Stacked headlights were first shown on the 1977 Plymouth Fury and the turn signals (those weird blinky light things that nobody uses anymore) were moved to the bumper, so it makes car-spotting duty fairly easy when you see a 1977 Plymouth Suburban rolling down the street. You won’t see one like this example – listed here on eBay in West Chester, Pennsylvania – at least unless you’re in a museum or willing to part with $19,500, or you can make an offer. Thanks to Russell G. for spotting this time capsule!
This car appears to be in mind-bending condition. I see some things that stand out, such as the bumper filler material not aging, or fading, at the same rate as the paint, presuming it’s original paint. We’ll get into a few others in a bit, but this car is gorgeous! If Sherwood Schwartz had started the Brady Bunch a few years later (the show ended in 1975), Mike and Carol might have had a Wedgewood Blue Plymouth Suburban rather than a couple of brown wagons.
Although, with six kids and a live-in maid (which we all have, right?), this two-seater wagon would have been a stretch. The seventh-generation Plymouth Fury was made for only four model years, from 1975 through 1978, and with 84.7 cubic feet of cargo area, here’s where Alice and a few of the kids would have been camped out. As expected, it looks outstanding in the back, too. I love the old-school full-width flap in the back, this car could have easily hauled a tent trailer to the Grand Canyon. The gray bumper filler is unusual, however.
The interior is even nicer than the exterior is if that’s even possible. You’d better like light blue because there’s a sea of it inside, from a perfect dash to perfect seats both front and rear. This appears to be a base model Fury Suburban so this one doesn’t even have air-conditioning, which was optional even on the Sport Suburban and Chrysler wagons. I mentioned some other areas that make me scratch my gray chin hairs and one of them is the black goop on the bottom door seams and the spray on the underside. And, in some areas shown in closeups, but, the seller says it’s 100% original and the paint is original, so that’s that.
Missing AC would be an issue for a lot of buyers, but Vintage Air could remedy that and this 360-cu.in. OHV V8 with a four-barrel would have more than enough power for adding air-conditioning. This one would have had 170 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque flowing through a three-speed TorqueFlite to the rear wheels for a nice, easy drive to the Grand Canyon. They say it runs and drives like new and I believe it. What are your thoughts on this Fury Suburban? The seller has included an incredible number of fantastic photos so please check them out.
Nice fantastic car, not a thing wrong with it except I hate any shade of blue.
Hey , be nice. That color tuxedo was all the rage for the prom in 1976.
Sadly, in 1975 as well. Don’t ask me how I know.
In ‘75, my tux was white with a mint green monster bow tie and cummerbund; to match my date’s dress. And, oh yeah… the white Pee Wee Herman platform shoes added the right touch to the whole look!
This is a very nice example of a car produced when the power malaise was in full swing. That 360 was thirsty and barely had enough beans to power those big cars. Over 19k is a lot to pay for a car that would be expensive to drive at today’s gas prices.
Todays prices? My local happy place is charging 2.59 a gallon for regular. Adjusted for inflation, thats about as cheap as it gets. People need to stop being grumpy about gas prices. When it tops four bucks, we can talk again.
That’s about what it is here, too. I remember my dad complaining about premium gas for the ’69 Fury III being $0.60 a gallon back in 1973, which is $4.26 today.
Nice ride and I do want it, but I think it’s overpriced by about $6000.
The “black goop” is Zeibart Rust Proofing; the yellow plugs seen on the door jambs were used to cover the holes drilled for the wand to spray the self-healing waxy rustproofing inside the doors, etc. This was big in the Northeast at the time.
Super nice car at a reasonable price! I’d put “Styled Steel Road Wheels” (Magnum 500’s) on it with the whitewalls and head for the beach!
Yes, the yellow plugs! Thanks for catching that, RNR. I don’t have a clue how I missed those yellow plugs, our brand new ’69 Ford F-250 was Ziebarted, but sadly still rusted out within a few years.
Rustproofing is only as good as the person running the wand.
Stacked square headlights…. for several years this was a way to update older model cars. Thankfully that fad died fast. No cars looks were improved by this style
Except for these Mopar B-bodies, they looked a million times better.
Scotty, you are on Fire today! It won’t be long in fact it probably already is a fact. Late model station wagons are becoming as popular as pick up trucks. Is it already too late for me to change horses”?
In the middle of the stream?!
What a bunch of youngens……that old guy Howard should be talking about the rear mud flap that was popular back in his day !
Nearly perfect, except for the lack of A/C and the engine choice. It could be that the lack of A/C was driven by the engine choice, as turning on the A/C in a car this big and heavy with only a 360 to power it could have slowed it to a crawl, LOL! This car needs a big block, a 383 at least, or a 440, with a 426 Hemi as the “big dog” option. If it were crappier, I’d consider an engine swap, but this one is too nice to mess with. I’d upgrade to EFI just to cure the poor drivability of the emission-control choked 360 with the “Lean Burn” electronic feedback carburetor! Carburetor’s Last Stand, before EFI took over in the 1980’s, anyway. If the budget could stand it, I’d think about either a valve job on the stock heads, or new aftermarket heads, to restore the lowered compression ratio in these motors, due to the need to limit oxides of nitrogen emissions.
Beautiful and simple. However, your wife would not be caught dead in this thing at the bus stop. Why? Because every other housewife is driving a Kia, Hyundai, Range Rover, Acura, etc. She would look out of place driving an old American car. How times have changed. And not for the better. I daily drive my 1997 Plymouth Voyager with some peeling clear coat and could care less what others think. It gets great mileage, is comfortable and far better built than that crap from across the Pacific. Yes, those are rust proofing plugs and that black goo is rust proofing. Believe, these late 70s cars needed it. The metal was terrible. I rust proofed cars in this era at a very busy Oldsmobile dealer. We used Rusty Jones. I made sure I coated all the vulnerable areas. This car is at a high-end dealer just west of Philadelphia.
Wife? I’m single, need a “Home Depot Hauler”, and I hate pickup trucks, so it’s perfect for me! The big selling point for these full-size wagons was the fact that a 4’x8′ sheet of plywood would lay flat on the floor! Load’em up and move’em out!
If memory serves me correctly, wasn’t the Rusty Jones stuff amber/brown in color?
Yes.
Auction update: this one is listed as “sold” as of Friday, January 10th, but I don’t see any bids so maybe the seller accepted an offer?