The Valiant was born in 1960 as Chrysler’s entry into the compact car field. It was sold through Plymouth dealers, though it wasn’t branded as such, at first. The styling was rather quirky, so the car’s sales potential wasn’t fully realized until the 1963-66 run, when the automobiles received less distinctive bodywork. We’re unsure whether the seller’s car is a V200 or Signet, the only two Valiant models offered as a convertible in 1964. It appears to have been restored and may make for a fine summer ride. Located in Richmond, British Columbia, this little open-air Mopar is available here on craigslist for $16,800 (CDN or USD?).
Standard power in 1964 was the 170 cubic inch Slant-Six, but the 225 was optional, and that’s the engine in the seller’s car (no pics, though). Convertibles weren’t scarce, but they also weren’t a large percentage of Valiant production. V200 drop-tops would number 5,856 units while the glitzier Signet came in at 7,636 copies. The seller doesn’t mention which model applies here. Something is funny in that the front clip of the car looks like a Valiant, but the taillights are from a Dodge Dart. Why would that be?
We don’t know the history of this little Mopar, but the seller says, “too much work done to list.” That’s not the best way to sell a car, as buyers will want to know exactly what was completed so they can determine if anything is left to be addressed. It has an automatic transmission, which would be of the push-button variety, as Chrysler didn’t revert to steering column stalks until 1965. The two-tone interior appears to be brand-new and is quite attractive, but the addition of headrests in the front bench seat could suggest a later seat has been used.
The paint and bright work on this rare Plymouth look mighty nice and were probably redone as part of that list that’s too long to elaborate on. We’re told the canvas top is in great shape, but the photos only show it in the down position, so we really can’t tell. The machine has collector license plates, but will they matter if the car moves out of the country as a result of the sale?
Valiant/Dodge may be Canadian. Remember the Plymouth/Dodge?
You know what impresses me more than the writers, is the “peanut gallery” the site attracts. OpaJim is correct, it IS a Canadian Valiant. Good show. ol’ chap. I never knew such a car existed, like I say, every once in a great while, a Canadian car would drift south to Milwaukee, usually a Pontiac, and we’d gaze upon it like it was a UFO. Our young minds being corrupted by “My Favorite Martian’, only imagined what the driver must have looked like. You sure would be an attraction at any gathering in the US, some may not believe it, having had a ’64 Valiant, I knew something was off.
It’s a Plodge. Funny how Chrysler made so many cars by mix-and-match front end to different bodies. They also used Dodge front ends on Plymouth bodies for Canadian Regents and Viscounts. And we even got one of our own with the ’62 Dodge 880. A ’62 Chrysler body with a ’61 Dodge front end and dashboard. They also did it with later model compacts. Dodge Darts became Plymouth Scamps with a Valiant front end, and Plymouth Dusters were Dodge Demons with a Dart front end.