About Plymouth 1967
Plymouth introduced the third generation of the Valiant in 1967. It was already a successful model that managed to keep up with the high demand for affordable family sedans. It was a no-nonsense vehicle made for those who didn't want to spend too much on a car but still craved for some comfort features and enough room for five people onboard. But along with that change, the automaker started a series of new updates that continued until it introduced the fourth generation in 1974.
By 1967, Plymouth had a clear image of what customers wanted from the compact-sized Valiant. As a result, the station wagon was ditched, and the hard-top coupe, the convertible, and the newly introduced fastbacks became available as the Barracuda. But the European-flavored Valiant still had a lot to offer in its four-door shape. Chrysler reshaped the vehicle compared to its predecessor and gave it a slimmer vertical slant on the grille. Moreover, for the 1969 model year, that piece was completely removed, leaving the vehicle with a single grille dominated by chromed horizontal slats and flanked by round headlights. The clean design of the vehicle continued on the sides, where the Valiant sported almost flat panels with just two horizontal ribs that started from the front fenders and ran along the bodywork towards the door panels. Vailant's quarter panels covered half of the wheels. It was the era when car designers still struggled to provide more expansive glass areas, so the four-door Valiant greenhouse featured tall windows, covering almost half of the overall height of the vehicle.
Inside, Plymouth offered a choice of bucket seats or a bench seat for the front passengers. In front of them, the dashboard had a clean design, with an upper and a lower line that ran between the A-pillars. Even the instrument cluster was well-organized with rectangular-shaped dials. The automaker kept the column-mounted shifter for the gearbox, and the two-spoke steering wheel was adorned by a half-circle chromed metallic piece for the horn. In the back, Plymouth installed a bench seat fit for three adult-sized passengers, and, thanks to the tall roof, there was enough headroom.
Under the hood, the automaker tried to keep up with the big boys from the muscle-car league and offered the vehicle with a choice of five engines. Still, the most common version of this four-door Valiant was Chrysler's slant-six, 170 cu-in engine (2.8-liter), followed by the 198 cu-in (3.2-liter) version of it. Those looking for a sleeper could still get the car with the 273 cu-in (4.5-liter) LA V8 that Plymouth replaced in 1968 with the 318 cu-in (5.2-liter) LA V8 unit. Power from these engines went to the rear wheels via a positronic (limited-slip) limited-slip differential.