65 Valiant Refresh

[Andgott]

My Valiant arrived today... I was like a little kid on Christmas! The story is she's been in a barn for a few decades, then pulled out and brought to running condition.

I've restored a lot of boats. And I'm in the middle of restoring a 1966 Ford F100. But, this is my first vintage car, and my first MOPAR. So, I'm going to have a LOT of questions.

I almost hesitate to post this as a restoration, because it's really not- It's a refresh. Overall, it's in pretty good shape, So this is more of a refresh. It has been repainted, and it's an OK paint job, good enough for a driver-

The interior is in good shape- There is one seam that tore in the back seat, and some fading in the plastic, but overall pretty good. Everything works as it should-

The engine bay is a little dirty, but not too bad-

A little degreasing and cleaning went a long way-

Everything seems to be solid, with little rust anywhere-

I'll be cleaning her up over the next few days, and giving it a once over to make sure it's all in good shape, then it's time to ENJOY it. Mechanically it seems pretty good.The first thing I did when it arrived today was take it for a spin, and man it was fun! The only issue I had was the brakes feel a little weak. I'll have to look in to that.

Oh- I need to get seatbelts installed in the back so I can take my daughter cruising

-Andrew

 

[pishta]

1st thing on list should be dual M/C upgrade. Grab a Drum/Drum off a 67-later Mopar along with the combo valve. Keep factory distribution block, plug the rear port and extend rear line to M/C. This will give you 2 circuits in case one fails.

 

[Andgott]

I've been cleaning her up.... Oil change, and misc. other items complete. I think my daughter likes it as much as me-

She's ready to go for a drive-

Two year olds are SO helpful-

This car is really in better shape than I had thought! It is very intact. I took the rear seat out to get ready to install seat belts, and I found the broadcast sheet!

Not in the best shape, but not too bad considering it's almost a half a century old-

I've got new window felts on order, along with some other parts. That, the seat belts, and the master cylinder upgrade, and I'll be ready to go!

I've been driving her in the mean time, though... Too fun not to!

-Andrew

 

[nothingbutdarts]

You need to just hand over the keys to your daughter now! LOL Looks like a nice ride.

 

[Andgott]

I've been doing a LOT of cleanup... I am installing new seatbelts, and pulled the rear seat out for access. Since it was out, I figured I'd go ahead and pull the front seat out, too, so I could pull the carpet out and get it good and clean, and take care of any rust in the floor.

I got a kind of nasty surprise- The floors appeared to be VERY solid from the outside, but the front passenger side wasn't so great. It had been rusting from the inside out... I removed all the rust and scale with a wire wheel- There are a few holes to fill. I'll have to do a little welding after all!-

A little more than I thought I'd encounter, but not bad. It'll be an easy fix. I'm tempted to use the POR-15 floor repair kit for this job.

I also got some of the interior trim polished up-

It shines up very well!

I have been working on the door panels, too. They are intact, but the bottoms of them have some water damage in the hardboard backing. I replaced it with a material called Sintra, Which is a closed cell rigid PVC foam. It's about the same thickness as the old hardboard, but is waterproof, a bit lighter, and SUPER easy to work with.

I also cut some new interior trim panels from it- These are the ones that go behind the rear seat near the floor-

I've since painted them red. It's MUCH Better than the originals, far tougher and waterproof!

We've been having a lot of fun with this car already.... My "Assistant" loves to help-

-Andrew

 

[hemitheus]

very nice work. where does one get sintra and is it pricey?

 

[Andgott]

very nice work. where does one get sintra and is it pricey?

Sintra is used by Sign shops... You can also get it on E-Bay, it's only about $8 or so a sheet in the size I am using. It is pretty tough stuff, but can be cut with a utility or exact-o knife, even a pair of heavy duty scissors. This is the new door panel-

And, after covering it with the original vinyl-

It was a good fit... I was able to cut the holes for the mounting clips easily, so it just pops back on just like the original!

 

[Andgott]

I hadn't PLANNED on doing any welding on this project- But plans change!

I cut out the bad steel, and tacked in some new-

It appears that water pooled on the floor- And they rotted from the inside out! The bottom of the car looked as good as new, but the inside was a different story. I'll be finishing it up the floor with POR-15, To seal it off and hopefully prevent it from happening again!

 

[barbee6043]

cool car. glad you are having fun with it cause that IS what its all about. glad to learn about the Sintra. I can see using that myself.
maybe this will be a car for your daughter in bout what 14 yrs!!????
you might clean the loose rust off floor. a wire cup in drill or right angle grinder works good, or elbow grease and wire brush to. lots of things to combat that old rust. driver? go to auto parts store, get the rust convertor, after it does it things, put couple of light coats of any good oil based enamel, ( too heavy and it takes forever to dry). some people put bedliner over that.
keep us posted on progress on the refresh. and have some fun....

 

[Andgott]

I wire wheeled the rust and scale out-

Then I got a coat or POR-15 on-

In the areas where the rust was really bad, the floors were a little thin, so I reinforced them a bit with some 3/4 oz. fiberglass mat. Essentially the same thing the you do with the POR-15 floor repair kit (http://www.por15.com/Floor-Pan-Repair_ep_77.html)- But you REALLY don't need everything that's in the kit, it's a lot cheaper to buy just what is required!

It'll get a second coat. Should seal off the floors nicely and keep anything like that from happening again.

POR is nice stuff, I've used it on a lot of other jobs... Just don't get it on your skin!

-Andrew

 

[barbee6043]

POR IS GOOD STUFF FOR SURE. LOTS OF WAYS TO DEAL WITH THE RUST ISSUES ESPECIALLY ON A DRIVER. ( DRIVING IS WHAT THEY ARE FOR, ) (who hit the caps!???) don't tell the resto experts ya put somefigerglasss there, they will pop in their drawers! LOL it works great. vette steel door hinges attached to fiberglass door, yes it works!
personally I add my own homemade frame connectors. these unibody cars should have come from the factory with such, and after 50 years the floors, rockers and subframe metal gets thinner and weaker. just me.....

 

[Andgott]

All cleaned up, wet sanded, buffed out... Still some little things to do here and there, but we're already enjoying her. Went to the Main Street Cruise-In in Cleveland, TN today. I think my daughter enjoyed it as much as I did

While she certainly wasn't the flashiest car there, we got a lot of attention. Lots of people used to own one, or knew someone who did, and stopped by to chat.

There was only one other A body there, a nice '65 Barracuda.

-Andrew

 

[66340SEDAN]

Awesome car, would love to have a nice 4-door like that :glasses7: