I am by no means an expert, and I cannot make any claim to accuracy for the materials that I have used to make these articles. In some cases, the journals go back 50 years, and I nearly cringe each time I open them as they appear so fragile. I could choose to copyright, but I do not, as I feel that this material should be sent far and wide as to show DaimlerChrysler that PLYMOUTH should be allowed to survive, and finally stand on its own! This is designed for the reading pleasure of folks that love MoPars. Any resemblance to persons, places, things or dates is purely coincidental. If you like what you are reading, please make sure to contact Dr. David Zatz, or leave me an email message "plymouth4ever@msn.com." Thanks for your many kind comments.

Last but not least, contact CHRYSLER directly and let them know that killing PLYMOUTH is a huge marketing mistake! Thanks for your many kind comments. Mail Letters to: Mr. Robert J. Eaton, Mr. Jurgen E. Schrempp, Co-Chairmen, DaimlerChrysler AG, World HQ USA, Auburn Hills, Michigan, 48326-2766.

Installment VIII, Section 1: With a View to a Kill

Dodge went after Plymouth in a big way. It probably had to in order to insure its own survival, however, you would think a brother would be more considerate of another. Aren't "families" wonderful?

The model year roll out for the 1960 Chrysler models occurred on October 9, 1959. The big news from the "Big Three" automakers was the introduction of "small" companion cars to go along with the bigger models.

Chevrolet introduced the radical Corvair which featured an aluminum 6 cylinder rear engine layout. Ford introduced the Falcon, which was a conventional layout with a coffee grinder straight 6 cylinder engine. its sales took off for the stratosphere from the first night. Chrysler had its Valiant. It was conventional in layout, but actually was extraordinary in its new features.

Grandpa drove up from Florida again to "unretire" himself, at least for the beginning of the selling season. His barely used 1959 Imperial was coveted by many customers who knew us. The luxury side of the market, where Imperial lived didn't come off too bad in its redesign. It was smoother looking, but, huge in proportions. The grille however, had a sort of contorted smile look to it, and detracted from the rest of the car. As for luxury items, the Imperial lacked for nothing. Power came from a 413 cubic inch engine with 350 horse power, and a stump pulling torque of 430 foot pounds at 2300 rpm.

The new Chryslers were a work of art. The proportions were just right, and it had a sort of square jawed look that imparted masculinity. The fins were upswept and part of the design of the body line. The cars looked every bit as good as the 1957s had. Underneath the beauty was the muscle of the first unit body built by Chrysler. Engineers had discovered that the outer body panels did not have to be part of the inner structure to give it strength. That was part of the reason that Hudson and earlier unit body builders had so much trouble redesigning their cars.

The Chrysler 300 "F" was again introduced later in the model year. It hit the showrooms on January 8, 1960. Purists point to the "F" as the "last" of the pure letter cars. I will say this: Of all the makes and models of all the cars that Chrysler ever built, my all time favorite, hands down, no questions asked, kick ass with no names taken, top of the list, absolute never to be refused for anything else model is the 1960 300 "F."

We all have experiences in our lives where you can always recall exactly where you were along with your surroundings when that event happened. My parents could always recall when news of F.D. Roosevelt's death came. I can always recall where I was when President J.F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas. It was like that with the first 300 F that I ever saw. I was instantly taken and still remain so to this very day. Any 300 F is just the best in my book. Quote me if you like.

The first 300 F model I got to see was a special order placed by our attorney. For the first time since 1929, he would not be taking a DeSoto. His wife would only drive the car if it had a white interior. As I said, in the 50s and 60s if you knew who to get in touch with, anything could be done. You see, white was not a standard interior for the 300. But Dad put the number "888" on the order form, and 7 weeks later, a Blue 300 "F" 2 door hardtop, with a white interior rolled off the truck into our delivery yard. It caused a stir of excitement just by being there. It had the first ram induction engine layout that anyone at our dealership had seen as well. When the hood got opened, it was if a hypnotist came around and put everyone under a spell. There was almost a reverence of silence! There was this awesome.... thing! It was the standard 375 horsepower model, but with the ram tuning, torque was up so that the F model was quick! However, selling ram induction to a regular customer in another car was something else. Granted, the sight of all that "plumbing" that splayed the carburetors out to the fender wheels was purely awesome.

