1964 Plymouth Valiant

1964 Plymouth Valiant

In May 1957, Chrysler president Lester Lum "Tex" Colbert established a committee to develop a competitor in the burgeoning compact car market which included the popular VW Beetle, the new American Motors Rambler and upcoming entries from GM, Ford and Studebaker. Virgil Exner designed a car that was smaller and lighter than a full-size car without sacrificing passenger and luggage space. Originally named the Falcon after Exner's 1955 Chrysler Falcon concept car, the vehicle was renamed the 'Valiant' honoring Henry Ford II's request to use the original name for the Ford Falcon.

For consignment a 1964 version of the Plymouth Valiant.

ExteriorA side view of this car and it will tell you that Virgil Exner certainly had "different" in mind when he penned this design. This compact car is all bathed in white and has some worn but still shiny trimmings and badging. Gaps are nicely minded, and black wall tires have chromed badged center caps.

InteriorRetaining most of its original charm, all two tone blue vinyl, we see original low back buckets, with light blue bolsters and dark blue inserts. A rear bench is shown in the same color way and slightly different pattern believed to be the original from the factory pattern. Note the front seat mounts have a coating of heavy rust on them. Upfront the snappy mid 60's original dash whose white surround for the instruments is fading to yellow and is dirty. A push button panel is to drivers left and is the futuristic way to change gears, (Meet George Jetson...). An original light blue steering wheel is fronting the dash and the blue surrounding plastic is worn. Along door panels are dirty and scratched at the sills. Blue carpeting showing some staining is on the floors and a very wrinkly and saggy headliner is barely hanging on above in light blue fabric. She wore blue vinyl......

DrivetrainFlipping the hood we note bolted into this car is an original 273 ci V8. It has a nice coat of red on the block water pump and valve covering. It is topped with an Edelbrock intake and a single 4-barrel factory carburetor. On back is an A904 3-speed automatic enabled by those pushbuttons. Power transfers to the rear wheels via a 7-1/4-inch Sure Grip rear axle. Looking clean and good under this hood.

UndercarriagePatina, faded coatings and some light surface rust sums up the steel underneath this classic. Independent torsion bar front suspension is now on, and leaf springs are on back. Drum braking is on all 4 corners. A Dynomax free flow exhaust system is now on, and it ends nicely in chrome tipped pipes in the back.

Drive-AbilityMy test drive included the push button experience, and it runs smoothly and handles nicely. The odometer and speedometer are non-functional.

Thanks Tex Colbert for this trend starting at Plymouth in the compact Valiant. Some work needs to be done to the interior, the engine seems buttoned up and the exterior is good. A bit of TLC needed to get it just right, but for now turn the key and push the buttons! His boy Elroy...

VIN DECODEV445143216V-Valiant V84-Signet4-19645-Los Angeles, CA Assy Plant143216-Sequential Unit Number

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.