thrashingcows
Senior Member
Good to hear about your work situation....and that you plan on storing the Fury for a future date.
Long time C body enthusiast with project on hold, may have to sell --
- Thread starter SFGT440
- Start date
70NPORT
Old Man with a Hat
Always a.good.thing to know you have a steady full time job in this economy.
Fratzog
Old Man with a Hat
Thanks for posting your story. It was inspiring to read. If you have 2nd thoughts about keeping it again and need your inspiration tuned up make sure you visit here. We will get you back on the straight and narrow. It's refreshing to hear your views on the correct stance for these cars.
One thing I haven't heard yet SFGT440 and to me ITZ THE WIN WIN, Iz that you've not mentioned the age of your boy! You think you have great memoriez now, Can you even imagine the memoriez you and your son will create if you do the father son build together? NUFF SAID. Jer
thrashingcows
Senior Member
Jer...I believe is son is a fairly new addition to the family. Maybe a couple months old?
BuzzBee
New Member
What to do, what to do? Well I can tell you that the best years my son and I
shared was restoring a 64 Fairlane together - bonding at it's best. We worked
side by side, went to swap meets together and spent good and bad times on
this project. The bond we formed is one any person would envy not just a father.
We treat each other with respect, honesty and sincerity. We started when he
was 15 and I bought him the car, he's now 29. We are truly best friends with
the trust that only real friends can have. Don't think in the "present" with this
debacle, think in the future and what you both can share. It owes you nothing
but some day can light up a kid's eyes and make you the greatest dad ever.
Think with your heart not your wallet. Keep it !
shared was restoring a 64 Fairlane together - bonding at it's best. We worked
side by side, went to swap meets together and spent good and bad times on
this project. The bond we formed is one any person would envy not just a father.
We treat each other with respect, honesty and sincerity. We started when he
was 15 and I bought him the car, he's now 29. We are truly best friends with
the trust that only real friends can have. Don't think in the "present" with this
debacle, think in the future and what you both can share. It owes you nothing
but some day can light up a kid's eyes and make you the greatest dad ever.
Think with your heart not your wallet. Keep it !
furyles
New Member
You will regret it if you sell it. Put it aside and work on it later. Great car for sure.
SFGT440
New Member
Wow, thanks everyone for all the responses. I've just been so backed up with work and holidays that I haven't been able to respond for a while. My boy is three years old, but the car has been sitting already as long as it will take him to get his driver's license. I seriously doubt I'll let it go - I have a real vision for how it will look when it's finished and I know how it will sound and how it will move! Fortunately it's not a huge problem to leave it sitting for now, it's in my garage and staying dry, and most of the parts etc. are in my basement which is also dry. I've got a NOS deck lid, NOS front valance (with a small dent, but easily fixed) and a couple of front and rear bumpers, the rears also with valances. I've got the MSD ignition system with rev limiter and a Carter AFB carb new in the box (never liked Holley anyhow). In short I've got a ton of parts and unless I sold them as carefully as I acquired them, I'd lose a lot of money on them.
I think it could be a great experience for my boy and me to bring that old Fury back to running and driving condition and get the paint and body done - it won't be a GT clone the way I originally planned but I'm sure it will be something to see. Thanks all for encouraging me to hang onto it.
I think it could be a great experience for my boy and me to bring that old Fury back to running and driving condition and get the paint and body done - it won't be a GT clone the way I originally planned but I'm sure it will be something to see. Thanks all for encouraging me to hang onto it.
Thank You SFGT440 I hope you are able to find time to check in when you can. Great stories and well done on telling them.
I'm with everyone else, and it sounds like you are too ... keep it, you know you love these cars and will have to have one again if you sell.
I'm with everyone else, and it sounds like you are too ... keep it, you know you love these cars and will have to have one again if you sell.
Ripinator
Old Man with a Hat
Sorry I missed this thread back in October. Please accept another very sincere 'WELCOME' to the site - and thanks a lot for your very well written and inspiring story.
You should definitely hang on to your Fury and some day work on it with your son. Time moves along so fast. . . You'll be back working on it before you know it.
SFGT440
New Member
Hey everyone - this thread has been sitting for some time now, about a year and a half... Well this is the scoop:
My son is now going on five years old. However my situation has changed:
- A company bought the hospital where I work and my job is still intact but the question is 'for how long' as some of the systems I have supported are being migrated off to 'corporate' systems that don't require my involvement.
