In the Fall of 2007 we made the long drive home to Baja Ca., and she ran sweet! Due to lost paper work and original plates we had to get new ones, so to honor my Aunt Donna the Calif. plates read "DONAS 63". We're keeping the Fury registered in the States and not Mexico. The people down here just love the car and we get many honks and waves and the people love to hear her story.
I need to thank the special people that helped me with this project, including my wife, Debbie for all he support, and my daughter Cassie.
A Big thanks needs to go out to my second Cousin Ron Hewitt at Daytona Parts for the complete restoration on the Carburetor, and to you Mike for you hard work and time in making this page to honor La Donna Rose and Ernie Hollenbeck".
Mike asked me what I was going to do with the car when I got it done and if I still wanted to rebuild a El Camino.
Here’s what I told him.
I plan to keep her as long as I can and then someday pass her on to my daughter Cassie. Then who knows I might even hunt down a 69 El Camino and have my High School ride back but-----------naaaaaaaa, by then I'll be a Mopar guy all the way.
So I now drive and work on this car in their memory. The empty seats will always be filled with the memories of my Aunt Donna and my Dad, Ernie Hollenbeck.
Donna’s Fury: A story of love, respect and honor.
By Dennis Hollenbeck.
Forward by Mike West.
I first became aware of this story while searching through the internet for more photo’s of 63’s. I saw a short clip on
U tube. I made a mental note to try to contact the owner when I had more time. A couple of months went by and I had forgotten to pursue the contact. As chance would have it, I received an e mail from Dennis.
He was looking for information on a repair that I had done to my trunk pan. After an exchange of e mails he told me that he was working on a Sport Fury that his Aunt had owned and that his father was starting to restore. Well this is one of those stories that you hear about where someone is going to fix or restore something to honor the late owner. I was touched by what was being done and thought I should pass it on to the rest of the 63 Plymouth “B” body community. Please take the time to read his story. It truly is great.
Dennis’s story:
Some that know me might ask “why not restore the 69
El Camino over the Plymouth?” due to the fact, that actually the El Camino holds more memories for me personally. It was the car I first drove with my drivers license, it got me to and from High School, work, girl friends (details not included), and eventually the girl friend that would become my wife. It was also my dad’s dream to restore the El Camino as well. But other forces were at work.
What follows will show you why the Fury holds such a special place in our hearts.
La Donna Rose Hollenbeck purchased her brand new Sport Fury in 1963. Aunt Donna as she was known by us, even paid the $1000.00 for the AC unit to be installed. My Aunt Nita tells me of the story of the first time she drove up to her house in the new Fury and how proud she was of it.
After owning the Sport Fury for seven years she married Mel Colby in 1970 and life continued on.
Her new husband immediately started to show a strange interest in the 260 acres of land she owned on Mt. Shasta. I was told at time, he’d show up and start talking about all of his plans for the property. Everyone including my Aunt, felt very funny about his actions and intentions regarding the land. This was land that she had purchased before they were married.
One day in 1972 the terrible news arrived telling us that she died in a very unusual accident while with her husband. They were on a trip to the mountains and while they were on tractor she somehow fell off and was killed.
Shortly after the funeral Mel quickly moved to gain position of the land. Soon my Grandparents along with my Uncle would be caught up in court battle over my Aunt’s holdings. Through all of this, he had possession of the Fury. He was also under surveillance due to the suspicious behavior and his explanation of her death---Something was not right. Our family knew in our hearts that there had been some sort of foul play.
During the investigation by the police, Mel was found dead in a hotel room. There was no explanation as to how he died, but suicide was suspected. With his death we would never have the answer of what really happen to her.
Eventually most of my Aunts holdings was awarded to my Grandparents, and I actually read a copy of the court hearing that included a 1963 white Plymouth.
My Uncle tells me of the long painful drive as he took the Plymouth from Southern California to Mc Cloud California. The Sport Fury was parked and covered and no one was allowed to mess with it, uncover it, sit in it---nothing. It sat for over 30 years untouched. As a kid and teenager I would sometimes stop and lift the tarps and peek inside and the car was like a time capsule, it held and still holds a great mystery of my Aunt and her untimely death.
