Factory 4-Speed-C-Body-Photo-Thread

Amazingly, this all copy/pasted nicely from the .mht file I saved.
As I look at it further, it seems the original 440 is gone. The text mentions the possibility.
The 2-barrel does not look to have an adapter plate under it, and the likelihood of this being an RB383-2, or that intake on the original 440, is pretty slim.
Realistically, we're looking at a 383-2.


1968 PLYMOUTH SPORT FURY 440 4 SPEED- CONV- BROTHERS, OR
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WRITTEN BY DOUBLE DRAGON
SUNDAY, 08 JUNE 2014 09:56
1968 PLYMOUTH Sport Fury 440 4 speed- conv- Brothers, OR
oneownercollectorcar.com
Writing and photography copyright D. S. Brown
68-sport-fury-conv-440-kee-.jpg

This blue 1968 Plymouth Sport Furyis part of the Charles Kee collection auctioned off in May, 2014 following Kee's death in 2013. Most of the Kee cars were collected in the 1980s on a 50 acre property in Brothers, Oregon for storage outside in the desert.
Kee amassed several hundred cars stored on his property but would only sell to people he liked. Money was not the issue when he sold a car. See the full story in the 20 YEARS PLUS story on one of Kee's personal drivers; a 1967 Chrysler New Yorker.
The Plymouth Fury name had been around since 1956 when it was a special edition of the Plymouth Belvedere. Fury had gold trim and twin carbs and was considered a specialty car.


In 1959 Fury became a separate car line as the top full size Plymouth and expanded to include 4 doors and other bodystyles. Fury was downsized to intermediate for a few years but restored to full size for 1965. This was the first year for the stacked headlight style as well as the Fury I, Fury II, and Fury III names which just depict ascending levels of plushness. The Sport Fury was a top model in the lineup and carried some reminders of that first specialty model way back in the 1950s.
68-sport-fury-conv-440-kee.jpg

This ALLEY FINDS Sport Fury still has the remnants of its factory white top and white buckets and console. The original factory Electric Blue paint is starting to fade a bit, but the car is still in original factory ordered shape. It was ordered with the 'High Performance' 440 Super Commando coupled to console mounted 4 speed. It also has a tachometer and the new fangled 8 track tape deck.
The 4 speed transmission was ordered on a mere 0.2 % of the Fury cars built for 1968. This demonstrates how few performance demons were still looking to get their fix from a full size car. They were rowing the gears in the intermediate or ponycar supercar segment at this advanced stage of the musclecar wars.
Those full size cars weren't that heavy (Fury was under 4,000 lbs) and because of large engine bays the big engines benefited from less restrictive exhaust which was choking the same engines in the smaller engine bays of the more popular musclecars.
The VIN PH27L8(D?)300794 decodes as:
P= Plymouth Fury
H= High price class
27= Convertible
L= 440-4 Barrel 'High Performance' 375 HP version (K code is 'regular' 440-4 350 HP)
8= 1968 Model year
Digit for final assembly plant is illegible if it is a 'D' it means Belvidere, Illinois.
300794= Sequence number

68-sport-fury-conv-440-k-en.jpg

The Super Commando block is usually painted blue with a black air cleaner and breather on the driver's side valve cover. The engine currently in the car might be a 440 repainted red or replaced with another engine. The engine bay in a Fury is so large that even a 440 sits low on the firewall, so any engine looks diminutive in this car.
On a car this big it seems incredible to not install power steering brakes or steering but underhood there is no brake booster on the master nor a power steering pump. Neither power option shows on the fender tag. H1 is the code for power brakes. The original order for this car was placed by one serious musclecar fan.
The fender tag shown below tells the tale of this all out musclecar monster:
68-sport-fury-conv-440-k-fe.jpg

a6= console/ b4= Bucket seats/ h7= Fender/hood mounted turn signal indicators/ u1= Sold car (Car was ordered by customer, not a generic dealer lot car).
RO= AM/ 8 track radio/ T7= Tachometer/ X1= Tinted glass all/ Y2= White convertible top
14= Sill molding 30= body belt molding 78= Wheel lip moldings (AX)38= axle (TRM) H6W= High trim grade, white buckets on black/ (PNT) QQ1= Electric Blue Metallic, no stripe
PH27 83 3 96= Sport Fury 2 dr conv 440 w/ 4 speed /531= May 31 build/ 559861
68-sport-fury-conv-440-k-in.jpg

The Sport Fury is actually somewhat sporty for a full sized barge of a car. The full size musclecar was a dying breed by 1968. Its uncommon to find a full size musclecar with bucket seats, 4 on the floor and no power assist this late in the 1960s musclecar game.
68-sport-fury-conv-440-k-r.jpg

