Plymouth Valiant

Plymouth Valiant
Production period:	1960-1976
Class :	Compact class
Successor:	Volare

The Plymouth Valiant is a mid-range car manufactured by Plymouth , the junior brand of the third largest American automaker, Chrysler , from 1959 to 1976 .

Model history

Plymouth Valiant 1960-62
Production period:	1960–1962
Engines:	2.8 - 3.7 l R6 101 - 145 bhp
Length:	4666 - 4702 mm
Width:	1788 mm
Height:	1354-1356 mm
Wheelbase :	2705 ​​mm
Empty weight :

The model-political task of the Valiant was the same as for the competing models Chevrolet Corvair and Ford Falcon, which were presented almost simultaneously . During the 1950s, American cars had gotten bigger and heavier. This corresponded to the wishes of a large part of the customer base, but the big American manufacturers had created a market niche that was filled by the American Motors Corporation and by imported vehicles, first and foremost the VW Beetle . The sales success of AMC and VW was so great at the end of the 1950s that it could no longer be overlooked. In the fall of 1959, the three leading companies reacted practically at the same time with the introduction of their compact cars.

1960–1962

With the new Valiant, Plymouth wasn't as brave as Chevrolet , but braver than Ford . The Valiant was conventionally equipped with a front engine and rear-wheel drive, but its body had a very unique style that took some getting used to. It turned out, however, that Ford had the greater success with the smooth and unadorned Falcon. Plymouth originally wanted to name its new model "Falcon" like the 1955 concept car , but Ford had already secured this name for its compact model. In the first model year, the Valiant ran as a separate brand, it was only assigned to Plymouth from 1961.

In contrast to many other American vehicles of the time, the Valiant had a self-supporting body . It is powered by a six-cylinder in- line engine called "Slant Six" . The name "Slant" (inclined) indicates the installation position inclined by 30 ° to the side. At the beginning only a variant with 2.8 liter displacement was available. From the model revision in 1962, a variant with a 3.7 liter displacement was also offered.

The dealers of Dodge , the second volume brand of the Chrysler Group, wanted to participate in the growing demand for more compact cars. In 1961 and 1962, for example, an only slightly modified sister model of the Valiant was available under the name Dodge Lancer .

1963-1966

64 Plymouth Valiant
Production period:	1963-1966
Engines:	2.8 - 3.7 l R6 101 - 145 bhp 4.5 l V8 180 - 235 bhp
Length:	4727-4801 mm
Width:	1748 - 1783 mm
Height:	1349-1356 mm
Wheelbase :	2692 mm
Empty weight :

Plymouth responded to the criticism of the unconventional look in the 1963 model year with a major revision to a less conspicuous body shape.

From 1964, the Valiant was also available with a V8 engine if required, in order to keep up with the competition . The Valiant was the cheapest automobile with eight cylinders. This engine started Chrysler's LA family of V8s, which were in production until 2002. From a displacement of 273 cui (4478 cm³) the LA gains an output of 180 bhp, a year later with a quadruple carburetor even 235 bhp.

There was also a Dodge sister model of this generation. This was now called Dodge Dart . The dart, like the Valiant, was offered until 1976. 1966 was the last year in which the Valiant was also offered as a station wagon (station wagon). The Valiant also served as the base for a pony car , the Plymouth Barracuda , from 1964 to 1969 .

1967-1976

73 Plymouth Valiant
Production period:	1967-1976
Engines:	2.8 - 3.7 l R6 115 - 145 bhp 4.5 - 5.9 l V8 180 - 275 bhp
Length:	4785 - 5070 mm
Width:	1806 mm
Height:	1361-1372 mm
Wheelbase :	2743-2819 mm
Empty weight :

Another model change eventually resulted in a fairly angular body. In this form, the Valiant remained virtually unchanged for ten years until 1976, which was quite unusual for American cars in that era. The only major revision was in 1974 the change to the longer wheelbase of the sister model Dodge Dart . The successor was the Plymouth Volare .

As with all American cars, the performance of the engines fell after the insurance premiums had risen enormously as a result of the muscle car boom. Added to this was the 1973 oil crisis and the government's increased environmental and safety awareness, which forced manufacturers to become more environmentally friendly. During this time, the Valiant was the Plymouth brand's most successful model, accounting for around 40% of all sales in the early 1970s.

