1969 Valiant Diary

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Swifster

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Welcome to my diary. This will cover my exploits of my newly purchased 1969 Plymouth Valiant 100. First lets say this car is a turd. It's solid, but still a turd. I bought the car from a guy in Las Vegas and dragged it back to Detroit (see photo). This car had two lug nuts per wheel. I have raided Rock Auto of 18 new lug nuts. I'm looking for a pair of 14" wheels so I can get off those donut tires. Most of the stuff that gets done will most likely be on the weekends. How did Alice Cooper put it? Welcome to my Nightmare? :welcome:



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Let me know if we can be of any help.
My son and I have a 68 and 69 Valiant that
are both Magazine Cover cars and have been fooling
with them forever.

Did you buy the one on Las Vegas Craigs list a few weeks ago?
 
Nope. This one was on Marketplace. The car isn't too bad as a shell, but just about everything else needs replacing. A quick question though. What radio do you have on your '69? I had a '69 Valiant with the Spring Special package (I feel special now :)). It had the thumb wheel roller knobs on it. This one has the 'normal' knobs on it. Is this a difference in a Hamtramck built car and a Los Angeles built car? Just curious if you knew?

So what kind of drivetrains do you have in your cars? Big blocks, small blocks, automatics or manuals? I'm still sorting out what I really want to do with the car. My initial idea was to put a 360 Magnum and a 5-speed automatic. But at this early stage, I'm just about open for anything that isn't a slant six.
 
Keep um Lefty!

I recently picked up a 67 - 2 lug nuts per tire! 3 broken studs. 2 right and 1 left and as luck would have it I had a LHT stud!
 
Hey Swifster, here's a pic of the finished 1968 Valiant "400" our Inland Mopars Car Club built as our charity benefit project car some years ago. It started as an Arizona car that was pretty rough when purchased but was able to be driven back to SoCal.

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We called the finished car a "Valiant 400" because we stuffed a 400-cid big block/727/8.75 drivetrain under it. We also put a complete RMS Alterkation/StreetLynx suspension under it. It was both a sweet driver and great handling setup.
You said you're unsure of the drivetrain right now. If it was me, I'd go with a 360/200-4R overdrive combo. This is what I'm putting in my '69 Dart. The 200-4R fits in the unmodified A-body tunnel and has a 0.67 OD.
Good luck with your build and please post progression pics.
 
Lose the scoop the exhaust and the wheels and I would like it more. The snorkel scoop fits the 68 hood perfect looks like it was made for the car. I am not a retro fan. I like the old school look
 
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When I got home tonight it was still sunny and a comfortable 55*. I got the hood opened and cleaned up the trim tag. This car is as base as base can be. The only option was the 904 automatic transmission. I've never had a Chrysler product with a two line trim tag. My 1971 Sport Fury GT had a full five lines on it. OK baseball fans, let's check out the box score...

Odometer - 21,857 Original miles :)steering:)

E11 - 170 cubic inch Slant Six engine
D31 - 904 3-Speed Automatic
VIN: VL21A9E158486 - 1969 Valiant 100 built in Los Angeles
T3 - Honey Bronze Lower
T3 - Honey Bronze Upper
L2T - Vinyl Tan Interior w/bench seat
T3 - Honey Bronze Interior Painted Surfaces
521 - Built May 21, 1969
184455 - Order Number

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So, what does this mean? Either Chrysler was short 3-Speed manual transmissions, or they had way too many 904 automatics. Not even a radio was listed. This what your 70 year-old english teacher was driving.
 
ocdart said:
Hey Swifster, if it was me, I'd go with a 360/200-4R overdrive combo. The 200-4R fits in the unmodified A-body tunnel and has a 0.67 OD.
Click to expand...

I like this idea. I know that there are adapter plates for the GM transmissions to fit behind just about anything. I'll have to look into it.
 
Swifster said:
I like this idea. I know that there are adapter plates for the GM transmissions to fit behind just about anything. I'll have to look into it.
Click to expand...

Swifster, I had my 200-4R built by Extreme Automatics in Amelia, OH. They cut the factory bell off of the GM tranny and mount a Reid billet bell that mounts directly to a small block Mopar.

