One-Owner 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury

It makes me sad sometimes that I’ll never know the ownership history of some of my cars. In a few cases it’s my fault, as I’ll be too engrossed in loading up the trailer and thinking about the work that needs to be done to listen carefully to the seller’s tales. In other cases, there are simply too many owners between me and the past to discover any reliable information. That won’t be the case for the buyer of this 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury “Fast Top,” as the seller is the 91-year-old original owner. It needs some cosmetic work, but it’s a pretty good start on a solid, driveable full-sizer. It’s for sale here on eBay in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the high bid is currently just $1,780 (which has not met the reserve).

The Sport Fury was, aside from the VIP, the fanciest Fury one could buy in 1968, and there were no standard Slant Sixes here; rather, a 230-horsepower 318 whisked buyers along reliably. This 318 has been rebuilt “recently,” but the car also hasn’t been driven much over the last few years, so expect to do some tinkering to make it dependable. Unfortunately, the air conditioning doesn’t work, and the power steering pump has a leak. It does have a modern aluminum radiator, so there’s hope that a lot of the basics have been covered.

The interior looks nice in blue vinyl, but the real center of attention is the console and floor shifter, which were standard features (a center armrest was also available at no cost) on the Sport Fury. By 1968, the full-size car with bucket seats was becoming a little more uncommon, so it’s nice to see one so equipped.

The dashboard seems to be in good shape, with perhaps a slight tear in the driver’s corner of the dash pad. The seller mentions that the driver’s seat was reupholstered “at some point in time.”

The car could, however, use a cosmetic restoration, including “paint and vinyl top.” Looking at the pictures, I began to wonder if the paint job could be brought back to “ten-footer” standards with some cutting and buffing, but being a very dark blue (Midnight Blue Metallic?), the paint’s too dark to truly assess in pictures.

It would certainly be worth the effort to try, because if the Fury sells for the right price, you could have a really nice car with a little elbow grease (and maybe the help of an upholstery shop for the vinyl top). If I were interested in a Fury, this exact car would be high on my list, because the 1968 models (especially the Fast Tops), and the color and harmonizing stripe (and standard “Sport Wheel Covers”) simply look great. It’ll be fun to see the winning bid (if it meets the reserve).