This Plum Crazy four-door ’75 Plymouth Fury is known to the locals of Miles City, Montana, as “The Grape Ape”. It’s owned by Damon Wright, a resident of Miles City, and well known four-door enthusiast.

“I got the car back in November 2016 as a birthday present,” he told us. “I’ve never been much of a Mopar guy, but have always been a classic car guy and really love the old four-doors.”

Damon decided he wanted a Mopar and this ’75 Plymouth found him. It started out as a dark maroon metallic with a cream colored vinyl top. The vinyl top went by the wayside and the color became this darker shade of iconic Mopar Plum Crazy Purple with the black stripes and custom pinstriping work.

“The car was still completely original when I got it,” Damon explained. The interior was all there and in extremely nice shape, but the exterior needed a little attention. It had been sitting for ten years so it had developed some rust and as a forty-year-old car it also came with a few dents and dings that needed attention. “All in all still in very good shape,” Damon continued.

Damon worked with his friends Allen Hofer and Richard Durrshmidt, at Now and Then Signs and Designs, also out of Miles City, Montana, to do the bodywork, paint, and custom artwork and striping.

“We eliminated the vinyl top and factory side trim moldings,” he said. “I came up with the colors I wanted and came up with the idea to make the car The Grape Ape.”

The car got its name from the ape character that is now present on the front fenders. “The ape itself has been kind of a family hot rod symbol since before I was born,” Damon explained.

The ape goes back generations for Damon. “My grandfather put it on his first car, it was on my dad’s first car, then it has been on my cars,” Damon detailed. “For this build, I dedicated the entire car to the character.”

Along with the depiction of the ape itself, Damon also included the words “Grape Ape” on the roof sides, a custom pinstripe design on the trunk, thin silver scallop designs on the hood, and his name on the driver door.

Damon has also added a few other custom elements to his car with a 1978 Dodge Monaco grille with blacked out inserts, hidden turn signal lights, and a custom mid-50s V8 emblem.

“I have always believed if you are going to build a car, build it how you want,” Damon told us. “I enjoy building unique vehicles.”

The drivetrain is made-up of the original 318 cubic-inch engine and stock torquflite automatic transmission with 123,000 original miles on it. He is also still running the factory two-barrel carburetor, power steering, power brakes with front discs, and air conditioning. The next step in the build for Damon is a performance built 360 cubic-incher due to come in next year. “That project is currently in the works.”

Damon explained that you can tell that it’s a survivor by how it looks under the hood.

The interior is pretty much original other than a vintage metal-flake steering wheel to complete the ‘70s vibe that Damon was working towards. He also painted the glove bod door body color and a Sunpro mini gauge set. “The seats, headliner, and door panels, kick panels are all in fantastic original condition,” Damon detailed.

“More upgrades will be added over time,” he continued. “There is always something to do on these projects.” This car was built with a lot of help from friends and Damon wanted to make sure a shout-out went to Allen, Richard, Joe, Mark, Sean, Matt, Kyle, and his uncle Bruce.

Damon is a big fan of four-door classics. Although people usually look at them as just for parts or derby cars, he enjoys them as classic cars that are more economical to use and enjoy. He actually runs a Facebook group called the Mor Dors Auto Club.

Damon reached out and told us about his awesome more-door cruiser. We are glad to have it as part of Street Muscle Magazine and it’s Damon’s passion for his car that makes us love it so much. If you want to see your car as part of our Street Feature series, shoot us an email with a couple pictures and a few details, and we’d love to talk to you.