Customs From Ugly to Quaint in Only 57 Years

After I attended a couple of "Coffee and Cars" events and stunk up the joint, they created a "VIP" section to prevent this from happening again.

 

I considered buying one in 1961-2. I liked the mechanics, but when they came out with a coupe without altering the roof, I thought they looked a little goofy.

 

Pretty cool. How does it drive? Hub caps original?

 

Australian hemi six

 

Was that engine imported to the USA? The car it's in is a left hand drive.....Is the "Australian Hemi Six for Real or a Myth (or Mythis) ?

 

I saw one in Mexico in a 1948 Plymouth road race car. for real not a myth

 

Myth

 

I am too big to hide in the floor boards but I would for sure wear a bag over my head so no one would see me and know I would drive such an butt-ugly thing like that I do have to admit those slant sixes were pretty tough, I ran a bunch of them in derby cars back in my miss-spent youth

 

A line mechanic at the dealship I worked in had one that was still running with 300,000+ miles on it. He did a "Tune up" with rings and bearings every 100,000 miles.

 

Its nice to see something different. I think its spot on kick ass.

 

OK... Now we're getting somewhere.

 

Not so sure about that..........looks like maybe we have a 'Unicorn' Six....or 'Loch Ness' Six on our hands here...

 

Back when my friend's white Valiant was just 1 year old, during the waning days of summer, three of us piled into it and headed to Lake Okoboji & Arnolds Park for a little fun.
Out of necessity, we were so cheap we slept in the car...... not easy for 3 young strapping youths.
We'd flip coins until "odd man out" got the front seat by himself. I won that distinction both nights, much to the chagrin of the others. Torrential rain made one night a little daunting.
We'd go to the Roof Garden and enjoy the great bands there. (I think it's still in operation)
Also met some nice girls.
Some gang-types there were wearing chains around their necks; so of course we had to get "outfitted" when we got back home. That style didn't last long, as we got to thinking how easy it would be for someone to cinch us up!
Took a week to recover from the trip.

 

For sure, it's so ugly, it's neat! Black paint helps too.

 

Geoff Bodine used to race a Valiant bodied Nascar Modified.

 

Thanks, yes, caps are original to '61.

Cruises pretty good at 60-65.
(soon swapping the rear end for a little higher gear, but not much)





Had fun getting the original radio and speaker restored. Listen to about 1:00 when a good tune kicks in. How it sounded back in the day.

 

Swapped the rear end from a '74 Dart Sport Slant with 2:76 gears. Completely changed the game. Now the Buzzin' Half Dozen purrs like a Singer on the highway.

 

Hi Doc

I feel the same way...as a kid we had 1950's and early 1960's Mercedes Benz's...it was all my dad would work on...I hated them as a kid...today 50 years later...I think they pretty darn neat...yes time does heal...

MikeC

 

Good, I would hate to see that Lancer parked next to a smart car and a gold chain pinky ring yuppie wagon again.

 

These slant 6's haul and were good for smuggling drugs in the 60's no cops would pull you over for sure, definitely a "Mama's car".

 

These cars are affectionately known as toads.
I remember these were favored by little old ladies back when they were fairly new.
This car looks so good in black that I would drive it.

 

Be VERY careful with that 2:76 rear end. Those are the WORST I have ever dealt with. I had to replace the one in my 74 Duster twice and I never raced raced it.

 

Can't forget Tex Smith's famous Slant 6, built in '62-'63.

 

I had a ot '72 Duster with a slant bored 30 over, Offy intake, Holley 4 barrel, headers, 4 speed, with 3.55 sure grip. Great engines little engines.

 

It was at about this time that I lost interest in hot rods for about 40 years.

 

Back in the day these were on the road, my mother-in-law had a puke green Lancer. She and
I worked at Boeing. I drove a 57 Chev. 210 hard top all hopped up. When it snowed here in hilly Seattle in order to keep from driving the 57, I'd go her place and pretend to be a nice guy and help her out by driving her in to work. It was a great driving car, handled the snow just fine and I was her hero (for a day or two anyway).

 

Remember back in the day when I was a gas jockey at a local station. The running joke was if a slant six pulled up you would offer to " fill the oil and check the gas" . They liked to burn oil, but ran forever.

PS Beautiful car. You know if you take off your glasses, move back and squint a little it kinda looks like a Studebaker hawk.!

 

First thing that comes to mind is the old saying "But she has a great personality!".

 

I had a 62 Valiant Hardtop, I had different tastes than most of my friends although my cousin was the second owner after me With a stick and 225 six it didn't do too bad. Transmission wasn't really a drag racing transmission though Sorry no pictures, we didn't have Facebook back then either

 

I guess I'm in the minority here- I think that they're cool cars; the lines are unique and it is a car that will get a crowd whenever you pull into a parking lot.
Back in the Seventies, my neighbor's dad was a Dodge dealership mechanic and he had one, he hauled us boys everywhere in it and let us drive it when we were old enough. It was an off-white bone stock family hauler with a Slant Six and was still in daily use when I left for the Army in 1980. I'd love to get my hands on one.