It was again a case of Chrysler engineering going over and beyond expectations. It seemed to scare a lot of regular customers. Even if adding ram induction was a low cost option, a lot of customers did not opt for it. We had one guy that insisted it was a supercharger that had just been well disguised at the factory. No way to unconvince him as he just wouldn't believe what we told him. He took a regular 4 barrel. So it went with a lot of customers. Particularly fleet customers like Law Enforcement stayed away from the induction system. Too technical, too expensive, too complicated, and too much tuning for a fleet to handle.

In reality the system was very simple, and didn't require much more attention than any other multiple carburetion system. The biggest complaint, of course, was changing spark plugs for tune ups. If the vehicle had the ram induction system, spark plug changing could be challenging, even to our technicians. They didn't like it much, even for all the good power it created in midrange operation, the tubing was formidable in appearance, keeping a lot of folks away from it.

The rest of the Chrysler line was well made over. About the only model that did not quite match to the new design were the four door hardtops. There seemed to be a styling conflict between the roof and the body area where it meet with the sculptured side of the fin. Besides having the standard ram inducted 375 horsepower V-8, there was an optional engine that put out 400 horsepower. However, not many of these engines were ever produced for use by the public. Purely, they were all out performance products, that would not be tolerable to live with for any sort of daily driving.

Supposedly you could also get a four speed manual transmission as well. These were French built units from Pont-a-Mousson which was the French firm that built the Facel Vega cars utilizing Chrysler engine power. There seems to be some disagreement on the number of 400 horse, 4 speed cars Chrysler built that year. There are 7 that have been positively traced, however, strong rumors persist that a total of 9 were actually built. As to the whereabouts of the untraced 2, that is anyone's guess. Maybe one of those miracles will still take place where someone opens an old run down garage and there sits one of the 300 Fs that everyone has been looking for. Maybe.

For certain, 6 of the 7 or 9 of the new 300 Fs went to Florida in February. Now, I know that I said that 1957 was about the last year for the Speedweeks in a previous installment. Well, it was officially no longer recognized. Sort of banned, in effect. However, NASCAR was not, and the madness on the sand went right on, unofficially of course.

1957, 1958 and 1959 were challenging years for NASCAR, as well as the entire American automobile industry at large. However, with Bill France completing the building of the Daytona Beach, Florida, 2.5 mile race track in 1959, NASCAR was getting some good attention. This was the first super speedway. Bill France should be credited with a stupendous vision. Nothing like the "modified" tri-oval track had ever been built before. its turns were banked at 31 degrees. They would have been steeper, but the construction equipment at that time wouldn't stay upright on anything steeper.

As a prelude to the actual race itself in 1959, NASCAR heavily promoted the "assault on the beach" which was sort of a throw back to the old sand races and time trials of previous years. Chrysler hardly participated in 1959. How things can change in one year though. Chrysler assaulted the Beach in February 1960 with 6 big 300 Fs. Henry Ford II was openly contemptuous of the AMA and its racing ban. He, then President of the AMA, came out and openly declared that he was "going to ignore the provisions of the AMA ban, and go racing in any manner he saw fit." His reasoning was sound. Neither he, nor Chrysler ever paid too much attention to the AMA ban to begin with. Only General Motors observed its provisions to the letter.

It is a widely held truth that Henry Ford II put together the ban to consternate General Motors to begin with. Whatever, it worked because Chevrolet and Pontiac for a couple years were fairly dormant in their racing efforts. Chrysler kept its hand in by development of "Police" components and "Export" parts. Ford was doing exactly the same, and more by openly developing engines designed especially for NASCAR, particularly the new "super" speedway, such as Daytona Beach. To keep pace with Ford, whatever a NASCAR team needed, Chrysler truly did strive to develop it.

As an example of how Chrysler was operating then, a certain big camshaft manufacturer was grinding a model for the big V-8s that was putting out some tremendous numbers. Rather than go through the fits and jerks of trying to make a camshaft like that of their own, Chrysler simply bought it from the manufacturer, put their own parts number on it, and stuck in the parts bin as one of their own! This was smart marketing because the over the counter price was less expensive that if Chrysler had built it. That, my friends, is the way Chrysler should have been operating all the time. In a way, Chevrolet, recognizing the potential for its V-8 in 1955, did exactly that. They made parts and bought aftermarket parts for racers from anybody, selling them as their own through a separate marketing component. Finally, Chrysler, through the "Direct Connection" component began to compete with GM and Ford on the aftermarket basis. Today, you are beginning to see more and more MoPar engines in the racer's world of sprint, outlaw, and stock modified cars.