The Oregon 'Yellow plate' with black letters indicates that the Sport Fury was last insured September, 1981. It saw 13 years of driving, and we can be sure a lot of it was hard driving! The final auction results state that this Sport Fury convertible sold for $2,800.00 in May, 2014.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 March 2016 22:31 )
 
Amazingly, this all copy/pasted nicely from the .mht file I saved.
As I look at it further, it seems the original 440 is gone. The text mentions the possibility.
The 2-barrel does not look to have an adapter plate under it, and the likelihood of this being an RB383-2, or that intake on the original 440, is pretty slim.
Realistically, we're looking at a 383-2.


1968 PLYMOUTH SPORT FURY 440 4 SPEED- CONV- BROTHERS, OR
PDF
Print
E-mail
WRITTEN BY DOUBLE DRAGON
SUNDAY, 08 JUNE 2014 09:56
1968 PLYMOUTH Sport Fury 440 4 speed- conv- Brothers, OR
oneownercollectorcar.com
Writing and photography copyright D. S. Brown
View attachment 574366
This blue 1968 Plymouth Sport Furyis part of the Charles Kee collection auctioned off in May, 2014 following Kee's death in 2013. Most of the Kee cars were collected in the 1980s on a 50 acre property in Brothers, Oregon for storage outside in the desert.
Kee amassed several hundred cars stored on his property but would only sell to people he liked. Money was not the issue when he sold a car. See the full story in the 20 YEARS PLUS story on one of Kee's personal drivers; a 1967 Chrysler New Yorker.
The Plymouth Fury name had been around since 1956 when it was a special edition of the Plymouth Belvedere. Fury had gold trim and twin carbs and was considered a specialty car.


In 1959 Fury became a separate car line as the top full size Plymouth and expanded to include 4 doors and other bodystyles. Fury was downsized to intermediate for a few years but restored to full size for 1965. This was the first year for the stacked headlight style as well as the Fury I, Fury II, and Fury III names which just depict ascending levels of plushness. The Sport Fury was a top model in the lineup and carried some reminders of that first specialty model way back in the 1950s.
View attachment 574367
This ALLEY FINDS Sport Fury still has the remnants of its factory white top and white buckets and console. The original factory Electric Blue paint is starting to fade a bit, but the car is still in original factory ordered shape. It was ordered with the 'High Performance' 440 Super Commando coupled to console mounted 4 speed. It also has a tachometer and the new fangled 8 track tape deck.
The 4 speed transmission was ordered on a mere 0.2 % of the Fury cars built for 1968. This demonstrates how few performance demons were still looking to get their fix from a full size car. They were rowing the gears in the intermediate or ponycar supercar segment at this advanced stage of the musclecar wars.
Those full size cars weren't that heavy (Fury was under 4,000 lbs) and because of large engine bays the big engines benefited from less restrictive exhaust which was choking the same engines in the smaller engine bays of the more popular musclecars.
The VIN PH27L8(D?)300794 decodes as:
P= Plymouth Fury
H= High price class
27= Convertible
L= 440-4 Barrel 'High Performance' 375 HP version (K code is 'regular' 440-4 350 HP)
8= 1968 Model year
Digit for final assembly plant is illegible if it is a 'D' it means Belvidere, Illinois.
300794= Sequence number

View attachment 574368
The Super Commando block is usually painted blue with a black air cleaner and breather on the driver's side valve cover. The engine currently in the car might be a 440 repainted red or replaced with another engine. The engine bay in a Fury is so large that even a 440 sits low on the firewall, so any engine looks diminutive in this car.
On a car this big it seems incredible to not install power steering brakes or steering but underhood there is no brake booster on the master nor a power steering pump. Neither power option shows on the fender tag. H1 is the code for power brakes. The original order for this car was placed by one serious musclecar fan.
The fender tag shown below tells the tale of this all out musclecar monster:
View attachment 574369
a6= console/ b4= Bucket seats/ h7= Fender/hood mounted turn signal indicators/ u1= Sold car (Car was ordered by customer, not a generic dealer lot car).
RO= AM/ 8 track radio/ T7= Tachometer/ X1= Tinted glass all/ Y2= White convertible top
14= Sill molding 30= body belt molding 78= Wheel lip moldings (AX)38= axle (TRM) H6W= High trim grade, white buckets on black/ (PNT) QQ1= Electric Blue Metallic, no stripe
PH27 83 3 96= Sport Fury 2 dr conv 440 w/ 4 speed /531= May 31 build/ 559861
View attachment 574370
The Sport Fury is actually somewhat sporty for a full sized barge of a car. The full size musclecar was a dying breed by 1968. Its uncommon to find a full size musclecar with bucket seats, 4 on the floor and no power assist this late in the 1960s musclecar game.
View attachment 574371
The Oregon 'Yellow plate' with black letters indicates that the Sport Fury was last insured September, 1981. It saw 13 years of driving, and we can be sure a lot of it was hard driving! The final auction results state that this Sport Fury convertible sold for $2,800.00 in May, 2014.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 15 March 2016 22:31 )
I own this one, bought it from the auction. It had a 383 in it so everything didn’t bother to look at the vin and assumed it was a 383 car not a 440 car. Been gathering nos parts for it since the purchase and hoping it’s going to go in for paint soon.
 
