As of late, we have found numerous ’62 Chevys here on Barn Finds, but a ’62 Plymouth? Not so often. Well if we’re going to review an early ’60s Plymouth, we may as well start at the top right? And that’s exactly what we have here in the form of a ’62 Plymouth Sport Fury, two-door hardtop. This is a very sharp looking example and I have to extend thanks to Matt R for this fine discovery. It is located in Lansing, North Carolina and is available, here on craigslist for $29,995.
It’s an oft-told tale of how ChryCo decided to shrink their full-size Plymouth and Dodge models in 1962 as the result of a misunderstood and overheard conversation. Whatever the case, Plymouth executed the shrink with aplomb. Body styles included two-door and four-door sedans, two and four-door hardtops, and station wagons all across three different trim levels. Unfortunately, Plymouth’s total ’62 production of 339K units placed it in eighth place, way behind first place Chevrolet’s 2 M figure and even behind fourth-place Rambler’s 442K figure.
Being a Sport Fury means that this 41K mile Plymouth was a mid-year introduction and the original owner specified this car with a 305 HP, 361 CI “Golden Commando” V8 engine backed up by a TorqueFlite, three-speed automatic transmission. The seller claims that this Sport Fury “performs flawlessly“. Improvements include the addition of power front disc brakes, a front anti-sway bar, new shocks, and a rebuilt transmission. The seller has documentation attesting to this Plymouth’s mileage and states that it sat in storage for 26 years, covering only 2K miles since 1987.
The exterior of this Plymouth is resplendent in its repainted original hue. No dents, scrapes, rust, no nothin’. The stainless trim is all intact and is still in possession of its original sheen; ditto the bumpers. The Cragar S/S wheels set off a car of this vintage perfectly. The included images of the underside continue to reinforce the stolid nature of this Sport Fury. The rear styling of this Plymouth is notable with its Impalaesque taillight treatment, you know one of these when you see it. It’s a subjective matter but over the years it has grown on me. There are two YouTube links included in the listing but neither works so I have neglected to include them in this review. But, an open YouTube search came up with this ’62 Plymouth link.
The interior of this Sport Fury is fantastic in the way that only 1960s domestic automobiles could be. It is a two-tone color combination that is a redo of the original. Other than a boo-boo in the headliner, it’s as good as it gets. And the seller does state that he has a replacement headliner still in plastic. The original radio has been swapped out but it is still available and included in the sale. The only shortcoming is the instrument panel, it’s in nice shape but has a cheap, utilitarian look about itself.
This Plymouth has been listed in a lot of different places like Hemmings, David’s Classic Cars, eBay where the bidding action ended at $15,900, and JLA Forums where the price was $32,995. Sounds like, as nice as this Plymouth is, it’s not $29,995 worth of nice. It’s definitely not a common find but the seller is going to need to find a buyer that’s interested in an uncommon find at a common, reasonable price, wouldn’t you agree?
I don’t know if the price being asked is fair or not but I really like this car. The styling at the time wasn’t very popular but today it’s got a great look. The interior looks very attractive with the two-tone upholstery and the two-tone steering wheel is a standout. While the writer doesn’t find the dash to be attractive, I like it and a push-button gear selector is very cool. This Mopar gem looks really good in and out and the 361 will give you many a thrill. The only change I would make is to lose the Cragers and go with stock steelies and period correct wheel covers to give the car a sleeper look. To me, one of the best things about it is it’s rarity, you just don’t see these that often.
I agree Fordguy. ,but the rareity (If) makes parts harder to find and to me. Would scare some people away. I,d like to see what this Plymouth would do taking off in D. Bet the 361 will make the tries sing good. I have a 64 Dodge with a 318 -and it would. Nice looking car . More car hear then any new car for the same price. The Cragars do look good,but as you said. The original wheels would make it a sleeper. Very nice car. With plenty of room. Bet it rides good too.
“The styling at the time wasn’t very popular but today it’s got a great look.” I agree. Funny how perspective changes over time. Back in the day, cars like this would not have gotten a second glance from me.
The instrument panel looks more like it belongs in a Correct Craft than a car, but I like it too.
It has a much cleaner look than 62 Dart for sure. Even the 63, 64, and 65 Plymouths looked better than their Dodge cousins IMO.
I love this car but don’t have room or dollars to consider buying it. Seeing the dash in this car brought back a lot of memories for me. I bought a new 1962 Fury convertible late in 1962. It was red with a red interior and the dash looked exactly like the one in this car. I wanted a Sport Fury with the big engine but It was too late in the model year to order a car so I took the only convertible the dealer had. It had a few miles from a few test drives I guess so, I got it for $2800 out the door.
