My Favorite Ride: Tracking down this 1963 Plymouth Fury wasn't so hard
I found him. Evan Derry, and his great old car, a baby blue 1963 Plymouth Fury.
Last week's column featured a desperate plea of sorts in my attempt to locate the owners of two vehicles I wanted to write about. In case you missed it ...
"On Oct. 4, I followed a slate-back Ford Ranchero a long distance down Walnut Street before the driver pulled into the McDonald's drive-thru across the street from the newspaper office where I work.
I jumped out of my car and dashed over to where she was stopped in the line to order. I told her who I was, that I write a newspaper column about people and cars, and could I call her to find out more about her Ranchero?
Read last week's column:Not the same Ford 3100 and some truths about catalytic converter thefts
Sure, she said and I wrote down her name and phone number. "And my boyfriend's daily driver is a 1963 Plymouth," she called out as I walked away.
Score! But there's a problem. I cannot locate the reporter's notebook I wrote her number in. So Riley, call me: 812-318-5967."
Riley never called.
But I got a text message Monday with valuable information. "The owners of the Ranchero and the Chrysler are my neighbors. He's really into old cars and motorcycles. He works at Advance Auto Parts."
Wednesday afternoon, I went to Advance Auto Parts on West Third Street in Bloomington. "Can I help you?" a clerk asked.
Most people who come through the door are seeking advice, floormats, a replacement part, a few quarts of oil, maybe a jug of antifreeze. Not me. I'm always after information.
"Is there a guy who works here that has a 1963 Plymouth?" I inquired. She froze, probably wondering if something had happened to the car, or maybe I was there to repossess it or some such thing.
"I write a car column for the newspaper and I've been looking for this car," I said. She seemed reassured, and went to the back of the store.
Derry came out and met me at the cash register. He hadn't seen my plea, but knew who I was. Riley had mentioned our encounter at McDonald's.
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"Tell me about the car ..."
He bought it six years ago, about the time he started dating the aforementioned Riley. His beloved 1965 Ford Thunderbird had been totaled in a crash, hit by a drunken driver, and he had money from the insurance settlement to spend on a new vintage vehicle.
"Life is too short to be driving regular cars," he said.
Looking on Facebook, Derry saw the '63 Fury for sale in Pendleton; there aren't many out there in excellent conditon for sale. "It caught my eye," he said.
He was home from college for the summer and living nearby, so he went to check it out. "I decided I had to have it," he said, admitting he was smitten with the push-button transmission.
It was running and "clean as a pin," Derry said. He was proud to be the Plymouth's second owner after the man who bought it new got too old to drive the car.
Derry said the body and interior were in good condition, but he ended up rebuilding the motor. "It took four years to find all the parts," he said.
He drove to Illinois to buy an intake manifold, and it took four years to locate a set of headers, which he finally found at a swap meet in Indianapolis where he bought a 1963 Plymouth motor, in pieces in a box, for extra parts.
He's enjoyed rebuilding the car, which is his daily driver until winter comes. "This thing has been a challenge," he said. "It's been the thrill of the hunt, this one."
Next week: Riley Millage's Ford Ranchero. There's a great backstory to tell that involves a stabbing. Really.
Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Man's restoration of 1963 Plymouth Fury involves hunt for parts
