Broken record #1,000,001 – there aren’t enough photos of this 1969 Plymouth VIP!!! I sure hope that 2019 is a different story and all of a sudden sellers will realize that showing basically three photos of a vehicle that they’re selling online isn’t a good way to market it properly. But, anywho… this 1969 VIP looks pretty decent and it can be found here on Craigslist. It’s located in Renton, Washington and the seller is asking a healthy $12,999 for it. And, it comes with the holiest of holy grail wheels: the infamous “recall wheels”, Kelsey-Hayes’ W23s! Thanks to Miguel for sending in this tip!
Some of you may remember me talking/rambling about the 1969 Plymouth Fury III sedan that we had in the early-1970s, the one where my dad just about had a heart attack when gas prices shot up and he had to pay $0,60 a gallon for premium! The VIP would have been thee ultimate Fury, or Plymouth, in 1969 and being a one-year-only car they are very rare to see today. The seller says that this is “1 of 20” with these particular options, but unless that includes a 426 hemi or some other absolutely crazy option (that wasn’t even an option, for the record) than I don’t know how much weight a 1-of-20 statement adds to the value. Hagerty is at $13,400 for a #3 good condition car which this cleary is not. You can see the interior photo, the lone photo, above and the driver’s seat needs hundreds of dollars worth of work along, not counting the back seat which is barely visible and the passenger side seat rips, and then there’s the dash which isn’t shown or the carpets which aren’t shown and are the floors rusty? We don’t know, we hardly know anything other than this is a rare car and would be very desirable to restore.
A good thing, or maybe not if you’re a bone-stock-spec guy like I am, is this great looking 383 V8. Unfortunately, it isn’t the original one for this car, but the original one comes with it. Why it isn’t in there I don’t have a clue. Why not rebuild the original engine? They talk about the rust and thankfully two photos show some of the worst rust, or what I hope is the worst rust. It’s not pretty at all, that’ll take a lot of time and money to restore those areas. Now, about those uber-rare wheels, the W23 “recall wheel”. They never were supposed to make it to market but a few of them slipped out and reproductions can sell for $1,500 to $2,500 easily, I have no clue what original W23 wheels are worth. They are NOT safe for road use, however, which is why they were recalled, but for show use, it would be great to have them. That helps the value here for sure if they can be verified as being original, not-reproduction wheels. I’m not sure if this one will sell at the asking price despite one of the nicest looking engines that I have ever seen on a Plymouth of this era and the super rare wheels, but who knows. A VIP is towards the top of my list, are any of you fans of these one-year models?
It appears, from the shot of the front seats, that a previous owner spontaneously combusted while driving the car. Cool car for sure.
Bullet hole.
Maybe the original owner was a mob guy who got too fancy by buying a VIP versus a Fury II, and then got shot in the front seat like in Goodfellas?
Shotgun…
Rats, really big ones!
I think that a potential buyer spontaneously combusted in the drivers seat after hearing the asking price.
“There were rats, Dad.”
” Rats!! ??”
“Yeah, really big ones.”
Am I the only one who got this ? lol…….better than snakes…….
Indiana Jones.
Stupid question, what made them be recalled?
The W23 optional wheels were actually supposed to appear for 1970, but were released (VERY briefly…) in `69 The facing of the wheels is a polymer plastic over steel. What happened is, an engine’s torque ended up being more than the rims could withstand, and the lug-bolt holes literally ‘ripped’, or became elongated, causing the uncontrollable wabble and obliteration of the rims at speed!! You can imagine how uncontrollable a `69 GTX 440 6-pack would become at speed if this happened?! (* By the way, those rims were never an option on Furys–Chargers,Roadrunners, Daytonas, Superbirds, etc. only)
This car has been for sale, at well above market price, for at least 5 years. The seller clearly isn’t interested in selling, just advertising.
The VIP was not a one year only model.
VIP STARTED with 1966 MODEL year
My mistake, RoKo. I meant, of the new fuselage body style. They went away in 1970.
Right! VIP was 66-69.
Correct; it first appeared in `66 as Plymouth’s answer to Ford’s LTD and Chevy’s Caprice.
They are perfectly safe for limited road use. The wheels are fine, the recall was NOT for a structural issue, it was because the lug-nuts could loosen. What you do is check your lug-nuts every so often.
Currently it’s SOP to check lug-nut tightness after 100 miles or so when an aluminum wheel is replaced on a car, this applies to every car everywhere, such as when you get new tires and any or all wheels are taken off and put back on your car.
Great idea – buy the car, drive it til one of the wheels comes off, and SUE! LOL
Seriously, it’s a pretty car but I’d be worried about all the rust places this style has which are not visible. Around the rear window… the lip of the deck lid… the A pillars… the firewall, if someone let a bunch of leaves plug the firewall drain… and the back lower portion of the front fenders. These are all likely rust spots.
If this car was visibly rust free it would be a good deal given the value of the ‘recall’ wheels, but as it is, he’ll get more than it’s worth if the right person wants it badly enough.
Wonder how long it will run or how far it will drive without fan/accessory belts?
You have an eagle eye there Drunkduck! I usually pickup on that kind of stuff, but I missed that one, and I haven’t even had a drink yet…
Looks like the engine paint is still drying
Isn’t that the high-performance, big-block, no snorkel, air cleaner?
This guy is known in the area- nobody I know cares to deal with him; his driveway is akin to “Barrett-Jackson in the driveway.” Enjoy
I’ve seen the asking price for those wheels, 15 years ago for $5,000.00. Not sure what they sold for. Maybe for a “HEMI” restore that came with them, it may be worth the asking price. Not everything has the same fit, that is why prices are all over the place. That being said, is this car worth $9,000.00. Does not fit for me.
Hold your nose and buy it.
Wheels are worth more than the asking price
May she RIP…
Another example of a number 6-5 car going for number 4-3 money. Rare does not mean valuable! Nice car if you want one of these but not for that ridiculous price. And if you think it is so valuable, then why dont you restore it instead of trying to pawn it off on some stooley for a trip off price?
Guy probably shot himself. When gas prices went up.lol
The 1969 Cuda wheels are REALLY the Holy Grail….not as many of those as the bigger 4.5 hole size.like on this car. Funny – the car models of the day included the recalled wheels….so I must have a Million dollars in plastic laying around in some old model boxes.
Someone got shot in it lol
Cool car. It’s been for sale for like 3 years. I’ve seen it before. It was closer to 18k back then or something.
So, were the W23 wheels (or an equivalent) ever offered again at a later date? I understand they are rare, but I actually do not like the looks of them.
56 olds, I believe I seen a couple years ago that Coker tire offers a repo-look – a like wheel, but in a different built.