This Valiant's platform beat the Mustang to the punch — the Barracuda, built on the Valiant's wheelbase, hood and windshield, reached showrooms two weeks before Ford's pony car, in April 1964.
Median 98 hp across 249 similar cars
Lead trim: Valiant 170 LG Slant-6 I6 (101 bhp) · up to 235 hp
Plymouth ValiantVALIANT-1963 · 1963–1966
- 0spots by members
- Unclaimednobody has spotted one yet
- 0sets it belongs to
Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Plymouth Valiant yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThis Valiant's platform beat the Mustang to the punch — the Barracuda, built on the Valiant's wheelbase, hood and windshield, reached showrooms two weeks before Ford's pony car, in April 1964.
The Valiant was totally reskinned for 1963 (designer Elwood Engel) with a 0.5 in shorter wheelbase, a wide flat hood and a flat square rear deck, offered as a two-door hardtop and convertible (only in the high V200 and premium Signet trim), a two- or four-door sedan and a four-door station wagon. The optional 225 cu in (3.7 L) slant-six was initially offered with the die-cast aluminum block but early in the 1963 model year the aluminum block was discontinued. The 1963 Valiant was much better received (sales rose to 225,056), it was sold in Mexico as a "Chrysler Valiant" and, in the US, finally joined the Plymouth brand for the rest of its production; it was also the first year it was paired with the Dodge Dart. The 1964 model had a restyled front end and vertical taillamps, and in mid-1964 Chrysler released an all-new 273 cu in (4.5 L) V8, solid-tappet and the first of Chrysler's LA engine range, specifically engineered to fit the compact A-body engine compartment; for 1965 a hotter 235 bhp (175 kW) version called the Commando 273 was made available with 10.5:1 compression, a four-barrel carburetor, a performance camshaft and low-restriction exhaust. The 1966 Valiants had a split grille, new fenders and a new roofline, the Chrysler-built A833 four-speed manual with a Hurst shifter and the "Sure-Grip" limited-slip differential; Plymouth supported a successful team of Valiant two-door sedans in the 1965 and 1966 SCCA Manufacturers Rally Championships. Wheelbase 106 in (2,692.4 mm); the 170 was rated at 101 bhp per the page's 1967 comparison.
Collectors Spotted in the Plymouth Valiant Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Plymouth Valiant yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valiant 170 LG Slant-6 I6 (101 bhp) | 1963–1966 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | 101 hp | 155 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Valiant 225 RG Slant-6 I6 | 1963–1966 | 3.7 L Inline-6 | 145 hp | 215 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Valiant 273 LA V8 (from mid-1964) | 1964–1966 | 4.5 L V8 | 180 hp | 260 lb-ft | — | RWD | — | — |
| Valiant Commando 273 four-barrel V8 (235 bhp, 1965) | 1965–1966 | 4.5 L V8 | 235 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
In 1976 Chrysler sold cop-spec Valiants with a 360 V8 police package that ran the quarter-mile in 16.4 seconds — fast enough to catch nearly any muscle car still on sale that year.
By 1974 the Valiant sedan wasn't really its own car anymore — Plymouth simply rebadged the Dodge Dart, leaving only minor cosmetic differences between the two nameplates.
The redesigned 1967 Valiant dropped wagons, hardtops and convertibles down to sedans only — anyone wanting the coupe thrill just bought the Barracuda, which was secretly the same car in a sportier suit.
This Valiant's platform beat the Mustang to the punch — the Barracuda, built on the Valiant's wheelbase, hood and windshield, reached showrooms two weeks before Ford's pony car, in April 1964.
The Valiant's grille was cast in aluminum instead of the usual zinc die-casting — shaving the whole assembly down to 3 pounds, a quarter the weight rivals carried up front.
Seven Hyper-Pak Valiants entered NASCAR's 1960 compact-car race at Daytona and swept first through seventh. NASCAR never ran that race again.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.