- I have decided that I am going to very likely retire as early as I can, which works out to November of 2018. At that point or not long after I expect to relocate to a warmer climate. While my finances will be good I may not want to spend what it will take to finish my Fury project. What this means is I may be open to letting it go. When I see what some cars are being offered for and the discussion on values I know the one I have has to be very desirable. The rocker panels, door bottoms, firewall, floors and unibody 'frame' stuff - the whole underside of the car - all are in excellent shape as it came from out West (AZ I think). I've got a lot of work done and a ton of parts including a NOS deck lid, an uncracked dash pad (when last I checked, it's in the basement), MSD ignition, Carter competition series carb new in the box, Hooker Super Comp ceramic coated headers (installed on the car already), I'd hate to total up what I have invested but I just don't see that I'm going to have the money or time to finish the car. Not sure which way to go with it but I might be interested in some sort of a full or partial trade for something that's runnable and drivable, doesn't have to be a C body, might not even have to be a Mopar, I'd still like an older car that is mostly useable as is and doesn't need more expensive stuff like body work or whatever. I'd love about a 70 Imperial for example, even a 4 door.
Just a reminder, this car has an engine that came from a C body that was being drag raced, the engine hasn't been started in at least a dozen years, but it ran great with no funny noises when I ran it before pulling it out of the car I bought it in. Also there's a HD torqueflite attached to it with a good stall converter. This driveline with a 3.91 posi will likely scare the pants off ya and with the brand new HD leaf springs I had made and which I installed, I'm sure the suspension will handle the torque. It's been stored in my garage the whole time I've had it.
Anyone with any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to speak right up!
My son is now going on five years old. However my situation has changed:
- A company bought the hospital where I work and my job is still intact but the question is 'for how long' as some of the systems I have supported are being migrated off to 'corporate' systems that don't require my involvement.
- I have decided that I am going to very likely retire as early as I can, which works out to November of 2018. At that point or not long after I expect to relocate to a warmer climate. While my finances will be good I may not want to spend what it will take to finish my Fury project. What this means is I may be open to letting it go. When I see what some cars are being offered for and the discussion on values I know the one I have has to be very desirable. The rocker panels, door bottoms, firewall, floors and unibody 'frame' stuff - the whole underside of the car - all are in excellent shape as it came from out West (AZ I think). I've got a lot of work done and a ton of parts including a NOS deck lid, an uncracked dash pad (when last I checked, it's in the basement), MSD ignition, Carter competition series carb new in the box, Hooker Super Comp ceramic coated headers (installed on the car already), I'd hate to total up what I have invested but I just don't see that I'm going to have the money or time to finish the car. Not sure which way to go with it but I might be interested in some sort of a full or partial trade for something that's runnable and drivable, doesn't have to be a C body, might not even have to be a Mopar, I'd still like an older car that is mostly useable as is and doesn't need more expensive stuff like body work or whatever. I'd love about a 70 Imperial for example, even a 4 door.
Just a reminder, this car has an engine that came from a C body that was being drag raced, the engine hasn't been started in at least a dozen years, but it ran great with no funny noises when I ran it before pulling it out of the car I bought it in. Also there's a HD torqueflite attached to it with a good stall converter. This driveline with a 3.91 posi will likely scare the pants off ya and with the brand new HD leaf springs I had made and which I installed, I'm sure the suspension will handle the torque. It's been stored in my garage the whole time I've had it.
Anyone with any thoughts or suggestions, feel free to speak right up!
The Horvaths
Young man with a cowboy hat
Hold on to it.
I really like the car you dreamed it might be... being a clone doesn't bother me if you love her. I wouldn't feel the same about a clone that was being flipped though. At least not unless it was a very honest description and priced fairly for what it is, not what you invested.
It sounds like there has been lots of financial decisions in your life where one of the solutions is to liquidate the project car. If you do, it's unlikely you will find one like her again... or that the new one will lack something the current one has. You also would have to decide how big a loss you really would take on the investment into this car. Any 12 year sitting engine is close to build core value to a knowledgeable person who has never heard it run.
I am no authority on how to retire, but it seems to me you would have a bit more time to work on her after that happens. Dreams and priorities change, I get it... if you really want to cash out, take what you think it's all worth (not what you invested) and you will likely get half with some marketing effort. Most folks trying to sell project cars focus their value on the completed result... it may be difficult to find a like minded buyer... so they sit for sale for a long time or the owner just gives up and sells cheap or holds on until the next time they think they can get their price.
