First Year Convertible: 1963 Plymouth Valiant

I’ll admit that I haven’t given a lot of thought to Plymouth’s compact Valiant. The initial generation, ’60-’62 has an awkward bearing to my eyes but things improved with gen-two (’63-’66). And, a convertible, such as this Los Angeles discovered example was introduced starting in ’63. This one looks like a fun little car, the seller has only owned it for two years but wants to move it on due to lost garage space. If you’re interested, you can check it out here on craigslist where it’s available for $7,500.

Three different Valiant trim levels were offered in ’63, V100, V200 (such as our subject car), and the top drawer Signet. Convertibles were available for the Signet and V200. Research indicates that this drop-top is one of about 7,100 assembled in ’63 but Signet convertibles went further with a total output of 9,100 copies.

This car shows pretty well, the dark blue finish is not original as evidenced by the underhood images, but it has a shine and there’s no indication of rust or body damage. The minimal trim is all still attached and the bumpers’ chrome plating presents well. Ditto for the folding top – no rips noted. That said, the seller mentions that the plastic rear window needs to be sown back to the top, and the rear quarter windows are either missing or dislodged.

A “Slant-Six” engine, displacing 170 CI inches and generating 101 HP helps to get the “wind-in-the-hair” vibe going. The seller claims that it “runs great” with an estimated mileage of 63K miles (of course the odometer doesn’t work so who knows).

The interior, front and back, looks surprisingly nice! The off-white vinyl upholstery, and matching door panels, look almost too good for a sixty-year-old convertible. The instrument panel with its simplicity, exposed screw heads, and push-button transmission selector tells you, unmistakably that this is an early sixties Mopar. The seller mentions “radio replacement” which I gather means that the original has been replaced with an aftermarket unit. The only real sign of wear is with the carpet and even it still presents pretty well.

The seller mentions, “I bought this car 2 years ago as a weekend / small project and never got around to it due to work and travel“. And that’s exactly how I would envision using this compact convertible – just something to tool around in on a pleasant top-down day. It does need a few things but they seem minor in the scheme of things. OK, so that leaves the matter of price. At $7,500, what do you think, priced right or not quite?