In 1969 I needed a car for college and a buddy of mine alerted me to a red 1962 Plymouth Valiant Signet 2-door hardtop for sale. 82,000 on the odometer and in perfect condition with gleaming paint. It was owned by an engineer at JPL in Pasadena. He wanted $500 for it...my dad said don't pay more than $425...i settled with the guy at $475 and my dad was sooooo mad at me....for days. I loved that car. At the time I felt it was a bit dorky...kind of looked like a fish. It had the 225 slant six with a three-on-the-tree manual. The previous owner had added a high-end aftermarket AC that was ice cold. Drove that car back and forth from LA to UCSB. Ran it up to 150,000 miles in three years and had zero problems. It was a tough, tight vehicle, very well made. I miss those carefree days!
The slant 6 was a terrific engine. However it’s Achilles heel was the plastic distributor gear. As along as you carried a spare in the glovebox you were good to go.
Amazing here in Australia the Valiant is legendary , as your lad i lived near the Chrysler factory in Adelaide , loved the first series with the fake spare on the trunk or boot as we call it , now very collectable as only about 1500 of the early models were imported and are valued up to $45000 au My father bought a 1965 model with a 273 V8 , now very collectable up to $60,000 au . He then got a 1969 318 V8 , these were a power house compared to Falcons or Holdens , again you now pay up $35000 au . Great cars in the 60's .
The Chevrolets win hands down in interior build quality. The Valiant interior on the '60 models when they came out had shoddy workmanship, I saw wrinkled headliners, rear window sealant that hadn't been cleaned off the glass! The Corvair, on the other hand, had a neatly assembled interior, although some of panels were painted fiberboard. This was common practice "back in the day" for American cars. On my '61 Corvair and '62 Buick Skylark, I purchased some "color matched" "naugahyde" (vinyl) from an upholstery shop and glued it to the panels. Made quite a difference in appearance AND made the interior slightly quieter, cheap upgrade! American cars always "fall down" in interior quality when compared to foreign vehicles, even in today's cars! American production isn't detail oriented, SAD!
We had all three of these in the day........I am a Chevy man, but the Valiant's Slant-Six was just solid! Corvair was fun!....Chevy-II was just a transpo Box.
Read "Unsafe at any speed" by Ralph Nader (The Story of the Chevrolet Corvair) ps. traded a 'Beetle' on a new '62 Valiant (SR) in Melbourne Aussie with no problems & knocked up huge mileage. Loved that car.
@@letsseeif he was thoroughly disproved where the Corvair was concerned in the early seventies, but the damage was done. Corvairs are in fact perfectly safe.
In the 1980s I got a lift in a 1964/65 Aussie Valiant known as the AP5 model (Australian Production) and I was absolutely astonished at how contemporary this very early 60s looking car sounded and went. I was used to the jurassic sounding offerings from Ford and Holden from the same period and thought that was typical but this could have had a current body and sounded fine.
We had a new 1965 Valiant. It was good looking but for some reason it had zero collector value. Everyone fauns over the old Corvair and some built "hot rods" out of the Chevy II but the Valiant was just a great car that got the job done.
The reason Chrysler products depreciate more quickly than their rivals is poor build quality. The bodies are very rust prone, a great example is the highly touted "Volare"! TERRIBLE build quality, ruined a well designed car, having "corinthian leather" was not enough!
My mom bought a used '61 2-door Valient around 1963. The overall style was never popular, but it was technically superior in every respect to any US made compact in its day. The slant-6 was an incredibly tough engine, but not know for gas economy. However, we used to do vacation runs where she held to 70 mph most of the time, and we always averaged 21+ mpg - good for its time.
Ever heard of a VW Beetle? There was no heater even as an option! There was in theory a gasoline heater which in reality just filled the cabin with smoke. All the heat was lost when you opened the window to breathe. Happy days indeed. If you want a heater buy a Lada. If you want style buy a British coupe. All those Chevs and Chryslers are classics now.
@@kellybreen5526 Heaters in american cars were optional for years well into the 60s Many people in the southern part of the country didn't think the little use it would have made a heater worth the cost . Many things we have as standard today were once optional like turn signals, brake lights center and right hand mirrors back up lights arm rests etc.
Yeah, "back in the day" a lot of things were optional that are standard now! In the '50s, backup lights along with turn signals were OPTIONAL! Back then, you could "check off" items on the order form. If the car was going to Arizona or Florida, you wouldn't order a heater, why pay for something when you would hardly ever need it!
@@kellybreen5526 The Beetles did have heaters as standard equipment. They worked by passing engine cooling air over the exhaust pipes, and ducting that air to six locations in the passenger compartment (front floor, rear floor and windshield).
I owned a 61 4 door with 3 on the floor in 1968 untill I wrecked it. I bought a 1962 Signet 2 door in 1970 and wrecked it in 1976. Still have it for parts. I have another 1962 Signet that got hit by the garbage truck and it still sits. I since purchased a 1062 V 200 4 door about 5 years ago and it is just fine as I don't drive it much. I love the design and the great slant six engine and the three speed torqflight push button transmission.
The Valiant wagons were so damn cool looking. Plus no one has mentioned the optional if short-lived aluminum block slant 6. Didn't hold up as well as the cast iron block, but the weight saving made for an amazing handling car.
It was actually supposed to become the standard slant 6 enigine. They made about 40,000 of them.But people didn't know how to care for the cooling system on aluminum blocks. The brass radiators back then meant the blocks corroded first. Now with aluminum radiators and sacrificial zincs in them it's non issue. Chrysler had no column shift for the push buttom Torquefilte so manual trans cars got a floor shifter standard.
61 V200 was the first hand me down car I ever had. After killing the 3 speed manuals 1st and reverse cog I drove it another 6 months. Just made sure I pulled through parking spaces at school. Could NOT kill the slant 6 no matter how I tried.
The Valiant had torsion bar front supension and short front "lever" leaf springs. The slant six was much faster. On road and off road they were much more fun to drive.
Chrysler products of that era had GREAT engineering, BUT were let down by POOR build quality as compared to their rivals. Even today, FCA has not gotten it right!
I never saw anything like leaf springs in the suspension of my 61 Valient - only the torsion bars. Mine came with a 170 which wasn't too impressive. I gave it a 225 which was better. Understeered, needed downshift and power to bring the back around.
@@jay2012m The rear was leaf spring on all mopars then. But the axle was forward of center on the spring. The stiffer froant part gave a traction bar effect, and elininated whell hop on stick shift cars.
The Chevy II later went to a dirt cheap single piece leaf spring that needed cheap fixes like staggered shock absorbers ( one in front and one behind the axle) to attemp to keep it from winding up into an S curve and lift ing the right rear wheel off the gound. Designed by accountants.
We never got the Corvair or Chevy in Australia, but the Valiant was. A huge hit! and nowadays a sought after classic. In their day, very few cars could out-perform the Valiant. The push button torqueflite was superb.
