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Family Fury: Low-Mileage 1978 Plymouth Station Wagon

This may not be what comes to mind when you hear the term “’70s MoPar” but it certainly is representative of the end of the era! For some people, cars like this are nothing but demolition derby fodder. For others, this is a car that takes them back to a time when life was different, or when they still lived with mom and dad. Some of us just like cars nobody else likes! Though this car is nice, and many of these cars met their demise decades ago, $9,000 is a fairly optimistic price. The seller claims it has 30,000 miles on it, which is almost believable. This is one of those cars that could be a well cared for 130,000 car or a low-mileage survivor, but I could believe the low mileage claim. If a big yellow wagon suits your fancy, you would be hard pressed to find one this nice! Check it out here on Craigslist in New Jersey. Thanks to reader Doug P. for the tip!

If I was skeptical of the mileage claim, the interior has swayed me into believing it. Though not pictured here, the steering wheel has little to no wear on it which is pretty hard to come by on a Chrysler product of this era. The lack of seat wear or discoloration, as well as the lack of sun damage lead me to think this car did not spend a lot of time on the road. Though there is nothing terribly exciting about it, it is a nice example of what would’ve been a common car in 1978.

People tend to forget that “regular” cars existed in bygone eras, especially younger people. By going to a car show, one would think the only cars available in the ’70s were Camaros, Mustangs, and Chevrolet pickups! It can be nice to see a well-preserved, original vehicle like this that was (and maybe is) relatively mundane. Did I mention this car is a 360 equipped vehicle? Though a fairly large wagon, a 360 Chrysler small block will move a car like this just fine, especially with a few upgrades. Though I would leave this car just as it is, if it were to ever need a new engine, it could really be fun!

What a rear! My favorite part of old American wagons is the side-opening tailgate. It is one of those things that you just really don’t see these days. The more I look at this car, the more I like it! Something like this could be a great family hauler, as well as a cruiser. You could get the whole family involved! Though this car may be unexciting today, there will come a time in the future where something like this is a rarity, even more so than it already is. Though $9,000 may be a little high, it isn’t 1989 anymore and this car is worth a lot more than $500. It is almost 40 years old! Besides, check out that sweet trailer hitch! If you have the need for…an enormous yellow Plymouth Fury wagon, this is the car for you.

Comments

  1. Avatar John T

    This massive 3-seat 8-passenger wagon appears to be in fantastic condition. Not sure if it is worth $9000, But the seller is considering offers.

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  2. Avatar Had Two

    Uh-oh! Big trailer hitch on the bumper…..wonder what kind of trailer
    this was hauling?

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  3. Avatar Chebby

    Damn that is an ugly car in an ugly color. I can feel the 1978 Mopar build quality just looking at it. The good news is you can breathe on the 360 and put Hotchkiss suspension parts under it and make it more fun to drive. For $4k it would be amusing, at $9k you could still find a nice big block wagon from the 60’s.

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  4. Avatar glenn

    Brady bunch instantly comes to mind but in green .lol

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  5. Avatar Luke Fitzgerald

    Tall price, to be sure – but probably the only one like it

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  6. Avatar Ray Smith

    The tail gate actually opens both ways. Put the window down and there is a handle inside that allows the the tail gate to drop down.

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    • Avatar Andrew Tanner Member

      Very cool Ray! I’ve not seen one in person, so I did not know that. Thanks for the info!

      Like 0
      • HoA Howard A Member

        Hi Andrew, in the late 50’s, Rambler pioneered the “side opening” tailgate for their rear passenger wagons, but it was Ford that introduced the “Magic Tailgate” on their ’65 (?) Wagons. and opened both ways. My old man had a Ford wagon when I was a kid. Being the curious type, I always wondered what would happen if you pulled both handles at the same time. Well, it jammed the mechanism, and the old man had to take the tail gate apart to fix it. He wasn’t too happy about that. Later on, I believe all the car makers offered a 2 way tailgate. https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2356/2258775109_622785e6cb_z.jpg?zz=1

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  7. Avatar Cecil johnson

    I picked up a 75 4dr Fury same color excellent condition 6 months ago. It has 8600 actual miles.
    I’ve put 7000 more on it since.
    Gas tank flush accelerator pump, and belts and tires are all I’ve done to it. It was last tagged in 1991

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  8. Avatar Pete in PA

    My dad bought a very similar 1976 Fury wagon to replace our family’s old ’66 Fury III wagon. The new 76 was white with the goldish interior and also had the 360 and A/C. Not much else, optionwise. Rear glass defroster, I think.

