Plymouth Fury 1956-1958
The Plymouth brand was introduced in 1928 by Walter Chrysler’s Chrysler Corp. to give it a presence in the popular priced field. It was a revamped Chrysler 52, a sensible reliable workhorse car that easily pulled Chrysler into the Big Three and helped it weather the 1930s Depression. But it was not a performance car. The Ford V-8 introduced in 1932 and Hudson’s Terraplane were the popular priced hot ones. The Plymouth stayed with four cylinders until 1933 and its role was to provide sturdy and reliable service, which it did very well. In spite of its rather staid image, during the years following the Second World War Plymouth’s vaunted reliability often served it surprisingly well in both National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) and American Automobile Association (AAA) competition. While hotdogs like Lincolns and Oldsmobiles frequently burned themselves out racing one another, Plymouth often stroked quietly along to victory. By the early 1950s, however, Oldsmobile 88s Hudson Hornets and Chrysler Hemis were frequent winners, leaving Plymouth in the shade. After a period of sensible but staid appearance things changed dramatically for the Chrysler Corp. In 1955 chief stylist Virgil Exner brought out his new “Forward Look” styling, relieving the corporation from a rather conservative period. Along with a daring new shape, Plymouth’s image was further enhanced in 1955 by the arrival of its overhead valve V-8 engine developing 167 horsepower out of 4.3 litres (260 cu in.). It was a big step up from the old sidevalve six, although that venerable engine would continue to be available until 1959. In 1956, Plymouth further polished its image with the introduction of the car that brought it into the heady high performance league. The impetus came when Chrysler introduced the mighty 1955 Chrysler C300, prompting the other corporate divisions to demand their own sporty models. They came in 1956 as the De Soto Adventurer, Dodge D-500 and Plymouth Fury. The Plymouth Fury was an attractive white, two-door hardtop with an anodized aluminum gold-tinted side spear. Its taillights were raised with taller fins. Inside was Chrysler’s newly introduced corporate push-button transmission control. As the Fury was a specialty car, only 4,485 1956 models were produced. Not many in a mass production market, but still more than Chrysler 300B, De Soto Adventurer and Dodge D-500 combined. Under the hood was a 5.0 litre (303 cu in.) 240 horsepower V-8. It had such modifications as 9.25:1 compression ratio, four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts. This enabled the Fury to sprint from zero to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 10 seconds. It ran 200 km/h (124 mph) on the sands of Daytona Beach, Florida in advance of NASCAR’s annual Speed Week. It couldn’t run officially because it hadn’t been in production long enough. The V-8 engine was built in Chrysler’s Windsor, Ontario, plant, a touch of irony because early Furys were not available to Canadian buyers. The 1957 Plymouth received the corporation’s new “Torsion-Aire” front suspension using longitudinal torsion bars reputed to give Chrysler products the best handling in the industry. The electrical system was upgraded from six volts to 12 and when Fury buyers ordered an automatic transmission it was Chrysler’s new three-speed “TorqueFlite” unit which had bowed in the 1956 Imperial to replace the two-speed “PowerFlite.” The 1956 Plymouth’s rear fins had been raised slightly, then for 1957 all Chrysler products got Exner’s “Flite Sweep” design featuring soaring tailfins designed to take fin leadership away from General Motors. Those wing-like appendages along with the Plymouth’s flat, delicate roof, low beltline and large glass area made a powerful styling statement. Although appearing rather overdone now, Chrysler Corp.’s 1957 models were considered very handsome cars in their day. The new look helped Plymouth jump over Buick in sales and return to its traditional third place behind Ford and Chevrolet. For1957 the Fury got a larger 5.2 litre (318 cu in.), 290 horsepower V-8, and in1958 this was increased again to 5.7 litres (350 cu in.) and 305 horsepower, courtesy of De Soto’s “Golden Commando” engine. It turned the ‘58 into a real tiger. Road & Track (3/58) recorded zero to 97 km/h (60 mph) in 8.0 seconds and top speed of 194 km/h (120.6 mph) with a manual transmission. While the testers were impressed with the Fury’s performance they were somewhat intimidated by its sheer size. It had a 2,997 mm (118 in.) wheelbase, was 5,232 mm (206 in.) long and weighed 1,776 kg (3,915 lb). The Plymouth Fury became a full line of cars for 1959 as Chrysler began trading on the name’s prestige.. And although Plymouth would continue to offer Furys, and some fast ones at that, it was those big, finned originals that changed Plymouth’s image and finally put some “fury” into its performance.