Just like the Ford Falcon and the Chevy II, the Valiant was only meant to be the compact car that buyers wanted, that Detroit really didn’t want to build. Just like the other two, the Valiant proved to be one of the best decisions that Chrysler ever made…the A-body first appeared as a stand-alone model for 1960 and ran in various guises through 1976, earning accolades along the way. It was an economy car, a muscle car, and a workhorse all in one package and to date, is held in very high regard. And they’re durable as all get-out, something the author can attest to first-hand.
This 1960s example is doing something we normally don’t see an old A-body doing: rally racing. With a small-block Chrysler singing along and the driver rowing his own gears, it’s a soundtrack worth listening to alone but it’s also inspirational in a way. The car isn’t babied but it isn’t being absolutely thrashed, either, like we often see in rally crash footage. The Plymouth is just happily singing along, spraying gravel behind it.
And now I’m picturing a Dodge Demon set up for rally racing. Is that a bad thing?
Very cool video. Scott Harvey was a Chrysler engineer who used A-body Barracudas in rally racing back when they were new, but it’s not something you see very much today.
More light…more light !!!!!!
If American manufacturers had taken rallying in Europe seriously in the 60s they would have won every championship on the board. No other cars available then could have matched them for power and with top European drivers they would have been unbeatable. So this is a taste of what might have been and I am now dreaming of Mustangs, Falcons and Valiants fighting it out on the RAC Rally with the puny Ford Escorts and Minis trailing in their wake….
That brings back some memories for me. I owned one of the Factory Canadian AMC Rambler Shell 4000 Rally Cars. I bought it from AMC in 1968. It was a 1967 Rambler American, one of the two that competed in the 1967 Rally. Car was yellow with black hood & rear deck, 290 V8. 4 Spd, roll cage, Bucket seats & list of other options that were not usually on the cars. Hindsight says that it was one of those Should have kept cars! It was a piece of Canadian Automotive History that should have been restored to Competitive trim of the era!