1968 Valiant Project

[Midnight Valiant]

Here is my '68 I picked up recently. It was a former 9 second drag car on the street. The body is great since the quarters, rockers and fenders have been redone about 12 years ago. I didn't want a project that needed tons of metal work, just a blank sheet to start building a Trans Am style road racer for the street.

 

[Midnight Valiant]

The bumpers are fiberglass and the rear passenger windows are Lexan. A single roll bar, DANA 60 with Strange 35 spline axles, Wilwood frond disc brakes and tubular upper control arms all came with it. I get to work on it about once a week so I will try to keep the updates coming.

That is my friends '68 Dart in the background that I am helping with also. He has a lot of rust repair to do but its already coming along nice. It will be a 383 GTS clone when he is done. But enough bout that.

 

[Midnight Valiant]

I had 4 solid hours of cleaning and grinding on this K member. The Schumacher notch for the engine swap was easy compaired to all the damn cleaning.

 

[Midnight Valiant]

That K member actually looks better in the photos that what a started out with. I soaked it with PURPLE POWER from Wal-mart and pressure washed it before those pics. It was filled inside with sand and walnuts!

If you have any thing you need cleaned on an industrial level get PURLPLE POWER!

OH and other pic.

 

[Midnight Valiant]

Next week I will be starting to fab my own upper control arms to fit the coil overs from Magnumforce. Also going up front is 2" drop spindles from Magnumforce and Tubular lowers for coil over conversion from CAP. A 1967 440 with 915 heads (if Edlebrock is out of budget) is waiting for tear down. I will also be doing a 4 speed conversion (since Keisler is out of budget).

Now accpeting sponsors and donations. LOL!!!

 

[hawkfn18]

Looking good!

 

[3404speed]

Good luck, looks like you be having some fun!

 

[Valiant69er]

Cool, Another Valiant! Looking good. Going the Trans Am direction should make it very unique. 4 speeds RULE!

My 69 Valiant
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=116288

 

[Midnight Valiant]

O.K. These next photos are from my phone. I forgot my good camera the last few weeks so I hope these look alright.

I had a ton of trouble fitting the lower control arms to the K frame. I also have a issue with CAP from these arms. They said "ready" to bolt in? I had to grind a large chunk off both sides of the K member and then re-weld the gapping hole. The arms are in and have a full swing of travel now.

Next probem. The coil over springs are lightly contacting the lower control arm bump stop. The angle is too straight up and down. I have adjusted the camber on the lower arms to kick the bottom out but I dont want to go any farther, just to leave some meat on the threads. I have some ideas and will try them the next time I work on it.

The upper control arms I will be making myself. I have the Heims bolted in and have a uppper ball joint screwed into a mount. Once the spindle is in I can mock these up to get the angle I need to bend the tubes. Then tack weld them and send them down the street to ED QUAY so he can Tig them up.

 

[pntastar69]

Looks like the valiant that resided on rt 724.

 

[Midnight Valiant]

Yeah it was Lou's old Valiant. You know him?

 

[pntastar69]

Heard of him, never met him.