Saving another one - '62 Valiant

[70DartMike]

Here's another one that I've been working on to try to save. I was offered this car by a guy down island, who said it was absolutely rust free and drove around the yard. After getting screwed around for a week to go get it, I finally got to it and realized it was not as described. The frame rails had rust and the engine was seized. So I passed on it. A month or so later, another guy had bought it. We ended up in contact, and he offered me the car for much cheaper than the first guy wanted. So here it is.

After a pressure wash, it doesn't look half bad. Story is, the old lady bought it new in Ontario, drove it to BC, had it painted about 20 years ago, and it never got reassembled. I guess that makes me the 2nd owner. It's got 62,000 miles on it, I'm pretty sure it's original. Unfortunately the poor thing sat outside for years and years, here on the West Coast.

The seized engine was just a stuck valve, it's the 170 slant 6. Everyone thought the transmission was bad because, "Even in neutral, the driveshaft doesn't spin." I don't think they realized there is a park lever.

I don't think I will hang onto it, I just wanted to save another. It was destined to get parted and crushed. Plan is to just go through it, make it safe to drive, and sell it to someone for fairly cheap. It would be a great candidate for someone to get into the hobby with.

 

[abdywgn]

glad you are not close!

 

[JDMopar]

Looks pretty good! Glad you got to save it. were you able to unstick the valve and make it run, or will you pull the head off for a full valve job?

 

[Darter6]

Are there any floors left ? Looks good from the outside.
I'm with you abdywgn . Very tempting.....

 

[70DartMike]

Looks pretty good! Glad you got to save it. were you able to unstick the valve and make it run, or will you pull the head off for a full valve job?

I only discovered a stuck valve because I pulled the rocker assembly off to check it out. I tapped it free and that was that. I haven't yet tried to start it (got busy) but I think it'll be ok. I don't really want to dump too much money into it, other than the basics to make it safe to drive.

 

[70DartMike]

Are there any floors left ? Looks good from the outside.
I'm with you abdywgn . Very tempting.....

The floors are there, although the front pans show history of being worked on. The issue is the frame rails, the rears are a bit crusty, and the fronts aren't far behind. I will get it up on the hoist and get a better look.

 

[Killer6]

That looks like a toad worth saving for sure, glad You grabbed it!

 

[70DartMike]

Had to put in an ignition switch as someone previous had drilled it out and put in a pushbutton to start it, what a pain! I'm a huge Mopar guy but what a stupid design. Had to remove the gauge faceplate, but the screws were rusted, so had to drill those out. Then the ignition switch is held on with a huge nut (not your typical chrome nut that's visible). That nut was rusted to the switch, and the whole thing was just mounted through the 62 year old plastic, which you can guess was brittle and someone previous had already broken it. Sigh.

Anyways, put in another switch I had, swapped out the starter, and freed up that stuck valve and 2 stuck lifters. I put the plugs back in, the compression sounded pretty good when cranking. I pulled apart the carb, it had a bunch of dirt/rust inside. I changed out the points and the coil (it was dead), and it fired right up. Ran it for about 20 min, no leaks, wasn't really even smoking. Transmission went into drive and reverse, what more can I ask for! Even the temp gauge started moving. It wants to be saved!

Downside is the frame is pretty crusty.

 

[Darter6]

Good 'ol Slants. Run forever.

 

[70DartMike]

Just waiting on wheel cylinders, brake hoses, an oil filter and some other small parts to arrive (should be today). I made all new steel lines, put in another single master cylinder I had from my '65 Valiant before I converted it to a dual master.

Put the bumpers back on and cleaned them up a bit. Seats are back in, I got the trunk latch & key working, and got the license plate light working.

Hopefully can get the brakes wrapped up today and get it pulled outside, see if the transmission wants to work and see if the rad holds.

