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The Polish Tickler |
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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.
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.
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.
The Valiant finally gets the attention it deserves after the 2009 Mopar Nationals.
Lots of surface rust for P11 to remove. The K member is out for blasting and paint. A rubber bushing kit will replace the original stuff.
It had some body work done. Fortunately, we know the guy that did it, and trust his work. It'll just need finishing.
The first application of FK5 1970 Plymouth Deep Burnt Orange Metallic
El Vato started buggin' from the fumes combined with his 40 ounce. So we got him a used respirator missing one of the cartridges. We taped up the opening, though. Safety first.
Can you believe it? We just get a little paint on the car and two hot chicks show up wanting to get in. This car is already a chick magnet.
Why is this man smiling?
Oh, yeah. That's why.
P11 lays down some filler primer.
That's it for body work until Spring.
Floor is painted with Rust Encapsulator and chassis black.
Front end is done. Rebuilt with new rubber bushings, ball joints, tie rod ends, etc. Factory torsion bars were used, but an Addco anti-sway bar was added. P11 and Master S welded up some sway bar mounts on the K member, because the Addco pieces are absolutely awful. The bar is good, the hardware sucks.
Rebuilt ball and trunion joint for the drive shaft.
The center section was rebuilt with a 3.55 gear and a cone-type sure grip. Not good enough for a heavy car with a monster engine, but it'll be great in the little Valiant. The 3.55 ratio should make it snappy, but still highway-friendly. Axles have new green bearings.
Trunk - cleaned up and ready for paint.
After Eastwood's spatter paint treatment. No, it's not the way Mopar did it. Too bad - get over it. This stuff looks fantastic and hides everything.
We put the dash and column in and started wiring the car.
The trans looked good inside - someone replaced the synchros because they showed NO wear, and the gear oil was clear.
We found this kid walking outside the shop, so we put him to work.
The MSD box is mounted, brakes are plumbed, heater box is in.
Finally - it's engine time. We've all been looking forward to this.
Cleaning parts with George.
Scott polishes the crank.
On the stand for assembly.
Cam specs. It should have quite an attitude in a 273!
Rods are re-sized, and the bottom end was balanced. Bushed rods and full floating wrist pins were factory.
The pistons USED to be down in the bore. Block was decked to bring up the compression.
Heads were milled for more compression, and the valve
job was touched up.
The look is that of a '65 273 Commando engine. No, they didn't make a Commando in '64. So what?
Satisfaction. The engine is in. So is the trans.
Master cylinder is for a '72 Valiant. It's a dual master, but doesn't look too out-of-place. Fair warning to other early 273 ('64-'65) owners: There is a LOT of stuff that changed in '66. The heads and intake use different screws, drilled at a different angle. By hunting down a factory Commando intake, everything fit. Early heads do NOT match up with a late manifold. The front cover is different. The late model front cover can be used, but there is one tapped hole in the block that has no corresponding hole in the late-model cover. We plugged the tapped hole in the block. The hole is drilled into the water jacket, so it needs sealer. The original front cover had the timing marks on the passenger's side. The later model cover is on the driver's side. We scribed a new line on the balancer. The water pump is also different. The flywheel will not accept a 10-1/2" clutch, but will bolt up to a 10".
Modified trans crossmember. TTI has the dimensions to notch the crossmember for dual exhaust. Just a little LESS notching would have been better, but this will work...
P11 makes some calls. IT RUNS! It sounds really good too. The cam is pretty aggressive and has a pretty lopey idle. It idles around 900RPM.
Check out the custom "break in" exhaust. It worked out pretty well too.
After sanding, and sanding, and... sanding... it's finally time for paint. We prepared with doughnuts, coffee and Bloody Mary's (with sausage sticks and brussel sprouts - thanks, Dennis).
Master S does some calisthenics.
Black sealer.
"Dark Burnt Orange Poly" or 1970 Plymouth FK5. Plus a little Coca Cola for that caramel color.
El Vato forgot to put his mask on again. Then he forgot who he was.
A couple coats of clear brings the paint to life.
You just know your car will be a work of art with these guys working on it.
It seemed like forever: wet sand, more clear, wet sand more clear, wet sand, wet sand, wet sand... Here's the car after the first pass with the buffer. The pay off!! The car gets named "Polish Tickler" because it's perfectly smooth.
This car looks good with some chrome goodies.
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