The Plymouth Fury was considered more of a luxury offering than a racer, but I guess that didn’t matter to the seller of this 1966 Plymouth Fury III. This one’s got an engine built by Jack Tant, a mechanic well known for his abilities to create powerplants good enough to compete at the NASCAR level. The Fury III was one of the higher-level models in ’66, so it’s pretty cool that a nicely-trimmed example was chosen as the recipient of such a fine component under the hood. This droptop is located in Huntington Station, New York, and can be seen here on Craigslist. The seller has set his asking price at $6,500, and we would like to thank Barn Finds reader Zappenduster for spotting this Mopar and bringing it to our attention!
It’s surprising how little the owner has to say about the special engine, but he does state that it’s of the 360 variety, and you can see the Jack Tant valve covers on top. A set of headers is also present with a side-exit exhaust system, along with an aluminum radiator, but that’s about all the details we get. This Plymouth has not been on the road since 2022, and it’s mentioned that a tune-up and a new battery will be needed. Even less information is given about the transmission, with the owner only telling us the car’s got a “built tranny”, so whether or not it’s a TorqueFlite remains a mystery.
Of the 146,547 Fury III autos produced in 1966, just 4,326 were convertibles, so this is the rare one of the bunch. Regarding the exterior, only the condition of the quarter panels is addressed, with the seller stating that they have rust and rot. It looks like some minor corrosion is beginning to peek through the bottom of the front fenders and near the taillight area, but the body appears reasonably straight for the most part. Half a dozen photos are provided from the underside, including this one, with the seller calling the platform solid.
Other than the seats needing fresh upholstery, most other interior parts seem in fairly decent shape and probably good enough for a driver. If anybody knows what that extra stalk on the column shifter is or what it does, please let us know, and don’t forget to reinstall some windshield wipers before you take this one out in the rain. It would have been nice to have gotten a few more details here, but unless there’s something seriously wrong with that Tant 360, the price of $6,500 sounds fair to me. What are your thoughts on this 1966 Plymouth Fury III convertible?
@Mike: IIRC, the Sport Fury was the very top of the line, until the VIP was created in response to Ford’s LTD, and Chevy’s Caprice. The hierarchy was Fury I, II, III, Sport Fury, VIP. Personally, The VIP didn’t seem as sharp as the Sport Fury (which I had!) GLWTS!! :-)
The VIP had the blocky and formal roof, which was keeping with its “luxury” status. This particular car would have been better off with its original engine, a Commando 383 or 426 Hemi. The engine in it does not look like a 360 and even if it was, I’d never put it in an older Mopar.
Terry, the Fury never did get the 426 Hemi as an option. It would have been the 426 Wedge with 365HP if anything. And the 383 Commando likely what this cvt. left the factory with. A teacher in grade school had a white `66 cvt.
Hi Moparman, thanks a lot for the Fury information, and for sharing the photo of your Sport Fury- it is a beauty!
An interesting car & what is starting to sound like an interesting history. But way too many unanswered questions for me. And I’d have to do away with those hood scoops. (On a Roadrunner maybe, but not a Fury.) If the floors are solid enough this could be an interesting rebuild for the right buyer.
Rough but worth the ask. Best approach is to sell/swap the scoop hood for a stock replacement, paint it and restore the interior. Sleeper.
IDK. but that extension on the shifter looks like it came from a socket wrench. Kind of like my neighbor’s landlord fixing a faucet handle by putting a pair of vice grips on it.
being from long island i think that might be an old school anti theft device. either to prevent shifting or to interfere with the steering wheel and shifter. think club or an old steering wheel brake pedal hook.
then again it could just be shifter art.