I like the Valiant's "Jet Scoop" grill. The Valiant was initially it's own line (note that it doesn't say Plymouth anywhere on the car). One of the first cars that has a lot of modern features: alternator, modern design drum brakes, parking brake on floor, reverse lights,vinyl insulated wiring (not fabric) Chrysler made cars with style that really stood out, and were definitely love it or hate it (check out the other '62 Mopars; the Valiant is tame in comparison!!). I believe Chrysler knew the valiant was an oddball; what is a Signet (sp)? A cygnet is a baby swan, aka an UGLY DUCKLING- AH HA!! Somebody at Chrysler definitely had a sense of humor. I have a '62 Signet that sat in old dealership building / repair shop on Van Ness- SF since 1974 (paperwork for Ca dmv said "junked" (actual DMV rubber stamp). Got it back on road in 2011. The original optional aluminum slant six had a big crack in #4 cylinder- people often ran straight water and aluminum likes to corrode. Aluminum motor is open deck design too, so when you take head off, the cylinder sleeves are just sitting there like open coffee cans. Plus you need to use special head gasket as well... Chrysler spent a boatload of money on their new aluminum engineand all new tooling to make it. Chrysler was on an aluminum kick; new aluminum torqueflite, aluminum alternator etc. Some say the iron slant six is so rugged because it has iron the same thickness as the aluminum engine design. Got it back on the road with slant six from a friend's Challenger. That engine ran for about six months, oil light started flickering, -changed oil pump- then a while later started making rod knock on #3. (the usual location- slant sixes sensitive to tolerances and lose oil pressure on bearing wear) Rebuilt it- third's the charm- runs great now. Surprised at the power this little car has, and it really handles too! This was Chrysler's "import fighter" they started designing in 1957. This chassis used up through 1974 or so on Darts etc. When you drive an old Mopar, YOU REALLY ARE SOMEBODY! (or at least show you have unique style!)
well gosh darn it I expect I'll be looking at the Valiant when the time comes. What do you think Mable? I know sweety, you just like the red one, bless your empty little head.
In high school 71' I bought a 1961 Corvair for $25 dollars in perfect condition. In summer times I would take out spare tire and use the trunk space located in the front of the car as an ice chest filled with beer! We'd go to drive-in movies, I'd pop the trunk friends and I had a blast! I also owned a 1963 Vilant in 1977 bought it for $50 bucks! Needed a raidiator $25 and away we went! Spunky little car and fun to drive! I loved them both! Traded it for a 1949 GMC pick up truck that i used as a daily driver 8ys sold it for $6000! Awe the good old days.
A friend pulled up to us one day in his Corvair station wagon with water dripping underneath the front of it. Knowing it was air cooled, rear engine we asked him what was up with water. He opened the hood and just like you had the deep well in the front filled with ice & beer! We all got a good laugh, but also enjoyed an ice cold beer!
I had a 62 Monza convertible, based at Pearl Harbor, back in 65-67. The "trunk" had a case of brews and ice for every weekend's trip to the beach. Never had any problems finding companionship on those trips!
Most of these cars were six cylinder automatics. The Valiant 3 speed torqueflite made it the quickest with the base 6 of any of these cars. More useful on the freeway with second gear kickdown.
had a 62 mona club cupe, beautiful car, also had a 64 valiant v200 convertible, both fine cars, but Chrysler wins hands down, nothing could beat the 225 slant 6,with 3 speed automatic. cheers
My dad has restored a couple cars throughout life, but for some reason he's had a '64 Valiant convertible sitting in the driveway for 11 years with no progress on it. I want to surprise my dad by funding the restoration next year and get to working on something from back in his days heh. He's already helped me with my Supra and Eclipse. The automatic convertible top is so cool.
I was a kid then, and my grandparents had a black Valiant, with a red interior. It was well made, and if I were a car buyer back then, I'd go for the Valiant
My older brother bought two Corvairs, 1961 and 1964 turbo. Had fun with both cars, safe as anything. You say unsafe? Whatever, I was there, Corvair was safe.
My then college g.f. back in the late 70's owned a '60 Corvair. I wish that she had bucket seats in her car. I am 6'1" tall. She was about 5' even in height. As she had to have the front bench seat pushed all the way forward to allow her to reach the pedals in order to drive her car this meant that I was stuffed in front sitting next to her, my knees practically up against the dashboard. Still we had some great times in her then Corvair despite my being totally uncomfortable sitting next to her. She had an automatic transmission Corvair as well as she did not know how to drive standard manual shift vehicles. This vid seems to put out the notion that the Valiant was a much better car - more legroom up front, horsepower, and cost less. Still whenever I see one of those old Corvairs I automatically think about the gal who I dated. No her car did not catch on fire due to it being hit from behind, leading Ralph Nader back then to call it one of the most dangerous cars ever made. But, she did have frequent car starting issues when we first started dating and until I stepped in. Up to that point being a college student, (and not having a lot of money) she really was quite negligent about having maintenance work done on her Corvair's engine. It was still running the last time that I saw her in the late 70's - it then almost a 20 year old car first given to her as a gift by her grandmother.
Gee, why didn't you drive? I had a g.f. that was 5'1" and I am 5'10" and in a bench seat car I always drove so as to avoid the crunch you tell about.......actually that was pretty dangerous for you if there had been a crash. Glad you survived to tell the tale.
Ralph Nader didn't say they would catch on fire in rear collisions. It was because they could flip under certain conditions because of the rear suspension used. The suspension was changed in the 1965 model year even before Ralph's book but the damage was done. By 1969, the cars last year it was a very good car with all the bugs worked out. Then came the Vega LOL with while front engine rear drive came with it's own problems
i bought an old valiant, 63 maybe, in around 78 for $250. It had that classic slant 6 engine. Right away the need for parts became apparent, so I bought an extra valiant from the junk yard and parked it in the back yard to cannibalize. Worked out great. What a car!!! Thems were the days.
After some of the Chrysler products ended their lives due to wrecks, etc., it was said the cheapest engines you could buy out of a junkyard were slant-6's because they never wore out.
Out of all three of these cars, only the Chevy II has a 4-cylinder. The Corvair has a flat 6. The Valiant has the famous Slant 6, an inclined straight 6.
My family had a 61 Lancer in 67. I remember it being the ugliest thing on the road. My cousin's and uncle's constantly made fun of it. Floors fell out of it while we were living in Beaver Falls, Pa. Dad replaced it with a 65 Impala sedan. I loved that Impala! Dark red 4dr hardtop with lots of chrome and a set of SS wheel covers (Wasn't an SS, but I remember it having a 396 V8!) We weren't laughed at anymore!
The picture from the back shows round tail lights. I'm guessing the 1959 or 1960 US model was the one with the "cats eyes" tail lights on the fins, and the spare wheel shaped profile on the trunk lid? These were also sold by Chrysler in Australia from 1962. A bit behind the US here. It was marketed as the Chrysler Valiant. The cats eyes tail lights model was called the R series, and the round tail lights the S series Valiant. Only about 1200 of the R series were produced but they sold out quickly. They came standard with the 145hp 225ci slant six and a 3 speed floor shift manual. And 14" wheels, for outback roads.
