1956 Plymouth Fury

[N.Fury]

Hello everyone. I picked up a 56 Plymouth a few months ago and have been tinkering with it since then.

she came without an engine, but supposedly got the regional drag strip for decades with a long gone 426 Max Wedge.

It came with a disc brake conversion but no pads. Strange, but true.

Anyone recognize the calipers and c

an point me in the right direction for pads? I’ve tried “GM53”, and Monte Carlo pads as per the Scarebird kit, but no such luck.

Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cbarge]

First of all, congrats on scoring a very rare car! One of 4,458
As you may know, the 56 Fury came only in one color with the gold anodized trim, special interior and a dual quad Poly V8.

The disc brakes appear to be GM Chevy S-10 brakes. Pretty generic and common on a lot of GM applications.
The purist in me say restore to original but given sans drivetrain a perfect candidate to jam in a first Gen Hemi be it a Chrysler or a Dodge Baby Hemi Red Ram!

 

[Mike Parker]

My Dad had one brand new. His was a 3 on the tree. Most were autos. If yours was a factory manual trans, it is very rare. Well worth a resto. Factory motor was a 303cid with single 4. Dual quads was either an option or a dealer added thing. I have always been on the hunt for one. Good score!

 

[CBODY67]

Neat car! The Ford/Lincoln aluminum wheels look good on it, too. Putting it back reasonably production-stock will make it worth more money, although it can be more expensive to do so. BUT the car appears to be in really good shape, inside and out. Lots of rare items are there, which is a plus.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[bluefury361]

Very nice. 303 4bbl was the standard engine with 2 4 bbl's available over the counter, as stated. I see the push button pod on the dash so would assume it was originally an automatic.
A good 56 donor car would be the ticket to bring it back to OEM. I know of one if your interested.

 

[57fury440]

Nice.

 

[bigmoparjeff]

First of all, congrats on scoring a very rare car! One of 4,458
As you may know, the 56 Fury came only in one color with the gold anodized trim, special interior and a dual quad Poly V8.

The disc brakes appear to be GM Chevy S-10 brakes. Pretty generic and common on a lot of GM applications.
The purist in me say restore to original but given sans drivetrain a perfect candidate to jam in a first Gen Hemi be it a Chrysler or a Dodge Baby Hemi Red Ram!

Looks like someone didn't have their morning coffee yet.

Calipers appear to be Mopar B/E body.

Pads will be D39's.

Everything else in your post is spot on.

Jeff

 

[N.Fury]

Thanks everyone- and I’ll be trying those S10 pads today- and the Mopar ones as well!

Good eye on ID-ing the rims! I like them, too.

I had a 6 cylinder 55 Plaza in High School (I swapped in a 318 from a 64 Plymouth Belvedere), all of which my stepfather sold for scrap when I went to boot camp. I’ve always missed that car, so this purchase is meant to replace that lost car.

All the trim is there, the floor pans are solid, but there’s rust bubbling on the passenger’s side door and the rockers. The rear fender wells were hacked to get racing slicks under her for her drag duties.

I have started the bodywork process on the rear fender wells. Along with the addition of fender skirts.

I snagged a 70’s 440 and the 727 tranny, an OEM 68 Charger 6 pack set up and the mild cam (with appropriate push rods) is ordered.

The plan is to honor the local racing history. While I think a Max Wedge is out of the question, the 440 six pack clone might be close enough.

 

[mrs49]

View attachment 483244 View attachment 483245 View attachment 483246 View attachment 483247 View attachment 483248 Thanks everyone- and I’ll be trying those S10 pads today- and the Mopar ones as well!

Good eye on ID-ing the rims! I like them, too.

I had a 6 cylinder 55 Plaza in High School (I swapped in a 318 from a 64 Plymouth Belvedere), all of which my stepfather sold for scrap when I went to boot camp. I’ve always missed that car, so this purchase is meant to replace that lost car.

