Vehicle Description
1966 Plymouth Valiant
In May 1957, Chrysler president Lester Lum "Tex" Colbert
established a committee to develop a competitor in the burgeoning
compact car market which included the popular VW Beetle, the new
American Motors Rambler and upcoming entries from GM, Ford and
Studebaker. Virgil Exner designed a car that was smaller and
lighter than a full-size car without sacrificing passenger and
luggage space. Originally named the Falcon after Exner's 1955
Chrysler Falcon concept car, the vehicle was renamed the 'Valiant'
honoring Henry Ford II's request to use the original name for the
Ford Falcon.
For consignment, a car originally manufactured in Canada as a 9T
model, now makes its way to the USA and our consigner decides to
make it a rodder. And an awesome job was done if I must say.
Utilizing the tasteful designs of the original 1966 car, a frame up
custom build was completed, and now a powerhouse on wheels sits
before our wandering eyes here in the wings of Classic Auto Mall.
Fully street able and street legal. Read on and I bet you are
smiling at the end?!
Exterior
A side view of this car and it will tell you that Virgil Exner
certainly had "different" on mind when he penned this design. This
example now has been a bit simplified upfront blackened but
retaining its grille surround in chrome along with the round
headlight bezels and bumper below, but the bumper is now blackened.
Some bling has been retained in the front quarter topper trimmings,
drip edges, window surrounds and belt line moldings at the tops of
the doors. Wheel wells and rockers have it too and it breaks up the
black very nicely, as well as shows some of the highlighted
original design, like the rear window and roofline shape. Speaking
of shape, take a gander at the mini "basket handle" top with a trim
running across the roof delineating the B pillar. Another Exner
highlight to be different on this compact car. Chrome and trimmings
are very nice with a few slight areas of dimpling and some paint
rub off on the badges, but they are original. On back a split oval
taillight shares space between the rear quarter and the back
vertical panel after the trunk. Side pipes allow the now monster
engine to breathe easily, and now massive drag wheels are installed
on back. (rear axle has been narrowed 9 inches to accommodate these
biggies).
Interior
Retaining most of its original charm all in black, we see original
low back buckets, snappy mid 60's center console and original dash.
A rally steering wheel has been added, and some aftermarket hanging
gauges, large tachometer and shift light is seen hanging below the
dash above the center console. A roll bar has been added and it has
removable side posts for easier access. The rear seat is no longer,
now replaced with larger wheel wells and an access panel for the
rear drive components for wrenching. Black carpet covers the floors
and a nice black headliner is above. The trunk has been
re-configured to accommodate a fuel cell and battery with
shutoff.
Drivetrain
Flipping the hood, we note bolted into this custom fabricated frame
is now a 440ci V8 topped with Carter AFB dual 4-barrel carbs. There
is custom exhaust and headers to evacuate gasses quickly, and
plenty of braided stainless tubes, aluminum radiator, chromed valve
covers, and competition ignition are now installed. On back is a
727 transmission pushing power back to the Ford narrowed by 9
inches rear.
Undercarriage
The top may look mostly like a mild mannered sedan driven to church
on Sundays, but it goes to the race track on Saturday Nights and
you can drive it home! Underneath we see plenty of racing mods
strapped to a custom built frame. All clean and shiny with no rust
under here, just racing suspension, and front disc brakes now
installed.
Drive-Ability
A true eliminator, this car fires up with a real presence, makes
lots-o-noise and attracts attention due to its unusual format being
a racer and a Valiant. It performs very well, able to smoke the
tires at any time, all the while feeling stable. It's a car you
could take out for a Sunday drive, or race it on Saturday
night.
Exner design, custom built power, frame, and drag accessories, this
once grocery getter is now nothing to fool around with. Serious
power, beautiful build all wrapped into 1966 styling and plenty of
chrome trimmings. I guarantee you will be the only one in your
neighborhood with such a build. You can smile now!
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia
on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is
www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914.
Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the
vehicle in person.