My high school buddy had a 1960? Valiant. It had the spare tire stamping on the trunk lid., and a 3-spd shift on the column. He would brag that he could shift w/o taking his arm from around his girlfriend. It was indestructible. The metal skin was far thicker than we see today. The car is a beaut, there is no comparison, but I imagine in its time it had a more dated look compared to the Chevy II and the Corvair.
Sept of 2015 and I see more Corvairs on the road than I see Valiants. The '60 to '64 Corvairs are very stylish and I always see a crowd around them at the store or gas stations. With the 4 wheel independent suspension they drive and hold the road like you'd never believe.
Yes. The Valiants suffered from the garish styling flourishes of Virgil Exner. With the exception of an Imperial and a few Desotos, he couldn't create an integrated flowing beauty the likes of a Riviera or an Eldorado.
We got a used 63 Chevy II wagon as Mom's car, and it ran well, with a third back seat that faced backwards and had a power window that was cool or a kid of 11 or so. The Dodge/Plymouth slant six was always talked about but I never had one- the only car we bought new back then was a 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca with a V-8. I also bought a used 69 318 Barracuda V-8 in the early 80's that had incredible power for it's size. I think Chevy's were usually lighter in the 60's compared to the other comparable cars, but Dad was a Chrysler guy and I put a hole in the oil pan of his 64 Chrysler Newport when I got slightly airborn doing 60 on a small country lane bridge the night I graduated high school in 1972.
My Valiant V 200 is herence by my father RIP. actually user for job and other uses. Is incredible and wonderfull car. My idea is e restauration . Actually economic condicion in Argentina is very dificult .
The optional HyperPak 4bbl Slant Sixes for '60 and '61 offered 148 and 196hp, and were the most powerful domestic sixes ever offered in the '60s. Petty raced them in 1960, bone stock. Just sayn...
The HyperPaks were legendary! They were dealer installed options from the Mopar parts book. They were not factory engines. They were engineered to get the best out of the three speed manual. Strange, that… one would think that an engine like that would deserve a 4-speed! NASCAR created a racing class specifically for Valiants and Corvairs. And the HyperPak was developed for the class. Homologation requirements were such that the parts had to be available through the standard parts catalog, so that’s why some enthusiasts were able to have them installed on their street engines. Getting back to the NASCAR series, it turns out that the Corvairs were simply outclassed. The HyperPak Valiants so dominated the races that after an initial flurry of interest, the races became so predictable that interest rapidly waned. Ultimately, the series was cancelled after only one or two seasons. With regards to being the most powerful six out of Detroit, Pontiac made an overhead cam six from 1966 through 1969. The Sprint version made up to 230 Ponies (gross). Unlike the HyperPak, these were a factory option. Coupled to a wide ratio Saginaw four speed, these engines were tremendously fun to drive. Of course, the European exotics had even more powerful sixes, such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and Maserati, but they are in another league.
OK, back in the late '70s, I had a 67 Valiant. 3 speed manual, 225 Slant Six. A friend had a 62 Corvair convertible, that he turned into a Spyder. (Got the motor from my brother.) VI numbers were not separated, in 62, so no one could check. We went, on a night-time drive, from San Jose to Santa Cruz, on Highway 9. The back roads. He had about 30 more HP, but really couldn't get away from me. I attest that, to the fact my suspension was more sturdy, AND he was lighting up the road, so I could see the turns coming up. In daylight, he'd SMOKE me, but my suspension was still better in the foothills. steve
They forgot to mention that Chevy offered a V8 in the Chevy II with 185 HP. Also, although the Chevy II will never get any beauty prizes, most consider the Valiant to be downright ugly. The film indicated that the Chevy II needed a body lube every month. I remember waiting with my mother at Grant's Automotive in Plainville, CT. in 1974 while her car was being serviced. A lady came in with her Chevy II. The Mechanic mentioned the black air filter and black oil and the lady admitted that since she owned the car in 1962, she never changed the filter or the oil.
I had a 65 valiant with the 273 cid v-8 I would race a friend who had a turbo corvair . Both engines were rated 180 hp . I would pull in front every time , but when that corvairs turbo got wound up he would pass me at around the 70mph mark , every freaking time lol
Perspective. Plymouth selling on price point against a car that was clearly inferior. The Corvair was meant to compete with the likes of the imports which didn't include Japan in '61. The cool thing about Corvair was it offered a more "American" experience than a Renault or Beetle. Not the least of which were even having options that weren't available on the imports yet. Where American cars shined best were in those options offered among all the brands. I don't see a Valiant/Falcon comparison in the suggestions here. That might have been a little closer.
My grandmother had a 1961 Valiant station wagon, which she replaced with a '64 Corvair. Meanwhile my mother got a 1963 Chevy II station wagon. I drove the latter occasionally for a few years after I got my license in 1971. All long gone by now.
These ping sounds between sentences drive me crazy. Didn't they trust their salespeople to spot when one sentence was over and the next one about to start - or was it just a desperate attempt to keep them awake?
I always thought the Valiants were ugly! Chevies and Valiants were both assemled in Switzerland. I received an abandonned Corvair Monza 900 project for free, little by little the car has grown on me.Myabe I will even keep it. It is my baby Chevy besides my Impala and Belair. They are all 63 models. Honestly the Corvair is a much much, more innovative car than the Valiant and the Chevy 2. Of course they are not without their flaws.
depends on what is important in the design. the Chrysler torsion bars let you set ride height easily. probably tougher to get different spring rates for special applications. tradeoffs!
well, a strut replace the upper control arm and ball joint, the shock, and may have advantages on the assembly line. I liked the torsion bar suspensions just fine, but there are lots of design factors involved. Look at the transverse torsion bars they did for Aspen/Volare. I bet that was for better noise/harshness isolation, and easier assembly on the line. But it was kind of funky...
The valiant was ugly until 64 and I had a 65 slant six and 727 TF. You could not beat this combination with a sledge hammer. That thing was tough as a tank. They didn’t mention the 150 hp corvair or that nader was proven wrong by the DOT about safety. The rear suspension was the SAME design as the VW bug and they were never attacked. nader just had a hard on for GM and killed a really good line. You could get two door, four door, convertible, van, truck and high horse power cords with 180 hp so Plymouth had a great, functional family car that was VERY well made but they came no where near the many functions you could buy on a Corvair. Don’t get me wrong, I love many of the older MOPARS. The one I miss most is my 1970 Dodge super bee. Got rid of it far a family car with PS and air.
