A Meeting of the Vals: The 1964 Plymouth Valiant

This past Sunday I went to the Back to the 50’s car show at the state fair grounds.  I had been planning to go on Saturday and spend the day there, but when I returned from my travels on Friday night, I discovered there had been some storm damage to my big maple tree in the backyard.  As a result of that, Saturday was spent with chainsaws, loppers, and tree branches.  Sunday, I slept in a bit and only got up in time to have a few hours to spend at the car show.  That may sound like plenty of time, but when it’s a show as expansive as this one, it’s not. 

There were hundreds  -actually, thousands of fascinating and beautiful automobiles to see at the show.  There was one car though that literally had my name on it. 

Behold, “Val” the 1964 Plymouth Valiant.  As most probably know, Plymouth is no longer with us, having been dissolved several years ago, taking with it the Plymouth Prowler -a retro rod that would have been in its element at a car show like this despite its young age.  It practically broke my dad’s heart when Plymouth was put out to pasture.  He’s always been a Mopar guy, and throughout his younger days, and into his older years, has preferred Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth products.  If only he had held on to the gaggle of Barracudas, Challengers and Chargers he owned back in the 60's and 70's.  My dad never did own a Valiant, but I’m sure he wouldn’t have been opposed to the idea.
 

The Valiant was Plymouth’s attempt at making a compact car.  It was a good attempt… and not a bad car.  They were available for purchase from 1960-1976 in the US.   The most interesting thing about the Valiant is something you can’t see here because the hood isn’t popped.  These cars had an engine called a “slant-6” that we haven’t talked about yet on this blog.  A slant-6 has its cylinders in a straight line in the engine block, but rather than sitting straight upright in the engine bay, the block has a 30 degree tilt to one side, so it sits at a diagonal in the engine bay.  This meant that it took up less vertical space, and the hood could be designed lower.  Ask just about anybody who knows engines, and they’ll tell you that the slant 6 is considered a good, solid design.
 

Because I know this aspect is important to what makes “Val” here so special, I did take the time to hunt down an exposed slant 6 at the show.  It was actually harder than I expected it to be.  Seems some folks aren't particularly proud of them, but they ought to be.  Not everybody needs a rip-snorting V8, after all.  There's something to be said for a happy medium that provides a balance between economy and fun.  I did manage to find one though, bolted into a 1964 Dodge Dart wagon, so I’ve included those pictures here.  In 1964, it was optional to get a 4.5L V8 in a Valiant, but since this one is the base V100, I’m pretty sure that it’s a slant-6 hiding under the hood. 

The slant-6 in this Valiant is a 2.8L with 101HP.  It’s an engine that’s not too hard to work on (just look at all the room you have to move and reach around under the hood!), and not too expensive to fix, and that’s only if or when something needs fixing, because they’re just not all that finicky to begin with.

 A 2nd generation Valiant like this isn’t a bad idea as a starter car for somebody looking to get into a classic and do the wrenching themselves.  The ’64 Valiant is a solid, staunch little American car that’s trustworthy on the road and has got enough power to size ratio to provide a good time. I’d recommend one like this for a fun, mostly headache-free start into classic car ownership -avoid anything British until later, and definitely after you‘ve learned how to work on a car‘s electrical system (a lesson I learned the hard way).
From one Val to another, I give this one a thumbs up!