Chrysler's arrival at Daytona with 6 mighty 300s sent a ripple through the whole automotive world. "Here we go again. Chrysler is back, and I think they are pissed off this time," is what one automotive wag is reported to have said. The prevailing attitude was that Chrysler was there to raise hell and smash every record that needed to be smashed. Maybe the 400 horsepower rating satisfied NASCAR and the general public. However, in anyone's mind that knew the stuff of engines, Chrysler was packing at least 500 horsepower out of those 413s. They showed it very well. Top speed record: 144.927 miles per hour. None of the 300s were less than 141 miles an hour. [This same car was shipped back to Michigan for trials at the Chrysler Proving Grounds. There the "velvet beast" ran out to a booming 157 miles per hour! ]

Included this time among the smiling congratulatory faces in the group of engineers was no one less than my cousin, James. His work over the past two years with Plymouth won him a place alongside Chrysler's best. He was also working hard with the Ray Nichels group in that they held control of all the performance parts for Chrysler cars.

Tom McCaHill, of Mechanix Illustrated called the 300 a "Velvet beast, built for the connosouier of speed." He personally bought a 300 F, praising its superior handling abilities. In a later issue of Mechanix Illustrated, he related how that very same handling quality saved his life one foggy night on a Florida highway. He was traveling at a speed will above the posted limit, at a very early hour of the night. The fog was spotty. He crossed a bridge, entered a spot of patchy fog, emerging into a clear spot when saw something blocking the entire road. He slammed on the brakes, spun the steering wheel, putting the 300 into a long sideways controlled slide that he was able to keep balanced by using brakes and accelerator. He came to a stop some 20 feet from an overturned tractor trailer. He credited the suspension of that 300 with keeping him alive. He was emphatic when he said that "no other automobile built in America could have done what I made that 300 do that night!"

The only area of deficiency were the brakes on the standard 300. Several automotive magazines really "dinged" Chrysler about them. While they were poor in performance, they were, at the time, some of the best Detroit had to offer. Now that is one scary thought! The technology was there to correct the brakes, yet, Chrysler did not act. Surely a combination of synthetic lining material could have been concocted to satisfy both the requirements for tremendous stopping power, without the erratic behavior of the non-organic linings of the Police brakes. Unfortunately, the center plane design would continue on until 1963... yet new technology to cure such an ailment was already in place on one of Chrysler's own models! Utter chaos.

DeSoto arrived dead at our store, as it did all over the country in 1960. Yet the 60 was a fine looking car. It was attractive mainly because it looked like a Chrysler. In fact, way too much. After so many years as a fine automobile, able to equate with Oldsmobile or Mercury, Chrysler just did not know how to market poor DeSoto.

The 1960 car had only two models. One was the 126 inch wheelbase Adventurer, which had given up all pretense of being an exclusive high performance model. All the 126 inch wheelbase cars were Adventurers. The next model were the 122 inch wheelbase Fireflites. You had to ask, why bother? With the usual enthusiasm, ChryCo Board announced proudly now that a "new alliance" had been created. Right after the model introduction ChryCo combined DeSoto with Chrysler and Plymouth, creating the Chrysler-DeSoto-Plymouth Division. Suffering from the humiliation of having to close its own production facility and give up its own Division Headquarters in 1959, this was just more independence lost. It was about all over except the burial at that point.

Two engine sizes were available. The 361 cubic inch with a two barrel that put out 265 horses. Or a "RB" 383 cubic inch shared with Chrysler. You could get three different levels of performance with the 383. One was a two barrel version that had 295 horses. The next was a 4 barrel set up that delivered 325 horsepower. Like a slap in the face, the final humiliation was that you had to special order the big engine for the Adventurer. Totally unlike its previous history where the Adventurer came fully loaded. With two ram inducted 4 barrel carburetors, the 383 was rated at 330 horsepower.