After my Grandmother died in June of 2002 my Dad thought that it was time to do something with my Aunts car, so he announced his intentions of restoring it and we were all very excited about it.
My Dad moved the car from McCloud CA to Redding, and I was able help a bit by putting on the tires that would allow it to be towed. My Dad rebuilt the motor, got it running, and prepped it for paint. I’d get updates over the phone of how it was coming along and we’d also share jokes and what not. I was in Redding CA in January of 2004 shortly after he got it running.
My Dad started her up and backed her up for the first time in over 30 years, I sat in that car as it ran. Taking on this task could not have been a very easy task for him as one he was not a rich man, but he was also battling cancer. Even though it's only a car, it was like something had been brought back to life and my body went cold, then I could feel every hair stand on end as a very eery feeling filled the air.
I asked my Dad how it felt now being able to call the car his, but he said ‘’Well…it will never really be my car, it will always be Donna’s car’’. So as the car idled he let me know that after he had it fixed up, had his time with it and some day pass on that it would be mine to take care of. Little did we know that this time would come sooner than any of us wanted. He then had me put it in drive and we drove it around the warehouse lot.
My Dad soon got very sick with cancer and the week he went in to the hospital the car also went into the paint shop. I was able to take two weeks in late June of 04 to help work on it, and my youngest daughter Cassie also helped by putting the chrome back on it, lights, signal lights... But sadly in the end my Dad only saw the car with maybe 60% of the chrome on it. At that point he could only stand about 20 minutes at the shop and he had to go home. My Dad’s battle with cancer ended almost 2 months after that trip in June.
I just wish it was still under my Dad's care and that he was having fun with it. He had dreams of driving it on trips, going to car shows, and turning a wrench on it on a cool afternoon, but now for some reason it is my pleasure.
After my Dad died I felt very moved towards this car as it was more or less a material bond to the memories of my Dad. My wife Debbie and I took about 3 trips to Redding, CA to work on the car. We had the transmission rebuilt, radiator work, cleaned her up as best we could and then prepped her for the long drive home.
La Donna Rose Hollenbeck, the original owner of the Sport Fury. Sadly I have no photo’s of her with the car. My Aunt Donna was killed in 1972. This picture had to have been taken in the early 60's due to my Dad's Air Force picture in the background.
Here he is, Ernie Hollenbeck, my Dad. This picture was taken by my brother Tim while visiting my "Pop" in June of 2004. He had just come our of surgery the month prior, and the Sport Fury had just come out of the paint shop, but he didn't have an ounce of strength to work on it. I then made the plans and went to Redding late June to work on the car and hang out with my Dad.
Ernie Hollenbeck 02/08/1934-08/24/2004
In the Fall of 2005 we decided to move the car to my Uncles house. Dan, my cousin helped me get her moved over to her temporary home in Anderson CA.
Summer of 2004 and Cassie's back there polishing Chrome. I had to spend a couple days just seeing how Ernie had everything laid out and figuring out a game plan to continue his work. Even at this time we had no Idea that he would die almost two months later. I had no idea that I was actually preparing the car for her long trip to Baja California where I live.
Dennis and Cassie. This was in late June of 2004 when I made the trip up to work on the car. Cassie spent a few days with me in that hot muggy shop and I believe that's a can of chrome polish in her hands. There was so much to do!
Parked on a cliff over looking the Baja Coast near La Bufadora, 03/08
This is how I found Mike, working on the trunk and finding some ugly rust, I did a search on Trunk Pans and his web site came up.
Here I'm painting some of the trunk compartment with Rust Bullet, but the pan will need to be replaced someday.
Dennis and his wife Debbie,had just picked the car up from Quality Transmission in Anderson CA. May 2007
Dennis and Debbie on a cool March day in 2008 off the coast of Baja California
After 30 years the car is pushed out of the old dirty garage, mice turd's, squirrel nest, acorns, rotted tires and no keys. This picture was taken in the fall of 2002 and shortly after this Pop towed her down to Redding California from Mc Cloud CA.