I’ve always had a special place in my MM garage for a 1967 Valiant two-door sedan. The one I spec’ed for myself in 1967 from the brochure was a bit different than this ’68, shot on the streets of Vancouver by nifticus, but close enough to get my interest.
The one I mentally ordered up for myself was closer to this ’68 Signet two-door, with the chrome trim around the windows and the nicer interior, along with the four-barrel 273 V8 and four speed manual, and the optional handling package. A Barracuda Formula S in a box, in other words. Why I would spend the time on this mental exercise is another question, but that’s how I spent idle hours in my room instead of doing homework.
The irony is of course that one year later, in 1968, my father bought a similar Dart two-door, but of course totally stripped and with the small 170 inch slant six and three-on-the-tree. Its embarrassing story is here. But that hasn’t cooled my ardor for these A-Bodies, and this is a very fine example of the breed. Looks like those wheels are 15 inchers, but with the stock hubcaps.
In my adult imagination, the 273 V8 has given way to a Hyperpak slant six (or comparable, with aftermarket parts); just for the fun of it, let’s make it the 198 inch version (from a later car), because some folks in the know think it has the ideal bore/stroke ratio of the family (3.40″/3.64″), for the best balance of high-end power and torque. The 170 was the short stroke revver in the family, and the 225 was the long-stroke torquer, but the 198 hit the sweet spot. The 198 also has the longest connecting rod of all three engines, with a center-to-center distance of 7.006″. A long rod has a number of advantages, but I’ll let someone else explain them, as it gets a bit lengthy.
And the 198 is backed up by a T-5 five speed. Anything less than five gears just doesn’t cut it.
Back to reality. Given the dual exhausts, this Valiant is almost certainly packing V8 power, although duals for a hot six are quite acceptable too. I’m just being realistic. Well, that’s what I was wanting back in 1967, so I can’t really blame them, even if my wishes have changed.
I love the duo-tone look of this car. Might be better with black bumpers but maybe not. And I’ve always loved the small hub caps with body colored painted steel wheels.
I’ve always totally hated the small hubcaps on almost anything that isn’t a Fiat. To me you can improve or ruin a car from that period depending on whether it has full wheel covers or not.
V8 all the way…
I own quite a few cars, and the Dirty Dart’s 225/3-speed just doesn’t cut it compared to a nice, easy-going bent-eight. Sometimes I’ll daydream about plugging in a junkyard 318 and synchro 3-speed just to keep the column shifter, but it’s not worth the money and effort.
I know a lot of people love the slanty, but you can get a lot more power and torque with similar durability and fuel mileage from a 273/318. Someone will now chime in with the “slant sixes last forever” bit, and that may be true, but when was the last time you heard of the 318 being a ticking time bomb? I’ll reiterate…V8! 🙂
Now that the weather is warming up, you really must give a try to my old trick of adding a second thick heat shield gasket under the carb (you might need to back the manifold studs out a touch to give the nuts enough thread to hold onto), then start dialling in all the timing advance it will handle without knocking. My 71 225 would take 10-12 degrees of advance as I recall (spec is no advance at all). Warmup takes longer, but that setup really woke that engine up at almost zero cost, and improved fuel mileage to boot. Also, hot starts were instantaneous.
It’s not about the durability or easy torque. it’s about being a bit different.
The slant six has lots of performance potential, which when backed up by a proper transmission, would not cause anyone to feel the car to be underpowered. 14 second 1/4 miles or better are common. This odd ’53 Ford with a slant six and TF automatic that I shot and wrote up does it in 15.3 and 85 mph. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1953-ford-youll-never-guess-whats-under-its-hood/
I forgot to ask what his six-carb ’63 Dart does it in, but I’m betting in the low 14s. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/cc-capsule-1963-dodge-dart-gt-six-pack-no-not-that-kind/
And both of these cars are driven regularly on the street; I just saw the Dart the other day, which was the stimulus for writing this post.
