More than ever, the idea of a bitchin’ daily driver that doesn’t suck or suck fuel like the Queen Mary has been on my mind. While I’m whittling away slowly but surely at the Great Pumpkin Mustang in that regard for my own garage, I keep my eyes on the lookout when I’m hunting Craigslist for any possible options that would appeal to the gearhead that needs to roam. As much as we’d love commuting to work in a 600 horsepower beast with a cam lope that could cause physical ailments in the elderly, sometimes you have to face reality and understand that maybe you just need a couple less cylinders and a comfortable seat to make the drive much more enjoyable.
That doesn’t mean that the daily has to suck or be as bland as a British breakfast, however. Take this 1965 Plymouth Valiant. It was a solid, dependable car, based on Chrysler’s well-regarded A-body platform. It’s a four-door sedan with styling, chrome, and it isn’t long enough to occupy a city block, isn’t rusty enough to require a tetanus shot, and doesn’t look like your typical cop car. It’s no fire-breather, but the Slant Six and the A-833 overdrive manual will serve you reliably. You’ll get disc brakes, new carpet, and seats out of a Honda that should serve you quite well as you cruise back home after a day at the office.
It’s not a Civic, a Jetta, or a base-model BMW. It is solid, reliable, easy to maintain and has character those other cars barely have. And it slots in well with the Rough Start $5,000 budget, at $4,400. And best of all, it’s never going to be recalled for cheating on it’s emissions test.
Have you ever had a British breakfast?
Two thick link sausages, two thick rashers of bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, a fried egg and to top it off two thick slices of black pudding which you call blood pudding. There’s nothing bland about that Bryan I assure you.
As for the Valiant – dump the slant six and drop in a Hellcat motor and that would be the automotive equivalent of that fine breakfast!
CHMG, you had me till the beans. Beans for breakfast? No.
As for the Valiant, rarely have I seen this in any decent shape. The slant six may be bulletproof but boring. V-8 is the inly way to go. It might have more doors but the black paint sort of disguises them
I’ve had English breakfasts while in England, and the beans (similar to Boston baked beans but, well, a bit more bland) are better than they sound. The only English breakfast item I wasn’t big on was the fried bread – that stuff is pretty greasy and gross. Otherwise, it’s a lot like an American country breakfast, with a few minor differences.
As an early A-body owner myself, I can’t believe I got distracted by English breakfasts… OK, I’m a bit hungry right now. The Valiant’s a very nice find. My ’66 Dart made a pretty decent commuter until I went nuts with trying to turbocharge it.
I love blood pudding, Valiants, no so much. However, I would really respect a 16yo having something like this for his or her ride. Sure beats the crap out of a Honda with a fart can.