How great would it be to find a dusty but otherwise perfect 1971 Plymouth Gran Coupe in a garage somewhere? Unfortunately, this isn’t that car. This paisley-fabric-and-vinyl-roof jewel of a project will require more work than just dusting it off, but it’s doable. The seller has it listed here on eBay in Aberdeen, Maryland, the current bid price is $1,324, and there is no reserve!
As it’s pulled out of the garage, things start to show up, things that need work or have had work and need to be finished. The Plymouth Gran Fury replaced the Plymouth VIP and as long as they kept the cool and unique paisley roof vinyl and interior fabric, I can live with the name change. The hidden headlights are a nice touch and they appear to work, or at least they stay closed rather than winking or staying open.
Here’s where you can see that things get a bit hairy. The to-do list is revealing itself pretty heavily now. You can see the missing rear window and all of the parts that aren’t installed on the rear of the car. And, when you swing around to the driver’s side quarter panel, that’s also missing. The seller tells a horrific story about a shifty shop and we’ve all either heard of such things or experienced them ourselves. This particular shop had the car for some very minor work and they proceeded to tear it apart and then went out of business. What a nightmare.
After the horrible experience with the bankrupt body shop, the seller has lost interest in this car, unfortunately, but I can see it happening. The interior appears to be the storage place for the rear window which is good, and also a lot of the trim. The paisley seats look good for the most part and the door panels look great. The seller says that this was a really nice car when they bought it in 2006 when they noticed some bubbling around the rear wheels so they bought patch panels and also replacement paisley material for the seats and roof, so presumably, that goes with the sale.
Our own Todd Fitch wrote about a similar but really nice car back in 2017 seen here on Barn Finds. He gives a lot of fun details about the paisley and other fun facts. The engine is Plymouth’s 360 cubic-inch V8 and it had 255 horsepower, more than enough to fry at least one of the rear wheels. Do you have what it takes to bring this beautiful brown Gran Fury back to its former glory?
If you had access to the parts and could do the work yourself you would have a neat car to take to cars and coffee. No doubt you would have the only one like it there.
What a nightmare. I feel for the guy. I don’t blame him for just parking it in disgust. This is still potentially a very nice car, though not a high-buck one.
A buddy of mine went through a similar nightmare with his Dart GT ragtop. They made an agreement that it would take a while and my buddy put a good chunk of change down so they could get started on it. A year later they call and told him he had to get his car out of there. He goes to pick his car up and the place is empty. The Dart is sitting outside, top down, and the front clip is sitting inside the car. They did nothing to it .
That’s what they make baseball bats for.
Stock, it would take this beast nearly 11 seconds to hit 60. Hardly muscle car territory.
It isnt a Muscle car , its a cruiser
This is what families used to go on vacation in, if they didn’t have station wagon.
After decades of beautiful car designs and innovations up until the 1970’s, one looks at the design of cars like this one and easily knows why the American automobile manufacturers had lost their way and eventually were left in the dust by the Japanese manufacturers just starting to appear on the horizon and would overtake the American manufacturers by the 1980’s.
Yeah those datsun b210s and datsun f10s sure looked a lot better than detroit iron.
My dad had a 71 Gran Fury – same color and paisley roof, looked pretty much like this. The 360 engine was great for brake torques! Until one day when I dropped the drive shaft. Dad wasn’t too happy.
A sad end to a once noble brand.
This car reminds of my dad’s Chyrsler LeBaron he had back in the early 70’s.
What a TANK. It had a 440 4bbl under the 1 acre hood and the car was so long, it wouldn’t fit in our garage.
My mom had an Olds Delta 88 with a 455 in it.
I used to chide the old man about he and mom having such huge cars, and he’d always chuckle and say they weren’t that big. Compared to what, he never said. LOL
Aberdeen Used to be my home town. Wonder where he took the car to get fixed??
Hey Luckylugnut
I, too, had an early 70s Imperial LeBaron. White with a maroon interior and maroon paisley top. 1971.
Loved that car
Hi Angela
Sounds like your car was an eye catcher compared to what my dad had. His was …..BROWN. Metallic brown paint with brown leather interior. But I have to say, it was a comfortable ride; quiet with plenty of leg room. And good (for the time) stereo too !
Could be a really beautiful car. Not high dollar but unquestionably cool. I’ve been looking out for a ‘71 four door Gran Coupe. Just a big, good looking car with that Mopar uniqueness.
I consider these the Danish or Mid-Century modern of American cars. GMs were over decorated and Fords just look kitschy in comparison.
It was a few years later when styling, quality and performance got all ridiculous and the Japanese got in the door.
I have a friend who lives a couple miles from me. He has one in really nice shape. Just like this on. Very nice and sharp lookng car.. I hope someone puts it back in the nice shape it once was. I was done similar the same way. Buy my x girlfriends brother. I TOLD HIM IF I EVER CATCH HIM . I ,d make him eat a bumper. Another guy done my sisters 78 Trans Am. Only he took the money and went to North Carolina and parked her car in a junk yard. She got the law on him and he had to pay it back. Then I ended up with the car. Now days that falls under fraud and the FBI gets involved.
A nightmare with a great reward for a return ,plus just an awesome car for a project .
Great car,that’s shameful what was done by the shyster body shop,love the style,and comfort of these old c-bodies,and NOTHING from Japan of this year, even compares!
Auction update: this Plymouth sold for $2,553.