The other thing is that the six weighs less, which means that the inherent handling potential of these cars is enhanced further.
Sorry Paul…I only perused things at first and I thought you were asking a question. See kids, that’s what you get for not reading thoroughly! 🙂
Carry on…
…but I’d still take a V8. I’ve heard how great Slant Sixes were my whole life, and now owning one, I just think they’ve been a bit overrated is all. Of course, I understand that mine has an emissions motor with a one-barrel carb, and you CAN make a slant six fast. It’s just perspective. My three V8 cars will walk all over the Dart and they get similar mileage. My Corvair is slower, but it gets at least 5 MPG better than the Dart.
JP…I was running 10* initial last year. When I switched to electronic I backed it down to 5* because I haven’t gotten around to limiting the total advance yet. It doesn’t seem to make much difference between the two settings anyway, so I’ll probably end up leaving it.
I will admit, Paul, that a 5-speed would go a LONG way toward making me like the driveline more.
Look, if youre gonna build a six, than you should, you know, BUILD A SIX! like this blown and stroked slant 6 in a 63 Valiant:
If youre gonna go 318, why not just a little more and go for a 360? Theyre common enough to make it feasible and depending on how silly you want to get, you have way more options with the 360. In this size of car, my ideal setup would be the 340 6-pack. Yeah its a bit pie in the sky but that’s what we’re doing here.
I see what Paul is getting at though…A bodies with V8s are a dime a dozen. But then the /6 has been done before, and anything from mild to wild. Why not go off the charts? The 2.4L did see duty in a n/s layout in the Dakota, Wrangler and Liberty. The H.O. turbos were in fwd applications only, but from my understanding the basic bottom end is all the same, its the accessory mounts, intake, and motor mounts that are different. Its NOT impossible to stuff the rwd block with the HO turbo’s guts (you will want the stronger crank, rods, and the upper end, much of the parts are specific to the turbo and very much beefed up) and then back the whole thing with a T-5. That light body with a light motor that can safely make 400 hp on the stock (turbo variants) internals would make for a helluva autocross car.
This is all hypothetical of course, because the Dart will have a slant six as long as I own it, which will probably be forever because I never sell anything, but a 318 would be all I’d need. If I step up to a 360, then I need to convert to a Torqueflite or a 4-speed. Then I need to upgrade to at least an 8 1/4 rearend. Then I have a beat up looking Dart that might run 13s, and I hardly get on it as it is.
I like a car that gets up to freeway speed without struggle and maintains that speed without straining or running hot. A 318 will run all day at 80 without even feeling like it’s struggling. So will the 225, but once you own a car, you get a feel for what speed it likes to cruise at. My Dart anyway, with a 3.23 gear, would much rather go 65-70.
Besides, I bought a spare 7.25 and 3-speed last fall for when mine eventually go, and the differential is on its way out. You need a case spreader to rebuild a 7.25, and that’s just crazy.
If you want to “go off the charts”, as you say, why not get hold of an Aussie Hemi six? That would raise plenty of eyebrows!
Especially in E49 spec tons of grunt makes the V8 look sad.
If you try the slant six 225 with the two barrel option, you might have the advantages of both the slant six durability and the pep and zip of the small V-8. I sure enjoy mine that way.
Reminds me of the (I think) ’69 Valiant a neighbor had when I was a teen. Hers was that brownish goldish color. I think hers wasn’t a Signet as I don’t recall chromed window frames. After she died, sometime in the 90s, I went back to my hometown to the sale of her stuff hoping to buy that car. No luck; it went for more than I was prepared to pay. Which still wasn’t all that much money.
Still a handsome car; the straightforward boxy styling of late ’60s Chrysler compacts still appeals to me.
Nice write up, Paul!
I had seen this Valiant driving around downtown Vancouver a couple of times before I managed to get these pictures. It most definitely has a very healthy (lopey-cammed?) V8. Maybe a 340?
