'63 Valiant - Hot Rod Transformation
Well, you all have seen my various threads asking questions about engine & drive-train combos for this build, so I saw it would be fit to start the actual build thread for this car.
As explained in more detail in my intro thread, my wife & I decided to build a hot rod that you don't see out there on the road everyday. Just about everyone you see out there (Mostly our youth driving the new ones) are driving new & old Camaros, Mustangs, TransAms, Firebirds, etc, occasionally you'll see an old Mopar out there, but not often in my area. We found this little Valiant & decided that it would be perfect for the transformation.
After doing some homework, mostly here at FABO, (Thanks guys!) I've pretty much got the base plan together as far as what engine/transmission combo to go with which will be a BUILT 360 roller motor & a BUILT to the HILT 904 that will allow us to retain the original pushbutton shifter on the dash. (Gotta have some nostalgia here, lol)
Right now we are just accumulating parts & getting them ready before we actually start tearing into the car since it runs good as it sits.
I will list plans & what we do to it as we go, along with posting plenty of pics of course. This will probably end up being about a 3 year project by the time we are finished.
Here are some beginning pics to show the "Before" part of the build. Some are phone pics so please excuse them if they are a bit fuzzy.
Well, you all have seen my various threads asking questions about engine & drive-train combos for this build, so I saw it would be fit to start the actual build thread for this car.
As explained in more detail in my intro thread, my wife & I decided to build a hot rod that you don't see out there on the road everyday. Just about everyone you see out there (Mostly our youth driving the new ones) are driving new & old Camaros, Mustangs, TransAms, Firebirds, etc, occasionally you'll see an old Mopar out there, but not often in my area. We found this little Valiant & decided that it would be perfect for the transformation.
After doing some homework, mostly here at FABO, (Thanks guys!) I've pretty much got the base plan together as far as what engine/transmission combo to go with which will be a BUILT 360 roller motor & a BUILT to the HILT 904 that will allow us to retain the original pushbutton shifter on the dash. (Gotta have some nostalgia here, lol)
Right now we are just accumulating parts & getting them ready before we actually start tearing into the car since it runs good as it sits.
I will list plans & what we do to it as we go, along with posting plenty of pics of course. This will probably end up being about a 3 year project by the time we are finished.
Here are some beginning pics to show the "Before" part of the build. Some are phone pics so please excuse them if they are a bit fuzzy.