I own this one, bought it from the auction. It had a 383 in it so everything didn’t bother to look at the vin and assumed it was a 383 car not a 440 car. Been gathering nos parts for it since the purchase and hoping it’s going to go in for paint soon.
Happy for a few currently photos of this rare car
 
And here is about the rarest one possible.
Fury VIP, fasttop, 440, 4-speed - and AC.
I've known of this car for ~25 years (perhaps thru the Yahoo C-body site?) and had some emailings with the owner back then, and he had all documentation for his car, it's legitimate.

Per thread below, car was awaiting a restoration to make it even better, but owner hasn't logged in since the thread.

For Sale - 1968 Plymouth VIP. 440 with 4 speed and A/C

EDIT - it was not for sale, that was a misnomer from a FB page.

View attachment 574348
I'm in B and E-Body's, too and based on my experience I can say that I have not seen one factory 440HP with 4 speed and A/C in the last 20+ years. MOPAR has never officially offered anything like this. With this black beauty, I wouldn't believe it until I saw the original fender tag, the window sticker, or the build sheet. I'd bet the Sport Fury left the factory without A/C. Maybe it was dealer installed etc. before the original owner got the car.
But who knows: Never say never again...
 
Switched up!

Some things haunt you in life. Actually rather dangerous if it's a car and then a big one. But this story ends with a happy ending.
It was 2016 when a white shoebox (I'm a sucker for slab sides) for sale on the internet in WA caught my eye:

44651726oz.jpg


At first glance a completely normal Sport Fury, not really rarely offered. One thing caught my eye in addition to the almost completely preserved original paint: The white billiard ball between the bucket seats. I was exited! Only 2.6% of all 1965 Plymouth Furies had the manual four-speed gearbox that is so sought after today.

Strictly speaking, I had handed over my third and last Mopar muscle car with a manual four-speed gearbox a good 5 years ago and it was high time to philosophize about an adequate successor. So I got up from the sofa, went to the closet, opened the drawer with my personal documents, took out my savings book and opened it. The procedure took less than 2 seconds and it was clear to me that the purchase of this vehicle is currently not possible and that I have to postpone the purchase of such a car - must postpone years.

Two years later, the situation arose that the same means of transport was advertised again not far from the last sales location. The current owner probably wanted to show off the performance-enhanced 383 4bbl and installed a period-correct scoop in the driver's field of vision

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The advertised price increased by $3,000 compared to the previous listing. This time I didn't even go to the closet because I knew that there had been no account transactions in the last two years. So the car passed me a second time... without me being able to forget it.

Two years later, on a long winter night early in January 2020, I rediscovered the C-Body; but this time in Sweden in a FB story from a friend of a friend, now in war paint:

44652140ie.jpg


I quickly realized that this lucky circumstance belongs in my life and that Sport Fury has already made its way to me. Now it was my job to convince the Swede that he had my car in his garage. Liquidity was there. I wrote to Per-Erik and politely informed him of the circumstances and that it was time for a change. However, Per-Erik conveyed to me the circumstances that he already knows exactly what he has in his garage, these cars don't grow on trees and that the Sport Fury is actually not for sale. That wasn't the answer I wanted to read. How could I convince the Swede to sell me his Plymouth? I wrote back and forth with him for the next two weeks (Per-Erik is a very communicative Swede) to keep my temper about the whole thing, because I don't give up that easily. The day came when he announced that he would not rule out a sale. Now the real drive came into the matter. Such a Sport Fury with 4-speed is certainly by no means the most popular and rarest Mopar on earth, but on the one hand, as is sometimes the case, I had a crush on it and on the other hand I'm used to it when chasing mine dream car to be successful. That was my drive. Soon after, the hunting fever reached its peak. We exchanged a few more photos and detailed information and I was now ready to take a decent and benevolently calculated sum in my hands and was already reflecting in my thoughts on the 2020 season behind the three-spoke steering wheel, the white billiard ball in my right hand. I didn't feel like playing games and told him the final magic numbers so that the contract could be signed promptly. After 48 hours of radio silence, I received friendly feedback in which Per-Erik told me that I could have the car and that he was very grateful for my offer. However, I would have to pack at least EUR 5,000 on top of that. Calculating with a sharp pencil, it was clear to me that we had long since landed in a not-for-sale price range. The fire soon no longer burned so hot, my interest had diminished. I politely declined, drew a tick on the whole thing and did nothing but archive the Plymouth on my PC and in my head.


