From Valiants To Road Runners: Plymouth In The 1960s-1970s, In Vintage Photos

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– Posted on November 16, 2025

Old color photo of a woman in sunglasses standing next to a 1966 Plymouth Sport Fury two-door hardtop, parked in front of a lake

Text by Patrick Bell.

Plymouth is the feature for today with many good images to view.  It was the Chrysler Corporation’s low-priced line all of its existence, although that distinction faded away in its last years.  Let’s take a look at some from their most memorable era (at least for most of us).

We begin with a nice-looking 1966 Sport Fury Hardtop with one of the Commando V8s, which were two versions of the 383 cubic inch or the new-for-1966 440 cubic inch engine.  It also had aftermarket head restraints, wheel covers from a 1967 or 1968 full size Pontiac, and Washington state license plates issued in King County, the home of Seattle.  The two travelers were taking in the views at a small body of water.

This gentleman was looking into a 1960 Plymouth Belvedere 4-door sedan with full wheel covers and a license plate I don’t recognize.  Belvedere was the most popular full-size Plymouth for the year.

This lady was posing on the hood of a 1962 Valiant Signet 200 hardtop with what appears to be 1967 issue British Columbia license plates at a scenic overlook likely in B.C.  The car had bumper guards and snow tires on the rear.  This was the first year of the Signet hardtop and the last year of the original generation.  Parked behind it was a 1959 or 1960 Rambler.  (For a previous feature on this car and more see here.)

Three sharp-looking dudes were posing with a 1960 Fury 2-door hardtop, with a foreign-looking license plate and location.  On the other side of it looks like a Opel Kapitan P2, which was produced from 1960 to 1963.

Yugoslavia was the location of this photo, according to the image notes. The man with his foot on the bumper of this 1962 Fury 2-door hardtop looked like he was promoting a book.  Plymouth styling did not win any sales awards in the early sixties. 1962 was the low point before recovery began the next year.

For 1963, Plymouth freshened up its styling, and sales improved.  Above we have two views of a 1963 Sport Fury convertible. According to the image notes, it had a 361 cubic inch Commando V8 with a 4-speed transmission.  The backdrop was Frank’s Atlantic Service, location unknown.  In the background of the first image looks like a black 1960 Pontiac convertible to the left and a 1958 Oldsmobile to the right.

Now we are downtown somewhere, on a one-way street where a lady was posing by her 1966 Belvedere II 2-door hardtop. It was the newest car in the image, and was equipped with a V8, two-tone paint, standard hub caps, and possibly an Oregon license plate.  Behind it was a 1965 Chrysler New Yorker, and across the street were, from the left, a white 1965 Chevrolet Impala Super Sport coupe, a dark red 1963 Ford Galaxie 500 or 500/XL 2-door hardtop, a white 1959 Ford Country Sedan station wagon, and a gray 1949 or 1950 Chevrolet. Passing by was a tan 1960 Mercury.

Somebody had just washed this sharp-looking 1964 or 1965 Barracuda from Ohio.  It was powered by the new-for-1964 273 cubic inch V8, and had the “Magnesium-type Sport Wheel Covers.”  The Barracuda was introduced on April 1, 1964, sixteen days before the Ford Mustang.  Approximately 23,400 Barracudas were sold in its shortened first year, where Ford sold a shade over 22,000 Mustang on its first day.  To the left of this Barracuda was a 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 Sports Coupe 2-door hardtop.

Here was another Barracuda, this one a 1969 Sports Fastback, from the last year of the second-generation restyle that came out in 1967.  The hood scoops and Cragar wheels were aftermarket additions.  Available engines on the standard models were a 225 cubic inch Slant Six along with 318 and 340 V8s.

The most popular Plymouth for 1967 was the Fury III 4-door sedan. This one was parked at a popular campground.  It had one of the standard engines, either the 225 cubic inch Slant Six, or, much more likely, the 318 cubic inch V8, along with deluxe wheel covers and an Ohio license plate that looks like a 1968 issue.  Parked behind it was a 1963 Pontiac with horizontal chrome moldings on the sail panel and a fender nameplate that give it away as a Laurentian 2-door sedan, a Canadian model.  The green license plate was likely Alberta, and the campground location is anybody’s guess.

This sharp-looking 1968 GTX convertible had the standard 440 cubic inch Super Commando V8 and optional remote control outside mirror. It also had the Lighting Package, which included the fender-mounted turn signal indicators, plus chrome plated steel road wheels and New York license plates.  The standard transmission on this model was the TorqueFlite automatic with the 4-speed manual a no-charge option.  This was one of only 1026 built for the year.

Here’s another from the 1968 lineup, a Fury III 2-door Fast Top with a vinyl roof, a deluxe wheel cover on the front and a snow tire on the rear.  It was missing a trim panel from the deck lid and had what appears to have been a Connecticut license plate.  On the left edge was the rear corner of a 1962 Valiant.

The facility in the background looks like a school, but I am not sure what was going on.  The structure(?) to the left  reminds me of some gallows, while on the right were two junk cars; possibly a Fiat 500 in front with a 1960 Chevrolet Impala Sport Sedan in the back.

The Valiant held on well into the ’70s with its mission unchanged: a good, reliable economy car.  This new-looking 1974 sedan from Connecticut was well-equipped, with a vinyl roof, Custom Exterior Group (bright window frames, etc.), remote control mirror, Light Package, side and sill moldings, bumper guards, and deluxe wheel covers.  There was no engine call-out, so it likely had Slant Six power.  In the background was a blue 1970 Cadillac Sedan de Ville.

The Belvedere name was retired from the mid-sized line with the newly restyled 1971 models.  1973 brought a style refresh. This Satellite Coupe was the least expensive model for the year.  The standard powertrain was the reliable Slant Six with a 3-speed manual transmission and a column shift, but I doubt very many left the factory like that.  The only options I can confirm was the deluxe wheel covers and whitewalls.

The parking lot was Mopar heavy — in fact it is all I see, so perhaps it was a dealer.  From the left: a gold 1972 or 1973 Chrysler New Yorker 4-door hardtop, a dark green Duster, a white car that looks like another Duster, and a silver 1967 Chrysler Newport Custom 4-door hardtop.

Cars can be like fashion or music when it comes to predicting success.  The Duster had a new fastback coupe rear body melded into a three-year old Valiant platform, but when it was introduced in 1970 it was a runaway success.  1974 was the peak Duster year, when over 277,000 units were sold. That compared to a shade less than 130,000 Valiant sedans, less than 52,000 Scamp hardtops, and a paltry 11,700 Barracudas in the Barracuda’s final year.  The featured Duster was a 1974 model from New Jersey, and was a low price model with two visible options: a body side molding and deluxe wheel covers, with one missing.

In the left background was a blue 1976–1978 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham 4 door, and to the right another model you don’t see very often: a telephone booth.

Thanks for joining us and have a great day!

 

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