Wide body

[ValiantKevin]

Has anyone ever seen or have pictures of someone that has done any kind of wide body build with a Third generation Valiant (1967-69)?
Maybe say by welding on rear quarters from a Duster?
Or is something full custom like this Dart pretty much the only option?

(PFA)

 

[CFD244]

That thing is gross.....But, beauty IS in the eye of the beholder

 

[340six]

That thing is gross.....But, beauty IS in the eye of the beholder

Needs Type R Stickers

 

[Syleng1]

Needs Type R Stickers

And a NISMO turbo 4. And don’t forget the right hand drive. Lol!

 

[jos51700]

I get that you think it's cool, and it does look good on certain cars, but this same phenomenon is what occurs when putting a Superbird nose on a Dart. These body styles just don't accommodate those things.

 

[Cuda416]

In my opinion, a "wide body kit" on something that "square" should be comprised of more "square" elements like the old 80's M3 race cars such as... People tend to make kits that go against the grain of the original and things end up looking "off". Again, my opinion.

 

[dano]

Probably not a lot outside of a SEMA mega bucks cars and probably next to none that are street driven and I'm talking cleanly done ones not Hill Billy cobbled together **** boxes.

If I had to bet, that image is AI generated.

 

[Cuda416]

Probably not a lot outside of a SEMA mega bucks cars and probably next to none that are street driven and I'm talking cleanly done ones not Hill Billy cobbled together **** boxes.

If I had to bet, that image is AI generated.

Doesn't take SEMA magabucks to make a set of molds. Time, energy and the desire to drive something different, just like the rest of us MoPar nutz. lol.

 

[DionR]

You can run a 275/35R18 with the right setup on the front, but the rear is a bit of an issue with the Dart/Valiant slab side. But I think you could get a 275 in the rear as well with moving the springs in 1/2". Maybe.

Closest thing I have seen though is this car, my notes say 285/35R18 front and 305/30R19 rear. Here is the for sale ad - 1967 Plymouth Valiant Sorted 2015 Autocross Winner, USCA, $18K obo

 

[72bluNblu]

Has anyone ever seen or have pictures of someone that has done any kind of wide body build with a Third generation Valiant (1967-69)?
Maybe say by welding on rear quarters from a Duster?
Or is something full custom like this Dart pretty much the only option?

View attachment 1716422611

FYI, that's just a digital rendering, not a real car...
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/dodge-dart-dark-demon-has-a-widebody-for-days-142234.html

I don't think that welding on an entirely different set of quarters would be easier than anything else, and that alone would definitely count as custom in my book. I don't know that you'd necessarily have to go full custom either, there are numerous wide body kits out there for various different tuner cars (and even late model chargers and challengers) and it would likely be easier to modify some of those to fit your needs than to make something entirely custom unless you're pretty handy with fiberglass or metal.

Of course at some point modifying something designed for something else can end up being more work that just doing it from scratch, but it's hard to tell until to get going.

 

[DionR]

I would love to do a 315/30R18 square setup. Completely overkill for the street, but seems to be the sweet spot for stuff like the Optima series. And I think it would look cool.

 

[dano]

Doesn't take SEMA magabucks to make a set of molds. Time, energy and the desire to drive something different, just like the rest of us MoPar nutz. lol.

For sure, there an many methodology's of manufacturing that would work. It all takes time, money and talent, even more so if your a hobbies and not a business.

 

[ValiantKevin]

In my opinion, a "wide body kit" on something that "square" should be comprised of more "square" elements like the old 80's M3 race cars such as... People tend to make kits that go against the grain of the original and things end up looking "off". Again, my opinion.

View attachment 1716422647

I agree 100%... I just posted that pic for attention. I was just curious what all is anyone has done to see.

 

[ValiantKevin]

Probably not a lot outside of a SEMA mega bucks cars and probably next to none that are street driven and I'm talking cleanly done ones not Hill Billy cobbled together **** boxes.

If I had to bet, that image is AI generated.

It is a AI pic... and I agree probably no body really does it, I just have some rust across the top of my wheel wells and thought if I am going to be cutting and welding why not widen he hips a lil at the same time

 

[Cuda416]

I agree 100%... I just posted that pic for attention. I was just curious what all is anyone has done to see.

