This picture, which captures what have got to be the shabbiest classics in Washington, also shows two extremes of post-Exner Plymouth sedan evolution, with a very small, tidily styled Valiant parked in front of a rather flabby Fury. I’ve never been a big fan of the Exner’s cars, but both the lean look of the cars which followed and the optimism of the Fuselage cars are hugely appealing.
One could be forgiven for not thinking the same given the sorry state of this pair, both of which are wearing the wrong front ends (the Valiant is wearing a ’66 Dart’s front clip, and the Fury’s 1973 revision is just wrong).
The Fury’s rear bumper shows Chrysler’s backpedaling from the casual, sporty style with which the car was introduced in 1969, but still manages to match the overall curvy shape. The Valiant’s rear, however, has aged much more gracefully.
Posting the likes of the Valiant makes perfect sense during Volvo Week, as it embodies many of the same virtues which made the functional Swedes so well loved, and the Fury completes relief offered by these two (after all, we’re not quite finished with our Gothenburg tribute).
A rainy day didn’t stop Eric Clem from snapping these pictures, and a glimpse inside the cars shows the extent of their neglect. I know rust isn’t a problem in the Pacific Northwest, but I have to imagine mold is a different story.
Add to this improperly closed windows on the Fury hardtop (which looks good with its white vinyl over red color scheme and front vent windows), and I’m sure the interior of neither car smells especially good.
It’s a strange turn of events for these two high trim level Plymouths, but it’s nice they’re still around forty and fifty years after they were built. The Fury’s badging in particular tells a good story, with its self-consciously ornate “Gran” insignia in stark contrast with the “Fury” written in jaunty script. The dynamic large sedan’s image was increasingly muddled by conservative decoration and the next year’s models would complete the stylistic transformation.
Fury is a great name which I hope Chrysler LLC revives sometime, but as we’re lucky enough to have Charger around, I won’t hold my breath.
Valiant is another name too good to throw away; it’d make a better name than 200 or Avenger for one of the company’s midsizers, but it too may be lost. Best, then, to appreciate these badges–and the cars they’re attached to–while they’re still around.
The rear of that Fury looks like a cheap knock off of a 71′ Cadillac
I much prefer the ’73 Fury to the ’72. The hidden headlight versions weren’t bad, but I find the exposed headlight models very awkward. The rear end is more like the ’72 Imperial than a Caddy.
So do I prefer the 1973 Plymouth nose over the 1972, and the same for the 1973 Dodge Polara over the 1972. It was as though Chrysler were celebrating the tenth anniversary of those cars’ truly bizarre 1962 models.
Looks like Eric has been hanging out in the Greenlake area. You can’t really call that big red car a “Fury” any more. At that age and in that condition, it’s a Grouchy or maybe a Too Damn Tired To Care. The moss on the Vart (Darliant?) is very very cool. That car has been parked out in the rain for a long, long time.
Actually this is the Magnolia neighborhood. I’ve been hunting for a new house, so I’ve been hitting open houses in some different neighborhoods around Seattle. You’re right though, I do tend to post a lot of pics either around Green Lake or my current condo on Capitol Hill.
I get a vibe from that Fury, that it is very fortunate to have escaped a crusher thus far.
Even more so, than many cars I view on the blog. I trust it looked sharp for a very long time.
Fusey are impossible to find. This one is lucky to be alive, now that you mention it. They’re well liked in Europe, though.
They used to be so common here, to the point of being disposable. Unfortunately, in this state of care, it’s not putting it’s best face forward for survival.
It looks pretty, far gone, not even much of a parts car as far as body, trim and interior.
The 73 Fury is one of the least successful fuselage cars. A combination of flowing lines and blocky corners that just doesn’t work.
Hard to see it on this bent up car, but I thought Chrysler did a pretty good job adopting this one year front to pass the new bumper standard. But, the ’72 double loop bumper with the covered headlights was way cool.
After it gets through the crusher and shredder, that Fury would provide enough donor material to make at least 12 Smart Cars…
Uggh! I can smell the interiors already. A unique miasma of grease, mildew, skunkwater and garbage. Do they still have floorboards? Those heaps will be on the list of Craig as ‘untouched classics’ with “$5,000/firm” in the ad within 5 years.
Ran when parked!
This is just depressing. Someone please rescue these cars. And no snarky comments about them not being worth it, please. That may have been true when there were still plenty of nice examples around but not anymore.
Just a good scrubbing, inside and out, two sets of wheel covers and a little gruntin’ and cussin’ to bring the Fury’s bumper and fender back into something close to its original shape would do wonders. Just make ’em respectable again. They deserve it.
I think I’ll go outside and give my Valiant a hug now.
I wonder if that Valiant with its Dart front clip might be a Canadian car….
Canadian Valiants were t’other way ’round; Dart body with a Valiant front clip.
That snooze-inducing Dart front clip makes me appreciate how well the Valiant worked in its original format. There’s one (a Valiant end-to-end) of a very similar vintage in my neighborhood that I always admire as I pass. Just an honest, straightforward car with all the right details.
The Fury, on the other hand, is a one-year oddity that I had forgotten even existed. It’s certainly a stylistic step backward from ’72, and I can’t really say that it *works*, but there also have to be so few left. If it hasn’t rusted from the inside out, it may be saveable (though the interior is probably completely gone from the moisture/mildew) and is probably even worth the work.
Nice cars if they were restored. Nicer if they ran good, also.