I had a black 67 Valiant 100 with automatic, and 200 series trim strip on the side with full wheel covers. Red vinyl interior. No other options, as it was a former Grandma car. 170 CID engine. Cost $1700 new according to the paperwork that came with it.
The two-doors were a lot more common in the 63-66 generation. My dad owned two different Dart two-doors, 63 and 64, both perfectly strippo. So this OUGHT to look totally familiar to me, but it doesn’t. After ’66 the Dart and Valiant assumed more of a family first-car role, nearly always 4-door.
I’d guess the two-door Valiant suffered from the Barracuda siphoning off buyers who wanted something other than the absolute stripper, same deal with Ford’s Falcon. From 1970 the pony cars got so big and bloated there was a market for two-door compacts again, but the square Valiant two-door wasn’t there for it and the Duster proved to be the right car at the right time.
There was a general shift away from two-door cars (except for the smaller/sporty ones) to four doors, across the board, for basic transportation. Two-door sedans became seriously uncommon in the late 60s, which is why they soon were dropped. The better trimmed coupes sold well, but not the two-door sedans.
This effect can be seen clearly with the Dart/Valiant, as the Dart’s hardtop coupe sold quite well, and when the Valiant Duster came out, it was a huge hit. Plain-jane 2-door sedans were just very ‘out’ by this time.
Reminds me of the “Limelight Green” 69 Valiant 100 2 door that was owned by my piano teacher. Other than a 225 and an AM radio, the car was completely free of options. She drove it until one of the torsion bar rear mounts rusted through (which was after every sheetmetal panel on the body had many big holes), in the early 80s. The car had about 45K miles on it.
Occam24 is right – you never saw that many of the 2 doors in this generation of Valiant, and it was a pretty attractive look.
Very nice find. I’d go with the 225 six & 5-speed combo.
I have a bit of issue with the colour scheme. Maybe put the chrome back on the bumpers, paint the rims black. Light blue paint, to keep it fun??
Agree with the 225 six, 5 speed… take it one step further and add some side draft Webers.
Agree on the bumpers. Unless there was some sort of factory, OEM option for painted or Elastomeric (E-body, GTO, etc.), keep the original chrome, particularly when even the most stripped version of the car had chrome bumpers.
To me, painting the bumpers is too close to, “I was too cheap to cough up to have the bumpers properly rechromed”…
I was surprised that I didn’t mind the monochromatic paint scheme on this. It sort of works.
And I have loathed the treatment since AMG first did it to Mercedes vehicles [grille and all] in the 80s.
Neighbors down the road did the same thing when they repainted a 60 Dodge Dart Pioneer back in 68 or 69. I guess since they were using a brush…… why not go all the way ?
225 and 5 speed and light blue – yes, yes and yes. Gotta have the metallic (well, shimmer-effect) blue interior too.
Be different. Do the leaning tower of power. I hop up the sixes in my Mavericks.
Years ago, I worked on a very similar car for a friend. It was a ’68 2 door, 225/904 TorqFlite, power steering but not much else. I rebuilt the engine, used the old Direct Connection high performance cam and electronic ignition system, roller timing chain, found an iron 2bbl. intake, Carter carb. and air cleaner off a 318. The car ran at least as good as a stock 318 version. Friend drove the car for many years, but never did anything with the stock 9″ drum brakes, 13″ wheels or lack of a front sway bar. Handling was a bit sketchy…..
Nowadays, I would go with a hot six also. The 198 and 5 speed sounds like a fun little combo!
I am going to go with the turbo 2.6 four from the 80s Mitsubishi Starion. 188 hp and the port injection solves the biggest fault of the 2.6, the carb. If the Valiant had lasted into 1978, I think it is a good bet that the 2.6 which debuted that year in the Sapporo, would have found a home in a Valiant.
