1959 marked the third year of the "Forward Look" for Plymouth and the body had been restyled in a rather flamboyant fashion, all the while having the same general silhouette. A new "Star View" windshield provided for some 11 percent more glass area with the addition of a compound curve top. The new sheet metal had a distinctive and sculpted shape that ended up outselling the 1958 version and kept Plymouth in the #3 overall sales position for the year.
The front end of the car was bold and featured a lattice-work grille that was full-width, quad headlights and a large bumper with a lower valance panel that had the look of a scooped jet intake.
Quad 5.75-inch "floating" headlights were used, a carryover from the year prior when they debuted.
On the rear the "stabilizing" fins were modified from the previous years with a new longer, sweeping size and thinner shape, slightly canted outward. The taillights were moved down and used built-in backup lights, cleaning up the rear and providing a look of width and lowness.
Immense tail fins are the first things that greet the eyes when viewing the Fury from the rear. This car features Metallic Emerald Green as the paint choice and when it's out in the sunshine the hue really comes alive!
Side trim on Sport Fury models included textured anodized aluminum trim, only the "Fury" name was used in gold on these cars even though it was the higher-priced "Sport Fury" model. Round medallions were added giving the car a distinctive look.
The Sport Fury exclusively used V8 engines, equipped with a 260-horsepower 318-cid 4-barrel mill standard known in and around the Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships as the "V-800 Super-Pak, which produced 345 ft. - lbs. of torque. An optional "Golden Commando 395"engine that had a completely different block, known as the "B" engine, delivered 305 horsepower from its 361 cubic inches,and it produced 395 lb/ft of torque at 3000 rpm, a $74.00 upgrade. This engine was fitted with;
10.0:1 pistons
high-load valve springs
dual-point ignition system
Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetor
low-restriction dual exhausts
These engines were factory painted in a red hue with gold-colored valve covers and air filter housing. A generator was still being used as alternators didn't appear until the 1960 model year.
According to the testing in the December 1958 edition of Motor Life Magazine, the Golden Commando 395 engine as fitted in a 1959 Sport Fury hardtop, could accelerate from a standing start to sixty miles per hour in 7.8 seconds, using 3.31:1 rear gearing.
An authentic Mopar "Jiffy Set" 60-ounce windshield washer bag was obtained during the restoration.
The 361-cid V8 engine was fully rebuilt and detailed as per 1959 color specs, as was the TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission cast iron case early version.
Two different automatic transmissions were offered in the Sport Fury, the standard equipment 2-speed PowerFlite and the rugged TorqueFlite 3-speed, which in 1959 used a cast-iron case. 11-inch hydraulic drum brakes with Cycle bond linings were used front and rear. Torsion bar front suspension was up front and provided for much-improved cornering and less diving while braking, and the rear used 2.5-inch outboard-mounted leaf springs. 1959 was the final year for the Plymouth line to have a body-on-frame construction, in 1960 a new unit-body was introduced.
Front "Torsion-Aire" suspension consisted of adjustable torsion bars and ball joints, with "dip-control" upper control arms, "wide-angle" strut-supported lower control arms and Oriflow shock absorbers.
The "frame off" restoration was done over a two-year time period, and it should be noted that 1959 was the final year for Plymouth, Chrysler and Dodge passenger cars to use a box-section frame, as 1960 saw the introduction of the unit-body construction, except for Imperial, which continued on with frame.
It has been said that "The fins on the back of the 1959 Plymouth were so outlandish that they appear to have been stolen from the drawing boards of Boeing Aircraft." Virgil Exner, head of Chrysler Styling, liked to do things big!
Sport Fury models came equipped with the "V" emblem on the decklid to signify the V8 engine that came as standard equipment. This particular car has the optional Golden Commando engine, however, all V8-equipped '59 Plymouths came with a V emblem.
The rear "Sport Deck" add-on was a standard on the top-of-the-line Sport Fury models and optional on other models, the spare tire look was to add a retro luxurious appearance.
The trunk capacity is 35.6 cubic feet and was fully restored including the painted cardboard panels, rubber floormat, original jack, and fresh spare tire.
The Sport Fury rode on a 118-inch wheelbase and had a shipping weight of 3475 pounds with the standard V-800 Super-Pak engine and the base price was $2927.00.
The car came factory-fitted with the optional front outer end bumper guards which gave the appearance of a high-end luxury car at an additional $16.00.
Remington Cushion-Aire 4 Ply Polyester tubeless tires sized G78-14 with wide whites were the chosen tire for the restoration, replicating the original 7.50 x 14 units. Wheels were sized 5x14-inch and the full wheel covers were standard on Sport Fury models.
"Jet-Age Control Center" instrument cluster included attractively grouped 5 buttons on the left-hand side to shift the TorqueFlite automatic transmission, and 5 buttons on the right-hand side for the heater/defroster system.
The rear-view mirror was placed on the dashboard for unobstructed forward vision, and even though it seemed like a great idea, if you had tall passengers in the rear seat, the mirror was full of faces rather than the rearward roadside. By 1962 Chrysler had switched back to the standard high-mounted mirror position.
Some called these the "typewriter transmission" buttons, and Chrysler Corporation loved the push buttons for their automatic transmissions in this era. By 1965, they were gone due to a new federal law to a "universal" way of shifting an automatic transmission for the industry, the traditional column shifter or floor shifter.
Swivel front seats were standard equipment on Sport Fury models, designed to make entry and exiting the interior easier. They operate via a lever on the side and swing out to a 40-degree arc. Part of the package includes a center-mounted armrest that swings up in case of three riding in the front seating area. Pure Nirvana for lovers of the 1950s!
New for 1959 came chrome plating on the upper doors and the upholstery treatment on the doors of the Sport Fury models were highly detailed, providing a flashy appearance unique to the top-of-the-line cars.
Collecting original dealer brochures are part of the fun when owning/restoring classic American cars!
An ultra-rare motorized 1/25th scale Jo-Han plastic 1959 Sport Fury was found at a swap meet and makes the perfect "Miniature Mopar" companion to the 1:1 car.
In all, a total of 17,867 Sport Fury Hardtops were produced in 1959 and not a whole lot of them survived, as rust was a major factor in their disappearance from the roads and highways and sadly to the junkyards of America.
The restoration of this rare Plymouth is considered one of the best, most complete, properly restored 1959 Sport Fury cars in America.
The next car story is a 1966 Caprice Custom Coupe starting April 3rd at www.usacarworld.com....check it out!
Great efforts have been put into every detail of the car.
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