I have to say, the Valiant looks odd and dated by any measure. The bigger engine didn't have a gas mileage advantage either. Not sure if Valiant had many 3 speed automatics. I think all three were usually sold as 2-speed automatics.
pvs58 The Valiant never used a 2 speed automatic. All were 3 speeds either auto or manual. A few very few did have a 4speed manual My first car was a 1960 Valiant, 170 cubic inch engine and 3 speed manual with a factory floor shifter . I gave $35 for it. A fun car
I had a 1965 Valiant and was happy with it. Had a 1964 Corvair and there was no comparison when it came to gas mileage and the Corvair was more fun to drive. Now as for comparing looks, 👎😤. With my experience, I would chose the valiant. 👍🤙
I owned a Corvair Monza in '61, LOVED it. It had 3-speed manual with the H.O. engine, wish I would have waited for the 4 speed. The 3 speed had NON-SYNCHRO low gear, pain in the arse in stop n' go traffic!
I bought them (USED) ALL the time because they were the CHEAPEST BEATERS around. Would NEVER, EVER buy a new Mopar, not even now. They were and still are POORLY built RUST BUCKETS!!!
The Valiant was a neat car…featured a slant 6 engine. Better than the air cooled Corvair. The Chevy 2 should not be in this comparison. The Ford Falcon was introduced at the same time as the Valiant and Corvair. The Falcon had durability and lasted longer than the Valiant and Corvair.
Back in "them days" ANY car would keep you busy with maintenance! Most cars needed the chassis lubed EVERY 1000miles, mainly because the lubricants available were not as good as now. And to add insult to injury, the bumper-bumper warranty was only 12000miles or 1 year. So much for those "fabulous" cars of yesteryear ! I'll take today's "plastic" S**TBOXES anyday!
And where is the Falcon? Defenitly in that market. A comparison there too would have been good. The Valiant here in Oz in 61 had 14" wheels and skinny ones at that. That shape was different like it or loathe. The Chev however,,,, boring. Corvair,,, boring! But GM and ford moved on and Valiants were fairly soon dated by 65 here in Oz and more so in the US. 9" drums and torsion bar was never the best,, yet they still used the bars for decades longer. And 9" drums! In 61 the 225 was the best in the market and aged ok. Though 4 main bearings showed its age. Plenty have raced them with success but just waiting for the crank to break. Though Mopar was still using them into the 90s as well. Did not keep up! Yet here in Oz we had the hemi 6. 215 pov pack. 245 family friendly and 265 with 200 - 302 hp. Not without its problems but undoubtedly better than the slopey.
The Valiant was a MUCH better car than a Corvair! The Chevy II were much better than Corvairs and strong competition to Valiant. The Slant Six with Torqueflights would last 150,000 miles and more in a time where most power trains were worn out at 80,000 miles!
Fine, but compare a 65 Valiant to a 65 Corvair. virtually all of Valiant's advantages disappear. That isn't to say that the Valiant wasn't a good car, it was. But despite the ads, the Valiant's standard 9 inch drum brakes were useless, whereas the Corvairs were perfectly balanced and virtually fade-free.
In 1969 I needed a car for college and a buddy of mine alerted me to a red 1962 Plymouth Valiant Signet 2-door hardtop for sale. 82,000 on the odometer and in perfect condition with gleaming paint. It was owned by an engineer at JPL in Pasadena. He wanted $500 for it...my dad said don't pay more than $425...i settled with the guy at $475 and my dad was sooooo mad at me....for days. I loved that car. At the time I felt it was a bit dorky...kind of looked like a fish. It had the 225 slant six with a three-on-the-tree manual. The previous owner had added a high-end aftermarket AC that was ice cold. Drove that car back and forth from LA to UCSB. Ran it up to 150,000 miles in three years and had zero problems. It was a tough, tight vehicle, very well made. I miss those carefree days!
That's when care were cars. Not like the crap that's here now
I struggled for years trying to figure out what this car looked like. You hit that nail right on the head......a fish.
Then ultimately leading us to... the Barracuda
A friend "totaled" his Valient in an accident in the 1980s. He took the lesser amount and kept driving the "salvage."
The slant 6 was a terrific engine. However it’s Achilles heel was the plastic distributor gear. As along as you carried a spare in the glovebox you were good to go.
Amazing here in Australia the Valiant is legendary , as your lad i lived near the Chrysler factory in Adelaide , loved the first series with the fake spare on the trunk or boot as we call it , now very collectable as only about 1500 of the early models were imported and are valued up to $45000 au
My father bought a 1965 model with a 273 V8 , now very collectable up to $60,000 au .
He then got a 1969 318 V8 , these were a power house compared to Falcons or Holdens , again you now pay up $35000 au .
Great cars in the 60's .
The Valiant wins hands down. I wasn't sold until they pointed out the crome hood latch.
LMFAO
Ha ha.
For me it was that "smarter" middle pillar. I love a pillar with intelligence.
Yeah right!
The Chevrolets win hands down in interior build quality. The Valiant interior on the '60 models when they came out had shoddy workmanship, I saw wrinkled headliners, rear window sealant that hadn't been cleaned off the glass! The Corvair, on the other hand, had a neatly assembled interior, although some of panels were painted fiberboard. This was common practice "back in the day" for American cars. On my '61 Corvair and '62 Buick Skylark, I purchased some "color matched" "naugahyde" (vinyl) from an upholstery shop and glued it to the panels. Made quite a difference in appearance AND made the interior slightly quieter, cheap upgrade! American cars always "fall down" in interior quality when compared to foreign vehicles, even in today's cars! American production isn't detail oriented, SAD!
I can say one thing, that Slant -6 engine was by far the best six of its time
You are correct on that!
Absolutely! We had a '65 Valiant with the slant-six and it was a great engine for its time. Few people even remember the slant-six.
I WORKED ON SLANT SIX, IT WAS A GREAT CAR
Slant six was also popular in AP 5, 6 VC AND VE Valiants . Here in New Zealand and Aust Great engine more powerful than the holden sixes and fords
I had a 1963 Dodge Dart Convertible with the 225 Slant Six. I got over 200,000 miles out of that car and had only one repair to the carburetor.
We had all three of these in the day........I am a Chevy man, but the Valiant's Slant-Six was just solid! Corvair was fun!....Chevy-II was just a transpo Box.
Read "Unsafe at any speed" by Ralph Nader (The Story of the Chevrolet Corvair) ps. traded a 'Beetle' on a new '62 Valiant (SR) in Melbourne Aussie with no problems & knocked up huge mileage. Loved that car.
@@letsseeif Ralph nagar was full of shit if you have the right tire pressure for a rear engines car then you’ll have no problem
@@letsseeif he was thoroughly disproved where the Corvair was concerned in the early seventies, but the damage was done. Corvairs are in fact perfectly safe.
In the 1980s I got a lift in a 1964/65 Aussie Valiant known as the AP5 model (Australian Production) and I was absolutely astonished at how contemporary this very early 60s looking car sounded and went. I was used to the jurassic sounding offerings from Ford and Holden from the same period and thought that was typical but this could have had a current body and sounded fine.
