“Don’t you mean White Knight, SG? And, why are you showing us a white, four-door Plymouth?!” This car defines my personality perfectly. What could be more useful, hard-working, unassuming, low-maintenance, or trouble-free than a 1964 Plymouth Valiant sedan? Notice that I didn’t say boring, because that just describes me, not this car. This work-a-day Valiant is listed on Hemmings with an asking price of $2,750 or best offer and it’s located in Pennington, New Jersey.
This second-generation Valiant has 105,000 miles on it and it appears to be in good condition, until you look at the detail photos. Like me, it could use some bodywork. The seller says that there “is some superficial rust especially around the rear wheel-wells, where some bondo repairs were made earlier.”
I have a great friend who’s very cool dad had never owned a four-door vehicle until maybe the late-1990s. He would have wanted a two-door Valiant. Four door cars, especially those with automatic transmissions, are about the easiest thing to pick on for those of us who are always pointing out those two things. In reality, this is what most people owned and drove in those days. And now, it’s hard to even find a two-door vehicle, not that it matters with most people driving giant SUVs and four-door pickups. Hey, they don’t like four door classics but they drive four-door SUVs and pickups?! Hmm..
Speaking of four doors, this baby has them! Like the exterior, the interior looks pretty nice until you dig into the details. But hey, it’s a $2,750 car, what do you want, a trailer queen? A couple of weeks ago, Brian showed us a ’64 Valiant wagon in white over red for not much more money. Which one would you rather have?
That’s one clean engine compartment. The seller says that “The 225 cubic inch slant six engine starts and runs smoothly and the 3-speed pushbutton Torqueflight transmission works flawlessly. All brake lines and wheel cylinders are new, and the original master cylinder has been replaced with the dual master cylinder that went into ’67 and later Valiants. Lap and shoulder belts have been installed in the front and lap belts in the rear. The ignition system has been upgraded to the electronic version that Chrysler introduced in 1972. It’s got a new fuel tank sending unit, new water pump, new fuel pump, new alternator, new coil, new exhaust system, and a new starter motor.” That’s a lot to ingest there, but to sum it up, it sounds like they’ve gone to a lot of work to make it a reliable driver for the person who can do some bodywork and one who doesn’t look down on four-door cars with automatic transmissions. What do you think of this white Valiant?
I learned to drive on my mother’s 64 Valiant, these cars were nearly indestructible, well, until a semi runs over it on the freeway.
If I ever return to the privilege of driving, I would consider a daily like this. I would split the exhaust, then change the intake to a four barrel or maybe dual carbs or maybe 3 side drafts. I would make it handle and consider overdrive. I also have a curiosity about it would run with fuel injection. It would get air conditioning and a good sound system and leather Recaro seats from a mid-eighties Daytona. Just a few upgrades.
leave it as it is except trim andpaint wy spend money to make it worth less
This should be called “The White Cockroach”,
as it will probably still be around (& running) after a
nucleur attack.
I prefer 4 door sedans, & wagons. It’s what my parents drove. My Pops disliked coupes because the doors were too heavy, and not very practical with 5 unruly children to tote around! [Well, my siblings were unruly, I was an angel!]
Pops was also a huge fan of the Chrysler ‘slant 6’, “you can’t kill those motors”
Early to mid 60’s mopars have a certain appeal to them, then can be plainly boring or with just a rims and tires upgrade can look quite menacing.
My 3rd car in the 70’s, was a ’64 Valiant 100 2 door. It was a bare bones car, the only option on the car was 273 V8. I put the column shift on the floor, and put a 4 barrel from a 340, and was a fun car. It needed a 4 speed, but kept up with most other small block cars. Cars will never be this simple again, and that’s a shame. Great find.
My first car was very similar to this. It was a baby blue 66 Valiant with the 225 & auto (column shift). Bought it for $25 and towed it home. Wish this was closer to me, I’d be all over it for that kind of cash. Hope it finds a great new home.
Love it.
I have a 63 Valiant Signet 2 door hardtop. 3 speed manual. 70s era knee knocker AC that still works and converted to modern refrigerant.
The addition of lap and shoulder belts is a wise upgrade as is the electronic ignition.
Adding a Pertronix was one of the best things I’ve ever done to mine, after radials.
37 years and it’s still a viable daily use vehicle.
This is my kind of car! I had two cars after high school graduation in 1963. One was a 1955 Plymouth Belvedere and the other was a 1963 slant-six two door Valiant with standard shift. It had 28K on it when my parents gave it to me for Christmas in 1965. Right at 103K in 1972 the engine threw three rods on a trip back to Lubbock from Midland. Dad replaced the engine with one from a ’62 Dart and I continued driving it until 1974. There are few days that go by that I don’t miss that car. I would like this one, but it already has over 100K on it. Those engines just don’t last much after 100K unless they’re totally rebuilt. Otherwise I’d love to grab this one.
Skip, it sounds like your slant was an outlier. These engines are widely recognized as going obscene numbers of miles before finally giving it up.
Many times the engine was transferred to another car because the body gave in to rust or wreckage.
It’s quite possible that engine is going on it’s third hundred thousand miles.
In response to your question, the wagon, but then I will almost always go for the wagon. There was a 1st-generation Valiant wagon parked at Pep Boys yesterday – how appropriate! – and although the panel below the tailgate was a ragged-toothed gap (GOLLY do those things rust!) it was clearly loved, bearing a rod club’s plaque in the back window and a chrome knob on the floor shift lever. The driver, a silver-haired dude about my age, was very easy to spot …
OTOH the styling of this version has held up much better, and the cars seem to stay together longer too. If this were in Burbank instead of NJ I could easily be in a lot of trouble about now – it’s just about the perfect blend of equipment, both original and added on, and that’s a really good price.
I think I prefer the wagon, all things considered.
And I think I have cheap old car Mopar fever.
Beautiful car. Love the lines. The Dash on these Mopars though leave a lot of to be desired.
My fourth grade teacher owned an identical ’64 Valiant outside of it had a blue interior,in one of the Facebook Mopar sites there is a post from a guy whose 13 yr old daughter went with him to a swap meet and she bought a ’63 Valiant four door similar to this and she made the deal for it herself,gives me hope for the next generation coming up.
Hey, it’s like a 53 year old Corolla.
So my parents had a similar vintage Dart back in the early 70’s before they got a new ’73 Swinger.
My mom likes to tell the story about her “magic diaper”. I guess the carb in her Dart used to flood occasionally and she’d use an old cloth diaper to soak gas to unflood it quicker. In
One day, some young men in the Sears parking lot were stuck with a car that wouldn’t start and she offered the magic diaper. They didn’t believe that a “broad” with a baby would be able to start their car. She took off the air cleaner cover and did her magic trick and the car started and she went on her way.
Also, there was a neat writeup/essay on Hemmings recently about a guys affinity for his daily driver Valient. Maybe he called it Prince Valient? It was a good read.
I think I need to spend less time on car sites. I’m really feeling the pull towards owning one of these old Mopars, but I have to keep
My eyes on the prize of owning a Scout someday. It’s all a pipe dream because they would all probably rust out within three years here in Boston anyway.