67 valiant redo

[N8track]

So I've had this car since about 1999-2000, it was one of the first cars I ever owned. It started as a /6 3-speed manual car that my father and I got out South Carolina(if I remember correctly). We rebuilt it the first year and put together a 451 low deck stroker - 833 4-speed combo for it. The car was decently quick for the time(as a street car) it ran mid-low 12's at about 116 mph.

You will have to forgive the front seat choice(I was 20 when these happened)... and yes they were the cheapest available then.

Over time, as I got newer nicer driving cars, I kind of lost interest in driving the old one. I couldn't bring myself to sell it, so it sat for the last 8 years or so. I would maybe drive it once or twice a year. However, I did manage to sell the motor and trans this Spring and so begins the re-imagining

I've been redoing the interior:

Still need to paint the gauge cluster black

Got these seats from a Chevy Sonic RS

Test fitting seats

Re-did the trunk with spatter paint, it looks OK. I am not in love with how the spatter paint works.

 

[N8track]

One other notable addition, HDK front end:

Also trying out some LED projectors:

 

[Abodybomber]

A 12 second E.T.,should be respectful anywhere..Nice to meet, you

 

[Valiant69er]

Great beginning. Can't wait to see it finished. Love Valiants.


3 Generation Project

 

[RPMagoo]

-- Love Valiants --

-- Me too. -- Nice one.

 

[N8track]

Thanks guys, the next job is wiring up the car with the new American Autowire Highway 15 harness.

 

[Bigdummy]

Far out

 

[clinteg]

Good start on the build! The coilover and r&p up front make for a great driving machine. I no longer have to continuously turn the wheel side to side trying to keep it straight on the road and braking quality had improved a ton. Drives straight and brakes straight.

 

[Tadams]

Great looking car.

 

[N8track]

Good start on the build! The coilover and r&p up front make for a great driving machine. I no longer have to continuously turn the wheel side to side trying to keep it straight on the road and braking quality had improved a ton. Drives straight and brakes straight.

Yeah, the reason I didn't drive the car much lately was the old manual box was so sloppy. At some point once you get used to driving the newer cars(99 z28 camaro & 01 z06 vette in my case) and I couldn't go back to the steering box.

The other part I will probably buy in the next few months is a t56 Magnum trans if I can't find a decent deal on a used one. The end goal is modern fuel injected motor - 6-speed. I have a couple more small appearance changes to do as well.

 

[clinteg]

Yeah, the reason I didn't drive the car much lately was the old manual box was so sloppy. At some point once you get used to driving the newer cars(99 z28 camaro & 01 z06 vette in my case) and I couldn't go back to the steering box.

The other part I will probably buy in the next few months is a t56 Magnum trans if I can't find a decent deal on a used one. The end goal is modern fuel injected motor - 6-speed. I have a couple more small appearance changes to do as well.

Check in with US Car Tool. Chris was the guy telling me about it. They were making a tunnel/crossmember for the T-56 but I'm not sure when it will be available. I bought their GM 200-4R crossmember to put in my Dart. Like you, I eventually want fuel injection, but the trans swap will be first. Will be nice to cruise 60mph @2K rpm with 4.10 gears and still run 10's all day long. The T-56 will be a lot of fun though!

 

[N8track]

Check in with US Car Tool. Chris was the guy telling me about it. They were making a tunnel/crossmember for the T-56 but I'm not sure when it will be available. I bought their GM 200-4R crossmember to put in my Dart. Like you, I eventually want fuel injection, but the trans swap will be first. Will be nice to cruise 60mph @2K rpm with 4.10 gears and still run 10's all day long. The T-56 will be a lot of fun though!

Thanks for the heads up on US car tool trans tunnel. I have been looking at doing their inner fender braces as well.

 

[Valiant69er]

Thanks for the heads up on US car tool trans tunnel. I have been looking at doing their inner fender braces as well.

US Car Tool has great products in my opinion. We used a kit. Front and rear torque boxes, frame connectors, core support brace, drive shaft loop, and inner fender braces. They all fit our Valiant very well.

 

[Sedanman]

Nice looking ride. We don't see too many 67's around here. I have 2 at the moment.

 

[N8track]

So, I had some time to work on the car this weekend and I got the US Car Tool inner fender braces installed and undercoated:

Also, we put some hood vents from a 2013 mustang in the hood. I will admit that I felt a bit guilty cutting into the hood on an original paint car which is in decent shape.

Cut out hole and frame tack'd in place. Thankfully the hood is still rigid with the frame we made.

Also kind of hard to see in this picture, I have the OER camaro front splitter mocked in place:

 

[Sedanman]

Lookin good. If you want the factory grille look back I have a few nice 67 grille sets

 

[R4Sedan]

I like what you did with the hood. Real nice touch!

 

[N8track]

Thanks guys, I may look you up sometime for a grill Sedanman.

 

[Sedanman]

I'm doing some garage cleaning and I have plenty for the 2 67's I'm working on so it's time to release my leftovers. I have 7 sets of taillights listed for sale also.

 

[N8track]

Just a little update on some parts that showed up today.

T56 magnum wide ratio

Headers

 

[hemitheus]

nice restomod.I am not feeling the mustng vents but they dont look bad at all. That trans will make a TON of difference.

 

[N8track]

nice restomod.I am not feeling the mustng vents but they dont look bad at all. That trans will make a TON of difference.

Thanks man, I just couldn't go back to the older transmissions after being used to new cars.

 

[N8track]

I got a few more items taken care of this week. Here's the guage cluster I am working on, still need to add a few lights and switches to it.

The top line of the gauge bezel should straighten when it is actually screwed in.

 

[N8track]

We also cut the trans tunnel for a test fit of the T56. Trimmed away quite a bit, Not as much would have needed to be removed(drivers side) if the car didn't already have a 4-speed tunnel piece.

I'm trying to mount it as high up into the car as I can, to keep the exhaust tucked up as close to the floor pan as possible. We're probably going to trim it a bit more near the firewall for better access.

 

[N8track]

We also did a preliminary test fit with the new engine and headers. Its a 6.0L lq4(ls type) engine. The headers were a tight fit, but seemed to clear everthing with no denting. The HDK front end played a huge factor in making header fitment issues minimal.

Here is the driver side header clearance. I have a fair bit of wiggle room with the steering shaft to get more clearance.

Passenger side, there is a tiny spot on the pinch weld that I will need trim(red arrow)

As far a the engine mounts go, I have a set of 5.7 hemi mounts and we are building a set off of them. The passenger side is shockingly close to working as is. It would probably work with a shim and slotting 2 of the holes like 1/4". The driver side mount is not very close.

In case anybody is wondering, the headers are Speed Engineering 1-7/8" swap headers for GM A & X body cars. I am pretty impressed with the quality for a $280 set of headers. They even have merge spikes in the collectors. Also, the ground clearance looks very good.