The Great White Brick - '69 Valiant

[65s]

Well it's been a week since taking possession....hope we're on the right track with this frame replacement deal!

 

[OldVart]

Looks like you're headed in the right direction there.

Jimmy boy ... you're back on line!

 

[65s]

I want to put in a V8 k-frame but my buddy (who's going to own the car when we're done) thinks this one is in nice shape and the 318 was sitting on it pretty good so why bother? It had homemade shims under 318 mounts and was sitting well enough that the exhaust wasn't hitting anything. Is a /6 K-frame really that bad?

 

[4mulaSvaliant]

Man that is ambitious! Im a welder/fabricator daily, I make all kinds of stuff and I dont think Id tackle that! lol I have to say keep on moving in the right direction youll get there! I like the front end on the valiant. Also, not that they are salvageable but I love the back tires! Love the 70's street scene.
Looks good man keep up the good work! :thumbup:

 

[65s]

Getting ready for that frame replacement thing..... I guess now would be a good time to find a '69 Valiant front clip, but the Dart front just looks so cool on this car, it's staying!

 

[65s]

Uh oh, where did the front frame go??

 

[65s]

Oh...there it is! Anyone need some front frame sections? Forward of the shock towers is excellent, the rest is rusty junk.

 

[65s]

I have a replacement drivers door, it's blue (the rest of the interior is green). I noticed tonight the vent window lever and the position of the lock button are different on both doors! Is the blue door a '68 or something?

 

[JR]

DAMN!!! Not much holding the bottom of that car togeather lol. The slanted K-member should be fine, I would just throw a set of 318 or better T-bars in.
I love the look of that front end on the car. Keep up the good work!

 

[Brambles]

Keep taking photos of this job, I might have to do something similar with a car that I'm buying.

Looks good, keep up the good work!!

Brambles

 

[flyboy01]

Its official, you do have the biggest, hairyest set on this whole forum for tackling that job. GOOD LUCK!

 

[jeeper]

I have built my share of old rusted trucks into something decent. You are the man for tackling that. I love it.

Keep us posted on your progress.

ROB

 

[66dartgt]

Wow - whats left of the poor thing ! Quite an undertaking there, something I would never do, not without some very expert help. Hats off to you !

I think the motor color should be chrysler blue unless I am mistaken - could be red as well.

For the motor and K frame you could buy a set of the schumaker mounts and then be certain its in the right position - just a thought.

Keep sending those updates - incredible job you are doing there.

 

[65s]

I can't take credit, it's Tom my buddy who is the brainchild and brave one with the hairy ones. I'm just along for the ride, doing what I'm told.

Today we picked up the floor pan and low and behold, it's too long! I guess the '69 Valiant is a 108" car and the pan from a Dart is 111" car, right? I think we can cut 3" from right in front of the rear seat perches....not sure at this point.

Thanks for the support everyone. It's a learning thing. Next year we'll do a Hemi Cuda on a rotisserie or something.. ;-)

 

[65s]

Oh ya, the engine will be red and I'm going to make up some custom decals for the side that say "Deviant", maybe in a Demon type font or a mix of Demon/Valiant fonts.

 

[4mulaSvaliant]

hey man check this out! While you guys have the car that far apart you should do what XV Engineering has done! The found that the lower radiator support was a weak spot on B and E bodies. Also they ran tubing from the fire wall area inside the fenders over to the shock tower area. It stiffens all the front suspension. Like I say ya' have it apart already, and its pretty simple as well as cheap! just a thought! Oh and I would def. get the shumacher mount to get the engine back in the correct place on the /6 k frame! lata' and good luck!
http://www.xvmotorsports.com/products/detail/index.cfm?nPID=23&cid=39&cdesc=E-Body Products

 

[ta3834bbl]

For the door lock buttons, if they are the same as a roadrunner, the 68 door has the button to the rear and the 69 is more towards the middle right under your arm when you hang it out the window. Feels great !

 

[65s]

Tonight was frame time!

Here's some photos of the process. It went pretty smooth considering. It's in and hopefully tomorrow we'll get to weld it in, right now it's just sitting in its location.

We sandblasted the frame, POR-15'd it and gently eased it under the car. Then we lifted it into place, used some jacks and stuff to get it up where it belongs and then levelled it out tweaked it's position. No problem man!

All the weld locations are ground to bare metal. We'll weld around each drilled hold (where the factory spot welds were), fill the hole with some brazing, then grind with a dremel to simulate a factory weld.

 

[65s]

Here's the donor floor pan I bought. It came from a Dart, and I've now realized it's a little longer.....so we'll have to cut it shorter.

 

[65s]

After drilling out the factory spot welds, you're left with a round hole you have to weld to the new frame. It seems you have to weld around the inner edge of the hole then fill it a little, grind, a little bondo, then some paint I guess. Lots of work!

 

[OldVart]

Excellent work guys. Keep those photos coming.

 

[memike]

65s has got this prodgect on the run.
Look's like he has dun this before,
Keep up the good work and your post's,
And update's will help alot of folk's

 

[notorious318]

Looks like alot of work getting done over there! Really cool project car. The Dart front end is very cooland unique. I've often wondered about how cross breeding would look with Darts and Valiants. It looks like the factory could have had success with this look on your car! - n318

 

[65s]

Nope, never done this before, neither has my buddy Tom. We've changed a crossmember before and some other small body work. It's really quite fun and exciting and we're very proud. We're a little afraid the car might not be "true" after, but we've measured and levelled as much as possible, I think it's going to be okay.

Just to recap.......we've gone from this, to this, in less than 3 weeks of spare time!

 

[65s]

I hereby declare this car the one and only Plymouth Deviant! Perhaps the first?

I've been trying to merge the Demon logo with a Valiant log in photopaint, but I"m not that good, but I did manage to create this. I'll probably have to get someone to airbrush something on the car when done.