O Scale Motor Chronicle Oct 9

I remember the Valiants and Lancers but haven't seen one in years, even at a car

show.  I thought they were good looking cars, and different from the boxes others

were offering.  I can't be sure but I vaguely think they had a coupe, too?  Of course,

very little else from 1960 is seen often, either.

The one memory that I have of the Chrysler Valiant was from 1969 when we went out to Utah, specifically Promontory, for the 100th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike.  We had rented a Chrysler Valiant for our "local wheels" and drove around the Salt Lake/ Ogden area, as well as out to Promontory.  I remember chasing the #8444, the famous and now renumbered #844 with a train of passenger cars from Salt Lake City to Ogden.  We pulled over to get a couple of shots with the passenger train and then we jumped into the Valiant to continue our railfanning.  I was driving and put my foot all the way down on the gas pedal, only to watch the #8444 pull away from us with it's 20 car train.  Didn't catch up with the train until we got to Ogden!

Nice car:  not enough power!

Paul Fischer

Don't sell that little 'slant six' short however!

My Dad and I used to go to some short track stock races just west of the New Orleans Airport. There was a '60 Valiant that was a regular contender against the '57 Chevy's that tended to dominate the 1/4 mile oval track. We affectionately called the yellow Valiant 'the Bumble Bee' for the different sound she made as it seemed to alternate between first and second place each time we were there. Being smaller and lighter the Valiant would accelerate sooner coming out of the curves as well as staying longer on the throttle coming off the straights than the heavier Chevys, Fords, and whatever else was out there.  It was a fun car to watch...

Wasn't the original Barracuda a rebodied Valiant?

When I was in high school, one of my classmates had a 1972 Plymouth Duster with a slant six. Other than a 36" glass-pack and traction bars which were obvious, I have no clue what he had done to the drive train, but that car could hold its own against V8's off the line. Like you said, a lot of it probably had to do with the car's lighter weight and its weight distribution.

Reading last week's thread I was wondering about the Valiant as we owned two one a sedan the other a wagon. I don't know what year(s) though. I graduated from high school in 68 and we lost the sedan after either my Jr. or Sr. Prom when my father backed out of the drive and a truck ran over the back of it. Since then we always back into the drive. Nice cars.

   In the fall of 1968, my college room mate showed up with a used chalk blue '61 Plymouth Valiant.  I believe it developed the chalky finish because it had seldom/never been waxed.  We affectionately called it the Iron Butterfly.  

   The following summer, four of us drove it from eastern PA to Colorado & back with no problems.  Saw some nice freight trains along the way too.  

I believe he kept the car well into the '70s.  It seemed bullet-proof.

Tom B

If memory serves well I believe there were quite a few performance parts made for the slant six at one time...

Jeff C

The original Barracuda was a Valiant fastback and in '67 is had a unique body to compete with the Ford Mustang.

Early Valiants offered the "Hyper Pack" option. It was the 225 cu in slant 6 with a four barrel, A buddy of mine had one and it could take on any many V8s.

We owned two 1967 Barracudas, one bought new...trouble free car, second bought

used...not as good a car...both 383 four speeds....the "new" one driven to the west coast on a vacation...the "used" one to Reno towing a trailer.. front suspension problem (in Flagstaff). and a later disc brake problem with those discs on the "used"  one.  Both sold to collectors (during gas shortage/pricing panic) who came some distance to drive both home. Should have kept the "new" one as the '77 Cutlass that replaced it was a lemon. Either Barracuda highly collectible now.

Anybody know why Lee Willis has not posted anything for a wile?

He posted often, and I miss his input. Is he sick?

I seem to remember him saying he was taking a break.

I got in a second Hallmark 1937 Ford pickup which I want to repaint ((can't find a color

brochure for the 1937 Ford pickup on eBay...and some restored (original, not rodded

ones, on there) I question the color)).  I am going to add stock racks to one as on

my grandfather's '37 Chevy.  In this search I turned up a lot of '37 Chevy pickup models, in 1/24, 1/34, etc., and even a flatbed with stock racks,  but nothing in 1/43-48th).  I did get  in a Brooklin '35 Nash at a good price.  With the '37 pickup, another Hallmark model that came in was a '63 T-Bird...I thought it was S-scale, but comparing it to the Nash, probably sitting up on 18 or 19 inch wheels/tires, and the Ambassador and largest Nash model, I think the T-Bird is 1/43rd, also.  Not my era, though.  The tree hanging loop, unlike on the cab of the pickup, is down on the console and an easy removal with no noticeability.  It has a metal body, too, vs. the pickup's plastic.

In 1960 Chrysler Corp brought out the alternator to replace the generators used in cars since way back. Do you remember when the 'GEN' light would come on at idle and low RPMs indicating discharge? Without a battery, most engines would stall from lack of electrical power. The ad campaign showed a '60 Valiant without a battery being jump started in NYC (?) and driven all the way to the west coast without ever needing a start from the non-existant battery!

Yep, one of the few industry leading advents by Chrysler.  Generators were pretty much history by 1965.

Not illustrated nor mentioned was the fake continental attached to the trunk lid of those first generation Valiants.  I think Imperials had them too.  Not so lovingly compared to a toilet seat.

Bruce

Yes, the Imperial had a "toilet seat" in 1957-58, and Plymouth Sports Fury in 1959. But the "bathroom" design element most common, to the present day, is the "towel rack", advertised as a "spoiler".

Another leading advance by Chrysler was electronic ignition, which I found in my '73

Dodge Charger....no more points, condensors, and related problems.  People who

I worked with and bought GM cars around that time had a lot of problems with distributors in their cars that were apparently trying to get around Chrysler patents (if there were any).  Dunno about Ford?   Odd that many added "Continental" kits and "spoilers...spoils appearance and rear view?" to their cars.  I specifically demanded spoilers to be left off of two cars I bought, and  have thought that if I bought a used one with one on it, the trunklid was coming off, and lid was going to a body shop to get those holes filled, and the lid repainted.  Years ago, same would have happened to a "continental kit". Luckily, I never had to spend $ to fix that problem.

Alternators were around for a few years by 1960, but mostly an option used for police and taxis

I don't remember if you have done a series on pickups....but since I got in a Hallmark

1937 Ford pickup model, and have been researching the net to see if there was a color catalog of these, so I'd have a color choice for a repaint.  Maybe with variations such

as black fenders standard on the V-60 versions, body color fenders on the V-85, etc.

What also came up was a reminder of all the pickups that were available that year,

that I'd like at least one 1/48-43rd model of for ranchers and miners on my layout.

They included Terraplane, Willys, International...the new style, Chevrolet (of course),

Plymouth, Dodge, and Fargo (which all may be rebadged Dodges and undistinguishable

at this scale, although the Fargo looked different but may have been a 3/4 or 1 ton).  I pulled up the 2015 Brooklin website to see if they had anything planned.... I found, for my era and tastes,  only a 1939 Nash Ambassador coupe (there is a sedan out there) planned, as well as a Chrysler Imperial coupe  (I don't think I've ever seen a photo/prototype for that car before, so it has to be rare, and not one often seen in small town America).  (the Nash was a good looking car, and the Ambassador, I think,

and other models had an OHV engine)