(Words and photos by Dave Nutting) – Bangshift contributing photographer Dave Nutting here to share an infamous time capsule of Mopar history that Brian Lohnes and I stumbled upon while working on another feature, one that involves more than a hundred pounds of boost, several thousand foot-pounds of torque, and smoky, rolling burnouts galore.
After braving the 5 AM wake-up call, two-plus hour roadtrip, and freezing temperatures, the owner of the mystery diesel powered monster-to-be-named-later had another surprise for us: A 1962 Plymouth Fury with, check it, 777 original miles on the odometer!
Keeping the story short but sweet, this car was passed down to the current owner by his grandfather, who himself purchased the car from the original owners; It’s unknown to us exactly how the car managed to survive the last 50 years without breaking the 4-digit mileage mark, although the more cynical readers among you might attribute that feat to the car’s polarizing design queues.
Some quick history on the 1962 Fury: After a successful first generation that included a starring role in the movie Christine and a place among police force fleets across America, the reception of the 1962 model’s new styling was definitely less than favorable, with its odd proportions that not even its designer could truly love, given that he designed it for a car with a three inch longer wheelbase. In an attempt to drum up sales, the “Sport” name was brought back as a limited model, one of which is this particular example.
While we were unwilling to coax the stubby little beast out of the garage for a joy ride out of respect for the ultra-low mileage (And original bias-ply tires!), we did manage to capture its essence on film for all you Bangshifters out there.
A 1962 Christine? Christine was a ’58 Fury…
I guess that sentence was a little vague; By “first generation” I meant the first generation of the Fury, which included the ’58. The ’62 redesign wasn’t as well-received. 🙂
can’t people read and comprehend an ENTIRE article, instead of just skimming through and paying attention to a few select words……Stroker
Amen, brother…
c1bad, Furys were an off-white color. Christine was red.
push button gear selector on the dash……..its like a rotary phone…………
My dad had a 61 Fury convertible…. and they are just as ugly as a 62. That is why I want one bad!
Just ugly enough to be cool. Slap a Barton Hemi in it and have some fun 😉
Once owned a 1963 Sport Fury Wedge car with the push button Auto. I loved the push button but you had to remember to come to a full stop before pulling down te parking lever. Was one of 86 Sport Fury Wedge cars that year. Not sure how many of those were autos and how many were 3-speeds. They didn’t make a 4 speed.
How sad! That poor car.. Rotting away in a garage for no good reason :/ It’s gorgeous. Pity that it’s spent 50 years in the dark where no one can enjoy it.