1965 Plymouth Fury III

Discussion in 'General Motoring' started by leonspinks, Feb 14, 2006.

  1. leonspinks

    leonspinks Guest

    I've been looking at thsi '65 Plymouth Fury III convertible for a
    while, it looks like it's in pretty good shape, but I haven't gotten
    inspected yet. I'm wondering what kind of things I should be paying
    special attention to when looking the car over. Do they rust in a
    certain areas? Are there certain parts that tend to wear out quicker?
    How hard is it to find parts for this car? It's got a 383, but I'm not
    sure if it's a 2 or 4 barrel engine. Don't think the engine has had a
    rebuild and it's got about 120,000 ticks on the odometer.
    The only two modifications I would like to make are changing out the
    seatbelts to 3 point seat belts and doing a disc brake conversion.
    Anyone ever done this? Any idea what that might cost? Anyone reccomend
    a good Plymouth car guy in the LA are?
    I live in Sothern California, so want it just to spin around on nice
    days, not as a daily driver.
    Thanks.
     
    leonspinks, Feb 14, 2006
    #1
  2. Not really, no. It'll be rusty or not.
    Not really, no. They're very sturdily engineered and built.
    Mechanical parts are a cinch; trim parts only somewhat harder.
    If it's had proper care, it's got a great deal of life left.
    Doable, but more difficult than you might think to do *properly*.
    Easy, not very expensive, and results are very satisfactory, but the
    standard-equipment drums, if kept in good condition, work well, too.
    Hemi's Independent Chrysler in Ventura(?), . He is one of
    the best. Was an award-winning Chrysler-Plymouth dealer tech in the
    '60s-'80s.

    DS
     
    Daniel J. Stern, Feb 14, 2006
    #2
  3. leonspinks

    kmatheson Guest

    They tend to rust just like other cars from that period. Check the
    trunk and floor pans for rust along with the fender wells. If the top
    has leaked at any time, that can create it's own set of rust problems,
    under and behind the rear seat.

    If the car spent has spent most of it's life in So. Cal. then you
    probably don't have much to worry about. This Fury is a *C body.* It
    shared many parts with the full-sized Dodge and Chryslers of the time.
    Disc brakes became an option in either 1966 or 1967, so parts from a
    later vehicle may fit yours.

    Upgrading the brakes is a good idea. My brother had a 1966 Chrysler 300
    Convertible. Great car, but the drum brakes were undersized from a car
    of that size and weight.

    -Kirk Matheson
     
    kmatheson, Feb 14, 2006
    #3
  4. leonspinks

    Steve Guest

    That's a Chrysler C-body. Remember that for reference- it shares many
    many components with the other C-bodies made between '65 and about 1978.
    Other Cs include the Dodge Polara and Monaco, and the Chrysler
    Newport, New Yorker, and 300.

    for a
    Being a convertible, you need to examine the rear quarter panels, trunk
    floor, and lower rocker panels (the part between the bottom of the doors
    and the front of the rear wheel openings) extra carefully. 'Verts drain
    water down into the body there and it exits through drain holes, but if
    those holes aren't kept open water and leaves and dirt can back up into
    the rockers and even into the trunk. Its a unibody car, so also inspect
    the boxed areas where the front hangers for the rear leaf springs attach
    for solidity.
    Not mechanical parts. 'Vertibles tend to get more sun/weather damage on
    interior trim parts.
    Mechanical parts are EASY. Plenty of support for big-block Mopars
    exists. If the engine's really never been opened or you can't document
    that it has, it is very worthwhile to go ahead and replace the timing
    chain ASAP. Use a name-brand timing set with either a *steel* cam gear,
    or a dual-roller chain (Edelbrock makes a nice true-roller set for these
    engines that is reasonably priced).
    Seat belts- well, you'll probably be on your own for that since I doubt
    most shops would want to take on the liability. I'm considering
    something like that for my '66 Polara (also a C-body), but I think my
    approach will be to see if I can retrofit seats from a late-model
    quad-cab pickup or convertible that have 3-point belts integral to the
    seat. It may require reinforcing the floor pan.

