My first car was a '62 Valiant, 225 slant six, three on the tree, which I 'inherited' from my parents when they bought a new car in 1970. I drove the hell out of it til it slung a rod, clean through the block, about a year later (only had 280k miles on it). While I had it I, naturally, started researching how to hop it up, which brings me to the reason for this message.

Does anyone remember a project car Plymouth built in the early sixties on a Valiant chassis that was supposed to be the prototype for a sports car? It was a convertible resembling a more streamlined Valiant and used the slant six; this engine had multiple carbs, a tuned exhaust feeding a single pipe and, if I remember correctly, put out around 180-200hp (probably had compression and cam tweaks, too) and they were supposedly considering a racing version of 250-300hp. This project was designated something like the XXP or XXR and appeared in several magazines of the period. It motivated me to get a twin two-barrel manifold (Edelbrock or Weiand) for my car, and I was saving for a dual exhaust setup and hot cam when it bit the dust.

A neighbor is working on a '66 Dodge w/slant six and has never heard of any of this, and I no longer have my old magazines/catalogs (JC Whitney and Midwest Auto Parts had all the hop up items) to back me up. A couple evenings on the net have produced no info on this car, though earlyvaliant.org pointed me to the Lotus-Valiant project. Tell me I didn't imagine this.

I seem to remember an old issue of HOT ROD magazine with a project XR6 or something with a slant in it. That could be the one you are thinking of.

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94 Falcon 4.0 auto
70 Valiant 265 Hemi auto
70 Valiant 318, 904, Coupe
69 Valiant 225 auto x 3 (1 sedan, 2 coupes)
64 Falcon 250 2V auto
yes, I have too many projects.

That Hot Rod issue was August 1963. The car was built by Tex Smith and featured triple Weber DCOEs. A cute little buggy.

Another issue worth looking at is January 1961, which features an article on the "new" Offy dual 1-bbl intake (which was then also available in a dual Stromberg 97 version). This issue also features an article on the then new "compact and powerful" Plymouth Valiant and Lancer slant 6.

---Red

You may also be thinking of the XNR concept car which Chrysler built in 1960. It was a Virgil Exner design powered by a 170 slant based on a Valiant frame. It used a 3-speed manual trans, while the XR-6 ran a Torqueflite. Jack Poehler wrote an article about it in Slant 6 News #32.

There were two others, called the Asimmetrica and the St. Regis, but Chrysler didn't build them.

---Red

I remember seeing a picture of the XNR Assymetrica once. The feature I remember most was the way they had a blister on the left side to clear a Hyper Pak. If anyone has more info on this online, I'd be interested in seeing it.

There's also the Lotus Valiant documented at Valiant.org. This one started as a Lotus Mk 11 and had a slant six swapped in. I've actually found a kit for a fiberglass copy of the Eleven body shell and blueprints for a suitable frame. That'd be a fun car to clone.

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"Mad Scientist" Matt Cramer
'66 Dart - turbocharged 225
My blog - Mad Scientist Matt's Lair

Thanks for the info, everyone. Does anyone know if this car still exists? (BTW, if there are any model builders out there, Gibson Engines makes a 1/24 scale resin slant six kit; available from detailmaster.com)

I don't have picutres up yet, but along the same vein I am currently building a "sort of" Lotus Seven roadster with a Ford inline six. The chassis I scaled up will easily accomodate a Slant.

I figure that it will only weigh about 1200 lbs. A 150hp inline should make for a pretty quick ride!

Pictures soon!

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Jack Collins
66 Mustang 250 EFI
Lotus Seven Replica (Under Construction)
<img border="2" src="http://fordsix.com/locost/locostsig.jpg" width="275" height="118" >

JFG,

There you go! I figured you would get you answer here!

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Chuck Rivers, Webmaster

Ahhhh,.... the XNR, one could argue that the XNR is (was??) the coolest SL6 car ever produced. (click on images for a bigger view)


These black and white shots do not do the car justice, it is painted "Italian Red" and for good reason, the car was built to Chrysler specs by Ghia body works in Turin, Italy for use on the 1960 Auto Show circuit.


Virgil Exner was the designer hence the XNR name. The car is built on a 60 Valiant 106.5 inch chassis and measured 195.2 long x 71.0 wide.

It is powered by a 170 Slant Six with the floor shifted 3 speed manual. It is thought to be the first Hyper-Pak car to ever hit the road although I have never seen any engine shots of the XNR. The fact that this car was reported to have been clocked at speeds of 140 to 150 mph by a number of sources and looking at the location of the fresh air hood scoop and the left side dual exhaust exit, all points to the "fingerprint" of a Hyper-Paked 170.

The car was featured in a number of publications of the early 60s (Motor Trend and Motor Life) and was also featured in the Slant Six News in 1988.
The last known location of the car was in Kuwait in 1969 when it popped-up in the May issue of National Geographic. (Does anyone have that issue?)
I was hoping that our boys would bring the XNR home with them after Desert Storm but looks like that did not happen. I can only hope that some sheik still has the car stashed somewhere.
DD

Wow! Thanks for posting the pix. That's the car I remember!

XNR on the cover of Road & Track. Bid on it now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 1583119034

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Cheers!
Al T

I don't know why it didn't hit me sooner, but the XNR designation must come from the designer's name, Virgil EXNER! He designed the early Valiants/Lancers and the odd-looking, poor selling '62 Dodge/Plymouth. They were so poorly received, they totally revamped the cars after only one year! Virtually unheard of in Detroit at that time. That must have cost a lot of overtime. That was pretty much the end of old Virgil, although I think the '63 and '64 Chrysler look alittle like his handiwork.
There is a '62 Dodge or Plymouth in the Seattle area, with the coolest personalized plate, XNRSXIT! (Exner's exit)

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'66 Cuda 225/4spd
'66 Dart GT convertible 225/auto
'64 Dart GT 340/4spd

Virgil's first designs were the late fifty's "forward look" cars which all had the aviation & rocket themes: big wings, cockpit style dashboards, after burner tail lights, etc.. He lost a power struggle in the late 50's when he was planning the early 60's cars. He wanted to stay "big" while others wanted him to downsize to more compact cars. They forced him to change overall dimensions late in the styling game without changing proportions and the results were the 61 thru 62 cars which most people thot were ugly. (Ex: Dodge sales fell by 50% in '61!) They hung the fiasco on Virgil and gave him the boot!
Virgil pic courtesy of http://www.forwardlook.net

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Cheers!
Al T

I liked the late '50's and early '60's cars. I'll admit the '62 Dodge and Plymouth were pretty quirky in the looks department. But they were a good size. The '63's are nice, the '64's very cool, and the '65's are cool, too. Those early B-bodies are nice riding, good handling, great platforms to work from.

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'70 Cuda AAR
'74 Duster 360
'79 MagnumGT
'79 Chrysler 300

There is a '63 Fury in the pick-n-pull. It was a pretty good car when it came in, has a 361 "Comando". It has lots of good parts, it just needed paint and new seat cloth when it came in, straight metal. These are good looking cars, I'd like to have a '62-65 B-body for a big block project.