All the trim is there, the floor pans are solid, but there’s rust bubbling on the passenger’s side door and the rockers. The rear fender wells were hacked to get racing slicks under her for her drag duties.

I have started the bodywork process on the rear fender wells. Along with the addition of fender skirts.

I snagged a 70’s 440 and the 727 tranny, an OEM 68 Charger 6 pack set up and the mild cam (with appropriate push rods) is ordered.

The plan is to honor the local racing history. While I think a Max Wedge is out of the question, the 440 six pack clone might be close enough.

 

[mrs49]

Go for it and have fun, great score!

 

[N.Fury]

Calipers appear to be Mopar B/E body.

Pads will be D39's.


Jeff

Jeff, you are the winner winner chicken dinner.

I owe you a beverage of your choice when and if we ever meet!

Thank you very much!

 

[57fury440]

My 57 I have since 1964 when it was on its way to the junk yard. I've had several motors and in the late sixties I had a Max Wedge w/torqueflite in it from a 64 Dodge. The motor in there now is a 440 six pack 4-speed I put in around 1975. I went to a single four barrel around 2000. In the 60's I used to run into a guy with a 56 that had a 383 in it. Yours should be nice when you're done with it.

 

[CBODY67]

Back in the later '80s, there was a '55 Dodge 2dr hardtop that came to Mopar Nats a few times. To look at it with the hood down, the only unusual thing was that the wheels were a bit too close to the edges of the fenders/quarter panels, but had stock wheel covers on them. Later when I happened by with the hood up, a 440 6bbl was crammed under there. Stock 6bbl air cleaner and all. That's when I started looking and asking questions. 440 6bbl w/ TF, a 8 3/4" rear axle from a '66 Polara station wagon, with a factory driveshaft in it, too. Other than the wheel track being wider, it looked like it was a restored car, hehe. Never did hear or see it run, though. An interesting car and tended to prove my theory that many "hard parts" of Chryslers' vehicle architecture seemed to be "set in stone", which enabled all of the stock parts to be used. With the A-engine bellhousing bolt pattern being one of them.

Looks like you're on the right track with the car.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[Evan Jansen]

Love it..My goal is to have one in the next 10 years or so. This is the first car I remember from when I was a kid. We lived in Iowa, and when the push-button tranny finally clunked out, my last memories of it was being towed by my dad's cousin and driven into the Skunk River. Terrible I know. Dad salvaged a bunch of parts and I grabbed some when he cleaned out the garage years later....I still have some, the clip-on mirror for the passenger side visor, the speedometer, and a couple other gauges. Anyway, 1966 Sport Fury was my first car, and I have drive that now, but one of these days... the 56.

 

[bigmoparjeff]

Jeff, you are the winner winner chicken dinner.

I owe you a beverage of your choice when and if we ever meet!

Thank you very much!

You're welcome.

You must have a good parts store. I don't think anyone around me would have the D39's in stock these days.

Jeff

 

[N.Fury]

Most places were special order. One place called Motion Auto has just about everything in stock.

Even the Corvette front shocks to upgrade the Plymouth’s.

 

[N.Fury]

Very nice. 303 4bbl was the standard engine with 2 4 bbl's available over the counter, as stated. I see the push button pod on the dash so would assume it was originally an automatic.
A good 56 donor car would be the ticket to bring it back to OEM. I know of one if your interested.

I bought a 56 Plaza donor car, and I squirreled away a 55 4 door donor. So I am set for now on spare parts... or so I hope.

I wrapped up detailing the upper part of the dash, pulled the 727 that was in the car.

I’m still working on how to upload pics and use the quote features. Be patient with me.

I'm swapping out the tail shafts. Out with the Truck, in with the car version.

Now that the tranny is out, I’ll take care of lower portion of the firewall., repair some some minor rot in the floorboards and reinforce the tranny crossmember at the frame rail on both sides.

