Dick has sold Greenie to Dennis Heindl of Ridgeway, PA. I'll be adding a page for Dennis in the Showcase when I can get to it. -Dan
An exuberant Dick exclaims, "I done gone and done it again!! Remember the beautiful Green 59 Sport Fury that was on eBay... Well I be de one dat got it, The gentleman that owned it was as truthful about the car as you can get. It is everything he said it was and more. I just could not let it get away, especially with the Golden Commando Engine. I made him an offer that he accepted, he took it off eBay and I had it shipped from Ft. Worth, TX. I am very happy with the car. I will send you the previous owners description and history that was on e-bay because I could not say it better. Truthfully the only thing I've done to the car is replace the temperature sending unit, rebuild the carburetor and a complete tuneup. The car is absolutely like brand new and drives as new. The doors have that solid 'clunk' and the body is tight to the frame. Unbelievable acceleration, my 318 is no slouch but this baby will chirp the tires when shifting into second."
Here is the original posting of Greenie as it appeared on eBay, along with the accompanying pictures. These cars truly have history! -Dan
"Now here is something really rare and really special! A 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury 2-door hardtop with 43,000 original miles and in pristine original condition—a true survivor!! (Be absolutely clear--this car is not a 100 point, over-restored show car. It has never been restored and has that certain "patina" that goes with original, survivor cars--this cannot be duplicated!!) HISTORY: This car was sold new in Los Angeles to a man who bought it for his wife to learn to drive in. She did not like the car (or the concept of driving in general) so the car sat for many years with little or no use. Some 10 years (approx) later the car was sold to the original owner’s mechanic who recognized it as something special. He fixed the few things that needed attention, and then drove it only for special occasions, keeping it covered and hidden in his shop when it was not in use. As he aged, he reluctantly agreed to include the car in a transaction with a gentleman in Grants Pass, Oregon. Once the car was delivered to the new Oregon owner, he immediately had the exhaust system rebuilt with NOS components, had the brakes gone through, and because the original seat foam had gotten brittle and crumbly, had the seats rebuilt. The rebuilding of the seats is a story unto itself as this guy was so fussy that he had new seat covers made from cloth and vinyl that was custom manufactured to be identical to the original materials. He didn’t like the first batch of material he got, so paid for a second lot of material, which he used. It is absolutely perfect and he was smart enough to order enough of it to be able to have enough left over to do the door panels or even the seats again if ever necessary (all of this material is included with the car). Once he had the material, he located NOS seat foam, and had a professional upholstery guy completely rebuild the seats—it looks absolutely new. The only “downside” to this effort is that the seats look so spectacular, that they tend to make the more aged, original door panels and carpets show their original “patina” a little more than before. However, he chose not to change those items in interest of keeping as much originality in the interior as possible, and their original condition is still fantastic! After his repairs, he drove the car sparingly and also kept it covered in a heated garage when not in use.
I bought the car from this gentleman in 1999 and was truly amazed at the condition it was in, especially since everything except the seat covers was original and nearly perfect. There were, of course, the original factory blemishes and a couple of light scratches/bruises to the original body and paint, but they just seemed to fit with the nature of what the car is, and that is a true survivor! After my examination, the only items that I chose to do anything at all to were the original trunk mat, and (once again) do a complete brake job. The trunk mat was completely dried out and cracked into many pieces, so I replaced it with a Gary Goers, carpeted mat which looks beautiful. The cardboard side panels were still very nice so they remained—the trunk looks beautiful! I then did a complete brake job, turning all drums, replacing all hardware, shoes, wheel and master cylinders, and installing silicon brake fluid so that the components would not rust anymore. I tuned the engine, installed new Coker WWW tires (bias ply) and then used it for show and Sunday drives, always keeping it covered and in a heated garage. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: Again (except for the seat covers, the trunk mat, and normal service items) this car is a 1959 Plymouth Sport Fury in almost perfect, survivor condition. The car has the 361 cubic inch “Golden Commando” engine coupled to the standard Torqueflight transmission. It has the standard “swivel” front seats, dual, outside, deluxe, fender-mounted mirrors, working radio, clock (not working), Power Steering, Power Brakes, and all of the Sport Fury “special items” including an un-engraved “built especially for” plate on the glove box door. The car is painted the rare emerald green color (absolutely beautiful) and has the contrasting, multi-hued green interior. The original dash pad is in excellent condition as is the original headliner. The original steering wheel is still in near perfect shape, and all chrome and trim is in place and in great shape. The only pitting on the exterior chrome that I have noticed is a very small amount under the taillight housings that cannot be seen unless you bend over to look at it. Also, the chrome trim around the window openings in the interior shows a very slight accumulation of a surface stain/rust that polishes right off—I just have not gotten to it!
The car runs and drives like new. I just recently purged the fuel system and put in fresh fuel with fuel stabilizer included. I also replaced the fuel pump just for reliability assurance. All glass in the car is perfect, and all accessories work as they should. Probably the most amazing thing about this car is its absolutely rust-free condition. Anyone who knows anything about Mopar vehicles of this vintage knows that they had a real problem with rust! This car has no rust, none, nada! It has never had any rust nor has it ever had any collision damage or repair. The paint is 100% factory (as stated before, there are a couple of scratches and a couple of light dings that I chose not to repair in interest of originality). Even the engine compartment has not been detailed so that its survivor status can be preserved—it does have some accumulation of grime, but still looks nice. Even the trunk floor on this car still has the original factory coating on it in near perfect shape—this is truly amazing as most of these cars had their trunk floors rot out in just a few short years! Sorry for the long-winded description, but this car is worthy of it. It is truly a one-of-a-kind, low-mileage, survivor that would be almost impossible to duplicate these days. Anyone can restore a car, but they are only original once, and this one has to be one of the best!! If you appreciate these 'forward-look' cars in near-perfect, survivor condition, this is for you. Don’t let it get away!
One day (*sigh*; when I can find some time...), I'll be moving Greenie to a page for Denny Heindl, but for now I'll place this recent article in Classic Car about "Mopar Masterpieces". Not called out by name, but Greenie was chosen to highlight superior Chrysler styling. And we know 'bout that!
