Richard Petty’s 1960 NASCAR Plymouth Fury Offered on eBay
Performance
Motorsports
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Most serious gearheads, especially those alive in the 1960s, know about the immense coolness of Richard Petty. All of Petty's NASCAR-winning goodness still radiates from the extraordinary history-making 1960 Plymouth Fury recently offered on eBay. It’s Petty’s oldest surviving race car.
Richard “The King” Petty is still one of the racing world’s brightest stars. His NASCAR career spanned from 1958 through 1992. Petty’s stats speak for themselves: 1,184 starts, 200 wins, and seven NASCAR championships.
When's the last time you saw The King without a cowboy hat, sunglasses, and a mustache?
Richard Petty’s First Full Year in NASCAR
Both Petty cars had 383 cubic-inch V8 engines in 1960. The team switched to more powerful 413 V-8s in 1961.
The year 1960 marked Richard Petty’s first full season in NASCAR. He finished second in the championship.
Petty Enterprises fielded two identical Plymouth Fury race cars in the 1960 season. One was for Richard’s father, Lee Petty, who was one of NASCAR’s first superstars. The other Fury racer was for Richard, at the time just 22 years old.
Both cars were equipped with 383 cubic-inch Mopar V-8s - opens in new window or tab.. These engines are known for low-end torque.
It’s a Legit Museum Piece
Richard Petty won three out of his first four NASCAR wins with "Thumper 1."
The 1960 Plymouth Fury was proudly displayed for a decade at Historic Auto Attractions, a museum located in Roscoe, Ill.
Wayne Lensing, the museum’s owner, purchased the car—which had been restored in North Carolina—at Indiana’s Kruse auction in 2008. The current eBay sale includes a Notarized Certificate of Authenticity dated and signed by Richard Petty on Oct. 12, 1993.
The Origin of Petty Blue
The car’s legendary hue was a happy accident. As legend has it - opens in new window or tab., the team was short on white paint while brother and crew chief Maurice Petty was rebuilding one of the team’s cars late in the 1959 season.
Richard found some dark blue paint lying around in the shop. When the Petty brothers mixed the blue paint with the white paint, they made magic.
Petty Blue was born.
When Racing Was Stock
There’s no mistaking this meticulously restored race car for what it is. The door-sized #43 makes it instantly identifiable as Richard’s car. The finned Petty Blue quarter-panels carry sponsor decals from Air-Lift - opens in new window or tab., Gabriel shocks - opens in new window or tab., and AAMCO—all outfits still around today.
When compared to a modern race car, the interior is beautiful, spartan, and alarming. The lack of serious safety equipment is an eye-opener.
A quick glance shows a minimalistic roll cage. For example, the standard driver’s seat is modified with a lump of padding at the right shoulder to keep the driver from sliding off. We’ve come a long way, baby.
The Fury’s hood proudly declares the 383 cubic-inch V-8’s 325 horsepower rating. Pop the hood, and you’ll see an engine that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor. Yes indeed, stock cars were nearly stock back in the day.
Lensing plans to use the sale proceeds to fund expansion at the Historic Auto Attraction Museum. Fifty-thousand square feet of new display space is slated to open on Memorial Day, 2022.
Of all the race cars that have crossed the block on eBay Motors over the years, Richard Petty’s 1960 Plymouth Fury stands apart. When it comes to American racing history, this blue beauty has no rivals. The Buy-It-Now price was a cool $750,000.
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