We had a new 1965 Valiant. It was good looking but for some reason it had zero collector value. Everyone fauns over the old Corvair and some built "hot rods" out of the Chevy II but the Valiant was just a great car that got the job done.
The reason Chrysler products depreciate more quickly than their rivals is poor build quality. The bodies are very rust prone, a great example is the highly touted "Volare"! TERRIBLE build quality, ruined a well designed car, having "corinthian leather" was not enough!
225 slant 6 with a 4 speed......was wild.......rode in a ragtop......and hardtop!....loved them!
Thanks for uploading this. These slideshows are quite a wonderful part of automotive history.
I'm sold! I'm buying the Valiant!
My mom bought a used '61 2-door Valient around 1963. The overall style was never popular, but it was technically superior in every respect to any US made compact in its day. The slant-6 was an incredibly tough engine, but not know for gas economy. However, we used to do vacation runs where she held to 70 mph most of the time, and we always averaged 21+ mpg - good for its time.
Except the "workmanship" sucked big time, hence the POOR resale value!
The first Valiants are gorgeous...a bit of a shame we had to wait until 1962 in Aussie. (No Corvairs or Novas, here.) Wanna Corvair, too!
Great video, great comparison.
Hard to believe the heater was an option!
Ever heard of a VW Beetle? There was no heater even as an option! There was in theory a gasoline heater which in reality just filled the cabin with smoke. All the heat was lost when you opened the window to breathe. Happy days indeed. If you want a heater buy a Lada. If you want style buy a British coupe. All those Chevs and Chryslers are classics now.
@@kellybreen5526 Heaters in american cars were optional for years well into the 60s Many people in the southern part of the country didn't think the little use it would have made a heater worth the cost . Many things we have as standard today were once optional like turn signals, brake lights center and right hand mirrors back up lights arm rests etc.
Kelly Breen well they did they took heat from the exhaust just only works when you are driving along
Yeah, "back in the day" a lot of things were optional that are standard now! In the '50s, backup lights along with turn signals were OPTIONAL! Back then, you could "check off" items on the order form. If the car was going to Arizona or Florida, you wouldn't order a heater, why pay for something when you would hardly ever need it!
@@kellybreen5526 The Beetles did have heaters as standard equipment. They worked by passing engine cooling air over the exhaust pipes, and ducting that air to six locations in the passenger compartment (front floor, rear floor and windshield).
I owned a 61 4 door with 3 on the floor in 1968 untill I wrecked it. I bought a 1962 Signet 2 door in 1970 and wrecked it in 1976. Still have it for parts. I have another 1962 Signet that got hit by the garbage truck and it
still sits. I since purchased a 1062 V 200 4 door about 5 years ago and it is just fine as I don't drive it much.
I love the design and the great slant six engine and the three speed torqflight push button transmission.
Thats 1962, not 1062.
The Valiant wagons were so damn cool looking. Plus no one has mentioned the optional if short-lived aluminum block slant 6. Didn't hold up as well as the cast iron block, but the weight saving made for an amazing handling car.
It was actually supposed to become the standard slant 6 enigine. They made about 40,000 of them.But people didn't know how to care for the cooling system on aluminum blocks. The brass radiators back then meant the blocks corroded first. Now with aluminum radiators and sacrificial zincs in them it's non issue. Chrysler had no column shift for the push buttom Torquefilte so manual trans cars got a floor shifter standard.
Wow, PowerPoint in 1961.
61 V200 was the first hand me down car I ever had. After killing the 3 speed manuals 1st and reverse cog I drove it another 6 months. Just made sure I pulled through parking spaces at school. Could NOT kill the slant 6 no matter how I tried.
A Chrysler I probably would buy at least it would have heat in the winter how.about the Ford falcon
The Valiant had torsion bar front supension and short front "lever" leaf springs. The slant six was much faster. On road and off road they were much more fun to drive.
Chrysler products of that era had GREAT engineering, BUT were let down by POOR build quality as compared to their rivals. Even today, FCA has not gotten it right!
I never saw anything like leaf springs in the suspension of my 61 Valient - only the torsion bars. Mine came with a 170 which wasn't too impressive. I gave it a 225 which was better. Understeered, needed downshift and power to bring the back around.
@@jay2012m The rear was leaf spring on all mopars then. But the axle was forward of center on the spring. The stiffer froant part gave a traction bar effect, and elininated whell hop on stick shift cars.
The Chevy II later went to a dirt cheap single piece leaf spring that needed cheap fixes like staggered shock absorbers ( one in front and one behind the axle) to attemp to keep it from winding up into an S curve and lift ing the right rear wheel off the gound. Designed by accountants.
In 1980 I drove a ‘63 valiant with the six cylinder engine, rusted out floor boards, and push button transmission.
We never got the Corvair or Chevy in Australia, but the Valiant was. A huge hit! and nowadays a sought after classic. In their day, very few cars could out-perform the Valiant. The push button torqueflite was superb.
I like the Valiant's "Jet Scoop" grill. The Valiant was initially it's own line (note that it doesn't say Plymouth anywhere on the car). One of the first cars that has a lot of modern features: alternator, modern design drum brakes, parking brake on floor, reverse lights,vinyl insulated wiring (not fabric) Chrysler made cars with style that really stood out, and were definitely love it or hate it (check out the other '62 Mopars; the Valiant is tame in comparison!!). I believe Chrysler knew the valiant was an oddball; what is a Signet (sp)? A cygnet is a baby swan, aka an UGLY DUCKLING- AH HA!! Somebody at Chrysler definitely had a sense of humor. I have a '62 Signet that sat in old dealership building / repair shop on Van Ness- SF since 1974 (paperwork for Ca dmv said "junked" (actual DMV rubber stamp). Got it back on road in 2011. The original optional aluminum slant six had a big crack in #4 cylinder- people often ran straight water and aluminum likes to corrode. Aluminum motor is open deck design too, so when you take head off, the cylinder sleeves are just sitting there like open coffee cans. Plus you need to use special head gasket as well... Chrysler spent a boatload of money on their new aluminum engineand all new tooling to make it. Chrysler was on an aluminum kick; new aluminum torqueflite, aluminum alternator etc. Some say the iron slant six is so rugged because it has iron the same thickness as the aluminum engine design. Got it back on the road with slant six from a friend's Challenger. That engine ran for about six months, oil light started flickering, -changed oil pump- then a while later started making rod knock on #3. (the usual location- slant sixes sensitive to tolerances and lose oil pressure on bearing wear) Rebuilt it- third's the charm- runs great now. Surprised at the power this little car has, and it really handles too! This was Chrysler's "import fighter" they started designing in 1957. This chassis used up through 1974 or so on Darts etc. When you drive an old Mopar, YOU REALLY ARE SOMEBODY! (or at least show you have unique style!)
well gosh darn it I expect I'll be looking at the Valiant when the time comes. What do you think Mable? I know sweety, you just like the red one, bless your empty little head.
That would be Mabel...not Mable.
