Check out the '59 Plymouth Sport Fury with a 440 and a Viper 6-speed!
We all saw the movie. Some of us were so young and impressionable at the time that we still can't look at a '59 Fury without shaking in our shorts. After a 130+ MPH blast in John Mahaffey's '59, you'll be scared again.
Mahaffey’s ride is powered by a 440 built by Norm Brandes at Westech Auto in Silver Lake, WI. It puts over 300 hp to the wheels… that’s over 400 at the crank… and it’s detailed enough to make it look almost like a restoration. But mechanically, this car is far from stock!
The OEM material used in the restoration of the interior may throw your eye… but you’re right, there are 6 gears on that shift knob! Brandes and crew at Westech swapped in a Viper 6-Speed to give this long-legged runner 2 overdrives! Mahaffey claims that the car cruises at 3000 rpm at 105 mph in 6th gear, and with 3.91 gears, it still launches hard. We don’t condone that sort of behavior, of course. (That’s for you lawyers out there.)
The stock swivel-seats “Swing out to greet you, and swing back in to seat you!” according to a 1959 commercial. Mike Flaherty at Custom Designs Unlimited completed the extensive exterior restoration. They put 5 cars together to make this one! There’s more plating and polished trim on this car than there is on 50 new Hondas. The interior was handled by Beale’s Auto Interior in Chicago, IL.
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