Valid Valiant - 1960 Plymouth Valiant V-100


Valid Valiant - 1960 Plymouth Valiant V-100
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Feature Article from Hemmings Classic Car

March, 2011 - Words and Photography by Richard Lentinello

Remember the cars that you made fun of when you were a kid? You did so not because they were cheap or poorly made, but mainly because they were a little weird-looking, and somewhat different from all the "normal" cars in the neighborhood. Well, the first-generation Valiants certainly fell into that category.

Today, though, Valiants are nothing to scoff at. Now that a half-century has passed since Virgil Exner's then-radical styling was first introduced to the public, enthusiasts and collectors alike have finally begun to warm up to the Valiant's distinctive form. Sure, they're not the "normal" cars you wanted to be seen in as a kid, but the 1960-'62 Valiants stand apart from the masses like no others.

One of those young boys who used to make fun of the amusing-looking Valiants while he swung his stickball bat on the streets of Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, was little Barry Levittan. Little did he know that, 30 years later, now a CPA and living in Oceanside, Long Island, he would be buying one of those very cars.

Barry originally bought the black Valiant back in 1992, but during a momentary lapse in judgment, partially owing to the fact that he needed to make room for a 1955 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe hardtop that he had just bought, he sold it just four years later to a friend. In 2003, however, he bought it for the second, and hopefully final, time. "In 1992, I was looking for a reasonably priced Chrysler product as my first collector car, and this one surely filled the bill. In fact, I found it listed for sale in Newsday, my local newspaper. The Valiant had been garaged its entire life and driven approximately 500 miles per year by the original owner."

Compact, cute and oh so affordable, the three-year-only body style was a huge hit for Chrysler, selling 194,292 examples that first year alone, its most successful. By the time the restyled 1963 Valiant hit the showrooms in the autumn of 1962, some 469,078 units of the first-generation design had been produced.

Available only as a four-door sedan and four-door station wagon for the 1960 model year, 106,515 were of the higher trim level V-200 sedan model; 52,788 versions of the entry-level V-100 were made. Barry's Valiant is one of those V-100 sedans, but what makes his rarer than most is the simple fact that it's an unrestored original.

Now that Barry has gotten his precious little Valiant sedan back in his garage, he told us: "I plan to keep it looking good and to show it. In its day, the Valiant was among the cheapest new cars you could buy. Most of them were driven into the ground and junked, but for some reason, this particular Valiant has found three loving owners to keep it as good as new, and willing and eager to preserve it for future generations."

Barry speaks the truth: These were plain, bare-bones cars that were built for daily transportation and little else. Unfortunately, almost everyone who owned one of these Valiants used it as a throwaway appliance, and when they neared the end of their lives, many really were thrown away. The junkyards were filled with them back in the late Sixties and early Seventies, the result of too few people feeling that they were worth even the measly $200 asking price for a used-and-abused example at the time. But thankfully, one considerate lady named Joan West, from Queens Village, New York, babied her lovable little Valiant to the point that it just may be the most authentic, least driven 1960 Valiant in the country today.

Back on October 3, 1960, when she ordered the Valiant from Gallub Motors on Jamaica Avenue in Queens, Joan paid a hefty $2,415 for it. Since the base price was only $2,033, some unscrupulous salesman no doubt took advantage of her. Not only that, he only gave her $515 for the clean 1953 Dodge that she traded in; Joan ended up paying $1,957 in total. Being a frugal sort of gal, the only three options she ordered were the automatic transmission, All Transistor AM radio and heater. In fact, Joan was so cost-conscious that she didn't even spend an extra $5 that would have gotten her the exterior rearview mirror. But, boy, did she lavish loving care on her little black Valiant.

At the time of our photo shoot this past December, the Valiant's odometer read just 17,951.6 miles. With so few miles driven, Barry wasn't surprised to find the original tires still on the car when he first bought it. His recent upgrade to Firestone FR380 radials in the P175/80R13 size has transformed the car's handling and ride comfort considerably, yet it's the spare tire that he's most enthralled with. "I'm especially proud to show off the trunk compartment; the floormat and seals are all original, and the jack is still where the assembly line worker installed it--it has never been removed. In fact, the spare tire is not only original, but it, too, has never touched the ground. The mold nibs are still on it!"

As owners of these bare-bones Valiants well know, the power that the 170-cu.in. slant-six engine puts out will never spin those 13-inch tires, but at least the engine is incredibly reliable and as robust as any powertrain ever built. The single, one-barrel Carter AFB-3083-S carburetor, combined with the 10.5:1 compression ratio and 155-lbs.ft. of torque, produces a measly 101 horsepower, but the highway-friendly 3.23-ratio rear gear makes it a pleasure to drive at speed on the highway. A regular diet of Sunoco 93 Ultra, along with the addition of a lead substitute, keeps the engine running smooth, while regular oil changes of CAM2 Super Plus 10W-30 oil keeps the sump clean and the four-main-bearing crankshaft well lubed.

"The engine starts well, and it's very smooth on fast idle," Barry said. "Once it warms up, it idles rather rough, but quickly smoothes out the second you accelerate. Then it runs smoothly and quietly at any speed. The transmission shifts crisply and downshifts appropriately. Acceleration is modest; I've had it up to around 80 MPH and it felt fine."

Besides its incredible state of preservation, the rarest aspect of this Valiant is its lack of options. As Barry put it: "The unique thing about this car is the features that it doesn't have. There are no backup lamps, no side mirrors, no carpet, no rear-door armrest, and no passenger-side sunvisor."

While the Valiant's unadulterated condition is certainly a plus, it can also be a chore to deal with. The car is always kept garaged and is never driven in the rain, yet Barry finds that the most difficult part of owning such an authentic car is ensuring that its originality remains, while still allowing himself to enjoy driving it. The key, he said, is "just being very careful and gentle with it. There's no slamming doors and no plopping down on the seats, because you need to be careful not to put any stress or wear and tear on 50-year-old material. The back seat appears almost as if it was never sat on, and the front seat shows minimal wear, which is to be expected after 50 years and 18,000 miles. Anything needing replacement means it's not original any more.

"What I like about this Valiant is the appeal of its 'plain Jane' charm," Barry told us. "Every time I show it, people come up to me and tell me their uncle had one, they learned to drive on one or they took their honeymoon in one, etc... While far from an Imperial or a New Yorker, the little Valiant has a special appeal of its own. But the absolute best, and most common comment I get is: 'It must be original; who would restore a Valiant?' "


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