Well, seeing that I should have the car home today I guess I'll go ahead and make a thread about it. I'm not good at short stories, so bear with me.

I've known about the car for about a decade, it used to sit on a local ford dealers lot, I used to drive by it in my '69 Coronets and my '64 Dart and wonder if someone traded the thing in on something and it was so ugly they couldn't get rid of it at the auction. A year or two ago I rode thru the lot and the car was missing, I figured the thing had been scrapped and felt bad that yet another mopar was off the road for good. A while after that I was driving around town and spotted the familiar faded red shape of a Valiant in a row of cars at a local shop....sure enough it was the same car.

As the year passed I had several other "toys" but longed to be back in a mopar, although I couldn't really afford it at the time since all of the local mopars that used to sit around were long gone and anything decent I found elsewhere would cost me as much to get it home as it would to buy the thing. I eventually got in the position to buy something and started looking around and one day I ran across the Valiant again and this time it was For Sale. I looked it over a bit and for the asking price it wasn't terrible, a lot more sensibly priced that pretty much any other run down mopar I had come across and after some prodding aroung I got in touch with the owner and got the car.

The car belonged a guy who worked at the ford dealership, it had belonged to his father and he ended up with it when he passed away, got it going and then let is set at the dealership until they made him move it, which is how it ended up at the shop. After about a week of hounding the guy I got the title and the keys.

I started to get it running and found it wasn't getting any fuel, so a new fuel pump went in place.....I haven't had any chance to make mych more progress than that because today I was told I couldn't work on it there anymore...so today it's getting hauled home.

First up on my list of tasks is getting it running, cleaning the tank, yanking the carpet and work my way down the list of dead and broken things from there. It's going to need a lot of work, but I'm excited about it, it should make a fun and different summer cruiser.

looks like a good project, if you need a grill or other trim pcs, let me know. i have some 63 parts...................ss

Thanks I will, I know I need rear light lenses (they're falling apart) and the drivers headlight trim for sure.

I got the car home yesterday, washed it off and cleaned it out....of course I forgot my camera. I still haven't gotten it running, seems I'm missing some of the accelerator pump linkage, so I either need to find a parts carb or another carb all together. It wants to start though...

You'd be surprised how many work for Ford but don't drive a Ford.Too funny

Update time:

I didn't manage to get a lot done on the car this weekend but it is a little cleaner and looking a little better. I've got the car at my mothers house right now and from what I've heard from her and my sister several people have stopped and looked the car over...so maybe it's not so bad after all.

I know it's rusty but that's no reason for it not to have a little shine to it, so I worked a little magic on the drivers quarter. So far I've got the entire quarter and rear door done. I think you can tell the difference in this pic...



I think I've got some interior work to get done soon.... this is thanks to the previous owners dog...


While this is one of a few mopars I've ever had where every light works, I'm gonna need at least one new rear lens (if anyone can help, let me know)



I found this security system in the trunk...obviously a factory option...



...and maybe my favorite part of the car...

useless, i have l@r rear lenses and aluminum housings..............steve

I'll have to get with you on those parts Steve, as you can tell I need them badly.

Update: Thanks to Lou (Dart270) I managed to get a carb that I think will do the job. Now that I've got fuel of course I don't have spark. I'm getting power to the coil just nothing coming out. I'm not sure if the coil is bad or what.... so I'm still working on it.....

Nice looking car! Is that an original color? Looks like you have a bit of work ahead of you, but shouldn't take a great deal to at least get it running and on the road!!

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AP6

Sorry for the long response time, yes while it has been resprayed, it's pretty close to the original color, the original red is still nice in the trunk and door jambs.

Update: It lives!

I got my new distributor yesterday and managed to stick it in today, a little gas down the carb, the engine turned over about 3 times and fired up, it ran rough but it ran, for the first time in over a decade.

I went to the parts store and got new plugs since that was the only tune-up item I hadn't replaced (because I didn't have spark getting to the plugs) and now it fires right up and idles smooth, purs like a kitten...a 45 year old, SOHC solid lifter kitten.

I moved it around the yard a little and took off the hubcaps, they were full of spiderwebs and grasshoppers ?! It runs great and moves fine so far, though my brakes are lacking big time, I *might have one working brake that functions when you press the pedal, thank god for the parking brake.

I'm so excited, it runs!

cool

I am surprised the parking brake cable didn't brake when you pulled on it! But yea, they do come in handy!
I remember when I got my Duster "running"...

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'74 Duster 225 Super Six w/904
14" Cragar SS wheels

Haha, I think that's just about the most solid mechanical part I've got on the car right now! Well....other than the new dizzy and fuel pump..

Well, good luck with your car! Those rear lower quarters behind the wheel look like loads of fun...

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'74 Duster 225 Super Six w/904
14" Cragar SS wheels

Nice work. Hopefully we can meet up soon around here.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

BTW, when you get it road worthy, we should meet at Radford dragstrip for test'n'tune (motormiledragway.com). $10 to run on Fri nights, $5 for spectators. Very nice track. Cheaper than dinner and a movie!

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988