Polish Tickler – The Beginning – 1964 Plymouth Valiant

While talking to Master S and his brother, this poor guy made the mistake of saying he would be interested in an old Valiant. It seems Master S knew of a ’64 Valiant that needed a home. Here’s the proud owner (we’ll call him P11 from now on) after his purchase. Sorry ladies, he’s taken.

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The concept for this car is a trouble-free, fun, cruising car. Going fast is always nice, but not the main priority.

The car was a 273 4 speed and it will stay that way (at least for now). It will be slightly hotter than stock, with a little cam and a small AFB. It will still breathe through the 273 A-body manifolds. They’re leak-free, and they FIT. The engine was rebuilt YEARS ago and never run. We did some calculations and found that the compression ratio is too low for our taste. Milling the heads should take care of that.

The four speed is a ball-and-trunion type. That will be fine in this case. It came with a Hurst shifter with T handle. Sweeeet. Pedals are in the car. The bell crank is missing, and presumed dead. Master M might donate the left-over parts from the Duster, if they’re still around somewhere…

Only 3 Cragars. That sucks. These wheels are OLD. They LOOK like they’re in good shape and they are 4″ bolt pattern, but no, unfortunately, the bolt holes were pretty chewed up, so they’re out.

The previous owner built an 8-3/4″ rear end for it. We’ll check it out, but it should work out great. The center section has a spool in it. That will get swapped out for a 3.55 with a cone-type sure grip. Not a fan of the helper shocks. We’ll see how it sits without them.

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Possibly the coolest thing on the car (but not for long) is this decal. It’s staying. It’s probably authentic. The car is from California.

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