Even if we are loath to admit it, the time will probably come when we each decide that we no longer wish to slip behind the wheel. We might feel that our reflexes are no longer good enough, or that the cut-and-thrust of modern traffic is overwhelming. That day has arrived for the ninety-one-year-old original owner of this 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury. It is an unmolested survivor that has a few needs, but it is a rock-solid restoration candidate. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Curvette for spotting the Plymouth listed here on eBay in Lafayette, Louisiana. The seller set their price at $14,900 with the option to make an offer.
Introduced in 1965, Plymouth’s Fourth Generation Fury range remained on sale until 1968. This final-year example is the premium Sport Fury variant that has remained with the same owner since the day it left the lot. Tracing its history will be easy, because the seller includes the original Window Sticker, the Special Order Form and Receipt, the Warranty Documents, and the Owner’s Manual. The owner chose to team Midnight Blue paint with a contrasting Light Blue stripe and a Black vinyl top. The condition looks quite good at first glance, though the seller admits it requires a cosmetic refresh. The paint is beginning to look dull, and the vinyl top is splitting and failing. However, it appears that this Sport Fury has avoided the rust issues which commonly plague vehicles from this era, meaning that the restoration shouldn’t involve grinding and welding. The trim and tinted glass look acceptable for a survivor-grade vehicle, and the narrow whitewalls are new.
The seller’s interior images are clear, but potential buyers must “piece them together” to gain insight into the overall condition. That said, things look very positive. Trimmed in blue to complement the exterior, the seller confirms that the driver’s seat has been recovered. The remaining upholstered surfaces are excellent, and I doubt that the back seat has seen much use. The dash and console look impressive for a survivor, but I did notice a developing crack in the pad on the driver’s side. The owner ordered this classic with air conditioning and a pushbutton radio with the optional rear speaker. The A/C is inoperative, but there is no mention of other functional shortcomings.
This Sport Fury won’t be the most potent classic on the planet, but Plymouth focused on a luxurious motoring experience when developing this variant. It features a 318ci V8, a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission, and power steering. The 1968 Fury Sales Brochure quotes an output of 230hp and 340 ft/lbs for the 318, which is pretty respectable for a vehicle of this type. Buyers could up the ante with a 383 or a 440, but the 318 offered an excellent compromise between performance and fuel consumption. The seller indicates that this numbers-matching Plymouth received a recent engine build, but it hasn’t seen genuine action for a few years. It runs and drives, but with a selection of minor mechanical shortcomings, it doesn’t appear to be genuinely roadworthy. The power steering leaks, the starter is sluggish, and the car needs new shocks. However, with those issues addressed, this baby would be good to go.
It’s funny how you look at some classics and are immediately attracted to their styling. Those are the feelings I harbor for this 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury. If the buyer addresses its cosmetic needs, it would be a striking vehicle that would turn heads wherever it goes. It isn’t modified, yet it is inherently striking in standard form. Although the listing statistics look underwhelming at first glance, the fact that thirty people have added the Plymouth to their Watch Lists suggests that there is a pool of potential buyers who like what they see. Do you share those feelings? If so, will you take the next step by reaching out to the seller?
I’m fond of most Furys, this one included. The interior is snazzy, the paint is tolerable, these cars are pretty simple and parts are no problem, mostly. But what I really like is the styling- stacked, slender headlights, that square front end, and the graceful hardtop. I’d probably renew the vinyl, or I might think about stripping it off to paint the top black. Great find.
We’re going to make MR a Mopar girl yet….
Re: 1st sentence. That day came and went for me a while back, I no longer care to drive anywhere, but if I did, right here. This car was a cruiser and remember riding in cars like these as a kid. Wonderful cars, and still somewhat viable for travel, just not far. This car may or may not behave on unleaded premium, now over $6/gallon, ( and stale as heck since nobody buying it), got to remember, in the 60s, gas was .35/gal. and that regular was better than anything we have, a common affliction for any big V8 today. “Five( bucks) or fill it” was the motto.
Kudos to this person, held out longer than most, good show. Pops didn’t skimp and I read, he coughed up just over $3,000( $3241), the a/c was $413 alone! Seemed to check every box, except power windows, $103, this was/is the epitome, the absolute best Fury to come down the pike. No wonder the guy kept it so long.
