65 Valiant

Neighbor has a 65 valiant Daily driver. Wants to sell to me for 1k.
I know its a /6, 9" drums and small rear car.
Very little rust frame is solid. anything else I should look for before I pull the trigger. Plan would be to drop a fresh 318 into it and go from there.
Cant pass up a 1000 dollar mopar no matter what it is correct?
Ohh and I have garage space next to my wagon

Sounds like a steal to me especially if it's a 2 door. Can't find a 2 dr. around here for a decent price. Even a 4 dr. is way too high IMHO.
Been looking (casually) for one at a decent price for several years as a '65 2 dr. post in Medium Blue was my first car. With a grandson now I even considered a 4 dr. but still priced too high unless it's a pile.


Tim

An empty garage space is sacreligious. You will be swapping the eng/trans so no issue there. Just go over the body with a fine tooth comb like you have for rust & PRIOR COLLISIONS. I'm assuming the vin #/title are in order. No caveats, just evaluate it with a critical eye. subframes need to be solid. fenderwells/floorplans/trunkwell. Kmember is the same /6/v8 & you can even swap a B bigblock into it easily with streetmaster mts if they are still in business or fab your own. EDIT best would be a 360 or even better a stroked 360 & 4" cranks are cheap nowadays & the KB pistons ain't too bad.

Wellll, I wouldn't go that far. Good bones are a must. If you're swapping in a 318/5.2, you're going to want to upgrade the rear end at some point. Also, headers are gonna be pricey, but I'm sure you can find some manifolds that will do the job. As Rapid Robert said, a stroker would be a whole heap of fun. Let us know how it goes!

You will want to look at the floors really good, especially if it is a rubber floor mat car.

For a V-8 you will definitely want to upgrade the rear end, brakes, and radiator. I had 9" drums on my '66 and trying to stop it from 90 mph was a white knuckle ride.

My old Valiant is in NY somewhere. It was a real sleeper as it ran 11.00 all day long of course its was a serious combo under all that original paint. If solid don't let it get away.

^^^ agreed, a solid 2dr, put on your best poker face & get after it

empty garage space and bare floors also create a VACUUM ! hear that big "sucking" sound ?

Post a pic when you get it.