A friend had a Valiente when I was in high-school in the 70's. It was the "tomato" car cause it looked like one. It was fun!
My first car was a 62 4 door Valiant, it was indestructible, I beat the snot out of it!
In high school 71' I bought a 1961 Corvair for $25 dollars in perfect condition. In summer times I would take out spare tire and use the trunk space located in the front of the car as an ice chest filled with beer! We'd go to drive-in movies, I'd pop the trunk friends and I had a blast!
I also owned a 1963 Vilant in 1977 bought it for $50 bucks! Needed a raidiator $25 and away we went! Spunky little car and fun to drive! I loved them both! Traded it for a 1949 GMC pick up truck that i used as a daily driver 8ys sold it for $6000! Awe the good old days.
A friend pulled up to us one day in his Corvair station wagon with water dripping underneath the front of it. Knowing it was air cooled, rear engine we asked him what was up with water. He opened the hood and just like you had the deep well in the front filled with ice & beer! We all got a good laugh, but also enjoyed an ice cold beer!
I had a 62 Monza convertible, based at Pearl Harbor, back in 65-67. The "trunk" had a case of brews and ice for every weekend's trip to the beach. Never had any problems finding companionship on those trips!
Most of these cars were six cylinder automatics. The Valiant 3 speed torqueflite made it the quickest with the base 6 of any of these cars. More useful on the freeway with second gear kickdown.
However, you could break the speed limit in low gear with the Chevy!
The torqueflight was a good transmission.
Now I want to go buy a Valiant. Where's my local Plymouth dealer? And where's my fedora?
My grandma owned a light green one from 61-64 it was cool I don't remember much and cant remember why she sold
had a 62 mona club cupe, beautiful car, also had a 64 valiant v200 convertible, both fine cars, but Chrysler wins hands down, nothing could beat the 225 slant 6,with 3 speed automatic.
cheers
make that Monza not Mona.
My dad has restored a couple cars throughout life, but for some reason he's had a '64 Valiant convertible sitting in the driveway for 11 years with no progress on it.
I want to surprise my dad by funding the restoration next year and get to working on something from back in his days heh. He's already helped me with my Supra and Eclipse.
The automatic convertible top is so cool.
Don't forget about the Falcon, the Rambler and the Lark!
My dad first car was a valiant and that same car is also my daughter's first car she loves her little classic
I was a kid then, and my grandparents had a black Valiant, with a red interior. It was well made, and if I were a car buyer back then, I'd go for the Valiant
Well made? Your Valiant must have been built on a Wednesday! lol
@@TheOzthewiz This was in the early 60's. The ones that came later were junk.
My older brother bought two Corvairs, 1961 and 1964 turbo. Had fun with both cars, safe as anything. You say unsafe? Whatever, I was there, Corvair was safe.
My then college g.f. back in the late 70's owned a '60 Corvair. I wish that she had bucket seats in her car. I am 6'1" tall. She was about 5' even in height. As she had to have the front bench seat pushed all the way forward to allow her to reach the pedals in order to drive her car this meant that I was stuffed in front sitting next to her, my knees practically up against the dashboard. Still we had some great times in her then Corvair despite my being totally uncomfortable sitting next to her. She had an automatic transmission Corvair as well as she did not know how to drive standard manual shift vehicles.
This vid seems to put out the notion that the Valiant was a much better car - more legroom up front, horsepower, and cost less. Still whenever I see one of those old Corvairs I automatically think about the gal who I dated. No her car did not catch on fire due to it being hit from behind, leading Ralph Nader back then to call it one of the most dangerous cars ever made. But, she did have frequent car starting issues when we first started dating and until I stepped in. Up to that point being a college student, (and not having a lot of money) she really was quite negligent about having maintenance work done on her Corvair's engine. It was still running the last time that I saw her in the late 70's - it then almost a 20 year old car first given to her as a gift by her grandmother.
Her grandmother didn't like her much I guess.
Gee, why didn't you drive? I had a g.f. that was 5'1" and I am 5'10" and in a bench seat car I always drove so as to avoid the crunch you tell about.......actually that was pretty dangerous for you if there had been a crash. Glad you survived to tell the tale.
Ralph Nader didn't say they would catch on fire in rear collisions. It was because they could flip under certain conditions because of the rear suspension used. The suspension was changed in the 1965 model year even before Ralph's book but the damage was done. By 1969, the cars last year it was a very good car with all the bugs worked out. Then came the Vega LOL with while front engine rear drive came with it's own problems
The "buckets" became available in the '61 Monza, GREAT car, bought one in '61! Wish I could buy a NEW one now!
i bought an old valiant, 63 maybe, in around 78 for $250. It had that classic slant 6 engine. Right away the need for parts became apparent, so I bought an extra valiant from the junk yard and parked it in the back yard to cannibalize. Worked out great. What a car!!! Thems were the days.
After some of the Chrysler products ended their lives due to wrecks, etc., it was said the cheapest engines you could buy out of a junkyard were slant-6's because they never wore out.
Valiant's hood is lower, so you won't kill children with it. Priceless.
Wrong! "So you'll know who's kid you are killing." It didn't say you won't not never do it. ;)
If you listen to it, he says the lower hood will help you see the kids better while you're "backing" up. I'm still trying to visualize how that works.
@@Intrepid175a I don't get that either how can the hood in the front being lower make it easier to see out the back.
In Canada, the Chevy II was also called Pontiac Acadian.
Out of all three of these cars, only the Chevy II has a 4-cylinder. The Corvair has a flat 6. The Valiant has the famous Slant 6, an inclined straight 6.
+Bobby Heffley 30 degree slant to allow a larger engine to fit under a hood.
The Corvair had an air cooled ALL aluminum engine, quite advanced for an AMERICAN car!
The 4-cylinder was standard in the Chevy II but rarely ordered.
@@SpockvsMcCoy Chevy II buyers usually got their cars with a straight 6 or a V8
@@bobbyheffley4955 Of course, because the 4-cylinder was underpowered and coarse.
My family had a 61 Lancer in 67. I remember it being the ugliest thing on the road. My cousin's and uncle's constantly made fun of it. Floors fell out of it while we were living in Beaver Falls, Pa. Dad replaced it with a 65 Impala sedan. I loved that Impala! Dark red 4dr hardtop with lots of chrome and a set of SS wheel covers (Wasn't an SS, but I remember it having a 396 V8!) We weren't laughed at anymore!
The picture from the back shows round tail lights. I'm guessing the 1959 or 1960 US model was the one with the "cats eyes" tail lights on the fins, and the spare wheel shaped profile on the trunk lid?
These were also sold by Chrysler in Australia from 1962. A bit behind the US here. It was marketed as the Chrysler Valiant. The cats eyes tail lights model was called the R series, and the round tail lights the S series Valiant. Only about 1200 of the R series were produced but they sold out quickly. They came standard with the 145hp 225ci slant six and a 3 speed floor shift manual. And 14" wheels, for outback roads.