If you were a kid in 1968, how is it that you’ve already hung up your rock-‘n’-roll shoes, Howard A? I’m at an age my mother used to call “too old to be out alone”, and I was long into adulthood by 1968. And I still drive all over the place — state to state — I don’t care. My biggest concern with a car of this vintage is, attempting to run it on unleaded gas. But I do notice that there are lots of 1965-1968 full-sized Mopars around here, still daily on the roads: that says something for their longevity. However, I AM old enough so that I don’t have room in my life for a pretty and graceful garage-queen that I daren’t drive more than fifty miles at any one time. And I don’t want to be sitting on the shoulder with the hood up 270 miles from home. That said, my 1988 Mercury Grand Marquis has never failed to get me reliably there and back, regardless of where “there” happened to be. But it IS a bit “tired” now, with 421,000+ miles. So, I’m LOOKing…
Imagine when your neighbor came home with a brand new car
like this.The whole neighborhood would stop by to check it out.
When’s the last time anyone did that with one of the new
SUV’s or pickups?
Nice car! I have a friend who is fixing to turn 98, she still lives alone and drives as well. Hoping I still can if I last that long!
I’m thinking the author of this article needs to go back to math class. A 1968 vehicle is not 91 years old.
Or maybe you need to go back to English class? The title says “91-Year-Old Original Owner”.
I had the privilege to learn to drive on 2 different Plymouth Furys. The 64 had a 318 V-8 and push button automatic transmission. I loved the car. The 68 my dad had was a four door Fury 2 with a 318 V-8 and power steering and brakes. No A/C. The 64 was a smaller car, and the 318 was fairly potent. The 68 barely had enough power to make it road worthy, but I think that specific engine was a bit of a lemon and it didn’t make it to 100,000 miles. The 68 was a nice car even so, but I longed for a 383 and especially a 440 under the hood.
We had two mid-60”’s Fury III’s. Wife’s was a 1965 4 door sedan, mine was a 1966 4door Hardtop, both with 318 V8, A/T, A/C, PS, PB and AM radio. Both cars were only scheduled maintenance, gas and go. Sold Wifey’s at 104K miles, sold mine to a relative after one year and 50K miles and he ran it another 50K+ miles. Both Furys were great cars, wish I could say that about my 1967 Barracuda.
Two door, bucket seats, console, auto on the floor. Great looking car.
This is a great looking car but you can see in multiple spots where the rust is pushing up in spots under that vinyl top. Would need to see in person to get an idea of just had bad it is before putting a new vinyl top on.
I know someone who has a 1964 FURY. He is the original owner. He keeps it in his garage. Original paint. Its in pristine condition! I cant wait to show him this article!
They’re OUT there!!!
My first new car was a 1968 Sport Fury hardtop (not the fasttop design of this car). It was in the same dark blue, but with a white vinyl top..same blue interior. Mine had the 383-two barrel engine and was quick enough, but still ran on regular gas of the time. I always like the instrument panel on the ’67 and ’68 Furies, as it was lit by floodlights from above so you could see all the switches as well as the guages. This is a solid car and a good base for a restoration.
Yesterday here in the retirement community a old lady was waiting for the traffic to clear to make a left hand turn,it cleared and she turned into the wrong lane which is 3 lanes wide,all traffic came to a stop.
good looking fury. skirts look out of place on it though.
sorry but the skirts add to it, I had a brand new 68 sport fury 383-4V beat alot of Fords and Chevys.
Beautiful car, I love that generation of Furys. There’s a small square of duct tape neatly placed on top of the console front. Odd for such a well-kept car. I’m thinking maybe something was mounted there originally… does anyone know?
This was previously featured on here a short time ago. Has been relisted on Ebay several times already. I think their original asking price was way over the top.Seller’s done several price cuts now. .
Nice looking but that’s it! I had one of these in used with low miles in 72. It was nothing but a pick pocket. I spent more money than I paid for the car and never DID get it running dependently. Finally got rid of it and to this day I have never seen a Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler I would buy. I think if you gave me one I would get rid of it before putting a dollar into its maintenance!
Then you do not know much about mopars, I had at least 50 and they all ran great.