Oh I wasn't knocking it, just stating my opinion and we know what those are worth. lol

 

[ValiantKevin]

You can run a 275/35R18 with the right setup on the front, but the rear is a bit of an issue with the Dart/Valiant slab side. But I think you could get a 275 in the rear as well with moving the springs in 1/2". Maybe.

Closest thing I have seen though is this car, my notes say 285/35R18 front and 305/30R19 rear. Here is the for sale ad - 1967 Plymouth Valiant Sorted 2015 Autocross Winner, USCA, $18K obo

View attachment 1716422675

View attachment 1716422678

View attachment 1716422676

View attachment 1716422677

This is exactly what I was hoping for, thank you very much!

 

[72bluNblu]

I would love to do a 315/30R18 square setup. Completely overkill for the street, but seems to be the sweet spot for stuff like the Optima series. And I think it would look cool.

Thing is that a 315/30/18 will fit the back of my Duster without any of that. A 1/2" spring offset and the "reverse mini tub" to make the outer wheelhouse vertical in the quarter, along with some quarter lip rolling and pushing and you've got 315's in the back. The front is a whole different ball game though.

This is exactly what I was hoping for, thank you very much!

Toms full build thread and his racing adventures are on his thread over here 67 Valiant budget built to race 2015

With a Valiant you can get 275's in the back with a 1/2" spring offset and some quarter lip rolling/pushing. That would get you to a spot where you could run 275's on all 4's without a ton of work.

Going wider than that increases the amount of work exponentially from there. I know I could run 285's up front with my current set up and 18x10's up front, and possible even 295's if I did a little bit more work on trimming/pushing/rolling. But bigger than 295's in the front would require major surgery. In the back it depends on the body style, but you can see what Tom did to his quarters to get to 305's on a Valiant.

My build thread is a bit shorter, but given that it's a Duster not everything applies for a Valiant (especially in the back). But I covered pretty much everything I did to get a 275/295 combo on my car. My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

 

[DionR]

Thing is that a 315/30/18 will fit the back of my Duster without any of that. A 1/2" spring offset and the "reverse mini tub" to make the outer wheelhouse vertical in the quarter, along with some quarter lip rolling and pushing and you've got 315's in the back. The front is a whole different ball game though.

Nice! Didn't think a 315 would fit even with the reverse tub. At some point my '73 will get the reverse tub and 1/2" spring offset, but time will if it ever sees a 315.

The front is the trick then. If the rear fits without a flair, feels like the front needs to keep it pretty subtle.

It all daydreams on my part anyways.

 

[72bluNblu]

Nice! Didn't think a 315 would fit even with the reverse tub. At some point my '73 will get the reverse tub and 1/2" spring offset, but time will if it ever sees a 315.

The front is the trick then. If the rear fits without a flair, feels like the front needs to keep it pretty subtle.

It all daydreams on my part anyways.

Yeah in the back I have over an inch of clearance now to the quarters with the 295/40/18's, and about 3/4" to the springs. I've run as little as 3/8" to the springs in the past, the rear disks kicked them out. Granted, I pushed the quarters out with my fender roller pretty hard when I did the reverse tub and quarter lip roll, but I didn't have to relieve the quarters at all. I'm positive I could clear 315's, based on my measurements 325's might even be possibly depending on the brand.

I've got almost 14-1/8" from inner fender well to quarter lip, and the outer tub is vertical so the lip is the most restrictive part on the outer side. So 315's are easy. 325's would be fine, but 335's won't make it.

In the front after my last round of pushing/rolling I have some extra space. I know I could get 285's in there. I think I could probably get 295's without destroying the body line on the fenders, but more than that would take relieving the fenders and possibly even some pie cuts. Anything is possible but major surgery for anything bigger than 295's at my ride height and street driven for sure.

 

[DionR]

In the front after my last round of pushing/rolling I have some extra space. I know I could get 285's in there. I think I could probably get 295's without destroying the body line on the fenders, but more than that would take relieving the fenders and possibly even some pie cuts. Anything is possible but major surgery for anything bigger than 295's at my ride height and street driven for sure.

The big dogs that run the GM products usually have aftermarket subframes or entirely new frames, and they move the rails in so a 315 fits rather than flair the front fenders. Speedtech being an example of this, and they even have a E/B-Body Mopar kit.

I haven't looked at any of my A-Bodies with that thought in mind, so I have no real idea if this is even an option. It would certainly be more work than flaring the front fender, but it would keep the body "stock". With the narrower frame rails of the A-Body compared to the E/B-Body, my gut says the TB would have to be dropped and exhaust would be pretty custom. Assuming a deeper 18" would even clear the UCA. So much to look and think about there.