 

[N.Fury]

My Dad had one brand new. His was a 3 on the tree. Most were autos. If yours was a factory manual trans, it is very rare. Well worth a resto. Factory motor was a 303cid with single 4. Dual quads was either an option or a dealer added thing. I have always been on the hunt for one. Good score!

Thank you! I’ve had several Dodges, and Plymouth’s over the years. 55 and 57 were my two favorites, so this 56 completes the line up!

Nice.

Thank you!

Go for it and have fun, great score!

Thanks! The journey to get her back on the road should be fun, and it will make the destination that much sweeter!

My 57 I have since 1964 when it was on its way to the junk yard. I've had several motors and in the late sixties I had a Max Wedge w/torqueflite in it from a 64 Dodge. The motor in there now is a 440 six pack 4-speed I put in around 1975. I went to a single four barrel around 2000. In the 60's I used to run into a guy with a 56 that had a 383 in it. Yours should be nice when you're done with it.

You’re out there living my dream! I occasional wonder what my 55 would be like to day of I still had it.

Back in the later '80s, there was a '55 Dodge 2dr hardtop that came to Mopar Nats a few times. To look at it with the hood down, the only unusual thing was that the wheels were a bit too close to the edges of the fenders/quarter panels, but had stock wheel covers on them. Later when I happened by with the hood up, a 440 6bbl was crammed under there. Stock 6bbl air cleaner and all. That's when I started looking and asking questions. 440 6bbl w/ TF, a 8 3/4" rear axle from a '66 Polara station wagon, with a factory driveshaft in it, too. Other than the wheel track being wider, it looked like it was a restored car, hehe. Never did hear or see it run, though. An interesting car and tended to prove my theory that many "hard parts" of Chryslers' vehicle architecture seemed to be "set in stone", which enabled all of the stock parts to be used. With the A-engine bellhousing bolt pattern being one of them.

Looks like you're on the right track with the car.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

Thanks! That car sounds like an inspiration for mine- very cool. Chasing down the parts to fit a blend of Mopars is quite the maze to navigate. Some folks at the parts counter enjoy solving parts of the ongoing mystery, too. That definitely helps.

This AM it was the 727 tranny mount. Mine is part number B2272, it took about 20 minutes to find it among all the options in O’Smiley’s database.

Love it..My goal is to have one in the next 10 years or so. This is the first car I remember from when I was a kid. We lived in Iowa, and when the push-button tranny finally clunked out, my last memories of it was being towed by my dad's cousin and driven into the Skunk River. Terrible I know. Dad salvaged a bunch of parts and I grabbed some when he cleaned out the garage years later....I still have some, the clip-on mirror for the passenger side visor, the speedometer, and a couple other gauges. Anyway, 1966 Sport Fury was my first car, and I have drive that now, but one of these days... the 56.

That’s quite a memory. I still have the hood ornament off my my 55. I’ve kept it all these years, although I have no clue as to why it would’ve been off the car. Hahaha.

Today I picked up a new tranny mount (B2272), and cut out the booger welded radiator support (PO welded tabs to the frame and cut off the front half of the stock support on the front of the frame). I’ll need to mock up the one off the parts car in order to make sure the engine is where it needs to be.

 

[N.Fury]

Hello again, it’s been awhile and I’m back on my Fury- a marathon of trying to fix the PO’s slices and dices he made to drag race this car.

I’ve got the radiator support dialed in and corrected. BUT the frame-mounted radiator support bracket has been torched off.

While it would be fairly easy to fab an extension onto the existing frame-horn, the radiator support itself sits about 1” below the top of where you’d expect it to sit on top of the frame horn.
I used a floor jack to gently raise the radiator support up, and that got it within 1/2”, but still not close enough.

Does anyone happen to have a pic of how the frame horn connects to the radiator core support to post up?

 

[N.Fury]

I picked up some pics through the Golden Fin site.

I just wrapped up fabricating my missing pieces and mocked up the radiator support and ginormous radiator that will keep the 440 cool.

Now for front clip teardown, prep for paint, and reinstall.