No 1959 Valiants were built. Both the 1960 and 1961 Valiants have the "cat's eyes" taillights.
By mid year 1962 Chevy had 2 and 4-door sedan models of the Nova (400)...I wonder how exterior and interior would compare to a V-200.
"Chevy ll has cold metal there!"🥶
My high school buddy had a 1960? Valiant. It had the spare tire stamping on the trunk lid., and a 3-spd shift on the column. He would brag that he could shift w/o taking his arm from around his girlfriend. It was indestructible. The metal skin was far thicker than we see today. The car is a beaut, there is no comparison, but I imagine in its time it had a more dated look compared to the Chevy II and the Corvair.
Sept of 2015 and I see more Corvairs on the road than I see Valiants. The '60 to '64 Corvairs are very stylish and I always see a crowd around them at the store or gas stations. With the 4 wheel independent suspension they drive and hold the road like you'd never believe.
Yes. The Valiants suffered from the garish styling flourishes of Virgil Exner. With the exception of an Imperial and a few Desotos, he couldn't create an integrated flowing beauty the likes of a Riviera or an Eldorado.
We got a used 63 Chevy II wagon as Mom's car, and it ran well, with a third back seat that faced backwards and had a power window that was cool or a kid of 11 or so. The Dodge/Plymouth slant six was always talked about but I never had one- the only car we bought new back then was a 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca with a V-8. I also bought a used 69 318 Barracuda V-8 in the early 80's that had incredible power for it's size. I think Chevy's were usually lighter in the 60's compared to the other comparable cars, but Dad was a Chrysler guy and I put a hole in the oil pan of his 64 Chrysler Newport when I got slightly airborn doing 60 on a small country lane bridge the night I graduated high school in 1972.
Didn't Ralph Nader have a few questions about the Corvair? Something about being 'unsafe at any speed' or was that a different car?
Good old Ralph just wanted to bring down mighty GM, just liked he fucked the pooch in politics!
I love valiants.
The valiant had a larger engine that was also used in their full sized cars, I owned a ‘63 Dodge 330 that had the same slant six.
Now this is good advertising! Advertise the car, not the people who would be buying the car. Commercials today suck.
My Valiant V 200 is herence by my father RIP. actually user for job and other uses. Is incredible and wonderfull car. My idea is e restauration . Actually economic condicion in Argentina is very dificult .
The optional HyperPak 4bbl Slant Sixes for '60 and '61 offered 148 and 196hp, and were the most powerful domestic sixes ever offered in the '60s. Petty raced them in 1960, bone stock. Just sayn...
The HyperPaks were legendary! They were dealer installed options from the Mopar parts book. They were not factory engines. They were engineered to get the best out of the three speed manual. Strange, that… one would think that an engine like that would deserve a 4-speed!
NASCAR created a racing class specifically for Valiants and Corvairs. And the HyperPak was developed for the class. Homologation requirements were such that the parts had to be available through the standard parts catalog, so that’s why some enthusiasts were able to have them installed on their street engines.
Getting back to the NASCAR series, it turns out that the Corvairs were simply outclassed. The HyperPak Valiants so dominated the races that after an initial flurry of interest, the races became so predictable that interest rapidly waned. Ultimately, the series was cancelled after only one or two seasons.
With regards to being the most powerful six out of Detroit, Pontiac made an overhead cam six from 1966 through 1969. The Sprint version made up to 230 Ponies (gross). Unlike the HyperPak, these were a factory option. Coupled to a wide ratio Saginaw four speed, these engines were tremendously fun to drive.
Of course, the European exotics had even more powerful sixes, such as Jaguar, Aston Martin and Maserati, but they are in another league.
push button trans. is cool!
My grandfather had a valiant just like that
1:56 Wow the Corvair only has one 8th of a hp? Was that a subliminal decimal in front of the 80?
valiant has a three speed automatic, chevy ii, two speed automatic.
OK, back in the late '70s, I had a 67 Valiant.
3 speed manual, 225 Slant Six.
A friend had a 62 Corvair convertible, that
he turned into a Spyder. (Got the motor
from my brother.) VI numbers were not
separated, in 62, so no one could check.
We went, on a night-time drive, from San
Jose to Santa Cruz, on Highway 9. The
back roads. He had about 30 more HP,
but really couldn't get away from me. I
attest that, to the fact my suspension
was more sturdy, AND he was lighting up
the road, so I could see the turns coming
up.
In daylight, he'd SMOKE me, but my suspension
was still better in the foothills.
steve
They forgot to mention that Chevy offered a V8 in the Chevy II with 185 HP. Also, although the Chevy II will never get any beauty prizes, most consider the Valiant to be downright ugly. The film indicated that the Chevy II needed a body lube every month. I remember waiting with my mother at Grant's Automotive in Plainville, CT. in 1974 while her car was being serviced. A lady came in with her Chevy II. The Mechanic mentioned the black air filter and black oil and the lady admitted that since she owned the car in 1962, she never changed the filter or the oil.
I had a 65 valiant with the 273 cid v-8 I would race a friend who had a turbo corvair . Both engines were rated 180 hp . I would pull in front every time , but when that corvairs turbo got wound up he would pass me at around the 70mph mark , every freaking time lol
I don't think I ever seen a valiant in real life but I've seen tons of corvairs and Chevy 2s
There were a lot of them still on the road in the 80's when I got to California.
I’ve seen 2 and I went to like 10 car shows last summer
Funny . The complete opposite in Australia.
Cool video but frustrating being a Chevy guy lmao !
How could u compare a valiant to a corvair
Perspective. Plymouth selling on price point against a car that was clearly inferior. The Corvair was meant to compete with the likes of the imports which didn't include Japan in '61. The cool thing about Corvair was it offered a more "American" experience than a Renault or Beetle. Not the least of which were even having options that weren't available on the imports yet. Where American cars shined best were in those options offered among all the brands. I don't see a Valiant/Falcon comparison in the suggestions here. That might have been a little closer.
valiant sells me with a three speed automatic, two speed on corvair
This is comparing apples and oranges.They are two different kinds of cars.
Its funny because the industry ended up following the Chevy II example and not the Valiant design.
What did you expect? "What's good for GM is good for Amerika", even bankruptcies!
Actually, the 1962 Chevy II was built to compete with the 1960 Ford Falcon so the Falcon's design set the standard.
My grandmother had a 1961 Valiant station wagon, which she replaced with a '64 Corvair. Meanwhile my mother got a 1963 Chevy II station wagon. I drove the latter occasionally for a few years after I got my license in 1971. All long gone by now.
Valiant with straight-six please.
didnt include the falcon? because its no contest
Yeah, it WAS no contest when it came to sales, Falcon blew the competition out of the water!!
Valiant wins handedly until you open your eyes and look at its exterior styling .
[[[BING!]]]
my mates Father had a valiant back in the 70s. ..if I'm not mistaken I think I can recall him telling me it only had 3 forward gears .
