My 1975 Plymouth Valiant 4-door

Do you like my ride ?

  • Yes

    Votes: 29 93.5%

  • No

    Votes: 2 6.5%
  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
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Zuluman

Zuluman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2013
Messages
105
Reaction score
7
Location
Divonne les Bains
I bought a 1975 Plymouth Valiant, with a 3.7l slant six engine, from a breaker's yard in France for € 450. My son saw it one day returning home from school. It cost me € 452 to transfer the registration, more than the cost of the car, as the price of the transfer is based on fiscal horsepower.

After 2 years of intensive work much has been changed. The engine and crankshaft remain the same but I've had the engine bored out slightly, installed high-compression pistons (10.3 : 1), ordered a new cylinder head from Hemi Perfomance in Australia (dual valve springs, larger valves, ported & polished and gas-flowed). To this I added a new camshaft (mild racing) as well as an higher stall-speed torque converter, as well as an AussieSpeed equal-length runner intake manifold (topped with an Edelbrock 600cfm 4BBL carburettor) and tubular exhaust collector backed with a 2-1/4
" Magnaflow exhast.

I've made extensive chassis modifications as well. These include new front and rear axles from Control Freak Suspensions, with coil-over shock absorbers front and rear, a trailing arm rear suspension with a Panhard rod for lateral location, a limited-slip differential from Strange Engineering and 4 wheel disc brakes from Willwood.

I've had the interior redone in leather and alcantara by a professional saddler and redone the body in a Dupont colour called "marron black", a very dark brown used on Aston Martins. The wheels are American Racing Salt Flats (7" x 17" front and 10.5" x 17"rear) with Pirelli P-Zero Assimetrico tyres (245/45 YR 17-s front and 285/40 YR 17-s rear). I'm sure readers would like to see some pics...
 

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Welcome to FABO, I love your car, very cool and classy!!!! :glasses7:
 
As long as you like it thats all that matters.
 
I love your car! Love the high compression /6 build. A elegant automobile. Welcome.
 
really nice build, interior is awesome, welcome
 
Abodybomber said:
I love your car! Love the high compression /6 build. A elegant automobile. Welcome.
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Thank you. I still have some development work to do ; I'll install a Smith's competition radiator, and possibly an engine oil cooling system and a 100amp alternator as soon as possible. Also, the trunk lining remains to be done.
 
red67gts said:
really nice build, interior is awesome, welcome
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Thank you. I tried to retain the original colours as closely as possible, whilst adding some style and class. Here are some before/after photos..
 

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Awesome all the thought and work you've put into a car that no one wanted! Very cool too that your son is the one who found it. Great pics too! Any chance of posting a video?
 
goldfish65 said:
Awesome all the thought and work you've put into a car that no one wanted! Very cool too that your son is the one who found it. Great pics too! Any chance of posting a video?
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You're right. A good deal of planning went into this build ; we spent at least a year on reasearch, searching the internet and making telephone calls to Australia and the US.

My son was adamant that we keep the original slant-6 engine. That posed a challenge in terms of tuning for increased horsepower ; only the Aussies offer a comprehensive tuning kits, as Americans are so enamoured of the V8 as a performance option. Hence our focus on the "land down under".

Pentastar Parts and Restorations gave a lead for the front and rear suspension to "Control Freak Suspensions" near Orlando Florida. The owner and I have since become friends.

Initially all went better than I expected. Both the suspension and engine parts fit perfectly ! Problems arose later with the integration of the air-conditioning system (Vintage Air - mounting brackets for V8-s only), the cooling system and the passenger-side front seat (which took 3 tries to fit). But I think that's fairly typical of a well planned build ; the macro parts go together well and as one approaches the finishing line more adjustments and ex-prompt engineering. More time was spent installing the air-conditioning than on the drive-train and engine combined.
 

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holmes said:
Very nice!!! I love that it's a 4 door and a 1975 to boot!
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I was attracted to this car (post-purchase) when I read the quality was comparable to a Mercedes Benz of the time, unlike the unfortunate history of the Volaré and Aspen that followed.

Having read that I was inspired to improve the dynamic abilities of the car to MB levels. Hence the 4-wheel disc brakes, limited-slip differential, coil-over shock suspension. Admittedly, the ride is fairly firm (more than an MB of the time) but I don't have the resources of a major motor-manufacturer at my disposal.

Never the less, I mean to quietly continue development to get the best handling-ride compromise.
 
Zuluman said:
I was attracted to this car (post-purchase) when I read the quality was comparable to a Mercedes Benz of the time, unlike the unfortunate history of the Volaré and Aspen that followed.

Having read that I was inspired to improve the dynamic abilities of the car to MB levels. Hence the 4-wheel disc brakes, limited-slip differential, coil-over shock suspension. Admittedly, the ride is fairly firm (more than an MB of the time) but I don't have the resources of a major motor-manufacturer at my disposal.

Never the less, I mean to quietly continue development to get the best handling-ride compromise.
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I made the comment about it being a 1975 because that is what year my Duster is and some folks believe if it's not a 1972 or older that it isn't worth much but I don't believe that b.s. I also have a 1976 Dodge Aspen that is a blast to drive.(4 door Special Edition sleeper that is a factory 360 car) No problem with the quality on it at all!
 
holmes said:
I made the comment about it being a 1975 because that is what year my Duster is and some folks believe if it's not a 1972 or older that it isn't worth much but I don't believe that b.s. I also have a 1976 Dodge Aspen that is a blast to drive.(4 door Special Edition sleeper that is a factory 360 car) No problem with the quality on it at all!
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Friends of mine in Canada bought a 1976 Aspen new, which I had a chance to drive before they exchanged it for a Volvo. They said it was a horrid car. In any event, one sees more Darts and Valiants in e-Bay and Hemmings than Volarés and Aspens. There are few cars of the "malaise" era around, which will have an impact for future hobbyists ; fewer older cars will be affordable for the newbie.

With reference to 1972, I believe you are referring to the bumpers. I was able to reinstall the bumpers so that they fit more flushly to the body and painted the flexible plastic filler panels body colour, which help it to be better integrated. The silver-grey is quite ugly, in my opinion.

These bumpers are very useful when parking in Paris (provided one can find a space on the street, mind you).
 
I love it! Tres bien!
I'm even happier it's a 4 door.
A lot of people hate 4 doors but i like them a lot......
Welcome to FABO!
 
Wow! Not sure why I even click on this poll, normally I wouldn't click on anything 1975 especially with four doors Lol...

Sure glad I did though. That is one bitchen four door, beak nose, slant six Mopar "A" body.

Congratulations you really opened my mind up to the possibilities of the arguably most undesirable Mopar "A" bodies of all time.

Anyways very nice build, top to bottom the Valiant is very tastefully done.
 
zhandfull said:
Wow! Not sure why I even click on this poll, normally I wouldn't click on anything 1975 especially with four doors Lol...

Sure glad I did though. That is one bitchen four door, beak nose, slant six Mopar "A" body.

Congratulations you really opened my mind up to the possibilities of the arguably most undesirable Mopar "A" bodies of all time.

Anyways very nice build, top to bottom the Valiant is very tastefully done.
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I must admit that in its original form I was not especially fond of this car. It wasn't me. But my son very much wanted this car. We went to see the car 3 times ; first when the place was closed and the second time when it was open. The third time I promised my son we'd buy the car if it started.

Guess what ? Right. It started. So it was time to make the car "me" (or more properly "us). The rest is history.

In any event the car is part of the history of the region where I live (Pays de Gex) and I'm happy to give the car another 38 years.
 
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