Here's an old Fury story. My First Fury. When I bought my first Fury it didn't run, in fact it had been so long that frogs were living in the gas tank. I bought the car in 1976. It was a poly 318, automatic, the interior was bad, but the body was solid and the car was complete. I paid $350 for it and brought it home on a borrowed trailer. In the summer of 1976, the National Street Rod Association was having a meet billed as the "1st International Rodding Fair in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Street machines (1949 and newer) one weekend and street rods (1948 and older) the following weekend. My best friend had been to the Street Rod Nationals previously and raved about it. So I decided to drive my Fury to Tulsa from Tampa, Florida. After rebuilding the brakes and carburetors (WCFB's), replacing the fluids, new points and plugs, adding seats from a 1957 Savoy and flushing the radiator, we got the car running by dragging it around the apartment complex less than a week before leaving for Tulsa. With our tent and camping equipment in the trunk, Janet, my wife and I headed for Tulsa by way of St. Louis (we wanted to see the Arch). My best friend and his wife (driving his 1968 Impala wagon) were to meet us in Tulsa for the second weekend and we would drive back together. He was taking bets that the Fury wouldn't make the trip with out breaking down. Taking it easy, we made Tulsa in about 5 days. Remember, this car hadn't run in years. Out of about 1500 cars, we had the only Mopar in the show between 1949 and 1962. (1955-1957 Chevies were in abundance) The following weekend my friend was supposed to be there to follow us home. We would have to drive non stop from Tulsa to Tampa (1400 miles) to be back at work on Monday. I don't know how many of you remember the situation in 1976, gas stations closed at dark and on weekends because of the gas shortage, so driving all night and Sunday would be a problem. My friend never showed up. He broke down in Arkansas on his way to Tulsa. (That's what he gets for driving a chevy.) About 4 PM on Saturday, Janet and I set out for home. We had about $20.00 and a Fina gas card for the trip. On the way to Tulsa, the Fury got about 9 miles to the gallon with the linkage set for cruising on the rear carburetor. (Progressive) In Tulsa with the help of a mopar guy I met at the show, we set the carburetors to both open at the same time. The starts from a light were jerky, but the mileage went up to 11 on the highway using both carbs. As I said, we left Tulsa about 4 in the afternoon on Saturday and stopped for gas in Little Rock at 9 that evening. I asked if any stations were open late between Little Rock and Jackson, Mississippi and was told that Pine Bluff about 40 miles down the road stayed open late. I filled up again in Pine Bluff and headed for Jackson. About dawn, we crossed into Mississippi driving on fumes. The first gas station I found open wasn't Fina so I put in a couple of dollars and kept driving. After about 3 stops like that, we found a Fina station open and filled up. We spent the last of our money at a MacDonald's for lunch in Selma, Alabama and made it home that night living on sodas and crackers from the cooler. It was a fun trip, camping and cooking out the whole time. Fortunately, we didn't break down on the trip or I probably would have been pushing that car home. I sold that Fury years later after acquiring my GC 350 Fury but that's another story. Mike and Janet Myhrvold -----Original Message----- From: William Lewis [mailto:reatawhippets@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2002 7:32 AM To: Golden Fin Society Subject: [GFS] March Letter Hi GFSers! In two weeks will be putting the March Newsletter to bed, so if you have brags, a discovery story, positive or negative reports regarding your resto's, vendor experience; 40 year old memories, etc. let me know and I will share with the Society. Don't forget your needs, what you have for sale, etc for the Classified. Regarding the Nats - as mentioned before, have heard from several regarding attendance, but at this point do not have any entry forms submitted. An entry form does not mean you are bound by blood, but it sure helps to give me warm fuzzies that a party is trying to attend. The lack of such "fuzzies" caused me to cancel the 2000 Nats. Richard Main and I would appreciate knowing intentions and that will help us move forward on a wonderful event. Hope all is well with you Folks and your magnificent Golden Fins! Regards, Jack Lewis [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: goldenfin-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: goldenfin-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ <<attachment: winmail.dat>> |
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