Quality TimeThe interior is a combination of period-correct style and modern-day comfort. The stock bucket seats were covered with a black/gray/red velour skinning by Mike Wells in Ithaca, New York. Dakota Digital custom-made the dash that includes a digital tach and the original radio-which was converted to a CD player.
By the time the restoration neared completion, Darren had already been living in Florida for a couple of years. Darren was born with a kidney disease that required the use of a dialysis machine and had resulted in two transplants. He found the climate was easier on his condition. When he came home for Christmas in 1995, the car was almost finished. "The first thing he said when he saw it was 'Wow, that's really red,' " Marilyn says.
On Father's Day 1996, Barry took the car on its first drive without Darren since the restoration. He had died two months earlier after failing to recover from an operation, one of the more than 40 surgeries he endured in his 28 years. "Darren had a tremendous attitude and disposition, the kind people would pay money to have," Barry says. "He didn't complain."
Now, Barry and Marilyn show the Sport Fury across the U.S., and it has scored well. At the International Show Car Association's East Coast competition, the car finished second in its class and 10th overall. It then went on to finish 20th internationally in the ISCA.
"Barry and I have been married 25 years; they were very close," Marilyn says of her husband and son. "There is no amount of money anyone could give us for that car."
Like the time Darren got to spend with his car, the time his family had to spend with him was too short. However, this Plymouth, like the memories of Darren it evokes, is priceless.