Maybe it is time to pull in one of the shops doing CF body parts and see if they could add some width to a front fender and keep it looking mostly stock. Or maybe add a bubble to it that matches the quarters on a Duster/Demon/Dart Sport. I guess that doesn't help the OP, just kind of spitballing.

 

[72bluNblu]

The big dogs that run the GM products usually have aftermarket subframes or entirely new frames, and they move the rails in so a 315 fits rather than flair the front fenders. Speedtech being an example of this, and they even have a E/B-Body Mopar kit.

I haven't looked at any of my A-Bodies with that thought in mind, so I have no real idea if this is even an option. It would certainly be more work than flaring the front fender, but it would keep the body "stock". With the narrower frame rails of the A-Body compared to the E/B-Body, my gut says the TB would have to be dropped and exhaust would be pretty custom. Assuming a deeper 18" would even clear the UCA. So much to look and think about there.

Maybe it is time to pull in one of the shops doing CF body parts and see if they could add some width to a front fender and keep it looking mostly stock. Or maybe add a bubble to it that matches the quarters on a Duster/Demon/Dart Sport. I guess that doesn't help the OP, just kind of spitballing.

Just run an early-A K frame and move the factory rails in to match and keep the later A bodywork. You'd have run early-A headers but you could keep the torsion bars and all the suspension components. Probably have to move the anchors in the later torsion bar crossmember rather than use the early A version. The early A K-frames are like 2" narrower than the 67+ stuff yeah? So an inch per side, if 295's will go without major fender surgery then 315's would fit with the narrower early-A K frame location and the later bodywork. You'd have to work on the inner fenders and the radiator mount to get them to adapt between the narrower frame locations and the later bodywork, but the rest of the engine stuff would just be what's already out there for early A's.

The wider body parts is just money, there's already 68-70 Chargers and a few Challengers that have been widened. SpeedKore did a wide body Charger like that with all CF body parts. Cubic dollars.

 

[DionR]

Just run an early-A K frame and move the factory rails in to match and keep the later A bodywork. You'd have run early-A headers but you could keep the torsion bars and all the suspension components. Probably have to move the anchors in the later torsion bar crossmember rather than use the early A version. The early A K-frames are like 2" narrower than the 67+ stuff yeah? So an inch per side, if 295's will go without major fender surgery then 315's would fit with the narrower early-A K frame location and the later bodywork. You'd have to work on the inner fenders and the radiator mount to get them to adapt between the narrower frame locations and the later bodywork, but the rest of the engine stuff would just be what's already out there for early A's.

Interesting idea and it's more like 2.5" difference. I once narrowed a later k-frame to fit it in a '63 Valiant because I wanted the better idler, swaybar and motor mounts. Still have the k-frame....hmmm.

I would bet the steering box would be an issue with a G3 though.

 

[oi81b4uu812b4]

I’ve done the maximum width tire thing since about 1990. I wouldn’t go too crazy with modifying fenders you might have to replace in the future. The Duster I have runs 275/35/18 (sometimes 285 on 18x10 rims) in the front and 355/30/19 tires in the back. I’d minitub the back. It’s fairly easy and doesn’t hurt handling. I modified everything to use Hotchkis leaf springs in the back, but if I would do it again I’d just do coil overs in the back.

By 1970 Barracuda runs 315 width in the front and 355 in the rear, but it’s a tight fit and rim selection was key.

I daily drive a Challenger Widebody Scat Pack to work in the summer months and that has 335 tires… and I had to install side splitters to control road rash.i doesn’t turn corners better the my regular Scat Pack Challenger.

All of these cars pick up a lot of road debris and rocks that get thrown into the paint the wider the tires get and closer the tire gets to the fender lip. I’d keep the tires tucked under stock fenders

 

[Machineman63]

Currently working on a Scamp with Duster quarters, mini tub , and stuff. I may push the quarter out and gain a bit of flare instead of being flat.
I'm at a stand still as I'm waiting on the pass side quarter.

 

[ValiantKevin]

Currently working on a Scamp with Duster quarters, mini tub , and stuff. I may push the quarter out and gain a bit of flare instead of being flat.
I'm at a stand still as I'm waiting on the pass side quarter.

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View attachment 1716425522

Lookin sweet... I knew someone had to have tried this lol