Sadly, ANY car can prove to be that odd “lemon”; that does not mean that particular manufacturer routinely makes bad cars. And a Mopar which has lasted this long is probably a safe bet. Back in their day, I drove a 1968 Dodge Dart with a slant six, and later a 1976 Aspen with a 318: no trouble with either one of those. But the Aspen would start by turning the ignition switch without the key — a thing I sadly discovered when it was stolen and wrecked by a teenage kid.
My father had a 68 sport fury 318 auto lime green with a cream vinyl top but not the fastback style on this one the more formal roof dar green bucket seat interior it was a company car not even my mother was allowed to drive but my 13 year old brother snuck out a 2nd floor window climbed down a pine tree and took it for a joy ride police pulled him over because they could not see his head over the steering wheel police call and say we have your son in jail my mother says no he is asleep in bed calls to me says is your brother up there I said nope I here my dad curse loudly LOL it was a great car which I loved and led me to my first car a 65 sport fury that I transplanted a early 70’s former nj state police 440 into
Good memories
Sounds like MY little Brother at 13! And the messy beer-parties when my parents weren’t home. He was a wild ride, but the sort of boy my father could understand — not a quiet and sedate nerdy Autistic son like me [not so diagnosed until the 1990s, when I was entering seniorhood]. My brother, now in his eightes, is the most buttoned-down, by-the-rules guy you ever saw! And I’m the one who, nearly 90, does zany things and hasn’t the sense to realise that he is OLD! Challenge me to a fifty-yard dash? — Why NOT? — i’ll go you one!! OWW!!! What did I just do to my ankle!?! No fool like an OLD fool.
This is worth every cent of asking price I’m no a big fan of Chrysler but I do have fond memories growing up and watching DAD work on his 57 Plymouth fury 2door hardtop with the push button transmission and those flying bat wings what a beautiful car but getting back to this fury it a great buy and I wish the new owner the best of luck I hope he takes care of it the way the original owner did.
The stripes are applied in the factory location but aren’t factory – the correct stripes didn’t run the length of the car.
More curiously, the engine is the wrong color (it’s Chrysler turquoise, but that color was applied to the B/RB engines in 1968, not a 318 LA, which would have been red), hinting at having been out for major work at best, or having been given a rattle can rebuild at worst.
Sorry ut you are wrong I had a 68 sport fury brand new and the stripes ran the whole length of the car
Sorry, but you are wrong. I bought one new as well, and the stripes ran almost the full length of the car, stopping about two inches from the end at the front and the rear, not full length like this one.
Phil D., if you read the opening description, it says right there that this engine has had a recent re-build. My question would be, why did it need one with such relatively low mileage? Or is there a “ghost” 1 in front of what’s on the clock? Since the blue stripe is an incorrect re-do; then what ELSE isn’t right on this car? Doesn’t sound like a genuine survivor to me — more like a slap-dash cosmetic and mechanical restoration is in it’s past. Wanna BET, that’s an older re-paint?
I have always thought the ‘68 Plymouths were some pretty cars and this one is no exception. This one just needs some TLC and it would be a very nice ride for someone and it’s a Sport Fury at that!
To Wayne Chisholm and frank o: could they have done that stripe in both ways, depending on when during the year the car left the factory?
Wayne is right the stripes stopped like 2 inches before the end of the fender.
Hmmm… makes THIS car QUESTIONABLE as a survivor; doesn’t it. Engine rebuilt (Painted the wrong colour), body repainted incorrectly; what ELSE is not original?
with the stripes not being original the car was repainted.
Undoubtedly. And the engine was re-built also. Not worth the asking price, since both the engine and the car need to be re-painted in order to make them right. And what ELSE does this car need? HARD PASS…
Wow … There is more metal in one of those 1/4 panels than a Hyundal dealer lot ; ) What a sweet trip to yesteryear. My Dad’s 67 Impala had big azz 1/4’s on it and I always wonder what it would be like to fit something with some much span.
This car is a doll and some mild resto would push it over the top. Nice write up Mr. Clarke!
Too MUCH resto, at this price.
My first car back in 1976 was a 1967 Plymouth sport fury with a 383!
What a car to learn in, had to replace rear tires every three months at best.
Great memories.