving the point home 🙂
The only upside to the big, ugly, stupid wheels on this Fury is that you could easily sell them off to some moron for a decent buck, then go find yourself a much better set of rims-n-rubber… and probably have some change left over.
And then Craigslisting those scoops and the wing could generate an additional 50 cents, at least. Who knows, maybe even a dollar or so.
I think the added ironing board and wheels are terrible but the scoops are okay. Hold on let me clarify that, they kinda look like the ones dodge used a little earlier and would look much better if they where steel and molded into the hood. As for the wheels they are complete crap, there are only a few companys making wheels that resemble the factory steel rallys, but I think when people wang a bigger wheel they should go that route.
Agreed. Plus you can tuck some real brakes under them
Too bad there’s not much choice(if any) for RWL 17″ car tires though 🙁
I bet a few years ago that was a mostly original, well preserved car that some doofus bought off craigslist and tried to make it a project and driver. They saw tiny rust spots and figured, well I better put some primer on that. Then off to the JCWhitney catalog for the hood scoops and later the wheels. Now it looks like a hot rod they thought. They probably got bored of it because of the lack of options and what’s under the hood, so here it is for sale.
I admire the design, it really is attractive and well balanced, but like the last fuselage Chrysler that was posted, the high beltline and tiny window area is a big turn off for me. I also feel like it needs a few hard angles somewhere to counteract the soft edges all over. But then again, it’s 1972 and not 1964 so curves were the going thing.
I Love these Furies! Although not the customization of this one.
“…the car carries its 3,790lb quite well…”
For comparison, a “mid-size” 2014 Buick LaCrosse weighs a whopping 4,051 lbs. The 2014 Chevrolet Malibu also comes close at 3,660 lbs and the 2014 Ford Fusion AWD at 3,681 lbs. Makes this huge Plymouth seem a lot leaner.
Modern cars are indeed heavier, but they don’t shake like a wet Labrador going over train tracks like this generation of Chrysler. Yes, they had lots of metal outside but inside, whoa, Nellie, these cars didn’t have a lot of strength. Any kind of collision in these cars could be fatal since they folded up so easily.
I’ll take the new stuff for my daily chores, thanks.
Keep in mind that those wight numbers given are not reflective of an actual on-the-road car. That’s a dry factory weight, of a totally stripper car, with the smallest engine, transmission, no power options, or options of any kind.
Realistically, these cars weighed at least 4000 lbs as typically delivered, or more. These listed factory weights should be used cautiously, and mainly for comparative purposes, but not to say that’ what this car actually weighs.
Definitely correct. The B-body Caprice was advertised at 3700 lbs but when we put them on the scales, they came in around 4000-4100.
Still no 1970’s American car I have ever driven was exactly a paragon of structural integrity, that that includes me beloved B bodies.
…And you call yourself a Canuck. IMHO, The fuselage B’s were tough. Just ask the Welshman, LGBT and First Nation town person who purchased one in either Quebec or BC! My uncle was in an accident with his ’71, and came out of it with nary a scratch, as opposed to the Audi 100 that hit him, he was in traction for about a month in Kelowna General.
All I’m saying is this, the full-sizers may have been so-called “Petrol guzzlers” or “Flash Cars” as they were called in Britain, but they WERE easy to fix, and had seat belts at the time of the change-up when Chrysler and AMC were slowly adopting 3-point harnesses like Europe, Canada, and Japan were asking the Auto Manufacturers to do. If it came to a Near-bad smash, I’d stick with a good full-sized car of the mid 60’s-early 80’s. I’d have a few cuts, but I’d walk away from it. Though I wouldn’t kick to the curb Dodge’s Magnum wagon, Chrysler’s 300 or the Mitsubishi Calumet (Galant) wagon for safety.
Fuselage Chryslers are one of my favorite cars…but this car is the perfect example of what I see more and more on Craiglist….with the price of anything that actually would have been a “street machine” back in the day skyrocketing higher and higher, people are trying to approximate them with ANYTHING that could have a V8 and rear drive. 4 doors, full sizes after 1969, anything….I’ve even seen Crown Vics described as “muscle cars” in ads. I’m old enough to remember when it wasn’t quite in good taste to make a street machine out of a Malibu two door, if it wasn’t an SS. 🙂
“…trying to approximate them with ANYTHING that could have a V8 and rear drive. 4 doors, full sizes after 1969, anything….I’ve even seen Crown Vics described as “muscle cars” in ads.”
