Station wagons can often lead a life as harsh as a pickup truck. With the ability to haul family and friends, with various odds and ends, a wagon can live a precarious life for sure. This 1961 Valiant wagon appears like a great project despite some rust in the floors. Parked in 1990, this classic station wagon will need some time and elbow grease to get it on the road once more. 3 days into the auction and an opening bid has yet to be placed for the $2,000. Check it out here on ebay out of Silverado, California.
Having slumbered for a while with loads of dust and dirt present, the this inline 6 was slated to be removed, so many engine parts were removed, then loosely put back into place. The seller mentions that the engine was “rumored tired.” I am guessing this engine saw its fair share of heavy loads, and “speedy” drives in its lifetime. Having an automatic transmission, and no real power options, this wagon would be a good “swap” candidate.
Rusty floors are the major concern with this Valiant, although the seller explains that the rest of the body is solid. All of the driver floor sheet metal is one heavy foot away from a “Fred Flintstone” stop. Although for the skilled and interested, this wagon could be a neat project, or even a restomod of sorts? Overall the interior components aren’t too bad, for instance the door panels are all there and are in fair condition. The driver seat is worn, but the back bench isn’t to bad either. The gauge cluster surround is damaged, and the speaker grill in the dash is broken.
Repainted at some point, the light blue apparently had to go for a simpler white exterior. You can still see several areas where the blue pokes through, and the steel wheels are still blue as well. The exterior body work on this Valiant is very nice and straight. Rust doesn’t appear to be a concern on the exterior, and most if not all of the trim appears to be in place. The chrome and trim are in nice shape, so again, perhaps the floors could be repaired, and the future owner could make this a patina queen? Hard to say what to do with this small and unique station wagon. With a fascinating style and design, this wagon would be great to see revived out on the roads once again. Would you revive this Valiant wagon?
Dad bought a new 1960 Valiant a month before I was born. (I am pretty apparent in my Ma’s tummy in the new car photo of her and it) It was a 170 slant six- 3 speed with a 355 rear (I believe). Dad said it was maybe the funnest car he ever owned.
The only swap I would make is a 225 slant six. Maybe with the hyper pack or some other speed equipment.
That wagon is a `61 V100, of which 6,717 were built.
The ad states “This is the rarest of all with only a few hundred ever being built.”
Maybe only a few hundred left is what he should have said.
It was however the lowest production of `61 Valiant models.
The Vin# puts it as being built in Los Angeles, so it likely never left California.
That would be a good builder, but not for much more than $3K.
Looks like he has a `61 V100 post coupe in the garage, of which 22,230 were built.
I have a `61 V200 hardtop coupe, one of 18,586 built.
Pictured below.
’61 V-100 2 door post with 3 speed on the floor is also listed on eBay by this seller. Along with rare after-market fender-skirts!
Not sure if this is true but I heard that car was designed by Stevie Wonder.
Ha, I hear that a lot at car shows.
Toad and toilet seat were other nicknames.
….and John Madden wrote all the batman fight scenes.
This one is local for me. Give it a Mexican blanket interior and head for the beach.
I like it…lovable funkiness! If money wasn’t an obstacle I would swap a stump pulling v8, disc brakes all the way around, manual trans and extra tires.
This could be a great sleeper or a fun weekend car with a fresh slant 6.
This is an almost identical twin to the one we had back in the day. Mom hated the IH Travelall that Dad bought in ’60 so he picked the Valiant. It almost fit the bill, and would have, if it had an automatic instead of a 3 spd. Mom drove it for a couple of years, when it was replaced with a V-8/auto powered wagon. She liked it a lot but a collision with an elk sent it (the car) to the wrecking yard. I tried to talk Dad into getting a Chevelle wagon but he decided that we had too many vehicles by then and just ran the Oldsmobile and Dad’s pickup….
For some reason this car looks like it came out of an Eastern Bloc country. I’d be inclined to paint it matte black and give the bright work a once over with a scotch bright pad, maybe some orange pinstriping.
We had a Dodge Lancer Station Wagon. Many high school memories from it. Hauled 12 classmates inside and another on the roof through creek beds and across hills in near wilderness WV. Also provided an unauthorized half-time doughnut drifting show at a local football field. Remember drag racing VW’s, Corvairs, Falcons and the occasional Ford Galaxy Wagon. I think it let me know it had enough of my fun by blowing its clutch.
This car is a great start at having a car “you’ll never park next to another one”. My Dad bought a ’60 V200 4 door new when I was six – I’d love to have this wagon. One thing – that’s not a early slant six; it’s a newer ‘smogger’ from the ’70’s.
These were high quality compacts. Better built and more expensive than Falcon or Corvair. Love-it-or-hate-it styling. I love it for its weird Exner combination of style and funkiness. Somebody grab this thing, make it blue again, and get it going with an appropriate Slant Six.
I rather like the styling of the 1st-Gen Valiant. Of the “Big 3” 1960 compacts the Valiant and Corvair were very distinctive, even unique. The Falcon and Comet were clean but very bland to my eyes.
I believe the Valiant marked two production car firsts (possibly shared with some other 1960 Mopars):
>. First car with an alternator rather than a generator
>. First car with run-flat tires (station wagon only).
Can anyone support or debunk those?
Correct, first model with an alternator, and first unibody.
The run flat tires were only on the 3 seat wagons.
This quote from the below article.
With the third seat occupying the space normally given over to the spare tire, run-flat Captive Air tires were standard on three-seat models and on two-seat models with an optional in-floor locking luggage compartment.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1960-1962-plymouth-valiant4.htm
Thanks for the clarification on the tires. Didn’t Lincoln/Continental have a unibody in 1958?
Plymouth’s first Unibody I should have said.
Lots of possibilities for this jewel.None left up here in the rust belt, Good strong slant 6, 340 4 speed, gasser straight axle. Love the styling and as one of the guys said, high quality, plus the great torsion bar ride!!!
Just the car for my British (Aberdeenshire) issued registration number (licence plate), USA 3. Both number & car apparently ‘came to life’ in 1961 !
They’d compliment each other nicely …..
Buddy had one w/3 speed, drove the bejeezus out of it!!
Nash had unibody in 1949 I believe ! upside down bath tub , my grandfather drove one for years ,really nice riding car
First Nash unibody was the 1941 600. 1949 was the year that Nash adopted that type of construction for all its cars.
Probably throw a late 70s 2 barrel super six in and it’ll be unleaded fuel friendly.