Sales were underwhelming. My Dad kept telling me not to back fill the slots that we had sold from inventory with the DeSoto models. He explained that if DeSoto wasn't killed off this year, we would be lucky to see it in 1961. He was afraid that Chrysler wouldn't pay us for the fees we charged on a car that was "dead." Turned out he was right when the 1961 model died near after childbirth. We got stuck with 3 1961s. Good ol Chrysler.

And then there was Dodge in all its glory. Two sizes, no waiting... well that is what I wanted to say. If it hadn't been for the impending lawsuit filed by our attorney, we might not have had the Dodge, or if we did, then we might not have had the Plymouth cars in 1960. ChryCo board had announced the split of divisions in late summer of 1959, letting Dodge move into the low priced field, right alongside Plymouth. Fools over in marketing were stupidly trying to enforce the pronouncement to the letter. Independents like my Dad were not affected by the move. In any event, all of a sudden there they were.

The new Plymouth size car was called the "Dart." It rode on a 118 inch wheelbase, and was offered in three levels of trim. The base car model was the Seneca. The middle upgrade was named the Pioneer. The high trim model was tabbed the Phoenix. (Dodge arising from its own ashes in the low price class?)Outright, it was a damned good looking automobile, even if I do say so myself.

However, Dodge didn't do all things like they should have in 1960. Again, marketing blundered. The senior makes, the so called "big" Dodge were not badged with the familiar names of Coronet, Royal, Custom Royal and Lancer. In their place were two models called "Matador" and "Polara." They rode on the 122 inch wheelbase. Their design was like an over done Dart. For some reason, while they certainly resembled each other, the "big" Dodge did not wear the design as well. That along with the renaming of the car models created a lot of confusion with customers. That is, until they saw the Dart. More than a few thought the Dart was the new Plymouth! Ouch! Too bad it wasn't.

Engine choices in the Dart started out with the new "slant" six. Chrysler engineers had taken the Valiant bound 170 cubic inch overhead valve canted six cylinder and created a whole new engine for the bigger cars. They accomplished this by raising the block height and then stroking the rod length to create the 225 cubic inch canted six engine. The 225 was available across the board in any model in the Dart.

A step up was the now corporate built 318 cubic inch 2 barrel V-8 which had grown out of the rebore of the Canadian sourced 303. The 318 was introduced in 1957 as the high performance Fury engine. With the two barrel, the 318 had an output of 230 horsepower. A dealer installed option was the Power Pak which consisted of a 4 barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and a remade distributor. That raised power to 260 horsepower.

The next engine was the 361 cubic inch V-8. This could be had in the two barrel version with 265 horsepower. Or you could put a four barrel on it, with dual exhausts, and achieve 305 horsepower. There was also another option that was not put in the customer books. It was a dealer installed unit that consisted of a set of twin 4 barrel carburetors on a special manifold. Not many takers, but it was an option. Previous editions of this same unit on other 361 engines claimed 340 horsepower! Marketing probably didn't want to detract from the ram induction concept.

Ultimate power was developed with the 361 and two ram inducted 4 barrel carburetors that raised output to a claimed 310 horsepower. No doubt it was a bit higher. The one thing that Dodge did that raised a few eyebrows was to make the 383 cubic inch engine available in the Dart for Police Pursuit packages, only, supposedly. The 383 with a 4 barrel put out 325 horsepower. With the twin 4 barrel ram inducted tubes on the 383 it reportedly developed 330 horsepower. This must have been a real screamer in a Dart! Yes, the 361 ram induction was also available as a Police Option. This was another bullet aimed at Plymouth's gut.

The 1960 Plymouth was sort of a sorry looking car. Especially after the stupendous looks of the 1957. The massive appearing grill had a permanent frown look to it. At the rear, the soaring tail fins resembled sharks slipping along under water. Automotive wags, copying the 1957 ads touting that "suddenly it is 1960," said of the 1960, "suddenly its 1957!" That is sort of what it looked like. Some attempt at revival of the outstanding 1957 lines. It didn't work. The front wheel well was topped off by a curvature that started at the tip of the headlamps and ended at the bottom of the wheel opening. It made no sense and somehow detracted from the overall appearance of the Plymouth car.

Of the car itself, underneath, it was the exact same car as the Dodge Dart. It rode on a 118 inch wheel base. The engine line up started with the 225 cubic inch "slant" six. Chrysler also designed a Torqueflite transmission especially fitted to the slant six engine line. It was available on any six in any line. Plymouth made that engine available on all models, except the Fury convertible, and the big 9 passenger wagon. Those models were equipped with the 2 barrel 318 as the base engine. Dart did not have a corresponding station wagon. Why Plymouth didn't offer the six in the convertible while Dart did is a divisional thing.

