I am all done with cars, this is the first one that has to go. Many a story can begin with those words and we have no idea on how it would end.
eBay is perhaps a more sensible place to buy a car than craigslist, if only because the average craigslist listing has no guarantee of being truthful or relevant. Nevertheless, there’s always some ads that make you question the seller’s intentions or the article they’re selling. This Valiant looks innocent enough; but as we all know from that time we thought that tin can had butter cookies on it but it only had knitting supplies, appearances can be deceiving.
I’ll be the first one to compliment the sheer honesty of the Plymouth Valiant, especially as the ‘70s rolled around. The flamboyant styling and toilet-seat trunklid of the ’60s was a distant memory at this point and it its place a perfectly reasonable vehicle for anyone that wasn’t particularly interested in showing the world who he was by what he drove. Just a couple of feet of sensibleness offered in either two or four doors for the discerning motorist that valued…value above else. Call it projecting but I get the sense that if these were actually produced in 1960 they’d be made by Studebaker rather than Plymouth. The seller has tried to do the same thing in the listing, noting some problems like a leaky steering pump and warning that the gauges do not work “extremely well” However, there’s still a couple of problems.
Just from the start you can get to see the warning signs on it, or rather the warning date. Two years are quite enough time to have the mystical forces of entropy to wreak havoc on the shiny paint and seemingly flawless interior in the ad. Even if the owner does fess up tot he fact there are some bumps and dents on it. But why wouldn’t he bother to go out and maybe take a couple of shots with his phone. He also mentions that the car has an A/C system in the trunk. could that air conditioning unit in the trunk be in exactly the same way it is in the listing, and even if it is, why is it in the trunk and not installed?
If, and this is an if so large you can’t carry it without alerting various health and safety offices that you’re moving a very large if, the body is still in the condition it is there’s still the oily bits to take care of. A slant six may very well be one of the toughest engines made but even then go wrong from time to time. Still, if you want to drive what normal people drove in 1970, the listing is here. Hope this doesn’t make you give up on cars.
I’d buy one if I don’t to do much to get it running. If everything on the car works as it should, and the price was within what I can afford. I’ve always liked the 1967 through 1972 Plymouth Valiant. Nice looking car. Are there any more interior pics?
What about it Aaron65, does the Dirty Dart need a playmate? 🙂
Time to channel my inner Dennis Weaver? 🙂
I don’t think I could drive this car without constantly looking in my mirror for an old souped up diesel rig.
@Aaron65……That was the first thing that crossed my mind, when I saw the photo.
RADIATOR HOSE!!!!!
Duel got lots of nods over the years. There was a movie filmed in 2005 called Throttle where the main character family name is Weaver and we see a cameo of a red Plymouth Valiant with a Dennis Weaver lookalike. http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle.php?id=19002
And also, an episode of the live-action Incredible Hulk tv series episode “Never Gives a Trucker an even break” recycled lots of stock footage from Duel.
It’s the whole bidding on something that I haven’t seen (let alone driven) thing that bothers me about non-local ebay purchases. This isn’t a five dollar watch from China. At least with Craigslist there’s usually a phone number given and you can go check it out if it’s local. If the ad turns out to be BS, you’re only out your time and a few bucks worth of gas. Also, when I come upon a car that I’ve seen on CL and notice “issues” that weren’t specified in the ad, I can use them as barganing chips if I’m still interested. I bought an ’86 Mercedes 300E this way last year. The ad said it “ran and drove” and when I showed up to discover that it barely started and ran at all, I wound up snatching it up for only $500-half the asking price. I’ve learned to call (not text) and ask many, many questions. But how hard could it really be to get a slant-6 running again? Famous last words?
I agree. And besides that, I’d prefer to see the car in person for myself before I decide to give away my hard earned money.
And that’s the last we ever saw of his wallet
I knew it was a gamble, but I actually lucked out with the Benz. A new voltage regulator and a tune up cured the stalling/hard start issues. The replacement cost me about $9 at the local u-pull-it. Also, buying an OBDII scanner has taken a lot of the scariness out of those cheap CL purchases.
This car had factory installed A/C. Apparently the owner removed the compressor and hoses, but the expansion valve remains and is visible on the firewall.
So, uh, what exactly is a “power steering motor” 😀 ??? If that car was fire engine red I’d be all over it… because “Duel”.
