Reader's Rides - Other Mopar - Submit Your Ride Here

Click to Load Pictures Full Size

Sergei Nekhoroshev, from Moscow, Russia, says his ’74 400 Fury hardtop coupe is the only one in Russia. Sergei says:

"The car was brought in by the American Embassy in the ‘70s, and served there until the early ‘80s, when it was retired from government service and sold to a private Soviet citizen. Over next decade, it changed hands several times. In the Soviet Union, parts for imported cars were totally unavailable, primarily because the country didn't import non-Soviet-bloc cars and relied completely on eastern European products. Clearly, the car's condition was constantly deteriorating. Some parts and components were replaced with Soviet-made substitutes, but that only delayed the inevitable end. By the early ‘90s, the car was dead. It spent several years sitting in the back yard of an apartment block in the outskirts of Moscow, exposed to the sun, snow and local punks. That is where I found it in 1996.

"The car, (or what was left of it) impressed me greatly. It was amazing and rare, like an abandoned alien space ship which had landed in the wrong neighborhood and was immediately vandalized by locals. I found the owner and he was happy to get rid of his pile of junk. This gave a start to my restoration saga. I learned that this car was dead more than any other mechanism that had ever come into my view. Literally every system and component major or minor was broken. Many were missing altogether (like the exhaust). I still don't understand how it was possible to kill the car so many times over. Over the next several years, I learned about sources of parts for my Fury in the US. I created my own channels for delivery, some of which were quite exotic. For example, all engine components--everything besides block and cylinder heads castings--were shipped to Russia on FedEx charter planes which brought the American “Iridium" communications satellites to be launched into space on a Russian Proton rocket out of the Baikonur launch base in Kazakhstan.

"At the same time, I had the body fixed, cleaned up and sprayed light shade of green. By 1999, I had the entire car overhauled with a combination of stock and aftermarket parts. I added some salt and pepper to the motor. The 1974 version of good old 400 was not very inspiring. Therefore, I used a new forged rotating assembly to raise compression to a more aggressive 9.5:1, added a better dual plane intake and a 4-bbl carb. This gave the green machine a bit more roar.

The transmission proved to be beyond repair. I honestly tried to fix it, but a simple calculation showed that it was much cheaper to get a new one, which I ended up doing. I gave my Fury a custom dual stainless exhaust, and fixed up the interior and chrome trim. In the end, three years and roughly 30 grand after I bought the car, I was able to take it for a ride. This was one happy day!

Since that time, I've been driving my newly born beauty on every sunny summer weekend and have enjoyed every minute of my rides. A couple of times I made fairly long trips--approximately 1200 miles--and my Mopar friend never failed my expectations, neither mechanically, nor emotionally. Every winter while the Fury hibernates in the garage, I long for the warm season when I can wake her up and enjoy her smooth power and grace.

That's my story guys. The Mopar hobby lives even in the places where you wouldn’t expect to find it. Thanks for an awesome magazine. I picked up a recent copy in the Frankfurt airport and read it cover to cover. Keep it up!"