Former Hemi Drag Car! 1964 Plymouth Valiant
We featured this 1964 Plymouth here on Barn Finds in July of 2020. It is back up for sale and can be found here on eBay with an asking price of $3,900. This was the same asking price the seller posted eight months ago, so apparently, they don’t need to sell it very badly. It is still located in Enfield, New Hampshire, and was brought to our attention by Larry D. The car has a great vintage drag racing look and would be awesome as a nostalgic racer. Check it out.
There is very limited information in the ad, but the seller says the car was campaigned as a drag racer with a 426 Hemi engine! Unfortunately, the Hemi is now gone, and in its place lies a 383 backed by an automatic transmission. With a weight of a little more than 2500 lbs., the 2-door Valiant makes a great starting point for a drag racer.
The interior is stripped and will need a few things to be street or race-worthy again. Obviously, the gauges are missing. There is a “roll cage” but it is hard to tell from the photos if it would qualify by today’s standards. You can also see a hoop above the tail of the transmission which helps protect the driver in the case of a drive train failure. The rear portion of the interior shows the rear supports of the cage and what appears to be the top of the gas tank although it is unknown if the car gets fuel from the tank or a separate fuel cell.
It’s too bad there are no lettering or graphics left on the car. It would be nice to know the history in case the purchaser wants to restore it back to its former glory. You can see some racing stripes on the trunk lid which may give a researcher something to go on. Overall, this is a cool-looking car that should be saved. What do you think?
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Comments
Leave the outside as-is, source a Hemi, install a race interior and take this bad boy to the strip!
Discoved as a ’65 the last time it was listed here, 383 is a big step down from the 426 Hemi it was claimed to run years ago. Neat old bracket racer, that’s what it reminds me of anyways.
Poor car, looks too far gone to be brought back to original. :(
Looks to be worth $390.00
Today is “Hood Scoop Day”!
Be it as it may, this car is not to far gone… and a 383 would make this little pootch FLY!! Potential abounds here…
I had a 64 valiant signet 200. 225 slant 6 that I put a 4 bbl and dual point dist and some other stuff back then . Tore up the differential so put in a ford 9 inch. Had a lot of fun in that little car. Had a couple of 392 hemi’s and was going to stuff one of those in it but went another route with them. Would have really liked to have seen what a 392 would have done in it. I still got into the 14’s with the six and low gears
Still like that body style. Though I’d like to see it in more of a road racer set up.
Maybe with a hopped up slant 6/4spd under the hood?
That’s a 1965 body maybe it was sold in 1964 but it’s a 65 I have one.