The top of the line Plymouth Valiant for 1966 was the Signet, above the V100 and V200 models. They normally came with full wheel covers which this one doesn’t appear to have. The second-generation Valiant Signet was available with a vinyl top, reportedly a first for Plymouth. This dusty car could really look nice, like this one, in restored condition. Although, it sure looks like it could be cleaned up, doesn’t it? It can be found here on craigslist in Merced, California with an asking price of $1,000. Did I mention that there’s no engine in it but there is an automatic transmission? Thanks to local_sheriff for sending in this tip!
Believe it or not, this listing has a whopping one photo in it, which equals about 1/1,000,000th of the number of times that we all wished for more photos from a seller, and in this case, it’s even worse than usual with just one lone photo. Sigh. That being said, and even with no slant-six engine which was originally in this Valiant, the car looks like it’s in nice condition. The seller says that it’s 100% rust-free and has never been in an accident, so that’s good news. For a relatively low price in today’s crazy world of ever-rising car prices, and with what looks like a decent project car, is there even close to enough information here for any of you Valiant fans to make a decision on this car? If so, would you put a slant-six back in it or a V8?
These A-body Mopars were really good cars. Very reliable, nice drivers, comfortable. Excellent mid-60s economy cars. But not too sexy in the Valiant variant. Shame the engine is gone…it’s hard to imagine someone out there would want to put an engine in this plain Jane car and get it on the road again. Hopefully there is such a guy out there.
Rex, I would be more than happy to be the guy to slap a motor back in this Ol girl and get her back on the road again. Jus like I commented on the four door Chevy posted earlier, you just don’t see the common every day vehicles from back in the day anymore. Wish seller would of posted more than one picture, kinda curious what the interior looks like. I’d keep it simple and put the leaning tower of power back in it. Would definitely be a hit at any cars and coffee, plus you wouldn’t be afraid to drive it! Nice price for a solid canvas.
You ever here if this guy Rex?
https://youtu.be/b8Y96xywS-E
Uncle Tony! Quite a valuable source of good information.
Uncle Tony has a live feed every Sunday evening. I have learned so much from him and all of the watchers, besides it is fun just to mess around with 300 people all of the same mindset.
Bada bing…bada boom!
We ran a slant 6 in a stock car, as in a 1/4 mile dirt track in N.Z. it performed just great up against the V8’s we were restricted to small capacity engines and these things with just some mild work had more pull than a 16 year old school boy, 120 overlap can single side draft Webber and a set of pipes I made, balanced etc of course but these are a very underestimated engine, good article by that man, thanks for the link.
Well, I like it.
I want this. Wrecked in years ago.
Slant six and all. I might be going to Cali.
Not sure but I think the Signet trim level included bucket seats and a console floor shifter. I have a spare 360 and automatic tranmission. This is very tempting. Interesting that it has plain hub-caps. Most Signets I’ve seen have the vinyl top which looks quite nice on this roof-line. It says has disc brakes. I wonder if these are the optional Kelsey-Hayes 4 piston units or a later single piston adaptation.
Yes, sir, I believe that you’re correct on that. There is no way to tell if it has bucket seats through that dusty window. It could be a good buy because if it had the original 225 slant-six and was in decent running condition, certainly it would be worth $2,500. For $1,500, a person should be able to get an engine in there and enjoy the heck out of this car. Best of luck, please let us know if you hear back from the seller!
Sent an e-mail.Will see.
Lightest unibody Mopar ever made.
Make it a 1 of none barracuda coupe….
If this Signet is rust-free as the seller claims, it’s probably a great buy at $1,000, even without a motor. I’m sure the interior needs work but the price leaves a lot of room for putting some money into this little gem. Maybe you’ll get lucky and the interior won’t need much. I’d be inclined to go with a small V8 for some added performance though a slant six would be an good choice for a dependable, bullet-proof daily driver. This looks like a fun project to tackle that won’t break the bank.
Did these have a 273 optional? I remember having a tough time squeezing a 340 into a 66 Barracuda because of wanting headers and power steering and brakes.
That has been a lot of years but my frustration level combined with beer led me to empty a .45 pistol into the car inside my shop, including and especially the big rear curved glass. An action I probably did not think through entirely before performing it.
Post is deleted, guess it sold. Looked at one of these decades ago that the guy modified with a 360, custom paint, opened up the rear wheel opening. Just couldn’t agree on a price.
It’s probably the most mundane design to come out in the 60s – that makes it ideal for a /-6 HyperPak sleeper project or just about anything else that can make it fly on the street! If it’s as rust-free as it seems how wrong can you go at 1k…? I’d almost be tempted to leave the dust as is to stick with the grey sleeper theme…
My cousin owns a 65 Valiant 2door, sadly it’s looking like a crudely made strip car. With fiberglass front and doors, narrowed rearend and an INSANE 360 stroker with 13something :1 CR it’s extremely good at burning rubber and gas. Apart from that it’s a completely useless vehicle
IDK, jerry, it still came up for me. A top of the line Valiant,( whistles) who was sportin’ THAT kind of cash? My 3rd and 4th cars were these vintage Valiants like this. 1st, was a ’63, 2 door, slant 6 and NO options. Bare bones as you could get. 2nd, was a ’64, 2 door, also bare bones. The only option the ’64 had was a 273, 2 barrel, both column shift. I beat the crap out of those cars, especially the ’64, and they took it. I don’t think these had disc brakes yet, and probably as much interest as a Yugo. Make a neat drag car, if people still do that these days.
In 1965, my sophmore year of high school, living on the west side of Detroit, street racing was everything. A senior at my school had a Valiant 2 dr, Commando 273 four speed. A neat car but the really great part was that the weight distribution was so much better than most cars, it could actually turn corners! What a concept! A few years later, Bob Hourihan, a Chrysler engineer, ran (and I think won) SCCA’s Press On Regardless rally in Michigan, driving just this type A body. Unlike all the other small engined competitors, that small V8’s lower frequency exhaust sounded awesome reverberating off the trees of the forest.
Need to swap out the K-Frame inorder in drop in a V8. ..Or, cob in a Home-Made Engine mount. ..Buddy of mine has a Nice 74 Dart, He Slapped a 340V8 in place of the 225 six. Created a Cob-Job engine mount. Been finished and in storage for over 30 years now. and he thinks its worth a Million. LOL
If these had V8s there was usually a fender icon on both sides.
Probably a six.
Here is a bucket of water for next sale 💦
There’s nice performance mods for the slant six. https://youtu.be/JwtoXhoPG9A
Scotty, when will Sellers have the brains to turn a hose on the cars they are selling so we can see the whole vehicle instead of a faux corpse? I would put a slant six in it and simply enjoy the car.
Prettiest car Chrysler made post-war, I think. I’d go with slant 6 w/4-barrel, same as the Dart a friend of mine had. The other guys laughed at him until the day they all hit the road together.
I’m glad if it’s gone, just because I am in no position to be tempted. And I have no cars that I feel like replacing!
I own one of these. No bench seat and column shift. Factory. Signet was just more or less a chrome and badge package.
340 4 speed. I believe you can buy adapter brackets to use the 6 cyl K frame with the v8. Good luck to the new owner. The ultimate sleeper.
Cheers
GPC
My Signet came with a V8 and bucket seats…and a convertible. Nice small car. But I am a Cadillac man, so I put this one up for sale.
Looks just like the one out in the building. Dad bought it about 1970. It has a bench seat –the small hubcaps–standard transmission with the slant 6 great little car . Plenty of power for it ad great on gas.