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y Jack Lewis Riverton, Utah Hooked on the ‘56 <strong>Plymouth</strong> <strong>Plymouth</strong> Fury Ihave been a <strong>Plymouth</strong> fan since my annual treks to the showroom with my dad during the fifties. In 1954, when I was 13, this trip became especially exciting; it was the debut of the all-<strong>new</strong> ‘55s! All Dad and I did after viewing the debut of the Forward Look was talk about the <strong>new</strong> <strong>Plymouth</strong>s. Unfortunately, he could not afford one and continued driving his ‘48 <strong>Plymouth</strong> for another year. Then the ‘56 came out and I couldn’t believe a <strong>Plymouth</strong> could look better! And my father was happy as well, as someone traded their ‘55 <strong>Plymouth</strong> Savoy four-door sedan V8 for a <strong>new</strong> ‘56. The dealer called Dad, and his dream car ‘55 was to be his! But I was hooked on the ‘56. There was something about those fins and the crisper look of the Sportone styling on the Belvedere two-door hardtop. When I was fifteen-and-a-half (old enough to get a learner’s permit in California), my father bought me a 1950 <strong>Plymouth</strong> coupe that would take me through high school and into my freshman year of college. The second semester was to start just before my 18th birthday in February 1960. I had come home for my birthday weekend and when I arrived home that Friday afternoon, my dad was waiting and said he was thinking about buying a “cream puff” car he saw up at the dealer’s and wondered if I would go to look at it with him. When I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes: a 1956 Belvedere two-door hardtop, red and black in color, with the Power Pack 277 engine. It even had dual exhausts! The dealer took us for a ride and then asked Dad if he wanted to drive it. Dad said, “No, but my son does.” And I did! When we got back to the dealership, the dealer threw the keys back at me and said, “Happy Birthday!” The <strong>Plymouth</strong> hardtop would become the love of my life. Cruising the drive-in restaurants (which included the famous “Mel’s” of the movie American Graffiti fame, as I grew up in San Francisco), street racing and going to the Sunday drags at Half Moon Bay or Cotati airstrips, were all the things to do with young car nuts. My ‘56 Belvedere would be a trophy-winner at the drags and acquitted itself quite well on the street (a 74.7% win rate!). Other than dyno tune-ups at the local speedshop, it remained bone stock and ran a best of 17.32 seconds through the quarter mile at 83 MPH with a Powerflite transmission and street tires. Further, its reliability was enormous: never a drivetrain failure in 65,000 miles. One type of car haunted me though; it was naturally another ‘56 <strong>Plymouth</strong> – three different <strong>Plymouth</strong> Furys! Each of those three smoked my Fury ury FF ifty-six -29- Belvedere with ease. The ‘56 Fury would become a lifelong obsession of mine. I would finish college and then go on to Air Force Officer Training School. Our Training Officer told us that upon graduation, to get a great start on your Air Force career, don’t go home on your first leave and get married, and don’t go into debt by buying a <strong>new</strong> car. I took his advice on the first item but failed on the second. My Belvedere, by then, had over 100,000 miles and would be required to put many more miles on to satisfy my Air Force tour, and coincidentally, <strong>Plymouth</strong> had just came out with a ‘64 model that was the most exciting thing I had seen since the ‘56-58 <strong>Plymouth</strong> Furys. So before arrival at my next USAF assignment, I would be traveling there in a gorgeous and fast Sport Fury! By the mid 1970s, the Air Force was long behind me. I was married to a beautiful woman (now a 42-year affair), had two wonderful children, an enjoyable and challenging career, and had bought and sold some cars and pickup trucks. There was also something else I kept thinking about, my old love affair with my ‘56 <strong>Plymouth</strong>, and how I could reignite that, but this time with a 1956 Fury? I began looking for one, but none showed up in want ads, car lots, etc. In the mid-1980s a friend introduced me to I found my Fury!
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