Plymouth Valiant
The Plymouth Valiant was an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market which was emerging in the late 1950s. The vehicle was sold in Australia (and other export markets such as the United Kingdom, South Africa and New Zealand) as the Chrysler Valiant with local development up to 1981.
1960
The Valiant appeared in 1960 as its own marque and was advertised as the Valiant by Chrysler Corp. For 1961, it was assigned to Plymouth, while Dodge's 1961 version was called the Lancer. The first generation Valiant and Lancer rode on a 106.5 in (2705 mm) wheelbase.
The Valiant was less mechanically radical than the competition from General Motors' Chevrolet Corvair, which had an air-cooled rear-mounted engine. It was considered more daring than the also-new Ford Falcon, however. The Falcon was totally conventional, while the Valiant boasted fairly radical styling and a new engine configuration, the famous Slant-6 engine, which had its cylinders inline but canted 30° to one side. This allowed a lower hoodline, a shorter overall engine (the water pump was now mounted alongside instead of up front), and efficient, long-branch individual-runner intake and exhaust manifolds. The 170 in³ engine gained a reputation for durability and dependability, partly due to the fact that the engine design was specifically engineered to support either an aluminum or a cast-iron block. Somewhat more than 50,000 die-cast aluminum versions of the larger 225 in³ version of the engine were produced between late 1961 and early 1963. With a "Hyper-Pak" dealer tuning kit, the Valiants were significantly faster and quicker than any of their competitors. Even European imports and V8 models were trounced by the Valiants at NASCAR's inaugural compact stock-car race at Daytona (FL). The eight Valiants entered in this race in 1960 placed 1st through 8th; after a repeat performance in 1961, NASCAR quietly cancelled the series.
The 1960 Valiant was also a Chrysler Engineering exhibition of their leadership in aluminum die-casting. While the aluminum slant-6 engine block wouldn't make it to production until 1961, the 1960 oil pump, water pump, new alternator, the Hyper-Pak intake manifold, automatic transmission case and extension, and a myriad small parts were all made of aluminum.
The Valiant platform was typical of Chrysler chassis design of the time. It used unit-body construction rather than body on frame. The front suspension consisted of unequal length control arms with torsion bars, while the rear suspension used a live axle supported by leaf springs. Chrysler kept this basic design for all subsequent Valiants, although they made significant changes to the components of the front suspension in 1962.
Chrysler marketed Valiants at both Dodge and Plymouth dealers in Canada from 1960 to 1966 as a stand alone product. The 1960 to 1962 Canadian Valiants were substantially similar to the American-made cars, except the trunklid had a by Chrysler instead of a Plymouth badge. There were minor differences in interior and exterior trim, and the alternator that had made its much-ballyhooed industry debut as standard equipment on the American-market 1960 Valiant remained an extra-cost option in Canada through 1962. A carburetor anti-frost system, engine block heater, battery warmer, electric car interior heater and other cold-climate items were available as factory and/or dealer-installed options, while air conditioning, which was first offered in the US 1961 models, was not made available North of the border until 1966. Some Canadian-made Auto-Lite (now Prestolite) electrical components were used in lieu of the Chrysler-built components installed on American-built cars. Chrysler Canada's Windsor, Ontario plant was also the source for left- and right-hand-drive export Valiants.
1963 - 1966
The Valiant was totally reskinned for 1963, with a ½ in (13 mm) shorter 106 in (2692 mm) wheelbase. The new-design Valiant was offered as a 2-door sedan, hardtop or convertible, and as a 4-door sedan or station wagon. In addition, the Plymouth Barracuda, considered by some to be the first pony car, was a fastback-bodied Valiant introduced in 1964. The Dodge Lancer, which had been almost identical to the Valiants of 1961-1962, was replaced by Dart, a new application of the name from the larger intermediate-sized 1960-62 Dodge. The Dart line included all the same body configurations as the Valiant line, and all Darts except station wagons rode on a 111 in wheelbase, while the wagons used the Valiant's 106" wheelbase platform.
In 1964, Chrysler introduced an a new lightweight 273 in³ (4.5 L) V8 engine as an option for the Valiant and Barracuda. This compact V8 engine, the first in a series that would last until 2002, was specifically designed to fit in the A-body engine compartment. With a two barrel carburetor, the 273 engine made 180 horsepower (134) and 260 lbf·ft (353 N·m) of torque. A hotter version with 10.5:1 compression, 4-barrel carburetor, solid tappets and other modifications was also available, and produced 235 horsepower.
For 1963 and 1964, the Canadian Valiant used the US Dodge Dart body and 111 in. wheelbase with US Valiant front sheetmetal.
For 1965, Chrysler Canada sold both the 106 in (2692 mm) wheelbase Valiant and the 111 in (2819 mm) wheelbase Dart, all badged as Valiants, and all with the Dart dashboard.
For 1966, the shorter Valiant was dropped from the Canadian market, and all Valiants were rebadged US Darts. With the coming of the US-Canada Auto Pact of 1965, Chrysler could ship cars and parts both ways over the border and in 1967 began importing Plymouth Valiants and Dodge Darts from Detroit, as well as exporting Darts and Valiants from Windsor to the US.
The Barracuda was built in Canada in 1964 and 1965 and imported for 1966. But it was badged and sold as a Valiant Barracuda, not a Plymouth Barracuda. The imported 1966 Barracuda did not have Plymouth nameplates on the trunk as the American market version did. The 1965 Barracuda also used the Dart dashboard.
1967-1973
The Valiant reached its greatest heights after a total redesign in 1967, with the wheelbase now 108 in (2743 mm). This generation acquired an excellent mechanical reputation and produced such hot-selling variants as the 1970-1976 Plymouth Valiant Duster/Dodge Dart Swinger, 1971-1976 Plymouth Scamp and 1971-1972 Dodge Demon. There was a Dodge Demon for 1971 and 1972, and a Dodge Dart Sport from 1973 to 1976. Chrysler's ponycars, the Dodge Challenger and Plymouth Barracuda, used a modified version of the Valiant architecture.
With these cars Chrysler took 40% of the total American compact market in the early 1970s. They also enjoyed considerable success in foreign markets, where they were often assembled by Chrysler affiliates or subsidiaries. 1970 was also the first year that the successful 340 in³ V8 engine would be installed in a Valiant-badged car (the Duster 340).
This version of the Valiant would also achieve worldwide movie fame in the 1971 road rage thriller Duel, directed by the then unknown Steven Spielberg. A 1970 Plymouth Valiant was also featured prominently in Howard Stern's autobiographical 1997 movie Private Parts.
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