Big Al's Featured Car's
1963 Plymouth Fury
Owned by Keith Bartlett
Pictures by Buddy Scoville

About 37 years ago I needed some parts for my 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 and while I was looking for them I turned to a friend who was into racing Late Model Stock Cars. This friend was none other then Dave Lumoa who took me under his wing and taught everything I needed to know. Together we won Points Champion in the Late Model Stock Car racing 3 years in a row! Besides my 1965 Dodge Coronet 440 I have had many other cars like my 1968 Plymouth Road-Runner, a 1970 Plymouth Duster, a 1948 Chevrolet Coupe, a 1967 Chevrolet Camaro, a 1967 Chevelle Super Sport, a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, a 1974 Plymouth Pro-Street Barracuda, a1967 Chevrolet Nova SS and then my 1963 Plymouth Fury!

I found my 63 Fury in Southern Kentucky and during the winter of 2004 I started the restoration that was going to take until the Fall of 2008! This project took 4 years and the help of my loving wife and some very close friends not to mention from $ 35,000 to $ 40,000 that is no longer in our bank account! Some of the things we did to the Fury was moving the rear leaf spring hangers inward ¾” so that the 15” by 9” Weld Racing Draglite 90 series rear wheels with 295/65R15 B F Goodrich Drag Radials would clear, The front wheels are 15” by 3 ½” Weld Racing Draglite 90 series with 28-750x15 Mickey Thompson tires. The rear end is from a 1968 and is an 8 ¾” with a set of 3:91 to 1 gears. Fortunately the stock drum brakes have been sufficient for stopping power. The front suspension are torsion bars and the ride is dampened by QA1 Stars AL shocks and the power steering does a great job of keeping it going straight down the road.


The engine is a 1968 505 cubic inch that has been bored out to 4:350 and has been modified by Michael’s Racing Engines. They are very professional engine builders and did a “Great Job”! It has a 4:250 Crank, Edelbrock RPM modified heads, Balanced, 7” Eagle H Beam rods, Wiseco Pistons, Comp Cams Roller cam, Solid Roller lifters, Harland Sharp 1:6 rockers, Mopar Single Plane intake, Dominator 1-AED 1050 cfm carb, Milodon 7 quart oil pan, MSD 6AL Box for ignition. The cam intake timing is 296 and the exhaust timing is 303 and they have a .650 lift. The engine has reached 750 HP and 696 Ft. Lb. of Torque on the Dyno. The exhaust go through 2” TTI Headers to 3” exhaust pipe with Borla 4” Mufflers.
The transmission is a 1963 Plymouth 727 automatic 3 speed controlled by push button with a B & M 3,500 Stall Converter with a B & M Transcooler. The H D Clutches & Bands with a Tranco TF2 HP Shift Kid was done by Burt Brown Racing Transmissions.

Trying to keep the car close to stock not much was changed other then adding a fiberglass hood and a Line-X job with a Mopar Emblem in the middle of the trunk. The base coat color is a House of Kolor BC 12 – Zenith Gold with a top coating of House of Kolor UK 08 Tangerine Kandy with UC 35 clear coat on top.
The interior has been kept fairly stock with the steering wheel insert done in Kandy while the headliner and carpet were replaced and the Factory Auto Meter Gauges were wired by Keith. The seats are done in leather and cloth.
One of the outstanding things about the car is the color and the radical sound of the engine. They love to hear it running and it is a blast to drive with the old push button tranney.

There are not a lot of 63’s around and I really enjoy the looks when I go to places like Frankenmuth, Junction Mopar, The Steel Valley Super Nationals, a few other places in Michigan and all the cruising done around Ohio! During the 2009 season my car has won numerous 1st. and 2nd. Prizes in the Paint Category!