Extreme Automatics billet transmission adapters.

I had mine built as a reverse-pattern-manual-shift tranny with a lock-up OD. It's gonna be fun on the street! I'm going to use a 4.30 rear gear that will act like 2.88 gears on the freeway because of the 0.67 OD.
 
What do you want the car to do?

Daily driver?

Economical?

Race car? Autocross track or 1/4 mile?

GT car / Pro Touring?

Stock bench, stock style buckets, race seats?

Stay with a Valiant dash, something custom, or Rallye dash like the Barracudas?

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mosleyme said:
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I want a good, dependable street car I can take to the track. Which track? I haven't decided yet. I ran SCCA ITB for a few years with a Suzuki Swift. I've also bracket raced on more than a few occasions. I have no front seat at this time. I'm inclined to find a bench seat. As for the dash, I'll be looking for a Barracuda (rally dash).

Race Car - 400.jpg
 
Swifster said:
I want a good, dependable street car I can take to the track. Which track? I haven't decided yet. I ran SCCA ITB for a few years with a Suzuki Swift. I've also bracket raced on more than a few occasions. I have no front seat at this time. I'm inclined to find a bench seat. As for the dash, I'll be looking for a Barracuda (rally dash).

View attachment 1716229279
Click to expand...
Do you want to have to hold on to the steering wheel to take turns or do you want a "proper" seat? Bench is fine for straight line or cruising w/ your girl, but otherwise not so. Honestly, have not made my final decision on that topic, but need to soon.

Either way do the frame connectors and torque boxes, world of difference for any application.

If you want it to turn corners the '68-'69 Valiant is a great platform. Look into Firm Feel in Vancouver, Washington and Bergman Auto Craft, currently in Hampstead, NC.

My suspension setup is a combination of Firm Feel and Bergman on the front, and Calvert on the rear. My brakes are pure Dr Diff on all four corners and the master cylinder. My '68 Barracuda is same platform and wheelbase as your Valiant.

Here are a few pages I put together with some of the details of my car:
www.forabodiesonly.com

Items by mosleyme

www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
 
One thing at a time. After working as an insurance adjuster and a body shop writer, I actually want to take stock in what I have. The car has been hammered in the front at least once and maybe twice. I want to get the car cleaned up as best I can and then go over the rest of it to see what the body needs. Everything else is a bolt on. The temps here are generally below 60* this time of year. Other than a pair of 14" small bolt pattern wheels and a parts book, the shopping list is empty.
 
great choice for a base to start with in the corner carving department. tons of options to build something super fun that'll handle really well for not an absolute mountain of dough.

i had a bench in my 65 dart that was basically set up as an autox/solo car... it was, to put it bluntly, not ideal. if i build anything that turns on the track it gets buckets.

looking forward to the build!
 
Thanks going out to Dana67Dart and Jnew4008! Dana passed on the link to download the parts manuals for free. What a deal! And Jnew drove up from Cleveland with some wheels and a '68 bench seat. We had a great lunch at Jellibee (Filipino fast food). It was a great couple of hours.

Thanks guys!
 
Patience Grasshopper :D . On Saturday I took my photos documenting the way the car ended up at my home. If I'm doing this at work for an insurance company, I get photos of the VIN, the trim tag, all four corners of the car, the license plate and the odometer.

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The next thing to do is the condition of the car. The floor has a big hole in the left floor and the cowl has been bashed in. The dash is out of a '67 Valiant and so is the entire front clip. Judging by the cowl and the radiator support, I'm guessing the front end has been hammered at least twice.
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After JNEW4008 brought up the tires and seat yesterday, I got rid of the little donut tires on the fronts and put the new lug nuts I got from Rock Auto and the 'new wheels' on so the car actually has a stock stance. I got the seat in the garage but neglected to get a photo of it. It will have to be recovered/rebuilt, but it's better than the seat it came with. I also grabbed the broom and swept out the car.
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Nice! Someone did you a big favor and put a 67 grill in it instead of the less attractive 69 grill. Yup, I said it. :D
 
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