65 Valiant wagon project .

Some know, some don't, some care , some don't .. but, here is an update

Day 1

And how it looks after lots of modifications

couple fab pics

Lid

took me forever and a day to clean 45 years of slop off the roof

Night and day from where I started

had countless layers of lord knows what here too

Painted bottom of hood, hoping motor clears it and no silly scoop needed

Hope i don't regret this , cope built a race 904 for it .. took like 9 months and his interaction with me was less than helpful

favorite part of trans build , now I don't need to tell anyone how much it cost .. you all know, I call him say, hey .. nothing in speedo hole, whats up ?

He says, sorry ,sent me a billet 1 .. nice piece, but, just billed my credit card .. guess you only get some much when you buy a new trans

Motor in

AN hoses -16 ,

bottom hose

trans crossmemeber , going to run the exhaust thru the rings

fans and shroud , the fans are 3200 cfm each, hopefully this works, if not re-do it

Nice work, looks bitchin

column , fit .. have to take stuff apart to paint once all fits and works

Brakes all done, need to be bled .. wilwoods on all 4 locations

Here is how I did the battery box / fuel cell location

sunk it halfway through

Here is underside of the power

was going to do this but, changed my mind

I'm diggin' it.
I think you need to vent the radiator shroud, for air movement w/o fans on, no ?

Tight fit,

Maybe , it has a about a 3/4 gap to vent, its a big experiment

I've been buying and collecting parts for a long time, looks weird to see my shelf almost empty .. down to just few things, it should be able to run and move by end of month (knock on wood )

Cool build, I like what you did with the trans cross member.

I found one of these new , not in original box but, you could tell unused, it fit ok but, like everything it fought a bit

Interior is going to look mostly stockish

I like it!

Awesome!

Rocky Mountain Race Week at the end of June?

Looks awesome bd!

Good looking project.

Not sure this particular set up will be ready for that, bit too much squeeze and my current fuel cell is only 8 gallons, this is more of , let's get it moving and try to update later with some bugs worked out

Coming along nicely!

Cool !!!

Very cool build!

I was wondering if you still had this car.

I felt l it sometimes however

great job dad !

LOOKING GOOD ,

very nice !!

if I recall you used the Gerst front end ?

Are the headers fabricated or off the shelf ? (I am thinking of re doing my 66 Dart into something similar)

I have a gerst on my 67 Belevdere , did not know about them before I bought a Altercation for this , the headers are Dougs , tried TTi and could not make them fit

Paint and carpet , etc will clean all this mess up .. wheel is on, its on a grant brand removable mount

It's coming around really nice, good work. For me it seemed the closer i got to it being near done the more there was to do. Just keep after it and it'll come together. It looks cool enough now patina'd so if it were me I'd get it all running and right before i painted it. Again, nice work!

not painting the car but, it will get a touch up or two and a matter clear finish , insides will be painted nice

Looking great. Cant wait to see the finished product

Yeah, still have it .. car that ate my brain , the amount of money it has taken to get this far is crazy .. lol , thanks for all the nice comments, everyone

Looks great. Those projects are wallet killers! Everything has to be custom since nobody sells parts for that car. Takes a lot of stamina to finish a project like that. They wear you out, every time you turn around you have to fab something, modify something, tweak something, etc.

the "bolt on" parts that come without "bolts" [or instructions, or ?????]..........

Depending on what you are buying, a lot of parts are available in Australia for something like that. Probably the biggest hurdle is finding a decent tailgate shell. Most of the Australian examples are rusted out.

What are the front seats out of ?

Great build!

1967 Ambulance I found at a swap meet


I want blinds for it , that's a Australian thing, not available here .. never been able to get my hands on a set , guess shipping is a issue

Mounted this stuff , going to re-do the aluminum square into something funny for a handle ..

Very cool ride!! Great project of a different flavor - wagons are cool!!!

Thanks for the info !!

work in progress

Underbelly

Coming along Big D. Get some safety loops on the front ladder bar joints.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

they are there, just hard to see

Wow, how cool. I didn't realize you still had this and for some reason thought you sold it.

Love the curved seat belt crossbar in the roll cage. Need to do that to mine.

No, still have it .. not going to give up , it should make noise soon. List of parts is pretty slim now. but, seems that I have to place an order a day for things I've forgotten.

Progress is a good thing. We are all waiting to see the end result.

The complete end will be a bit yet but, it should run soon .

dad, what size tubing is your diagonal bar, and what size heims are used on it ?
TIA.

Been long time since I bought it but, pretty sure this is it

https://www.cachassisworks.com/p-28...suspension-12-and-58-clevis-bolt-on.aspx

thanks.

Great build! My middle older brother's first car was a Dart wagon much like this. Fun to see one.

Totally agree with the comment above...this would be a great drag week-type vehicle.

When I started the build a decade ago , that was the idea and still is ..but, this engine probably not up to the task. ..get it running, , maybe put together a different combo that could survive.

nos

Looking pretty skookum!

