A 68 Valiant

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Darter6

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Well it's been a few years since posting here,went from A body cars to B's. Now I'm back with my latest 68 Valiant Signet project. Not much of a restoration but more a resurrection from the dead.Purchased a few years ago from a member here, it was put on the back burner till it was time to make it run and drive again.A 273 auto with a 2.76 7 1/4 rear. The main reason for buying it was it was a 4 door with factory bucket seats.Now I've been messing with this stuff for 50 years and this was a first for me.Never did I come across one before.This was the day it was delivered.Sorry for the crappy photos.

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It has Dealer installed Chrysler Air Temp air.Power 10'' drum brakes and very leaky power steering.How about the dealer installed seat covers ??

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The power brake booster was shot,along with a very dry, crunchy interior but the dash was in perfect condition with out a crack.

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Had a right hand drive one of these here in New Zealand that originally came from South Africa, until I crashed it and Bent the Chassis , Would love another Maybe a 2 door this time, good luck with your ressurection
 
The floors were in perfect condition,with the green factory paint and not even surface rust.You can see the seat reinforcements for the buckets.
More to come soon.

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The car barely ran but some work was done before.Looks like a new tank and sender was installed.

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Pulled the engine, tranny and K frame for a clean and rebuild.

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I saw this car on CL last year. Those western state cars sure stay clean. If your looking for anything azmopar may have what you need. The 4dr buckets are pretty rare.
 
Thanks sedanman, about the only thing I would want to do is change the center grille section to the 67.The blank 68 is not to my liking.But body and paint is at the bottom of the totem pole for now.

I sold all the A/C parts. I found the heater box cracked when I went to replace the heater core. For now it is a heater delete car. The future may bring Classic Auto Air Direct Fit under the dash.
Next is rebuilding of the front suspension. I found it had the sleeves on the upper control arm bushings,I had extras so I installed them on all 4 while replacing the bushings.I also used Dr.Diff upper ball joint adapters to fit the 73 up disc brake spindles.The car will be just a driver and not Auto Crossed or anything so I think it will be fine.

This is a BUDGET BUILD and a use what you have. In the photo you can see that I was going to go rear mount caliper because I had "B" body calipers. I did not like the way the brake hoses fit so I switched sides and Mounted "A" body calipers front mount.The brake booster was shot so it will be manual disc brakes for now.I will send out the booster to be rebuilt in the future when funds allow.

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While the seats were out being redone,I started on the engine.Heads were gone thru,and the cam was replaced along with lifters,springs,and a double roller timing chain and gears . I went with a JEGS #200161 cam kit. Before tear down I did compression check,the engine had no cylinder wear and all the bearings looked great.So a reseal and good cleaning was done and the engine was re-assembled.

Same with the transmission. It was in great shape with clean red fluid.Cleaned,bands adjusted and resealed and re-installed.

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Other things done were the leaky power steering was replaced with a manual box,Rear was replaced with a big bolt '74 7 1/4 That I got off a member here. The spider gears were shot, so they were replaced along with bearings and seals.All new rear brakes and drums,The rear leaf springs were re-bushed and 2 extra leafs added to each side.
 
I have the grille set up but one bezel was partially spray bombed. The grille center needs some work but the emblem is nice

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Thanks Sedanman, I will keep it in mind.Just bit the bullet and ordered a complete TTI exhaust today.That blows the budget for anything else.I'll post the install in the next few months.Running a cobbled up single exhaust on it for now. I special ordered their shorty headers for the small port 273 heads and a complete dual exhaust to the back bumper.

Got the seats back,installed the carpets along with new arm rests. Also the 3 point seat belts for the front buckets. Had cloth inserts done over vinyl to be a bit cooler in the desert heat.Also installed dyna-mat on the floors under the rug.

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I had a 50,000 mile /6 68 Signet 4dr that was a blast to drive but sadly had to part it out because they didn't make Valiant parts back then. I have had at least 15 Valiants through my years.
 
R4Sedan, I got them thru JEGS. I think they were about $65 a pair. Easy to do on a 4 door because of the post.The Signet has a stainless cover on the outside of the post.Drill a 1 1/2'' hole from the outside and a 1/2'' hole from the inside.I install a over size washer thru the outside and bolt in the mount. I did this years ago on a 67 Dart 4 door.Found the cover trim at a wrecking yard.Sorry the sun blocked the mount in the photo.
 
Washed it for the first time and found white overspray on the whole car. There must of been boxes and parts stacked on it that outlined the hood,roof and trunk lid.Ran a buffer and compound on it and got most of it off but the green was getting thin.Ahaa, that Mopar Green of the 60's !
Went with steelies for now and dog dish caps. The wife said to put a white star on the doors with ARMY underneath. It does have that look fresh off the base !

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I wanted to add the new TTI exhaust photos.Much better than the old single exhaust and sounds great.I have used the TTI long tubes many times before so I went with the shorty's they have for this car.Honestly they were the easiest headers I have ever installed.

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A few more photos of the installation.Don't let the photo of the drag link fool you.There is plenty of steering room.

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