    Disk brakes are easy, easy, easy. In fact there are several approaches.
    You can go with any one of several conversion kits that are on the
    market from companies like Stainless Steel Brakes, Wilwood, and
    Scarebird. Or you can do what I did on my Polara and install the
    steering knuckles, rotors, calipers, front brake lines, brake
    combination valve, and master cylinder from a later model C-body that
    came with factory disk brakes. I used a 1972 Newport, and it was a
    complete bolt-in job. The brake lines even snapped into the same
    retainer clips. I did use a new master cylinder (the modern aluminum
    type with a 4-bolt to 2-bolt adaptor) and new rotors and calipers. The
    rest (knuckles, lines, combo valve) were junkyard parts. I used the
    combo valve from an 85 Diplomat because the one on the 72 Newport was
    too corroded to re-use. Total cost for my method was under $200.
     
    Steve, Feb 14, 2006
    #4
  5. leonspinks

    leonspinks Guest

    thanks for all the information. really appreciate it, especially the
    name of the hemi guy in ventura.
     
    leonspinks, Feb 15, 2006
    #5
  6. leonspinks

    leonspinks Guest

    I'll make sure to have the guy that looks the car over to check those
    problem spots for rust. Really appreciate the advice.

    lloyd stein
     
    leonspinks, Feb 15, 2006
    #6
  7. leonspinks

    leonspinks Guest

    I, unfortunately, come from a long line of men whose only way to fix a
    car is to take it to a shop. I wish I knew how to to the brake
    conversion myself, but I have a feeling that i would more than likely
    end up doing more damage than good. Knowing your way around a car is a
    powerful thing.
    I really appreciate all the advice. I wonder if I can find a body guy
    to install the belts. Is it possible that there aren't any belts in the
    rear seat at all? I also wonder if it's possible to find an '66 fury
    III convertible and see how they did the belts on that model. You're
    right though, in the end, the easiest solution might be to just buy new
    seats that have the belt integrated into the seat. I wonder if there
    are certain types of newer seats that will bolt right in.
    Thanks,

    lloyd Stein
     
    leonspinks, Feb 15, 2006
    #7
  8. Highly unlikely, but even if that's the case, the anchor points are built
    into the body.
    It's not hard to adapt seat mountings.
     
    Daniel J. Stern, Feb 15, 2006
    #8
  9. leonspinks

    Steve Guest

    I can't really remember when the phase-in of mandatory lap belts was,
    but I *think* they were mandatory by '65. it may have been '66 though.
    Shoulder belts were mandatory by '69, but convertibles were exempt
    because there's noplace to mount the shoulder belt (they were typically
    roof mounted back then).

    At any rate, the mount points for rear seat belts are underneath the
    back seat. Its entirely likely that the belts themselves have fallen
    down between the seat bottom cushion and the seat back cushion. It
    happens routinely on older cars before they figured out to put a rigid
    plastic belt guide around the belt to keep it up above the seat cushion.
    And if they aren't there, you can buy lap belts from Year One and bolt
    them in.

    You're
    "Bolt right in" is a relative term :) I doubt that there are any
    *direct* bolt-ins, but there are probably some that are an easy retrofit
    for an interior shop.
     
    Steve, Feb 15, 2006
    #9
  10. Anchorages were as close to mandatory for '62 as anything got prior to
    1968. The belts themselves were likewise "voluntarily mandatory"(!) for
    '66.
    ....which didn't stop Chrysler Corp. from offering optional shoulder belts
    in ALL their convertibles beginning in '66, so in this case "noplace to
    mount the shoulder belt" translates as "GM and Ford made up their usual
    stupid BS excuses".
    Or avoid Year One's markup and buy from Ssnake-oyl:
    http://www.ssnake-oyl.com/Chrysler_Corporation_Samples689.html
     
    Daniel J. Stern, Feb 16, 2006
    #10
  11. leonspinks

    MarkB

    Joined:
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    I came across this discussion thread about getting '68 Fury 3 convertible some rear seat belts with shoulder / retrofitted seat belts and am hoping to find out how it went and what the bill was.
    I have the same question and concerns, and also have my sights on one which is available, but if I'm going to consider getting it, I have to be able to take 3 kids in the backseat of booster seats, which requires shoulder belts.
    I would appreciate any info.
    Thanks in advance.
     
    MarkB, Oct 26, 2015
    #11
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