The 1972-1973 “Fuselage V2.0” cars are hardly a common sight anymore. Well, they weren’t all that common in their day, which of course explains that and a few other things. The first fuselages (’69-’71) didn’t exactly set the world on fire, and the attempt to make them look a bit more mainstream by ditching the loop bumpers in front and back as well as extending the C-pillar on the roof (among other changes) made them look a bit less bold and a lot more like certain GM models. That was presumably the point of the exercise, and they succeeded.
So while the new ’74s were blatantly GM-esque, these were clearly the first step in that direction. Chrysler was giving up on being bold and adventuresome, once again.
Whereas the new front end was just dumbed-down GM/generic, the rear end blatant rip-off of the big 1971 Oldsmobile, as was the horizontal accent strip down its side, and the rear fender flare.
Presumably Chrysler could only afford to do that on the rear, because the front shows no sign of Oldsmobilitis. Oh well; the 1969 fuselage had been a big gamble, and now Chrysler was going to play it safe. The only difference was which GM division to copy for the new ’74s; Buick turned out to be the lucky beneficiary of the Chrysler Styling Studio’s adoration.
Nevertheless, these cars have a decidedly strong presence, especially in today’s streetscape. They’re big, brash, and different, by virtue of their not being another big GM sled. And there’s good old Mopar goodness under their long hoods, especially since this is still the pre-Lean Spark era.
This one has a 400 CID B-block hiding in that massive engine compartment, with what appears to be a few upgrades. The 400 came in 190 (2 barrel) and 250 hp (4 barrel) versions, and if that wasn’t enough, the RB 440 was also available in either 235 or 285 hp trim (all net hp numbers).
No, the leopard skin upholstery wasn’t one of the factory choices that year.
The seventies were a very difficult time for Chrysler, and it would have crashed even sooner if it hadn’t been for the Valiant and Dart. The big cars’ downward trajectory were a particular bitter pill, never mind all the other challenges. After a bump to 367k sales in 1969, big Plymouth sales shrank to the 255-265k level through 1973, and then of course tanked in 1974, never to regain a healthy level again.
But if you want to stand out from the crowd at the U of O campus, there’s few better ways to do it than with this. There’s even more Lamborghinis on campus than these, although those heady days are mostly over too now.
(a new revised an updated version of an older post)
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1973 Plymouth Fury III – An Ode to an Avocado Fury by J. Shafer
Curbside Classic: 1973 Plymouth Fury III Sedan – Fuselage Friday by B. Saur
Curbside Classic: 1976 Dodge Royal Monaco – Gone, And Forgotten by PN
Though watered down fuselage purity, I liked them. We had a ’73 Custom Suburban 400 2bbl, same gold color, it was a great boat and horse trailer hauler!
postscript:
I sold it cheap to a guy who had several kids and needed a big safe family hauler, after he promised not to “derby” it, a big “hobby” in rural MD where we lived and southern PA. He was good to his word, and several years later called me and asked if I wanted to buy it back. In a fit of nostalgia I did.
I didn’t really need it and later discovered rust too extensive to refurb it, at least in 1986 when these things weren’t rare., and it was burning oil at 190k miles. But I’d do it if given the choice today. So I sold it to a yard that didn’t resell cars, only parts, hoping it’d keep some other cars alive.
Couple years later while there looking for ’77 Fury parts I saw it again and bought the best wheel cover that was on it, which still hangs on my garage wall as we speak. These were great cars for their intended purpose. Lots of family memories with the wife and 3 kids in that car. I’ll look for a pic, sure we have one somewhere.
It’s beautiful .
Who can possibly afford to feed that massive V-ate ? .
When this car was new one of my mates was a stone Mo-Par enthusiast and always drove three year old ex cops cars, they were stout and went down the road very well indeed .
-Nate
Who cared, when these came out gas was 33 cents a gallon in the US. That did change a year later (52 cents a gallon… the horror!) but if you needed one of these you needed it… can’t pull a 2 horse trailer with a Toyota Corona.
Even today eedjits who complain about gas at $3.00 a gallon don’t seem to realize that’s about equivalent to the 33 cents we paid back in 1973.
Our 33k first house we bought in ’73 is now 400k. We still have it pretty darn good here, and it has to be that way to keep all those ridiculous bro-dozer drivers happy. Even some of them actually do need one for work purposes.
How do you freshen an old school land yacht in its final years, short of a 1979 R-Body-style redo? Its was near impossible to disguise the already widely familiar Fuselage shape, with more modern appeal. As the most flattering nose and rear looks, were already used up. I remember being thoroughly bored of seeing Fuselages, as a kid.
Station wagon versions, being the only exception.
Another example of the risks, of committing heavily to styling that is potentially so faddish and/or polarizing, after a couple model years.