Our family bought a Valiant, new, in 1968. It was a great car, and it ran damn near forever. In the days when you sold cars before they reached 50,000 miles, this car went close to 200,000. Hell, it left our employ at that point, but may still be out there somewhere. Yes, it had the 225 Slant Six, and the automatic. When my parents gave it to my sister in 1974 with 120,000 miles and still running perfectly, they naturally replaced it with another Plymouth…. Which was so bad, I am confident that my father will spin in his grave if one even drives past where he lays. Fortunately, there is little chance of any 74 Plymouths having survived this long. Chrysler fell very far, very fast.
Anyhow, the 70 in the article is one of the good ones, but….but…. No. The problem is that it’s just not an interesting enough car to be worth gambling on. There are just too many locally available newer (far newer) beaters. If this were an old Satellite 2 door, or a Barracuda, or even a convertible, then the decision would depend on the details. However, as is, why would you take the chance?
Gents, any car this age will want some sorting done unless it’s a perfectly restored example – and then of course it would be reflected in the price. In fact, a Valiant with that drivetrain would be an ideal for someone with basic mechanic skills who wants out of the Camry triangle. Parts are still available and cheap, and with a bit of thought it can actually be made into a fun car which goes round corners and stops more than well enough for modern conditions.
I second that. This is exactly the kind of car I start feeling wistful about when the computer controlled car starts giving me fits. Like the rest of you, I’d want to see it first, but if it were still in the condition of the photos, I’d take a chance on it. I’d expect to have to work on it to get up to daily driver status and since there’s a lot of aftermarket mechanical support for A-bodies in general, it wouldn’t be too hard to put front disc brakes on it and some anti sway bars and better shocks and have a fun commuter. My old ’74 Duster was usually good for about 25 mpg highway, I’d think this car when sorted out would do at least as well. My stepdaughter would want something a lot older, but this is the sort of car I’d feel comfortable for her to drive.
Here’s the thing: the restoration costs for this car are no less than restoring an old Chevelle or Barracuda….. generally speaking the value of a restored car is about half of the cost of restoring it, Corvettes excluded. You could buy it for $475 and spend $1,000 to pass inspection and it would be worth $800. You could pump $10 K in it … but it will still need quite a lot – you won’t do paint, interior and engine for $10 K even doing the labor yourself.
Oh, and the Hagerty valuation for a 1970 Valiant with the slant six? You guessed it +/- $5,000
http://www.hagerty.com/price-guide/1970-Plymouth-Valiant
So, for a cool old car there are cooler old choices, and for a reliable cheap commuter, there are more reliable cheaper choices.
EDIT: I am currently restoring a 71 Alfa Spider, so ask me where I learned all this. Oh wait. You don’t need to ask.
I just have a feeling the paint is not original. It shows something dark around the edge of door, and above the rocker panel. I wonder why. That’s usually where the rust gets ( or the car collected extreme derbies? ) and the engine bay looks too brown to me
Too bad this isn’t a Scamp. 2 door A-bodies up to ’72 are just really clean and attractive little cars. And they can be whatever you want: A nice reliable classic that’s easy to own or a full on gnarly hotrod…anything in between too.
This does seem a bit sketchy and for all the reasons mentioned. BUT, if you pay thru Paypal, theres a fair amount of buyer protection included. Might not be as big a risk as it seems.
Looks fair to me, the obvious lack of rust is a big plus.
I’ve known several people who bought old cars sight unseen only to be sorely disappointed with their purchase.
When I bought the VW from Austin TX I had my brother in law from San Antonio go up and verify the paperwork, and that both sides of the car were there.
Theres an Australian version of this a 70 VF last of the slant 6s for sale locally mint cond 10k asking price its a teal mettalic colour can be seen on the cohort, they were quite nice cars but the 71 that came with the Hemi 6 overshadowed these 225s.
I’ve heard of the Chrysler Valiant. Do you have any pics of this car?
By coincidence, the recent issue of Collectible Automobile got a feature article on the Aussie Valiant Pacer.
I love Shannon’s Club TV videos. If only I could comment on them to Shannons themselves.
I had an AP5 with the 225 and a 71 VG with the 245. The 245 was a better engine, but the 225 wasn’t rubbish. Really enjoying owning both those cars
I had a 69 Valiant in the mid 70s, a bottle green Signet 2 door with a slant 6 and automatic. It was nearly 7 years old but had been barely maintained by it’s previous owner (s) so it seemed like more than 10 years old. But it ran decently and was A LOT less trouble to keep running than my 2 year old Audi Fox.
Even though I was living in Florida at the time, I removed the A/C components and gave them to a co-worker. That was perhaps the only part of the car that didn’t work.