 

[valiantpatrol]

I wish you better luck than I've had. Saved this Signet 2dr Hdtp a few years back and have not been able to sell it for $3K less my wheels. I don't feel to bad, I've put 80K miles on it so far. Has rust up high in body but pans and rails are excellent. Never seen a car rusted like this one in all my days. Ran when parked !!, but has crack in block. Loses coolant but at a very controlled rate, virtually none in winter, more during 100+ degree summers here. They really will run beyond limits of most other cars. At a tough point, spend more on a car I've seen very little purchase interest in or part it out. Cautionary tale for toad lovers regarding cost of revival vs resale desirability.

 

[70DartMike]

Got it pretty well wrapped up as far as I want to take it. I'll list it for sale in a week or so, after I've driven it around town to make sure everything is good.
I cleaned the interior, the door panels cleaned up nicely, with exception of the drivers front door panel which was already wrinkled. I removed that AM radio someone had installed as it totally covered the fuse block, and the radio didn't work. This car is a factory radio delete, also it doesn't have reverse lights or a fuse spot for them, and has single speed wipers.
It runs great at idle, but once in gear it stumbles and dies once you press the pedal, I'm guessing accelerator pump issues. The one in it was pretty rough looking, I should have known, LOL.
It cleaned up pretty good though, considering what it looked like when I brought it home.

 

[abdywgn]

Great work! Glad you are not closer...stumble could be vacuum advance unit leaking. Somebody is going to get a fun driving/project car.

 

[70DartMike]

Great work! Glad you are not closer...stumble could be vacuum advance unit leaking. Somebody is going to get a fun driving/project car.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I drove it down the street today to see what it would do, it sure feels like it has short gears! It was in 3rd gear by the time I hit 20 MPH. Got home and the rad sprung a leak, fixed it with some solder and a 7 LB rad cap. Also one of the trans cooler lines was rusted and it blew out, so I fixed that.

We meet up at the beach on Tuesday nights in old cars, so I took the Valiant (about a 20 min drive at 50 MPH). It ran great! No issues, no more stumble, and drives really straight! No wandering from the front end. It sure gets a lot of attention.

 

[70DartMike]

Video of the rescue..

 

[1968 Dart 270]

Not into the "toad" cars at all,but I love the 1957 Dodge in your profile photo. The 1957-1961 Forward Look cars were the best cars Chrysler ever made design wise. They made anything Ford or Gm made during the same time look terribly outdated. The 1959 Buick is a Gm masterpiece though. The 59-60 Gm cars were all dorect reactions to Chryslers 1957 cars. It took them years to catch up.
I love the 1957 Dodges and prefer the front end floating bumper "grilleless" design over the 58's. Mine is a custom royal and has the "teeth" too. The 59's are neat too because the speedometer changes color with speed. I believe they called that "indicolor"

 

[Darter6]

Agree.Reminds me of my Fathers 57 Chrysler Saratoga. Loved that ride.

 

[70DartMike]

Not into the "toad" cars at all,but I love the 1957 Dodge in your profile photo. The 1957-1961 Forward Look cars were the best cars Chrysler ever made design wise. They made anything Ford or Gm made during the same time look terribly outdated. The 1959 Buick is a Gm masterpiece though. The 59-60 Gm cars were all dorect reactions to Chryslers 1957 cars. It took them years to catch up.
I love the 1957 Dodges and prefer the front end floating bumper "grilleless" design over the 58's. Mine is a custom royal and has the "teeth" too. The 59's are neat too because the speedometer changes color with speed. I believe they called that "indicolor"

Thanks! It's a '57 Royal Lancer, with the original 325 Poly 4 bbl "Super Red Ram", and cast iron Torqueflite, 3 speed pushbutton. We love driving it.

 

[70DartMike]

I sold the '62 Valiant today, I didn't even get a chance to list it for sale. A guy in our car club saw it down at the beach spot that we meet up on Tuesday nights, asked me to wait on listing it. Came by today and said he'll buy it. He's out doing the bank run right now.

 

[85glht]

Congrats!!!