I can’t see a ’73 Plymouth without recalling Thunderbolt and Lightfoot from 1974
That’s exactly what I was thinking. I wonder if the trunk is full of rabbits?
What a weird movie.
While some of them were off the beaten path, I don’t think I’d call any of Eastwood’s movies weird. He was way more savvy than that and knew that anything he was in that was truly strange would negatively impact the box office and his ability to get studios to approve future products. He definitely played it safe, and it paid off with an extraordinarily long movie career.
With that said, the scene in T&L with the oddly jacked-up 1973 Fury was definitely strange, thanks to the deranged driver and the trunk full of rabbits.
It’s interesting how more than a few recall the car in that movie. But, unlike the 1974 Monaco in The Blues Brothers, I strongly doubt many 1973 Furys are being saved, let alone copied, due to its use in T&L. Although, personally, I think seeing a wildly jacked-up, black 1973 Fury coupe at a car show with a caged raccoon in the front seat would be pretty cool.
There were actually a few interesting others in the movie, too:
1973 Trans Am with an odd, red hood scoop
1973 Buick Riviera
1951 Mercury 2-door
1973 Cadillac Eldorado convertible
Ever see a movie called “Paint Your Wagon”? Clint is in it. It’s a western musical. Clint sings and dances. It’s pretty weird.
Here a clip from Thunderbolt and Lightfoot featuring that Plymouth.
Not a coupe but a couple of ’73 Plymouth Fury sedans did a cameo in CHiPs.
That is a great color, and the wheels and alternate color roof, which I don’t typically like on a big car, actually set off the gold color very well.
I’ve worked out from CC that the fuselage look was polarizing, and hit sales, but what was it that folks didn’t like, I wonder? In this country, the one appearance of it in ’71-on local Chryco’s was commonly thought to make the car look too big compared to GM and Ford competitors – in actual dimensions, it wasn’t – which, in a then-poorer country, made it seem profligate, which hit sales (though, again, in reality, it used less fuel than the others).
Personally, I love fusey styling, seeing it as a really clean and stylish version of the American Huge aesthetic, but it’s obviously not what US folk thought. What was it that needed the fairly clumsy “updating” of the subject car, and the abandonment of the style altogether?
I like the fuselages substantially more than the full-size GMs and Fords from 69-73, but the problem is is I was buying a new car from Plymouth it would be a Satellite or some variation. The trend of full size car design was in the direction of conservative, where the ponycars intermediates(because of their muscle car variants) and even PLCs appealed to more youthful buyers, and they simply weren’t interested in cars like this like they may have been a decade earlier.
Plus the coupes are a bit off in their proportions, the roof is too short too low and too centered.
“Plus the coupes are a bit off in their proportions, the roof is too short too low and too centered.”
Exactly why I don’t care for 2 dr. Fusies at all and go only for the 4 dr. Still the 2 dr. is considered to be worth more than the 4 dr.
Looks (looked that is) quite presentable. That “leopard”, stuff though. Eww! Assume its covering up cracks, tears.
Back in the day, a good buddy of mine got a Fury from his grandmother. We were 16 years old. It wasn’t a Road Runner, or even a Charger… but, it was a Mopar and, to us, anything Mopar was legendary. Then the day came when we got to drive it. We were very disappointed. It was very slow. It handled like a big old boat. It had a 318, which isn’t really enough engine for a beast that size.
I was never a fan of loop bumpers, so the 1973 Plymouth Fury was an improvement in my view compared to the prior 3 model years. Still I agree that the styling borrows heavily from GM. The grille and headlight treatment resembles that used on the Chevy Impala of 1972 (pictured here for comparison).
There’s one of those sitting in a field a few miles north of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
Go to Google maps.
Find the intersection of US119 and PA31.
Switch to satellite view.
Go north of the intersection.
The car is on the east side of the road.
I enjoyed a 1973 2dr Fury for 5 years in the 1980’s. My ride was a darker brown color that I would call “root beer”. I don’t recall the correct name, but it was a long-lived Chryco color. I purchased it from the original owner who was trading it in on a new Chrysler of some sort. I paid $600, which is what they had offered him on trade. Very clean and about 60k mi. I found the ’73 attractive, especially the rear view. Definitely some GM-ness going on.
This was a 360 LA, 2 bbl. with 727 TF. They had ordered a rear axle ratio with some shorter gearing than most barges. The old girl would step out a bit. OSAC spark advance delay unit bypassed. I was fortunate enough to own it in one era of greatly reduced fuel prices somewhere into the 80’s. $.79/gal for regular 89 PO leaded.
I always see the rear of the 73 to be a copy of the 71 monte carlo.
I might not be the first guy in the comments to own this car… it’s a running project I have been trying to get to for years. And yes I have the lift shackles, meats on rear chromies, tall pizza cutter on black steelies, the paint and the stuffed cat in the rear window…