Chrysler’s decision to build smaller standard cars for 1962 was dubious, but there’s no denying the impact of this platform. It was used, with updates, for 20 years under cars such as Satellite, GTX, Road Runner, Charger, Coronet, Fury, Monaco, Cordoba, Magnum, Newport, New Yorker, St. Regis, and Gran Fury. Whatever money Chrysler lost in the downsizing was recovered many times over.
As for this car, the Plymouths looked good enough, at least until you see photos of the original, full-sized concept.
These cars were ugly back in the day but looks really great today! This Mopar is in really great shape & hope that the seller gets his price for it!
I like the rarity and performance of this car. Seems odd in this hot market he’s getting resistance to the price. Compared to last weeks Mecum sale seems reasonable. But Im not a Plymouth guy so maybe I’m wrong. I bet its fun to drive .
I owned virtually the same car in about 1968 and have thought of it when I see something similar. Although it was what I considered one of the ugliest cars on the road it was one of the coolest and most bad ass at the time. My sport fury had the bucket seats 361 engine Red interior but black on the outside. I’ve seen many similar cars on the Internet over the years but never one so close to the one I had. The sport fury option must be fairly unique in this age
A friend of my brother-in-law’s had a white one just like this in about 1965. A real cool looking car on the street. Hopefully he sees this posting and it brings back some memories
Yes, I can attest that parts will be difficult to find. I ran into the same problem when I restored a 1961 Dodge Pioneer Wagon in the 90’s. Probably harder now.
Liked these cars back then and even more today. Owned a very nice 62 Dodge Polara 2dr.ht 361 with a pushbutton torqueflite. A very good friend and I traded even up his 57 Corvette for my Polara. Another friend had a 62 Plymouth 2dr Savoy former State Police car that was wicked fast on the top end. Unfortunately both cars ended in tragedy. The Polara sat in my buddy’s parents yard for years waiting for him to come back from Vietnam and the Savoy ended in a crash that killed another dear friend. Think of then often after all these years!
When my older brother was in the Coast Guard he had a ’62 Plymouth Savoy 2dr post. It was this same shade of blue. When he left WA state for his posting in Long Beach, CA it had a slant 6 with an automatic. When he came home on leave it had a 383 and a 4 speed. Somewhere in that timeframe it also got treated to a black tuck and roll upholstery job.
In the late 60’s early 70’s it wasn’t the car that would be near the top of anyone’s want list, style wise anyway. When he did sell it, it was performance that closed the deal.
I keep an eye on the prices for these cars and their Dodge cousins. The 413 Max Wedge cars are always asking crazy money,(and sometimes getting it). I might guess the seller, if looking for comparables, lumped the Max Wedges into the same basket. This is a nice car and all that, but as the listing history shows it is not bringing that kind of money.
The 62 Dodges and Plymouths are the original muscle cars, they beat the GTO by three years
No, not really.
When I was in high school in the late ‘70s there was a guy a couple grades above me that had one of these. It was black with flames on it and a 440. It was FAST!!
I saw it at a local car show a couple years ago and it stopped me in my tracks. Same guy still owns it
I was an instant fan of the ’62s from Chrysler, especially the Plymouths. I did find myself very much in the minority among most of my car-freak friends, but I loved the downsizing and the adventurous styling, and I can say it’s worn pretty well for me. At the time my Dream Car would have been a black convertible, but have since then decided the wagons are the best-realized ones, at least to my taste.
I have driven one ’62, a hardtop coupe. It was a loaner from the lot where I’d bought a Volvo 544, after the fuel pump popped its diaphragm on the freeway one night and ran its bearing by the time I’d stopped. CA law being what it is, the dealer had to pay for the rebuild and give me a loaner, and I was delighted to find that the Plymouth displayed the same kind of ramshackle, fun-loving attitude that I’d noticed in the Volvo. It was just a big loud gas to drive, and (except for the PRICE of that gas) I was almost sorry to give it back when the Volvo was finished.
Beautiful car, Right up there with my 63 Sport Fury convertible, 383 4 speed!! Yes they are fast and rare!!
New ad for this car is online again with more pics:
https://myrtlebeach.craigslist.org/cto/d/lansing-1962-plymouth-sport-fury-miles/7266950103.html
Had one of these while in college and a year or so after. Mine was the weird brown burgundy color with tu-tone brown interior so the dash was a medium/dark brown with lighter accents throughout. I added chrome reverse wheels which really set it off nicely and lowered the front end a turn or so on the torsion bars. One of my favorite Mopars from throughout the years. Ran strong and fun to drive. Very sorry I sold it after I picked up a 70 Duster.