If only cars today were this simple to maintain.
Its got the Slant 6 which should not take a valiant effort to revive.
The seller has no feedback listed at all. Two year old photos are not acceptable. Even mentioning AC is debatable as presented….this is not a factory AC car, and so who knows what parts are dumped in the trunk.
The seller may simply be totally inept at what he is doing, or a total slime ball. There is no way to tell which, and the car won’t sell to anyone but a local that will get a first hand look.
This is Craigslist fodder, and not even very good by those standards.
He actually is very upfront about what it wrong with the car, bad shifting transmission, smokey engine, AC removed, some electrical issues. If the car hasn’t been driven since the pictures were taken, it should look the same unless it was parked on the street and hit or vandalized, and as upfront as he is about the mechanical condition and being rust free I would feel OK about it. That said, I would still want to see it first and that’s why I only buy local. The last car I bought (for a family member) was on Craigslist and only a mile away, it was a good deal except for the ‘ice cold ac’ (this was in January in Washington). I pointed out the 96 Toyota Tercel we were looking at was not equipped with AC. Instant price reduction. He had acquired it from a friend in California that owed him money and he looked like he really thought it did have AC. Maybe the po told him it did. This would be a great car as a project for a person with limited funds and mechanical ability as a learning experience.
I wouldn’t mind driving one of these as a daily around town transportation car, except for 2 reasons. It is still an emissions car in AZ, and it would never pass. I had to insure my ’72 Pinto wagon as a collector car to get around emissions. I also doubt it has A/C, which is an absolute necessity here, though it could be added. That Slant 6 engine is wonderful, and it’s rear wheel drive. And best of all, it’s NOT a jellybean. It is the antithesis of the egg shaped, computerized, electronicized, emissionized, safety bumpered, airbagged, ABS equipped garbage the auto manufacturers are making now.
I just realized I want this car.
OOOOH! The purple Road Runner and the Red Dart/Demon in the garage are of more interest to me!! 🙂
A Roadrunner or Dart/Demon/Duster are of great interest to me as well, but well out of my price range. I like this Valient because it is a good solid car, and looks totally different from modern egg cars. It’s also completely mechanical, no electronics and no cat con. It is not my dream car by any means, but it would be a way fun commuter car, and would probably last forever. The Slant 6 is still available new, they are used in forklifts and a few other things. It would be an easy car to work on, and just modern enough to drive in current traffic. As for the drum brakes, not a problem at all. My ’64 Fairlane has 4 wheel manual drums (and manual steering) is heavier than the Valiant, and they work fine.
I am already a vintage car mechanic, and I know where to get most parts for this car. I could also put A/C in it.
The ac in the trunk is a used 4k btu window unit from 1980. He never said ot came with factory air.
If you know anything about these cars, it is clear to see that it had been an A/C car by the visible expansion valve in the center if the firewall.
Let’s see how high it goes ~ at the current $475 there’s room for repair costs .
Good cars these are .
-Nate
I had a 1972 4-door in the mid-80’s. Very reliable car, with a couple of exceptions. Hot starting in the summer is a problem, with the intake and exhaust located on top of each other on the same side of the engine. I had to either wait a half hour for it to cool down enough, or just leave it running if I was stopped for a quick errand. The manual drum brakes were scary – even with new brake pads. Two feet on the pedal for a panic stop. A front disc swap should be easy, and mandatory for today’s traffic. Oh, and keep an extra voltage regulator in the glovebox.
If the price doesn’t get out of hand, it’s a good project for someone to learn how to do their own wrenching. If I were going to bid, I’d demand updated photos of all sides of the car though.
“This Valiant looks innocent enough; but as we all know from that time we thought that tin can had butter cookies on it but it only had knitting supplies, appearances can be deceiving.”
Love it. But around my house growing up it was nails, screws, nuts and bolts rather than knitting needles and yarn!
Make mine the two door “Scamp/Swinger” of the same time period; with Mopar’s under-rated 318 V8 engine and the superlative 3 speed TorqueFlite automatic tranny.
If the body is rust free, has no bondo, and all the glass is good, it would be worth $500, even if it needed $2000-$3000 in parts to make it a good reliable runner. A car like that, in that condition, would cost $2500-$3500 here in Phoenix, AZ. Unless wrecked a car like that can be kept going indefinitely, Unlike today’s computerized monstrosities.
I agree. The less body damage, the less work would be needed to get the car running, the better.