I would have left the bumpers chrome and used the hubcaps from the 71. I would have used the Signet interior but as much of the later Brougham sound deadening as possible. If ever there was a car that needed more insulation….
Agree on the chrome bumpers but actually like those old, OEM Plymouth hubcaps. Yeah, the Dodge (and later, no-center symbol versions) look better, but the Plymouth hubcaps still look good enough to stick with to keep it period correct. They’re certainly better than just about any of the GM or Ford hubcaps.
I wouldn’t even bother with the old engines if I was playing with one of these.
Give me a Neon SRT 2.4 with an R154 Supra 5 speed. All the power, mileage and WTF you could ever want.
A 5 speed with a built slant 6 that could keep up with it’s V8 counterpart just seems like a fun idea. Especially when you lift the hood to show off what just blew off someone’s V8.
Sometimes it’s fun to be the underdog. I do like the look of the white bumpers on the ’68 with only chrome poverty caps. Gives it a nice clean look.
Here’s a bit of an oddity that was made in Mexico at one point – a 1969 two-door Valiant with a hardtop roof grafted on. I saw a number of these cars when I travelled through Mexico in 1976.
That looks like the roof from the 63-64 Valiant Signet except for the back glass. It curves and can be seen from the side angle.
Now that’s cool!
Reminds me of the movie “Dual”, staring Dennis Weaver. That car was a 4 door with a slant six. Too bad it ended up totaled over the cliff. Should have been just the tanker truck.
In some of the shots of the Duel Valiant, it’s possible to make out a V8 emblem.
But, yeah, a red ’70 Valiant sedan would be cool to show up with at summer car shows.
They probably used more than one Valiant in the movie, same color, different engines. But the sound is definitely slant six. Maybe they used one with an 8 in high speed scenes.
Wasn’t the Duel a 1971?
I had a 1970 Valiant 4 door 198/6 in college. Only options were an AM radio and auto.
With radials and the torsions lowered, it handled well. And it was near well indestructible.
According to ‘trivia’ on the IMDb, there were three Valiants used in Duel: a ’70, ’71, and ’72. You can tell the ’70 had the 318 because it was the only year that had a V8 fender emblem. I’m guessing the ’71 had a six, but it could have had a 318, too, since there was no fender emblem used when so equipped from 1971 on. The ’72 was used later to add scenes to stretch the tv movie out for theatrical release.
Regardless, even an automatic, Slant Six, early seventies Valiant sedan should have been able to easily outrun an old Peterbilt, even if it was hauling an unladen tanker.
Another interesting bit of trivia was why a red car was chosen. Spielberg simply wanted a color that would show up well against the desert background.
Nice post. Had a ’68 just like this in college – B5 Blue over a Navy blue roof, 225, Torqueflight – still miss that car today – indestructible…….
I actually had one of these, a 69 Signet 2 door with a slant 6 and automatic transmission. The 69 Signet had chrome strips that completely wrapped the window frames (to make it look like a hardtop?)…neither car pictured appears to be a Signet.
I “found” mine on the back of the back lot at a small town Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. I think it was 1 step away from becoming “yard art”. I bought it because it had the slant 6, automatic transmission combo, and was pleasantly surprised by it’s “bucket seats”. Car was bottle green with a white interior. And yes, it had 13 inch wheels/tires.
I, too, have spent hours mixing and matching cars and engines. For this car, I would love to drive a Hyper-Pak car to see what it would be like, but might prefer a 340 with a single 4 barrel carb and automatic transmission. Appearance-wise, I could take either of the white cars pictured.
BTW, I’ve found 3 of these Valiants on Craigslist recently….all 3 were 4 doors.
Howard, I had a hard time finding 13s for my 63 not too long ago. The tire store had to call it’s warehouse and pick them up. They used to be so common.
Even 14’s are getting hard to find these days. I remember when the tire store newspaper ads always had a 6.50-13 super cheap loss leader. Unfortunately for me, the VW had relatively expensive 15’s.
