1963 Plymouth Valiant
Jeff Z. writes:
Here's what my 1963 Valiant looked like when I purchased it:
The car has a 440 ci engine (out of a '68 Charger R/T) in it that is bored .030 over (so it is actually 446 cubic inches) with 1963 413 closed chamber heads, six pack rods, M1 intake, 850 Holley DP, and best yet it has a 9 to 1 compression ratio so I can still easily run pump gas. It has a 727 Automatic transmission and a 8 3/4 suregrip rear end with 4.30 gears.
I drive it everyday in the summer when it is not raining. Its kind of a bummer to race people from a dead stop because the rear tires spin so easy. But it takes off like a rocket from about 30 miles per hour or more (That is usually about the time you can floor it with out it spinning).
I have decals that I am going to put on behind the end of the stripes on both sides of the car. (When I finish painting the stripe on the side I'll put the "440" and "Valiant" symbol decals on the side as well.)
The best part about the paint job was that me and a friend took a weekend in which we planned out a color scheme for the car, bought some Krylon spray paint and painted the whole car. Sadly it looks a lot better in pictures then in person, but on the bright side we only paid about 50 dollars for all the paint.
Update! Rob V. writes that he has purchsed the '63 and will transplant the 440 into his 1965 Valiant!
Thanks, Jeff!
Wow, 440 '63 Valiant. Driver and tire killer! Pretty neat!
Re: update: Look forward to your 440 powered '65, Rob!
Gary H.
July 15, 2002; July 16, 2002