The Valiant debuted in 1960 as Plymouth’s first compact. And its styling was – well – unorthodox when compared to the growing field of competition. The car was redesigned in 1963, and second-generation sales were more to Plymouth’s liking. This 1966 edition in the form of a 2-door sedan has been in a garage in Palmdale, California, for at least 10 years. And it’s available here on craigslist for $5,000 OBO. Bravo to Rocco B. for this mid-1960s tip!
In the last year of the second-gen Valiants, the 1966 editions had more of a squared-off look in the front, which included a split grille and revised fore and aft fenders. This was in advance of the next redesign in 1967, which brought the Valiant its best sales period before being retired in 1976. Standard power was provided by Chrysler’s venerable Slant-Six engine, though we don’t know if the one in the seller’s car displaces 170 or 225 cubic inches. An automatic transmission is part of this car’s package, with a column shifter (the push buttons were dropped in 1965).
This example appears to be original with 56,000 miles. The paint is likely from the factory, as the original selling dealer’s emblem is below the trunk lid. No mention is made of any rust, and the photos provided don’t show any. The interior looks like vintage ’66, too, and may only need to be cleaned up since the car hasn’t left the garage since around 2015-16.
We’re told this econobox ran when it was parked. So that probably means the entire fuel delivery system will need to be thoroughly cleaned out. The Slant-Sixes were bullet-proof, and we hope the one in this Plymouth is one, too. It still sports its California plates, which we guess will come along with the sale. With a little work, this might be an inexpensive way to get into Cars & Coffee – as long as a lack of flash is a-okay!
With the price of used cars as high as they are these days, I wouldn’t hesitate to daily drive this car. It would keep up with traffic, get decent gas milage, and be fairly comfortable.
Sure, there isn’t much “content”, but how much of that fluff do you really need?
I 100 percent agree with Rex. A slant 6 3 speed on the column is bullet proof. This looks solid, I don’t need all kinds of extra “fluff” in a vehicle to get me back and forth from work. Ok, show of hands, how many of us here threw a boom box on the front seat of our cheap, beater, first cars? I did. My AM radio worked just fine, but I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to replace it, next car, throw the boom box onto the passenger seat and I was golden.
I’d drive this back and forth to work in the summer months for sure. ( I wouldn’t drive this in the salt and snow). This could be a fun car to get into the hobby.
Best of all, it’ll always get you there and back again. If this had an automatic I’d take a swing at it.
Appears to be a clutch pedal in the last picture shown here. Would much rather have that than the automatic
yes it has 3 pedals and if this as basic as it appears, it also has the 170 slant six.
While Ford installs facial recognition software in trucks…..
And a lot of cars nowadays have “subscriptions” to various features. Not this Valiant!
The 66 Valiant was My first car in 1980. It’s worth every penny. Unfortunately im in the northeast. Otherwise id be all over it. Any readers out there live near Palmdale?