These ping sounds between sentences drive me crazy. Didn't they trust their salespeople to spot when one sentence was over and the next one about to start - or was it just a desperate attempt to keep them awake?
The ping alerts the presenter to advance to the next slide. Sounds like the audio's on an LP record.
Thanks a lot - that really explains it...
We had them in school when I was young, they were called filmstrips, you played a record with them.
It was a "trigger" for the projector to advance the next slide.
Makes me laugh the price of special order options.
I always thought the Valiants were ugly! Chevies and Valiants were both assemled in Switzerland. I received an abandonned Corvair Monza 900 project for free, little by little the car has grown on me.Myabe I will even keep it. It is my baby Chevy besides my Impala and Belair. They are all 63 models.
Honestly the Corvair is a much much, more innovative car than the Valiant and the Chevy 2. Of course they are not without their flaws.
Torsion bar front suspension DOES NOT out perform coil springs...
Poly Bun Yeah, that is why the new cars all use front torsion bar suspension....
You're a special snowflake moparts fanboy.
+Pha Q MacPherson strut coil spring front suspensions are popular today because they are cheap and compact. Not because they perform the best.
depends on what is important in the design. the Chrysler torsion bars let you set ride height easily. probably tougher to get different spring rates for special applications. tradeoffs!
Daniel McLean Yup, it is SOOO much cheaper building McPherson struts, then having some spring steel with a splined end....
well, a strut replace the upper control arm and ball joint, the shock, and may have advantages on the assembly line. I liked the torsion bar suspensions just fine, but there are lots of design factors involved. Look at the transverse torsion bars they did for Aspen/Volare. I bet that was for better noise/harshness isolation, and easier assembly on the line. But it was kind of funky...
GM made a 4 door Corvair in 1961 but no let's compare their 2 door coupe. Thanks Don Draper
If these are the choices I think I would wait for 63 dart or tempest
The valiant was ugly until 64 and I had a 65 slant six and 727 TF. You could not beat this combination with a sledge hammer. That thing was tough as a tank. They didn’t mention the 150 hp corvair or that nader was proven wrong by the DOT about safety. The rear suspension was the SAME design as the VW bug and they were never attacked. nader just had a hard on for GM and killed a really good line. You could get two door, four door, convertible, van, truck and high horse power cords with 180 hp so Plymouth had a great, functional family car that was VERY well made but they came no where near the many functions you could buy on a Corvair. Don’t get me wrong, I love many of the older MOPARS. The one I miss most is my 1970 Dodge super bee. Got rid of it far a family car with PS and air.
I have to say, the Valiant looks odd and dated by any measure. The bigger engine didn't have a gas mileage advantage either. Not sure if Valiant had many 3 speed automatics. I think all three were usually sold as 2-speed automatics.
pvs58
The Valiant never used a 2 speed automatic. All were 3 speeds either auto or manual. A few very few did have a 4speed manual
My first car was a 1960 Valiant, 170 cubic inch engine and 3 speed manual with a factory floor shifter . I gave $35 for it.
A fun car
Bert Grau l
Well gee this isn’t a bias commercial is it?
BIAS? What BIAS?
It's a fillm used to help salesman sell the Valiant, not a commercial for the consumer.
The Valiant was a hideous design but had a great engine.
Also, the "workmanship" was HIDEOUS!
I had a 1965 Valiant and was happy with it. Had a 1964 Corvair and there was no comparison when it came to gas mileage and the Corvair was more fun to drive. Now as for comparing looks, 👎😤. With my experience, I would chose the valiant. 👍🤙
I owned a Corvair Monza in '61, LOVED it. It had 3-speed manual with the H.O. engine, wish I would have waited for the 4 speed. The 3 speed had NON-SYNCHRO low gear, pain in the arse in stop n' go traffic!
Corvair wheel tucks in like a VW Bug, then flips over.
Corvair wildly different front to back tire PSI , unsafe handling , no luggage room , shitty air-cooled flat 6.
You can tell that the valiant ripped off the Lark
Except, the Lark had quality workmanship!
If you lived back then the problem was chrysler products had no trade in value that's why my dad would never buy them
I bought them (USED) ALL the time because they were the CHEAPEST BEATERS around. Would NEVER, EVER buy a new Mopar, not even now. They were and still are POORLY built RUST BUCKETS!!!
I don't buy a car for its resale value because I want a car that lasts.
The Valiant was a neat car…featured a slant 6 engine. Better than the air cooled Corvair. The Chevy 2 should not be in this comparison. The Ford Falcon was introduced at the same time as the Valiant and Corvair. The Falcon had durability and lasted longer than the Valiant and Corvair.
Yeah, the Valiant had so many things going for it. The problem was that it looked like 1950s shite.
Rusted like a SHITE!
The bachelor's girlfriend (.38) is hot.
Hard to believe that Chevy recommended a lube interval of 30 days...come on...
Back in "them days" ANY car would keep you busy with maintenance! Most cars needed the chassis lubed EVERY 1000miles, mainly because the lubricants available were not as good as now. And to add insult to injury, the bumper-bumper warranty was only 12000miles or 1 year. So much for those "fabulous" cars of yesteryear ! I'll take today's "plastic" S**TBOXES anyday!
U just can't beat a Valiant bachelor or family man or gay.
And where is the Falcon? Defenitly in that market. A comparison there too would have been good.
The Valiant here in Oz in 61 had 14" wheels and skinny ones at that. That shape was different like it or loathe. The Chev however,,,, boring. Corvair,,, boring!
But GM and ford moved on and Valiants were fairly soon dated by 65 here in Oz and more so in the US. 9" drums and torsion bar was never the best,, yet they still used the bars for decades longer. And 9" drums!
In 61 the 225 was the best in the market and aged ok. Though 4 main bearings showed its age. Plenty have raced them with success but just waiting for the crank to break. Though Mopar was still using them into the 90s as well. Did not keep up!
Yet here in Oz we had the hemi 6. 215 pov pack. 245 family friendly and 265 with 200 - 302 hp. Not without its problems but undoubtedly better than the slopey.
POOR WORKMANSHIP!!!!
I've owned both. The Valiant was ok, just butt ugly. The 3 Corvairs I've had were all a blast, and at least good looking.
The Valiant was a MUCH better car than a Corvair! The Chevy II were much better than Corvairs and strong competition to Valiant. The Slant Six with Torqueflights would last 150,000 miles and more in a time where most power trains were worn out at 80,000 miles!
Valiant looks like a dinosaur....but that's not meant as an insult.
,1
Fine, but compare a 65 Valiant to a 65 Corvair. virtually all of Valiant's advantages disappear. That isn't to say that the Valiant wasn't a good car, it was. But despite the ads, the Valiant's standard 9 inch drum brakes were useless, whereas the Corvairs were perfectly balanced and virtually fade-free.
the brakes worked just fine on mine - and I did flog it!
The Corvair was a joke. The Valiant was ugly but they were pretty good automobiles.
@@teamsterbutch They were also quite "ugly" in the build department..