Love the overflow bottle!

thanks , got to have a few funny things on it ..

it will probably fire up by Friday , list is fairly short of things to do now

halo

So, it's got "Nawse" ! Love it.
I like to do something humorous on my non-stock stuff, too...
Racecar had the "regular burnouts" emissions sticker on its left apron.
Tailgate of my GMC 454 Dually has - the only nameplate on the thing - a badge from a Saab that says "16 valve".

I have a few more things to add yet , just don't get crazy

Dana all finished up , need a torque tube yet

it runs , if it wasn't sloppy out could drive it , well the windshield is still out so need googles

Drive it to Fergens!

Be a bit on chilly side currently

I like this one

Put it on the scales , weighed 2850 .. less driver , windshield still out

SAWZALL TIME

build bigger motor and I need to diet way before cutting car up

I wish my Dart was 2850, in street trim without me it weighs 3160#.

OK now you talking, Nitrous Big Block??

Not much room , even the small block is tight fit .. don't want to whack inner fenders out , etc or , I sure would of went big block in the beginning

but, could do a procharger or something at some point

R5P7...

Kevin

Headers are really tight

bigdad , this makes anything fit

You caused a blade shortage

don't forget, "if all else fails......get a BIGGER hammer.".............

They're about the size of a big block :-D

Nice update! I didnt realize it was so close to being done.

Yeah, just need to fluff up insides a bit ..

My 1st step into 904 life , looks like its going to start off with a shaky beginning .. built by a reputable guy and its not doing what you want a transmission to do ..

Bummer...

"cough" POWERGLIDE "cough"

Mopar only in my stuff

what ain't it doing right dad ?

Brand new built by a Mopar pro .. 4 neutrals and leaks like a sieve

hmm, not good..........

Really like your build. Love the color and the year Valiant. Hope you keep posting your progress.

Thanks , will do .. going backwards for a bit now ..

https://www.facebook.com/100025301865148/videos/1746194025777541/

Sucks you have to deal with this stuff. Most of us aren’t 1%ers, and it takes a lot to save up, for what you think is good stuff, for these projects. When it doesn’t work properly, it sucks the life out of you. It’s worse when the phone call to the supplier of those parts, isn’t easy to deal with…. You’ll get it. Spring is around the corner. Get Betty White out to the track, have a beer and roller dog with some buddies, and remember, this hobby is supposed to be fun.

Yeah, it knocks the wind out and on top of that got my hospital bill .. oooofta



I'll keep fighting it , 67 needs a little attention too

Don’t make me come up there……

if this problem would not of shown up, it would be done in couple weeks now, who knows .. everyone is telling me 904 parts are scarce , should of stayed with my 727

don't remind me about those things dad !
i'm all too familiar with those...............

Hell froze over ..


I took it for a little ride yesterday , yes it actually does run and drive

Now to clean up some inside , trying to find someone to make door panels , hood looks to be able to clear the carb ok, with air cleaner on ..


iI have a new windshield and gasket to install, going to paint dash 1st

Oh, looks like I knew already what was in store for me ..


Thanks John Cope for providing me with a completely useless pos transmission

Did your guy get everything resolved in it?

It has 3 forward and 1 reverse now .. gave it a quick run up and down road

How did it run?

just got on it a bit, felt pretty strong

I should say , recover door panels .. seems everyone thinks I mean make them out of aluminum .. no, want it to look somewhat stockish

Awesomeness!

Lol

not far off .. lol

Would you at least turn on the neon before taking a pict!?!?

Day time and my VP sign took a dump , think its the starter .. have to see if its fixable

Here is a( mostly) completed picture of this area .. ignore air cleaner , that was only on when I took it to alignment shop to avoid another disaster!

Looking good BD!

That is nice & tidy in there , are yo using coil overs in front ? No shocks is sparking this question . Gary

It has a Alterkation front end , coil overs and Wilwood's on all 4

Thanks , will be great to drive when done . Gary

Lit neon for j

Does it now move under it's own power?

Yes, it does ..

Good. Time to put the bad behind you, and get that thing done!

It just needs some cosmetic stuff done , most of it is interior. , I have a new windshield and gasket. once the dash, etc is painted can put that in .. I have a punch list of small things to do , I have a vidoe of it moving under its own power but, no idea how to conver that to something to post

Easy to post on BookFace...

don't use my phone for facebook ,

Can upload it to youtube and add a link. Congrats on nearing the end of that long road.

finding someone to recreate door panels looks to be my next hurdle

but, I can at least hear it run !

( sounds good )

The inside cleanup , roll bar is painted looks decent enough

two doors down

The headlights are really bright

I might do something here yet

what did you use for those headlights ?

Are those LED lights and if so is that the high beams?.......I like it

I'd have to dig thru the receipts for which one I bought ,, can't remember the brand .. they were $325 for the pair , they have a white halo .. yeah, that's on bright ..