1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP

Having crawled up from the depths of 1962 to new sales heights in three short years, Chrysler's bread-and-butter brand pulled out all the stops for 1967. One of the highlights was the 1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP.

"Plymouth is out to win you over," said the ads, and they didn't lie. Barracuda was beautifully recast as a true "ponycar" competitor for Ford's Mustang, the compact Valiant was just as handsomely transformed, and even the intermediate Belvederes, still basically 1962 underneath, were spruced up in both style and power.

The same applied to the pride of the Plymouth pack, the big Fury, which became even bigger for 1967. Though wheelbases and basic structure were 1965-1966 holdovers, a complete reskin upped overall length 3.3 to 7.5 inches, and more sculptured lower-body styling made the cars look even longer than that.

They also looked broader of beam, thanks partly to flared-out front fendertops and expansive new horizontal taillamps, but overall width was, in fact, an inch or so slimmer. Observing a popular Detroit trend, rear fenders were slightly upswept just ahead of the wheel openings.

The Plymouth VIP returned from its 1966 debut as the finest Fury, still with hardtop coupe and sedan styles. Right alongside them, at near identical prices, were the bucket-seat Sport Fury convertible and a pair of two-door hardtops, as Plymouth now offered a choice of hardtop coupe rooflines: a conventional notchback (duplicated in bench-seat Fury III trim) with tapered C-pillars, and a new "Fast Top" style with the same profile but big triangulated quarters that made magnificent obstructions for parking and lane-changing.

Though it looked racier, the Fast Top was the style chosen for the luxury VIP, perhaps because those huge C-pillars conferred a tad more "formality"; they certainly better displayed the optional vinyl roof coverings.

Find more details on the 1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP on the next page.

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Continued

Both 1967 Plymouth Sport Fury Fast Tops as well as the Plymouth VIP hardtop sedan carried louvers beneath their backlights for an exclusive new flow-through ventilation system. This was claimed capable of completely changing interior air four times a minute at 60 mph but proved far less efficient than that. It would be abandoned after this one year.

As before, VIPs boasted luxury interiors to rival Chrysler's or Imperial's, with special pleated upholstery, pseudo-wood accents on doors and dash, fold-down center rear armrest, and similar trappings.

Outside were broad full-length swathes of brushed aluminum above the rocker panels, plus special wheel covers, beltline pinstriping, and a full complement of bright "reveal" moldings. The last were also applied to Sport Furys, which continued with their usual tri-color insignia and all-vinyl interior with front bucket seats and center shift console.

Unlike other Furys, which came with a Slant Six, VIP and Sport Fury retained Chrysler's mainstay 318 V-8 as standard equipment. The engine itself, however, was now completely different, sharing a more compact new "thinwall" design with the 273 Valiant/Barracuda small-block.

Power options ran through the customary pair of 383s and on to the big-block 440 (new for 1966), which was now a tuned "Super Commando" with 10 extra horses, 375 in all.

Options expanded with first-time availability of power front-disc brakes and front headrests and shoulder belts, while standard features now included energy-absorbing steering column and padded dash. That dash was glitzier than ever: awash with thumbwheels and toggle switches and lit up at night with little "spotlamps" beaming down from above.

Fury II and III remained the best-selling big Plymouths by far for 1967, but the line-leaders didn't fare badly in a slightly soft year for Plymouth and the industry as a whole. Comparisons are difficult, but at nearly 19,000 units, VIP posted a sizable gain on half-year 1966, while Sport Fury fell only a little short of its previous year's volume at just more than 31,500.

Plymouth ran fourth in industry production for 1968, the position it had held since 1963, but built 110,000 more cars to finish near three-quarters of a million -- a new record.

Nodding to Sonny and Cher, ads promised "The Win-You-Over Beat Goes On," but Furys basically sung 1967 themes with minor variations: a tasteful facelift, new Federally required safety items like side-marker lights, and engines recalibrated for lower emissions, also per government decree. Dimensions were unchanged.

Sport Fury and VIP sales remained healthy but began showing signs of anemia, sliding to 26,000 and 17,500, respectively. As it would turn out, 1967-1968 would be Plymouth's last really strong years, at least in sales.

Check out our final section for 1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP specifications.

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1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP Specifications

Model-year 1967 was a banner year for Plymouth, with the 1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP leading the handsome pack. Find specifications for the 1967-1968 Plymouth Sport Fury and VIP below.

Specifications

Engines: all ohv V-8; 318 cid (3.91 x 3.31), 230 horsepower; 383 cid (4.25 x 3.38), 270/325 horsepower (1967) 290/330 horsepower (1968); 440 cid (4.32 x 3.75), 375 horsepower

Transmissions: 3/4-speed manual, 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic

Suspension front: upper and lower A-arms, longitudinal torsion bars

Suspension rear: live axle on semi-elliptic leaf springs

Brakes: front/rear drums (front discs optional)

Wheelbase (in.): 119.0

Weight (lbs): 3,630-3,710

Top speed (mph): 105-120

0-60 mph (sec): 8.5-10.0

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