Of the 3 Darts and 2 Valiants I have owned the one I liked the best was my ’69 2dr sedan, a twin to this ’68. 225 with TF-R&H and nothing else it was a plain jane down the rubber floor mats. Replaced the 13″ tires and wheels with 14″, put a set of HD shocks in front and air shocks in the rear. Used it for my commutes to various construction job sites I worked at, travel time anyway from 45 mins to 2 hours one way. It was relatively comfortable,fairly nimble, dependable and cheap to run. Sold it 4 years & 45,000 miles later for what I paid for it, $400. I wish I still had it
That makes me tingle. I built a 68 Valiant several years ago with a mild 360, an 8 3/4 Sure Grip rear from a wrecked 340 Duster and disc brakes and what an awesome little car that was. It was rust free car from Oklahoma too. I sold it to a buddy of mine 5 or 6 years ago who hasn’t touched it since; I wish I could buy it back, I really miss that car.
A factory 340 Valiant Formula S would have been one of the absolute cars to beat on the street or the track, theyre even lighter than a Dart.
Thanks for the memories. It was 1981. I was 15 and my best friend and future brother-in-law bought a 68 Dart two door LL (low line) sedan from is Grandpa. The 225/904 combo soon found a little more power. He ported the head and removed .100″ from the deck. Attached an Offenhauser manifold and a Carter AFB 625cfm carb. Headers and dual glass-packs, of course. He found a rare, narrow 8 3/4 rear end with the small bolt pattern axle; it fit just right. Added 4:10 posi gears. Painted it Corvette white (looked similar to the Valiant in the photo, alas I have no photo to share). That car would beat anybody from stoplight to 60mph. After that, a V-8’s cubic inches would just pull away from us. I can still remember the beautiful sound of the slant six wrapping up to the red line.
By ’83 he decided to upgrade. In went a 383 big block and a 727. A real thrill until you tried to stop it, The Dart still wore the tiny original drum brakes up front. LOL.
When the Plymouth Duster was introduced for the 1970 year, sales of the Duster rocketed skyward…..Dodge wanted their own Duster so they took the Plymouth Duster and put a Dart front clip on it and called it ‘Demon’…..later changed to ‘Dart Sport”…..
Plymouth then wanted a version of the 2 door hardtop Dart Swinger….so they took a Dodge Swinger and put a Valiant front clip on it and the Plymouth Scamp was born…..which replaced the 2 door sedan in the Valiant lineup.
The final major change was in 1974…when the 4 door Valiant was moved to the Dart body….by doing….you guessed it….taking a Dodge Dart 4 door sedan and putting the Valiant front clip on it…..The Dart 4 door sedan rode on a slightly longer wheelbase than the original Valiant 4 door sedan.
That is a whole bunch of begetting within the same family.
They also had the Plymouth Feather Duster , a lighter weight version for better gas mileage during the gas shortage.
Evidently, original Feather Dusters are rather difficult to find since racers liked their light weight parts and would yank the six, swapping in a V8 drivetrain for dragstrip use.
Too bad the Feather Duster showed up during the end of the A-body’s life (and musclecar by then was a dirty word). A factory-built Duster 360 with light weight Feather Duster components would have been pretty groovy.
Wow. Crazy that I stumbled across these photos of my car while I was looking for floor mats. Just to clear the air a little, it is now a 340 car. Originally a slant six. I built a fairly healthy 340 for the car because I got offered to buy a 68 340 block and crank and couldn’t pass it up. As far as the wheels and hubcaps. The car was born that way and that’s the way it lives. And the bumpers? Well it was really expensive to re chrome them and I never felt like they were very special anyhow so I deleted it. “Chrome don’t get you home”
It’s great to hear people talking about my modest little mopar.
PS. I have a 72 Duster with a slant 225. And although bullet proof very expensive to get any power out of them.
Cheers.