Chase Classic Motors is back with another big Mopar adventure. This season, Ross Urtel and Eric Laesch left Detroit and headed to Atlantic City, New Jersey, to rescue a 1975 Plymouth Gran Fury Custom—a full-size C-Body Mopar that had spent the last 20 years parked and forgotten.
A Smelly Ride Home –
This wasn’t just any Gran Fury. Once serving as a prosecutor’s car, this big sedan had a story to tell. Outfitted with period-correct police accessories and plenty of road presence, it looked like it had just rolled out of a 1970s government fleet. But two decades of hibernation gave the car more than a little attitude. The old fuel in the tank had turned sour, leaving a strong odor that would soon follow Ross and Eric back to Detroit.
Upon inspection, the car ran and even drove, but 20 years of sitting had left its mark. The carburetor needed a proper tune to smooth out the V8, the A727 TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic slipped on the 1st-to-2nd shift, and the suspension felt stiff from age and inactivity.
A Tough Era For Big Mopars –
The 1975 Plymouth Gran Fury represents a turning point in American car history. Built on Chrysler’s 121.5-inch C-Body platform and sharing much with the Dodge Monaco, it was the kind of big, comfortable sedan that once defined Detroit iron.
Unfortunately for cars like this, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The 1973 oil crisis hit just as Chrysler rolled out its redesigned big cars for 1974, and suddenly gas-guzzlers were out of favor. Buyers fled to smaller, more efficient vehicles, leaving full-size land yachts like the Gran Fury mainly in the hands of law enforcement and government fleets.
Even with V8s ranging from 360 to 440 cubic inches, emissions rules and lower compression meant these cars weren’t the powerhouses they once were. What they offered instead was durability—and the fact that this Gran Fury roared back to life after 20 years proves it.
To Be Continued –
For Ross and Eric, bringing the Gran Fury home is just the start. The car will continue to appear in future Chase Classic Motors videos as they dive into its restoration, and that slipping A727 TorqueFlite means a transmission rebuild is definitely on the to-do list.
It’s another chapter in the team’s mission to save forgotten Mopars and let them tell their stories—and this former prosecutor’s Gran Fury has plenty of story left to share.
