By the time the mid-Eighties rolled around, the once large and in charge Plymouth Gran Fury marque had been downsized (twice) to a lowly midsize due to the fuel crisis and cost-cutting measures by Chrysler. Still, it retained much of the elegance of previous iterations, especially in the “Salon” trim level seen here, sent to us by reader Trent Whitcomb. This mint condition, 39k mile example can be found here on Craigslist just outside of Minneapolis, MN for the asking price of $5500.
While I personally dig the styling on these old sedans, they are basically “old man” cars distilled into their purest form. Utilizing the same M-body platform that the similar Dodge Diplomat had already been using since the late 1970’s, this iteration of the Gran Fury was not exactly a model of innovation. And just check out that dash cluster! Even for a car built 30 years ago, this Plymouth was already “retro” the minute it pulled off the dealer’s lot. That being said, there’s still a lot of appeal to a classic, comfortable ride like this one. Especially when it’s in this kind of condition.
This car was an estate sale find by the current seller and was garage kept by both owners. Despite being located in Minnesota, the car shows absolutely no rust and clearly never saw a salted road. Paint appears to be in excellent condition with no discernible wear, even down to the nooks and crannies and under the carpet as shown by the seller in the photos. Even the vinyl roof cover, often a problem area, looks to be pristine along with its chrome trim. The factory installed “detailer’s plastic” is also still intact underneath the seats!
Under the hood, this Gran Fury sports the 318 V8 engine which is reported to run well with no issues. The base-model Gran Fury’s were popular fleet vehicles due to their reliability; this upmarket Salon version adds the smart looking wire wheels as well as the couch-like velour seats. With under 40k miles on the clock, this Plymouth has a ton of life left – maybe you can show it a more exciting time than just Sunday drives to church!
This is a very nice car…..sure beats an 85 fifth Ave…wish I had room for this
Man, I’d love to get this thing into the passing lane and just roll along at 5 under with the left turn signal flashing away like I don’t even care.
Here’s your vintage cop car in an evening gown. Before the Ford CV, this was the car of choice for most departments, and for good reason. They were great cars.These were also made at the Kenosha plant for a few years. Any wonder why these workers looked so glum?It was the end of the line for Kenosha.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/449515606527860144/
I coulda’ done without the closing old people reference.
Christine on Geritol…
Great car, good buy maybe for a bit less, the car does not have a strong upside,
but buy it and enjoy it.
Had one of these, similar mileage, similar condition, six years ago. Paid $2000 for it at an antique car dealership. Had the same “Salon” upgrade to the interior. Wonderful car with the 318, until the Lean Burn started to act up around 50,000 miles. After that, I couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Run the other way from these Lean Burn systems! This one has it–see the box attached to side of air cleaner. Nothing but trouble!
Fantastic vehicles!
I had the ’85 Diplomat version of this car – Ran like a bull.
With the open diff in the rear and the automatic, you did need to know what you were doing on snowy roads.
$5,500 does seem steep, but does that get you in “today’s” cars?
Taken care of, this Plymouth will just go and go.
When I first became a cop in The greater Miami area, we had a mixed fleet of Furys/Diplomats, 9C1 chevies and the old box Crown Vic’s. Caprices were the fastest, Diplomats were dogs and the Crown Vic’s were “meh”. I always liked the Diplomats looks with dog-dish hubcaps. The model years of these fleet cars were ‘85-‘90. The Diplomats always had the coldest a/c by far. I chose being nice and cool over performance in the dog-days of summer. I learned to NOT Armour-all the bench seats.
My ’87 Gran Fury Ex NYPD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B33MTjB0gOQ
The Salon was the base and only model by 1985. All Gran Furys were Salons. Salon level trim did not include wire wheel covers, and this car does not have them either! They were a stand alone option. This car has the “premium” wheel covers which were another option and the best looking of the three choices. This car does have the upgraded 60/40 seats which were optional and also used on the Diplomat SE model. The Salon trim was the base Diplomat and the SE was the upgrade model. The Furys are the rarest of the three. The Diplomat SE is probably the cleanest looking package of the line, offering the Chrysler Fifth Ave style front end with the cleaner non-landau top.
This could be my old ’85 Fury Salon – except mine did not have a vinyl roof. What a great car! I had a bunch of American cars during the “worst” years for American cars. Great cars, all of them! Both my ’77 Dodge Magnum and my ’85 Fury had been dealer-updated from the Lean Burn systems so no problem there. Nothing spectacular about my Fury – except that it did everything it was intended to do – with great aplomb – and it was over 15 years old when I bought it. Absolutely nothing not to love about such a design.
Somebody please clarify: I thought these “M body” cars (Fury, Diplomat, early LeBaron – later 5th Avenue) were all derivatives of the Volare/Aspen replacements for the mid-70s Valiant/Dart lines. Am I wrong? Many thanks!
Allen
And the Canadian market 1978-1989 Plymouth Caravelle, M body, based on the Diplomat. The 1982-1989 Gran Fury was not sold in Canada. The Diplomat SE was not sold in Canada so there was no Caravelle SE.
I own a 1988 Caravelle Salon purchased in 2010 for $500. Needed a power brake booster, tires, and a rust hole repair just behind the driver’s side rear wheel. Drove it from Vancouver to Toronto and then back 5 years later. Has 280,000 Km on it now – and still has its original lean burn. (Bought it from the original owner who let me look through his repair bills. All he had were regular expenses – oil, filters, tune-ups, flush radiator, tires, etc.)
Has no A/C (which I don’t mind) but it does not have cruise control. And as I like cruising across country, I miss not having it. But it is nice on the highway, no fighting to keep it going in the right direction and a smooth ride.
The car’s looks are nothing to write home about, but it does have a nice sized trunk and is easy to get in and out of, front and rear. Seats are the basic Salon seats, the ones that first appeared on the base 1978 Diplomat and Caravelle. The colours changed over the years, but not the material.
Many thanks to Chrysler Captain for the info and for confirming my understanding. When I purchased my ’85 Fury, I was accused of driving a “guzzler”. Quite confusing as I thought it was built on a compact car platform. In fact, it always got 25+ mpg on the road – MUCH better than my ’03 Ford Ranger – a compact PU.
Tooling had been long amortized for this line by that point. They were able to keep costs down which made them a great value, most notably its Fifth Avenue cousin.