Plymouth believably wishes it had a car like the 1963 - 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet today . Introduced as one of the Big Three ’s newfangled 1960 compact , Valiant did good business throughout its long life , which ended in 1976 . Without it , Plymouth would have come far worse than it did in some long time , particularly 1962 .

That , of line , was the year Plymouth suffered a mighty sale coast with stock cars that looked like Valiants and were n’t much larger . But it was also when Plymouth fielded a bucket - seat Valiant hardtop coupe call Signet .

Neither Chevy ’s Corvair Monza , which had uncovered the sportsmanlike - compact food market , nor Ford ’s Falcon had anything quite like it , yet model - yr sales were n’t arresting at some 25,600 .

Still , gaudy compact were catch on fast , and the 1963 Plymouth Valiant Signet kept pace . It even set the stride in some ways . Where Corvair and Falcon again wore facelifts , Valiant styling was all - newfangled – cleaner , though jolly less classifiable than the year before .

Lead metre being what they were in those days , it was the piece of work of Virgil Exner and not his replacement , Elwood Engel , who did n’t exert serious influence on Chrysler Corporation styling until 1965 . Perhaps Exner was hurt by criticism – or slow sales – of his late travail , for the 1963 Valiant was astonishingly ceremonious in both mannequin and item .

Though overall length was up two inches on an unchanged wheelbase , the 1963 Plymouth Valiants looked smaller than former single , thanks to more adequate hood / deck of cards proportion and lash out or else of sharp contours . Simplicity was a earmark , from a Modern dual - headlight front to a tidy tail with just a intimation of flipper .

Signet piece on a " 200 " postfix , and the familiar hardtop coupe was join by a nifty new sofa bed , pit a 1962 Corvair offering . The ragtop repeated with a judiciary butt in the mid - range V200 line , which along with the fundament V100 series offered two- and four - door sedan and a four - door wagon . Valiant would keep this basic lineup through 1966 .

There was no want to exchange the successful valorous human body , so the 1963s retain Chrysler ’s renowned torsion - bar front temporary removal , received 101 - HP 170 - cid Slant Six , optional 145 - H.P. " Super 225 " six , and pick of three - on - the - tree manual of arms or optional pushbutton TorqueFlite automatic .

signet remained the brightest and sportiest Valiants , with extra chrome accents at heart and out , plus limited wheel covers and all - vinyl group pail - seat inside . A great power top was optional for the convertible in lieu of the received manual affaire .

In all , not very exciting perhaps , but Valiant ’s primary deputation was reliable economy transportation , which it delivered . The 1963s were priced a few dollars below comparable 1962s and shared in Chrysler ’s unexampled incarnate - wide 5 - year/50,000 - mile powertrain warranty , an manufacture first designed to come through back purchaser put off by the so - so craft of recent Highland Park Cartesian product .

This , together with the new styling , boost valorous volume by more than two - thirds to over 225,000 . signet describe for about 18 percent – good but not capital even reckon some raw 1963 competition , not the least being Dodge ’s fashionable Dart GT .

See how the Plymouth Valiant story keep with the 1964 poser yr and beyond in our next section .

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Continued

There were two big newsmakers for the 1964 Plymouth Valiant Signet . One was Valiant ’s first V-8 option , the okay 180 - horsepower 273 deduct from Chrysler ’s new - propagation 318 and also offered for Dart .

But from midseason , the 273 was also available in a fastback Valiant derivative , the Barracuda . Though Signet hardtop sales were n’t directly affected , Barracuda did about two - third as well despite its short selling time of year , a sign of things to hail .

Another mild face lift occurred for 1965 , when the late twelvemonth ’s full - breadth horizontal - cake grille yield way to a busier three - division treatment . The V-8 was heated up to 235 HP as a new choice , but Valiants offer up nothing like the Formula S performance - and - treat package available for Barracuda , which was now separated from the Valiant line and outsold the Signet hardtop by upright than 5 - to - l.

Overall , Signets garnered just eight percent of Valiant ’s reduced 167,000 - unit model - year intensity .

A squarish new front with split grille arrive for 1966 , the last twelvemonth for the canonic 1963 Valiant design , and a more courtly - looking hardtop roofline could be freshly crest with a vinyl top . Signet sales went up a bit , but overall valorous product was the lowest since 1961 : 138,000 , versus over a quarter - million just two days before .

Then came cautiously styled all - young 1967s that turn back Valiant completely to its original economic system - compact role . Wagons went away , hardtop and convertibles became Barracudas , and Signet was just a well - shave pair of sedan chair above V100s . The name go away after 1969 , thus end Valiant ’s brief fling with mutation .

Find specifications for the 1963 - 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet in our final section .

1963, 1964, 1965, 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet Specifications

The 1963 - 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet was one of the Big Three ’s unexampled compact at the time , and it assist keep the automaker ’s sales up during what might have been lean days . recover spec for the 1963 - 1966 Plymouth Valiant Signet below .

Specifications

Engines : ohv I-6 , 170 Criminal Investigation Command ( 3.40 x 3.13 ) , 101 horsepower ; 225 cid ( 3.40 x 4.13 ) , 145 H.P. ; ohv V-8 , 273 cid ( 3.63 x 3.31 ) , 180/235 horsepower ( 1964 - 1966 )

Transmissions:3 - speed manual , 3 - speed TorqueFlite reflexive

Suspension front : upper and lower A - arm , longitudinal crookedness bars , anti - roll legal profession

suspension system rear : alive axle on semi - elliptic leafage springs

Pteridium aquilinum : front / rear drums

Wheelbase ( in.):106.0

weight unit ( lbs.):2,570 - 2,830

Top speed (mph): 90-105

0 - 60 miles per hour ( sec):10.0 - 20.0