    What a dog. That 360 was horribly choked with emissions equipment. I can’t imagine this offering pulling a trailer.

    When dad brought home that 76 I remember opening the driver’s door and seeing rust inside the front fender. Not a promising sign… Dad traded the 76 wagon for a new New Yorker Fifth Avenue in 1983. The Fifth Avenue was a better looking car than the Fury but performance was even worse.

    I wouldn’t mind taking a look at this barge for sentimental reasons but I’m sure a test drive would bring back a lot of bad memories regarding performance and handling.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Kris

    In before the obligatory Clark Griswold or Brady Bunch post….. oh, crap.

    Like 0
  10. Avatar whippeteer

    We had a baby puke brown ’76 with the 400. It would stall out all the time going down our hill. Pop it in neutral, restart it when the hill leveled out, back into drive. My brother rolled it three times and walked away from the accident. Only the windows were smashed out. So they are solid tanks.

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  11. Avatar lawyer George

    Color: Yellow, I love it. Build,mechanics, performance: Looks like a some MoPar detractors are in the audience today. I have owned a number of Chrysler products 0ver the years as well as GM and Ford products. I have never had a bit of rust show-up on the MoPars’ even when living o the Oregon Coast. Nor was the fit or finish under par. Had a 3 speed Chev Impala which required replacing of the column linkage due to it’s tendency to lock up with other linkage when shifting essentially locking it neural, and the factory had failed to weld a bracket holding the rear seat back in place. I took it to have it fixed under warranty and discovered the certified dealer’s fix was to drive a piece of ship-lap between the seat mounting bracket and the brace. It did cure the rattling, but did not turn the car into a woody, so I took it back and made them fix it correctly. The Fords had their share of problems also. A particularly irritating one which I know existed in the 50’s and still present in my 65 Falcon Convertible any maybe beyond is the ignition key not engaging the starter cause the dang thing wouldn’t turn without incessant wiggling the key up and down. That problem alone was enough to send a lot of dudes to jail when they could get their get-a-way-Ford started after they had just robbed a 7-11. The fact the doors wouldn’t open–at least 0n the ’55 & ’56’s after they had been driven a short distance–unless the driver slid and braced his back against it and with one foot tripping the door handle and immediately releasing the other from it’s cocked position ramming it directly on the middle the drivers door causing it to fly open. Arguably more difficult to do than normal when one is under heavy police gunfire. I believe that motor drive line, running gear wise the MoPars are the best.

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  12. Avatar Eddie Farris

    We had the comparable Dodge Monaco 4 door in a Blue color. It had all power windows door locks cruise control however our Monaco had the Chrysler 318 V8 which even though it was smaller bloc motor than the 360, it was one of the few thinks Chrysler/Dodge got right as the 318 was one of the better engines of its era. That car had 170k when we traded it in 1985 and had very little trouble. I give the 318 a grade of B but the 360 get grade of D at best!

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  13. Avatar Randy

    I had a 78 Plymouth wagon. It had a 360 2 bbl on a small 904 transmission. Had stock dual exhaust with thrush mufflers. It was set up to run propane or gas. I never used the propane setup. The suspension was great. The car drove like a dream and it was fast. The speedometer had 140 on it. One night about 300 am I pushed her to see how fast she would go. The distance between zero and 140 by increments was approximately 40 mph. I figure I was going between 160 and 180 on that two lane strip. I was just over half throttle. I backed off when I hit the peg at zero. The other reason was I was really afraid a hog, deer or gator would jump out. This was central Florida about 1986. I was told the engine was a police interceptor. I loved that car and you better believe it, that car could pull a 4 br house and not even sweat. I had her set up on Goodyear raised white letter H70s all the way around. Painted her sapphire metal flake blue in the back yard, blacked out her grill, had an am/fm quadrophonic radio from an American motors, separate panasonic 8 track tape player, an audiovox equalizer, 4 audiovox 6×9 triaxial in the doors and 2 12″ home stereo bass speakers I put in homemade boxes. I think I still have that equalizer. It was a great beach car.

    Like 0

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