Hiding amongst the cacti is this rather sad looking 1963 Plymouth Valiant Signet Convertible. It is probably the dry Arizona climate that has prevented this car from dissolving into the soil, but it hasn’t been spared the ravages of rust. Barn Finder George G spotted the Signet for us, so thank you for that George. The person who takes this one on is going to be facing some major challenges, so let’s take a bit of a look and see what these are. Located in Marana, Arizona, you will find the Signet listed for sale here on Craigslistfor $500.
The Signet received a major restyling for 1963, which provided the car with a far cleaner and more conservative appearance. With those styling updates came the option of a Convertible. This particular Convertible has fallen upon hard times, and there are some major rust issues to be addressed by anyone who is considering this as a serious restoration project. The floors are pretty bad, while it looks like there might also be some rust present in the lower quarter panels and rockers. There is also a fair coating of surface corrosion, and a few of the external trim items are either damaged or missing.
The interior of the Signet is trashed, there is just no other way to describe it. Anything that remains of the upholstery or padding is sure to crumble under your fingers. There is a radio/cassette player fitted to the dash, with some rather creative box speakers attached to the kick panels. The dash itself actually doesn’t look bad, and it might be able to be restored. There are no engine photos, so it isn’t clear which version of the slant-six engine rests under the hood, but it is hooked to a TorqueFlite transmission. The owner says that the car ran when parked, but doesn’t elaborate on just how long ago that was. The dry environment might work in the next owner’s favor, and the slant-six might not take much work to spring back into life.
I’m not going to kid you. Restoring this Signet Convertible will be a major undertaking. So, is it worth the effort? A lot of that is going to depend heavily on how extensive the rust issues are, and whether the engine can be made to run without major work. Certainly, a price of $500 OBO makes it tempting. However, when you can buy a nice example for around $15,000, you have to ask yourself if it is really worth the effort.
Can I get some butter on my toasted interior please???? Are they giving me $500 to take it????
Might be worth doing for someone who’s
retired like me who has the time (I don’t
have the funds to take it on) and the cash
to bring this poor car back from the dead.
Might not be too bad if you spread the cost out over several years. Sure hope
someone saves it.
That interior picture looks creepy. Picture taken after the coroner removed the charred remains.
Mike, I agree, but you must not have seen many open cars sitting out in the desert sun. Even around here in Tennessee, I’ve seen the soft parts turn brittle and eventually dust over a couple decades of weather. This interior looks just like every other field/forest find I’ve stumbled upon. Question is…do they may complete interior kits for these deluxe Signet models?
My question is WHY? How could anyone let a car like this just sit outside and let it get into its current state? Good luck to both the seller and buyer.
That’s a deluxe model called a LEVERITE as in leave her right there
Its worth $500 just for the convertible parts and trim , and some of the body panels look good too ,so thats a bonus. The ad now says OBO ..
Back in the late 70s a guy in his late 30s had a 71 Triple white boat tail Riviera, gorgeous car gangster whites, spokes etc, he blew the trans and put it in storage, many years later I met him by chance, he was now 60, and said he still had the car, if I was interested, I was, well taking it out, was not the rite words, he had it outside under a tarp, with a hard top it looked similar to the above vehicle, what a shame, he had to junk it w 66000 miles on it