In good company (Source: Internet):
44652142xb.jpg


Shifted
Two years later roughly, on April 14, 2022, after a long time I had the opportunity to ride in my former Challenger R/T, equipped with the pistol grip. In fact, I haven't sat in a 4-speed Mopar for many years. what did it do to me It did "Zoom"! The slightly dormant passion for scrap metal with the Pentastar, presumably latently triggered by the exclusive use of 727 automatic transmissions, celebrated its renaissance and I told Matze, sitting behind the steering wheel of the E-Body, more or less for fun, that I would soon It's my turn again to own a Mopar with a manual 4-speed gearbox...without having a specific car in mind. And further? On May 24th at 7.44pm I got a message from an old chat in Sweden. Per-Erik wrote that his life circumstances have changed and because of this fact he would now be ready again to e.g. separate from the white hardtop coupe. He would be advertising it soon, but I had the first shot as promised. That wasn't on my plan. Not too long ago I bought the four-door car with the red chewing gum on the roof. So - what did I do? cabinet? D rather not! Let it pass again? Negative! I wrote him back by return mail: Yes, I want! (And Matze was to blame ;-)


Now I had given myself an assignment. There was so much to organize and basically my Mopar fleet was capped at 3 cars. Luckily, Per-Erik was in no hurry to complete the transaction, which played into my hands. I thought about how my fleet should look in the future and initially came to no conclusion. At the same time, I had to rethink my pricing policy: Since Corona and the war, prices have risen again, and not a little. Undecided, I thought it right, at least temporarily, to own all four cars and put them side by side to let the whole thing sink in for a moment. At this point, 6 weeks had already passed and Per-Erik and I hadn't talked about money again. Soon after that, one evening I was on the phone with a friend about the car and its pricing in order to slowly "get going" in the truest sense of the word, the financing was in place. I prepared myself for the purchase price he asked for in 2020 and would be willing to maybe spend a schnapps more. The following evening I was just busy thinking about a suitable wording for my offer via chat when I received a message from Per-Erik via messenger as usual: I could buy the Sport Fury for Euro XX .XXX,- have. The sum he quoted was now EUR 5,000 south of the sales price he quoted two years earlier - no kidding :). I just asked Per-Erik for his bank details.

Through the gears
When it arrived in Stade, I found that the two-door hardtop coupe was fully roadworthy. On the day of arrival I drove 100km in the Sunset on the country roads of the county, almost as much as Per-Erik has covered in the four years of ownership - wonderful.



44651900yu.jpg


A day later I optically shifted down a gear:

44651903mr.jpg


44651906zn.jpg


I could never imagine giving up the rocked-down Fury III A/T from San Diego. The story behind the car is just too awesome. But he was the candidate most like the newcomer and I've had him the longest. It is reasonable to assume that I would have paid less attention to him parallel to the Sport Fury. It was difficult for me to advertise him. But in the end I was very happy with the then 17-year-old Damon as a buyer.

44651904ts.jpg


The car
It is a 1965 Plymouth Sport Fury assembled on 12/31/1964 and sold on 01/04/1965 to Marion Burnside, Columbia, SC. was forwarded. Marion Burnside was affine with motor sports, sponsored in the mid-sixties u. a. Richard Petty:

44651924cm.jpg


44651926la.jpg


44651925xt.jpg


If he wasn't born a C-Body, I'd say he's almost a classic stripper. From the factory it was equipped with just a few options:


Sport Fury 2-Door Hardtop $2.960,-

61 - 383ci 4-bbl Commando 330HP $ 122,10

363 - 4-Speed M/T $ 187,95

592 - 3,23:1 Rear Axle Ratio Sure Grip $ 49,70

42 - 8.25 x 14 Whitewalls $ 41,75

542 - Tinted Windshield $ 21,60

539 - Windshield Washers and var. speed-wipers $ 17,30

plus Destination Charge


You looked in vain for a rev counter, exterior mirrors, radio or seat belts when the plain white coupe left the factory.