After the Plymouth Barracuda moved to a larger platform, Plymouth released a slightly smaller coupe for 1970 to compete with the newly introduced Ford Maverick . It had an independent body in line with the taste of the time, but was largely based on the Valiant from a technical point of view. Initially the coupe was called Valiant Duster, later just Plymouth Duster . Like the Valiant, the Duster was produced until 1976.

Engines

design type	Displacement	Bore × stroke	Maximum power	Max. Torque	construction time	comment
Slant-Six
6 cylinder in- line engine	170 cubic inches (CID) (2790 cm³)	3.40 × 3.125 in (86.4 × 79.4 mm)	101 bhp (75 kW)	155 lb-ft (210 Nm)	1960-1966
			115 bhp (86 kW)	155 lb-ft (210 Nm)	1967-1969
	198 CID (3249 cm³)	3.40 × 3.64 in (86.4 × 92.5 mm)	125 bhp (93 kW)	180 lb-ft (244 Nm)	1970-1971
			95 - 100 bhp (71 - 75 kW)	150-160 lb-ft (203-217 Nm)	1972-1973
	225 CID (3682 cm³)	3.40 × 4.125 in (86.4 × 104.8 mm)	145 bhp (108 kW)	215 lb-ft (292 Nm)	1962-1971
			95 - 110 bhp (71 - 82 kW)	170 - 185 lb-ft (230-251 Nm)	1972-1976
V8 LA series
V-engine 8 cylinders	273 CID (4478 cm³)	3,625 × 3.31 in (92.1 × 84.1 mm)	180 - 190 bhp (134 - 142 kW)	260 lb-ft (353 Nm)	1964-1969	2-bbl
			235 bhp (175 kW)	280 lb-ft (380 Nm)	1965-1967	4-bbl
	318 CID (5210 cm³)	3.91 × 3.31 in (99.3 × 84.1 mm)	230 bhp (172 kW)	320 - 340 lb-ft (434 - 461 Nm)	1968-1971
			145 - 150 bhp (108 - 112 kW)	255-265 lb-ft (346-359 Nm)	1972-1976
	340 CID (5563 cm³)	4.04 × 3.31 in (102.6 × 84.1 mm)	275 bhp (205 kW)	340 lb-ft (461 Nm)	1968-1971
			240 - 245 bhp (179 - 183 kW)	290-295 lb-ft (393-400 Nm)	1972-1973
	360 CID (5898 cm³)	4.00 × 3.58 in (101.6 × 90.9 mm)	220 - 245 bhp (164 - 183 kW)	280-320 lb-ft (380-434 Nm)	1974-1976

variants

Chrysler Valiant Montage Suisse

Plymouth Valiant 1969

In Australia , where the Plymouth brand did not exist, the Valiant was offered under the name Chrysler Valiant . That would have been completely unthinkable in the USA, where the Chrysler brand name was reserved exclusively for large luxury cars until the first oil crisis in 1973. The Valiant was so successful in Australia that it was also produced there from 1962. As a result, the Australian Valiant differed in detail from the North American model with the same base. It was not until 1971 that a completely independent model appeared with the Valiant VH, which was not adopted in the USA. This car was built until 1981, the last time after the sale of the Australian Chrysler subsidiary under the rule of Mitsubishi .

In Switzerland , the Valiant was built in the AMAG assembly plant in Schinznach as early as 1960 . The vehicles were marketed quite successfully with the slogan “MONTAGE SUISSE - added value through Swiss assembly”. Most of the parts came from the USA, but windows, carpets, seats, coolers and the like came from Swiss production. While assembly took around 6 hours in the USA, mostly on an assembly line , in Switzerland it was an impressive 148 hours of manual labor. The last Valiant were assembled in 1972. In addition to the Valiant, which was called Chrysler Valiant in Australia, Dodge Dart and Lancer, Valiant Coupe and Dodge VIP were also assembled.

Remarks

In Steven Spielberg's 1971 thriller film Duel , the main actor, played by Dennis Weaver , engages in a desperate duel in a Valiant with a huge tanker truck whose driver wants to kill him.

Web links

Commons : Plymouth Valiant  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Plymouth Valiant Page (English)