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This 1962 Sport Fury decodes as a Golden Commando Package with a 413,
2x4 barrel, 3 speed maual, black and red bucket seat interior, front sway
bar, no power options. It has a history ofracing and street use, equipped
as a Max Wedge. All max wedge equipment, except for the motor is still
on the car, including the hood, brake lines, wiring harness, E-brake brackets,
3.91 Sure Grip, leaf springs, etc. This car was Roland Osborne's "Project
Max Wedge", featured in several 1993 issues of Chrysler Power magazine.
I decided, due to the parts on the car, and actual history of the car,
to restore it with Max Wedge equipment, but we drive it as we work on
it.
I corresponded with Roland about the car and bought it in 1995. He brought
it to me here in Indiana during that summer’s Chrysler Power tour of the
Mopar shows. At the time of the magazine feature, the car was still the
original Cherry Red outside, and completely rust-free, but the wheel openings
front and rear had been radiused to accommodate race tires and wheels.
I’ve restored the rear wheel openings using a clean four-door clip from
my stash, and installed fiberglass front fenders for now. These fenders
needed quite a bit of trimming and shimming to fit well but are plenty
strong. We mounted the rusty/funky bumpers for protection and legality,
but the originals have been rechromed and are stashed away pending the
new paint. Due to the absence of full underhood bracing on the Max Wedge
hood and stiff old hinges, the left side of the hood had buckled. Roland
had installed restored hinge assemblies, and I have repaired the buckled
area.
Roland put a stock 383 and 4 speed transmission in the car which are
still going strong. My son Dave and I drive the car regularly, and have
driven it to the Mopar Nationals as a participant entry. Most of the car,
as seen in these pics, is covered in primer-sealer.
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We’ve collected a ‘62 MW intake, carbs, and exhaust manifolds so far,
and will build a 440 to put them on for now. It will be built with a bit
lower compression and milder cam than original Max Wedge, as we still
want to be able to drive it often. We plan to retain the 4 speed also.
The red inserts in the buckets were replaced with black at some point,
and they are a little rough. The rear seat was missing (even the seat
retaining hooks were cut out during race days). The trim shop we use is
prepared to restore a rear seat using a non-Sport Fury seat, but I would
buy a usable Sport Fury back seat if I find one. I’ve also been collecting
the Sport-Fury-only trim pieces, the rear deck ornament was there and
I’ve found the front ornament and all the exterior trim so far. I do still
need the steering wheel/center, which is different from those on the other
models. I have the original grill with the black accents but it was poked
through in one corner, I probably will paint the accents on a perfect
standard grill I have.
Bill Parker
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