Breaking Cover

[MoparJim]

After spending 10 weeks of staying at home we are starting to emerge from our lockdown here in central California. It was a nice day yesterday (Sat 05/30) with mild temps so we took advantage of it and took the old cars up in to the foothills along Lake Tulloch to the little town of Copperopolis. I had the top down the entire day and it was great. Here are some pictures of the Sport Fury in front of one of the little restaurants in Copperopolis. We practiced social distancing it was great to be able to again spend time with friends and enjoy some BBQ on the first road trip of 2020. My Sport Fury ran a little hotter than I want it to so a coolant flush and refill is in my immediate future.

 

[CBODY67]

Beautiful car! What are the specs on the wheels and tires? 15x7s? What backspacing? What tire size?

THANKS!
CBODY67

 

[MoparJim]

The wheels are American Racing VN501s in 17" X 7" with 0 offset. I got them from Summit for $180 each delivered. The part number is VN50177012500. The tires are BF Goodrich g-Force Comp-2 in 235/55ZR17. Also from Summit and they were about $112 each delivered. I had a local shop mount and balance them and I am very happy with my choice. My car came with 14" Magnums and power drums all around but I wanted to upgrade to front discs so that required moving up in rim size. I was originally thinking about a set of 15" Magnums but my friends directed me to go this route to take advantage of the excellent modern rubber available at very reasonable prices.

 

[mrfury68]

My Fury III still rides on the 14" magnum 500s. That must be quite a ride on those wheels and tires. Car looks great too.

 

[CBODY67]

Interesting that those tires are still about $30.00/tire less expensive than the Radial TAs in P225/70R-15. With the same mileage rating. A bit more revs/mile, but still pretty much the same. TireRack and Summit still show that size, but the BFG website does not, for some reason. But not unusual to find things elsewhere than on the BFG website, I've noticed.

Thanks,
CBODY67

 

[65sporty]

That is a very sharp car

 

[MoparJim]

Interesting that those tires are still about $30.00/tire less expensive than the Radial TAs in P225/70R-15. With the same mileage rating. A bit more revs/mile, but still pretty much the same. TireRack and Summit still show that size, but the BFG website does not, for some reason. But not unusual to find things elsewhere than on the BFG website, I've noticed.

Thanks,
CBODY67

That was the exact reason my friends shot down my original plan to go with repro 15" Magnums. It is getting expensive to find 15" tires and selection is limited but you can get great performance at great prices on 16" and 17" tires. The difference between the original 14" Magnums and tires and these 17" wheels and tires is about 3/8". Yep, less than 1/2", and I get modern traction and performance at a very reasonable cost and I won't have to worry about not being able to find replacement tires for a long, long time. If ever. In fact, I saved so much money on these wheels and tires vs. the 15" Magnums and T/A Radials I was originally thinking of I could afford a 5th wheel and tire to use as my spare and still saved a bunch of money. The only downside is a small one and that is the ride can be a bit harsher at the higher air pressures modern tires run on because of the lower sidewalls. I have experimented and found I like it best around 42 psi.

 

[SportFury70]

Great looking convertible you have there, I really like the modern Magnum 500's. Is it an early build because I do not see a side stripe?

 

[bnz84]

The wheels are American Racing VN501s in 17" X 7" with 0 offset. I got them from Summit for $180 each delivered. The part number is VN50177012500. The tires are BF Goodrich g-Force Comp-2 in 235/55ZR17. Also from Summit and they were about $112 each delivered. I had a local shop mount and balance them and I am very happy with my choice. My car came with 14" Magnums and power drums all around but I wanted to upgrade to front discs so that required moving up in rim size. I was originally thinking about a set of 15" Magnums but my friends directed me to go this route to take advantage of the excellent modern rubber available at very reasonable prices.

Funny, your story is the same as mine mostly. Nice car, nice look. With our cars you can seat 4 and still have social distancing. Throw in sun and wind and its almost like a virus treatment!

 

[MoparJim]

Great looking convertible you have there, I really like the modern Magnum 500's. Is it an early build because I do not see a side stripe?

No, it is a fairly late build, dated April 30th. It was ordered as a dealer demo by a dealer in St Albans, VT, and this is his 2nd one. A customer insisted on buying the first one, so he ordered another one exactly like it and that is this car. It is loaded with options: 383 4bbl, console automatic, AM/8 Track, extra front speakers, climate control, cruise control, power windows, power seat, map light, trunk light, block heater, power steering, power drum brakes and 14" Magnum 500s. He liked it so much that he kept it until 1971 before selling it. The couple that bought it kept it until the early 80s and brought it back as a trade-in on a K car. The dealer was so happy to get it back he kept it the rest of his life. He passed away in the late 90s and the car was sold in 1999 with 45,000 original miles on it. The couple that bought it moved to Florida and put just 500 miles on it over the next 5 years. They then moved to Detroit to be closer to family and put the car on e-bay and that is where I found it in June of 2004. I flew to Detroit, picked it up, stumbled in to the Down-River Cruise, and then drove it out to California. It runs perfectly and I have been enjoying it ever since. The only changes I have made to it are replacing the points with a Pertronix electronic ignition, the aforementioned disc brake upgrade, and replacing the nylon timing gear with a dual roller steel unit from Mopar Performance, a set of new KYB shocks all around and a new 2.5" tti exhaust system at the same time I did the brakes. It now runs like a new car.