The full name for this 1968 wagon is the Plymouth Fury III Custom Suburban. That’s a mouthful – and it’s a big station wagon with plenty of room to haul the family around with all their stuff. The Suburban here is not to be confused with Chevrolet’s big people hauler and is a nameplate that Plymouth used on and off for nearly 30 years. This ’68 edition looks to be a nice survivor that has been refreshed cosmetically and mechanically after 53 years of servitude. Located in Milford, Massachusetts, this Suburban has been bid to $6,100 here on eBay, but the reserve is likely far from being met. Thanks, Larry D, for bringing this beauty to our attention!
In the years leading up to 1949, Plymouth’s only station wagon would be a 4-door “Woodie” which was costly to build. Plymouth’s new Suburban wagon would be the U.S. auto industry’s first all-steel body station wagon. It would roll through 1955 as a sub-series to cars like the Belvedere but became a series of its own from 1956-61. The nameplate would disappear for a while and make a comeback in 1968 as part of the Fury range of vehicles. This relationship would continue for 10 years before going away altogether.
Plymouth would build some 27,000 Fury III Custom Suburban’s, with about two-thirds of them being configured for 6-passengers, like the seller’s wagon. The rest were for 9-passengers with a third bench seat added. Finished in Avocado Green aka Medium Green, this ’68 wagon looks to have been gently used and is said to have only covered 58,000 miles. Some of the paint is original, but the roof, hood and tailgate have been refinished because these surfaces are said to have been down to the factory primer. The seller mentions that the car is 99% rust-free and we’re struggling to find that other 1%. The body is straight and the only thing that might need attention is to reconnect a tension rod for the tailgate.
The interior has had some recent attention, as well. The seats have been reupholstered in original-like materials and the carpeting is new. The headliner looks okay, but we do see a sag or two toward the back. The seats belts were not restored, and they look unattractive sitting on top of the newly redone seats. The driver will be treated to factory A/C (which needs recharging) and power steering.
We’re told this is a fine running machine with the popular 318 cubic inch V8 coupled with a TorqueFlite automatic transmission. We’re told quite a few things are new, suggesting the car may have been sitting for a while. The tires, carburetor and exhaust (looks like glass packs!) have all found substitutes. The Plymouth has also been treated to a tune-up, fluids service, and a new alternator, voltage regulator, and washer tank and pump.
This Fury was last registered in New York, so it’s being sold without a title as that state is said to not title older vehicles like this. We looked for other Suburban’s for sale online to gauge what it should be worth and found another listing for the same car. In this case, the asking price is $17,395.
Love this car. Everything about it says 1968, especially the color. I can picture this car in our driveway, with my cousins piling out of it.
If only the interior was green instead of black it would be absolutely perfect!
Our neighbors had one just like this,a ’67 in a lighter green.
Back then,it was a generic car.Now it would stand out in the
parking lot.
I had a good high-school friend who had one of these as a family car. By the time it was two, it had already seen 50K miles of use. We did all kinds of stupid high-school tricks like get all four wheels off the ground on a twisty, two-lane, downhill road. Then, at 102 MPH (with a 318 engine) on I-83 in southern Pennsylvania, managed to blow out the Torqueflite tail shaft seal. My friend’s father thought nothing of the bi-monthly repair trips.
JO
Seems to me Dodge, Plymouth, Chrysler had a thing for green back then. It must have been the default color when none was specified on the order sheet.
I was thinking the same thing. Kind of like Lime Gold on Fords of this same time period, available on every model and it seemed like the default color of choice.
Green sold then. Green, gold and brown were the it colors. They were like today’s silver, gray and white.
Really is one of the station wagon standard bearers. Glass packs on a long exhaust system is good music
It was popular in that era. Green, gold and brown were today’s silver, white and gray.
The first new car in my childhood, replacing a tired Comet wagon and a big upgrade. Ours was white with the wood grain sides, tan interior. My dad had bought top end Pontiacs till kids kept coming along, the Comet had replaced a 1960 Bonneville coupe. I went with him to pick up the wagon at the dealer, if I recall the car cost just over $3600 brand new. It lasted 10 years and saw a lot of service, but rust finally absorbed most of the bottom half of the body.
My aunt had one and drove it over 300,000 miles great cars.
Investment grade driver, ready for adventure. Can’t lose money on this one.
Recalling a high school buddy trashing a rusted out ’65 Fury wagon given to him by a relative. Powertrain, a/c and all electricals were good, body was gone. Still breaks my heart….
He’s got a matching convertible, if you want it.
Nice wagon. Our family had this exact car (in flesh tone) back in the day. I remember my dad being upset because I put some racing stickers (STP, etc.) on the windows.
It will take a 4X8 sheet of building material on the floor with the tail closed. The A/C is likely to need more than a recharge – it was designed for R-12, which you can’t get any more. Minimally, you’ll need to get the fitting-adapters for R-134 and evacuate the system before putting the R-134 in.
My dad had one of these, same model, same year, was turquoise. He took care of that car (actually, all his cars) like it was his baby. Arguably the nicest car in the neighborhood. Had six kids. During family trips my older brother and I sat in the WAY BACK seat, facing rear. Bonded. Treated each other better in that seat than we ever did at home. Great memories.
This was my car. The new owner did a nice job getting the minor things it needed buttoned up. All details are accurate, car came from a farm in Illinois originally where it sat for a while. Just a quick note on its reliability, I drove a rental car to Illinois from NY to look at it and purchase it. I got temporary tags on a Saturday morning and drove her home 1000 miles with zero issues. Only thing I did was change to wheels with new tires for the ride (which I brought with me) and got an oil change. Up on the lift the shop guys marveled at how well it was taken care of. Great car, wish I didn’t need to sell it when I did, but the new owner took it from a 7 to an 11. Really great car for someone.
I think this is a great car.
I’ve been watching it for weeks on FB Marketplace, as it comes up on my International Scout searches for some reason.
Listed at I think $14.8 or $14,900, so that should give some sense of the reserve.
We drove that exact car from Lansing, Mi. to Springfield, Mo. and back when my the fiance and I were 17. (It belonged to her parents.) Her dad had the car inspected beforehand to ward off any trouble, only to have the heater core start leaking hundreds of mile down the road. After calling him, he told us to get to a gas station that repairs cars and have them cut the hose and route it back to itself for the time being (He himself was a mechanic.), so that’s what we and they did. We had no heat from then on, but for the most part, it wasn’t need being late May. (Kind of a sad state of affairs when a 4 year old Plymouth has a leaking heater core already.)
love that entire frnt end (esp the stacked hdlgts, even better ifa ford). Nice ‘clean’ grill. Not pointy like the nxt few models…nice straight lines all over it.
Just too big, all around (motor, WB). Now it’s ‘grand father’ (’40s) and the wolwo Duette? THAT fits the bill:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=volvo+duette&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
Amazingly, the 1969 redesign (the fuselage look) made the Fury even bigger. That said, I had a ‘72 Fury III with a 360 and it was pleasant, comfortable and reliable.
Were there no trademarks on automobile names? I’ve always wondered when we have several cars named “suburban” and “daytona”, etc. However, I remember hearing somewhere when the new Ford “GT” was coming out that they couldn’t name it the “GT-40” because they couldn’t get the rights to it. Does anyone know how naming works for automobiles?
I’m thrown a little here. The hood ornament is laying down. Mopar did this when there was a big-block under the hood. When the ornament stood upright, it signified a small-block.
I think it was a safety item in 68. The 67 my dad had was standing up.
My 68 Belvedere and Satellites all had lay down emblems, and all had 318s in them