Drives me nuts too! Know nothings think anything RWD is a ‘muscle car’. Guess it could include a 1976 Caprice Classic or LTD Broughham 4 door. DUH!
Can anyone read the asking price? It’s obviously saveable with some easy decustomization….:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQKDQCYsEZM
Here’s a buyer for it right here.
The wheels have got to go! Not only are they too large, I have NEVER seen 6-spoke wheels that look good on ANY car. 6-spokes are only suitable for trucks and SUVs.
I don’t mind the hood scoops. The spoiler looks to be too narrow. It needs to extend right to the edges of the trunk to look okay.
Ditch the wheels for the original dog dish hubcaps, leave the scoops and paint it flat black and you have the start of a new style rat rod!
Pretty sure this is the cab shown in the opening credits of ‘The Odd Couple’ – the year and model, that is. Good looking car. (Terrible wheels.)
That was a ’70 Coronet.
I think they were trying to make her look like a ’70 Super Bee, something that i’m ashamed to say i don’t have a problem with. I would take the wheels off , replace them with a 17 in recreation of the rallye wheel, have it painted B5 blue or maybe even sub-lime after a drink or two, dye the interior black, cover up the cracked dash with a sewn vinyl cover and finally find a 440 and convert it to a six-pack.
Well I won’t say anything about those hideous wheels because its already been said. I will say though that I own a 72 Fury police car and I readily admit its probably the least attractive of the 69-73 Furys. I had to have a U-code 440 police car and a 72 Fury was all I could find in the pre-ebay days. No worries I love the car.
Canucklehead is wrong about their construction though. At 41 years old and after double duty with 2 police departments my Fury is still solid with no squeaks or rattles and feels tighter than a late model Crown Vic with the same amount of miles (130k).
Even on a 4 door those quarters are huge. I know because I had to hang a new one on the passenger side.
The 69-73 c bodies were probably the old Chrysler corporations last well designed and well built car.
I just got to this article and checked out the scoops and wing. Barf barf barf barf barf . ..
I live by this car and it doesn’t have a asking price and I ran through the VIN number and found that the original engine in this car was a 225 1-1 barrel 6 cylinder for those of you who were curious. Still for sale.
Where is this car and how much is being asked for it? We had one when I was a kid and there was way more room in this than the full size GM and ford products at the time. Carried 2 adults 3 kids, one dog, camping gear for 3 weeks and towed a boat with a 318 two barrel. When was old enough to drive it I slid into a little B210 datsun and crushed it. I had to pay 30$ for a new plastic grill insert for the Fury. My brother was much harder on this car than i was. Despite all that the car looked pretty good when it finally died. Had over 200,000 family/teenager miles.
speaking of weights, Consumer Reports’ tested ’72 Fury III weighed in at 4135 lbs and the ’73 Gran Sedan weighed in at 4237 lbs. the ’73 New Yorker Brougham weighed in at 4735 lbs.
I don’t like the scoops and wing on a big car like this. this car was aimed at the Ford Galaxie/Chevy Impala crowd, a no-nonsense family sedan, not for sporting. even with the awful grille, this car would look decent with some nice conservative wheel covers(the ones that said “P{ymouth Division” on them), rear wheel well covers etc my dad rented this car back in ’72 and it was really nice. not luxurious, just nice, non-pretentious, roomy, big & heavy, powerful. we had a ’66 Galaxie at the time my dad used to say how much better the Fury was
I love the Fury’s! That particular model would do well with a set of Kumho’s and better Keystone or Enkei wheels that’d make it a bit better. Being the new owner of a ’69 Sport Fury convertible, I can say that of all of Mama Mopar’s divisions, Plymouth was bloody well “spot-on!” with the fusilage senior cars… I’d STILL ditch the wing at the back and make the hood scoops functional, I called the number (it’s in Illinois!) and asked till I was cut off to see if it was still for sale. Cross fingers, and I’m moving into a house with garage so both my big Plymouths will have a good home…
this thread and article is so old, I was incredibly surprised to see this exact car for sale on my local Facebook Marketplace. it’s got different rims, but I can see the bondo in the exact same places, plus those weird scoops and wing.