Incidentally, Plymouth has never built a larger car than the '65 Fury, but it is still the smallest C-Body ever built; only 1.5cm longer than a '68 Charger.
My Sport Fury wears a good 90% of its first paint. As is well known, there was no numbers match in 1965, but the engine and transmission are date-correct. Cast data and engine stamps indicate a born-with-drivetrain.

And this is what my car originally looked like (example image):

44651996oe.jpg



One more gear
Everything done right - that's how it feels. After driving 1,000 kilometers I recognized the true value of a Mopar with the A-833. There is some TLC over the winter and I am looking forward to the 2023 season

44652468pt.jpg


44652514jd.jpg
 
I own this one, bought it from the auction. It had a 383 in it so everything didn’t bother to look at the vin and assumed it was a 383 car not a 440 car. Been gathering nos parts for it since the purchase and hoping it’s going to go in for paint soon.
OMG..I just realize that your cv. hangs over mine:

44652142xb.jpg
 
I was looking back-forth between this pic and the SF 'vert I had posted, that you (@tallzag) said you bought, and wasn't sure what I was seeing. Finally the red-circled spot told me it was same car (even though an inner taillight was now removed). And then I red further down and saw 'yep, that's my car'.

So did you own the 65 SF after the hoodscoop went on, and Per-Erik bought it from you? Or you are 'the hoodscoop guy', or ???

1672886969964.png
 
I was looking back-forth between this pic and the SF 'vert I had posted, that you (@tallzag) said you bought, and wasn't sure what I was seeing. Finally the red-circled spot told me it was same car (even though an inner taillight was now removed). And then I red further down and saw 'yep, that's my car'.

So did you own the 65 SF after the hoodscoop went on, and Per-Erik bought it from you? Or you are 'the hoodscoop guy', or ???

View attachment 574558
Just helped Erik pick it up over here and shipped it to Sweden. It had the scoop on it when I picked it up.
 
And in the thread from the green one above is a pic of this one, that I stumbled upon somewhere on here in the last few days.

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And here's one sold by @hergfest in March 2021, he said it went to a local collector (Washington state, then, I presume).
Due to the provenance and low mileage (67k, formerly owned by Don Rook, a noted car collector), this one likely carries its original console top.
Although I'm not yet convinced that the question of which cars got ribbed top plates vs the veneered is yet answered.



SOLD - 1965 Chrysler 300L Factory 4 Speed for Sale

1fdc8696-9769-4392-acb9-983b9e126aa7-jpeg.jpg

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And here's one reportedly original, and has the ribbed top. It is a standard 300, so perhaps those got the ribbed top and L's got the veneered?
But the L has no veneer in its interior, whereas the 65 Sport Fury has a tiny bit - in the doorpanel emblems. But most Furys got the ribbed top, it seems.
And for what that's worth, my 65 Sport Fury has the veneered top.

This car also has a particular oddity that only 1 other car in this thread has. Anyone see what it is?
If nobody guesses correctly in the next few replies, I'll give the answer.
And then I'll ping the owner and see if he is willing to post the FT for posterity.


005-jpg.jpg

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Somebody gave a post of mine a 'like' yesterday, bringing an old pertinent thread back to visibility.
Huh - it was @Dick Landy - what a coincidence.
So here's this one. No documentation available but the floorpan remnant suggests authenticity.

For Sale - 1968 fury conv 4speed $4600,-

View attachment 574582
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And in the thread from the green one above is a pic of this one, that I stumbled upon somewhere on here in the last few days.

View attachment 574591
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Note the green one is a Hurst car, the black is an inland car. Feb build.
 
AC.

Just for fun - another "ghost option" would be a manual trans and Autopilot car. There was a 66 300 4 spd car where the owner installed an Autopilot system, but it was never offered by the factory. It was in one of the magazines about 15 years ago.
 
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As far as I know AC was allowed in all 4-speed C's regardless of engine size through 1966 and was no longer allowed starting in 1967 with the 440HP only. There is a local 440 1966 Sport Fury rag so equipped (J-code) which underwent a total no-cost barred resto. For whatever reason they continued to allow AC with the smaller engine 4-speed models including B-bodies. I followed the black VIP for years since it was such a freak. The story was that it was originally ordered by a higher up Chrysler exec who would not accept no for an answer. It is highly likely a one and only.
 
More stuff: This unrestored 383HP with 4-speed and A/C and a white painted top was offered for $20k for months las year on Facebook:

44987602od.png


Sweet car in my eyes but to expensive at this time, I think
 
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