If you really want her gone, I would suggest spending a few weekends getting her rough assembled so you can at least present a running automobile. My hope would be that you find that love for the car you had in the first place and decide to keep her.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
So the car has been converted back to an automatic?
Wollfen
Old Man with a Hat
Let me know by PM if you decide to sell. I have got a soft spot for Sport Fury coupes. My GT is a dream. Can we see a bunch more pics of the car as it sits? I may also have a car you could be interested in as part trade. Cheers.
Ripinator
Old Man with a Hat
Your really are sick. . .
SFGT440
New Member
To reply to you guys and also a few other comments posted - I know I would have time to work on the car once I retire, the issue is whether I will want to spend what it'll take for proper body work and interior, nothing is cheap and maybe costs more than it's worth in the end. This car is an automatic, always has been. My 4 speed 71 SFGT was a long time ago, and a different car altogether. (It still exists,. I'm happy to say, and is still a 4 speed. Almost certainly unique if not original, but converted with mostly factory parts i.e. clutch linkage and pedals and so forth.)
The car has been sitting non running for a long time but at least stored in a dry garage. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to at least get it running off a cobbled together fuel line and an old Mopar distributor. I DO have a video of this engine running in the car that I bought to get the engine - a 66 or 67 4 door New Yorker that was actually being drag raced. I'm sure I still have the VHS tape (!) and it is interesting. I do recall that the engine had no knocks or bad sounds when I ran the engine before I pulled it from the car.
No car that gets resto-modded ever returns what the owner spends on it, I realize that. However I've got a ton of good parts for this car, the driveline (other than the rearend) is solid, I'd almost say 'borderline streetable' due to the cam and high stall converter but great for cruising around town and might be fun to 'see what she'll do' on the drag strip once or twice. The parts inventory is pretty major - just the Hooker Super Comp ceramic C body headers are $820 now on Summit's website, which is where I bought them as they were the cheapest price among the few sources out there at the time.
As I've said the body and underneath of the are are way above average - briefly here are some notes and I'll upload some photos though more would be needed:
1. Strong points - only a little rust in one quarter as I recall, plus a little rust at the back window area and a little in the A post (one side, I think)
2. Not so strong points - car was out west in a hailstorm. Don't panic! I have a NOS deck lid, two sets of front fenders which can easily be made into a nice set. The car came with a vinyl roof (I removed it a while back) and it is there and the sail panel under the rear window where hail damage would need to be addressed. Smoothing the roof and putting it back to a vinyl top would make that part perfect, leaving just the sail panel and tops of the rear fenders in need of getting that fixed. I much prefer this car with NO vinyl and I got the scarce-as-hens-teeth little chrome trims that go around the back seat side windows without tailing off for the vinyl, and I was planning on getting the roof fixed if it could be done to look good without replacing the vinyl.
Here are a few more photos of the car; the firewall is painted I forget either ice blue or glacier blue, a factory color that year from Mopar. Front end has new suspension components, was converted to front disks, engine has new high torque starter. Check out the interior floors and bottoms of the doors... this is a car that you can unbolt stuff on the bottom that was bolted together 46 years ago.
The brown area between the front and back seat floor is I believe just some sort of filler or sealer, it is NOT rust, also the rocker panels are rock solid but for just a touch of surface rust where the rustproofing chipped off along the bottom seam. I see no serious rust issues there, in person it's easier to tell that in the photos.
Wolfen, drop me a note and let me know something about the possible partial trade you've got. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say!
Oh - forgot to mention I've got a pair of 1971 high back buckets which need complete reupholstering; AM/FM factory radio; dash pad which has been stored in my basement and is basically good (last I checked it), a set of Chrysler / Mopar road wheels that I don't think have spend more than a month on the road before I bought them (and they've gone noplace since then), I have a NOS passenger side mirror, most or all of a set of wheel opening trims including a couple brand new, at least one set of front turn signal lenses (which are scarce and expensive since they were only used otherwise on the Superbirds), replacement hood with inset turn signals, I forget what else.
AND the car has a clear legal title, no playing games to try and get it legal.
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I HAVE to expand these pics man
I hope it doesn't sell, your job works out better than imagined and you keep and some day finish this car ... with another 4 speed.
I hope it doesn't sell, your job works out better than imagined and you keep and some day finish this car ... with another 4 speed.
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