The next step up was the 318 which in base form put out 230 horsepower. A power pak option was available from dealers that put a four barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and reworked distributor on the 318 for 260 horsepower. Unlike Dart, Plymouth skipped the 2 barrel 361, going right to the 305 horsepower 4 barrel engine. It also offered the ram induction for the 361, which Plymouth named "SonOramic Commando. (Who ever thought of these names....?) A late year introduction was the Dodge built 383 cubic inch engine with a four barrel or ram induction with two four barrels. Chrysler needed more engine on NASCAR tracks for the Petty's to run, so they had to build so many 383 equipped cars. It didn't stop there.

Fleet sales as usual took off rather well. More and more police departments and taxi fleets were moving to Plymouth. Taxi fleet managers were wild about the strength and the unimagined economy of operating the new 225 six cylinder. It had great torque so it could move quickly while carrying heavy loads. Yet, it consistently delivered 20 to 22 miles per gallon in the rigors of city operations.

The new unibody made all the Chrysler lines ride solid, rigid, and silent with no rattles or squeaks. To achieve this in a fleet car was truly astounding. It was along those lines that Plymouth set aside a "fleet special" model. It could be a 2 or 4 door and had the engine choice of the 225 six or the 318 V-8. No one knows exactly how many left the factory as "special cabs." However, it was the right time with the right car with the right equipment pleasing to a fleet manager's hard heart. Plymouth cabs were everywhere!

Dodge tried to follow, but the new Dart line was yet unknown to a manager that had to explain operation bottom lines. Fleet managers tend to be very loyal to a good brand, and Plymouth had always been good to the fleets!

The State Police solicited the usual units for testing in their bid. We sent over 4 Plymouths to test. We could have just as well sent Darts too because the prices were exactly the same! However, the "fleet special" also applied to the Police Pursuit versions of Plymouth. They were some 70 dollars less expensive per unit if you bought more than 5 units together on the same order. Dodge had not quite figured out all the angles of this fleet business at the bottom end of the scale, however, they were learning fast. For now, the Plymouth was the only one available as a "fleet special." I am positive that it made a fleet manager stand a bit taller knowing that Chrysler was building something just especially for them.

Ford made a surprising move on fleet sales for 1960. More than likely it was because their new 60 Ford was in trouble, much like the 1958 models. I called them the "sleepy eyed specials." If you look at the front of the 1960 Ford, the grille makes it look like its about to fall asleep, but like a child it is fighting it. In a through thrashing the State Police again choose Plymouth as their squad cars. The chosen model was the fleet special four door with AM radio (a first)! heater/defroster, heavy duty suspension with sway bars, police brakes, [which oddly were the 12 inch drums from the Chrysler car with the non-organic (metallic) linings. Dodge, even on the Dart, offered 11 inch brakes from the DeSoto with the same linings of course. Just an oddity that had been there from the start with the 1957 Plymouth pursuits. They were mighty powerful even for a drum set up] heavy duty Torqueflite transmission, sure grip differential with 3.21 gears, power steering, power brake booster, and heavy duty electrical system with a 75 amp hour alternator.

The State Troopers wanted 1,350 of the new pursuits. We made arrangements to drive to the State Capital this year to effect delivery at the State Police Headquarters. It was my idea, and everyone was wondering why we hadn't done it before. It saved the handling at our store. It also saved the State Police money because we didn't charge the "set up" fee for putting on the lights, sirens, antennas and two way radio that we used to do at 100 dollars a car. I also got to stay at the State Capital for two weeks, and met quite a few of the Troopers high brass.

Uncle Harlan came through for his new fleet and choose the Plymouth. However, the Sheriff, instead of taking the state bid, opened it up for competition. He got stuck with Fords. These were the Custom 300 with the 352 Interceptor V-8. They had basically all the same things as the Plymouth, except they had been bid in at $1,759.00 a car, set up from the factory. That meant the lights, radio wiring, and siren were already on the car. Ford snookered a lot of folks that year. What they "meant" to say is that the "lights" consisted of a single 4 lamp Beacon Ray mounted on the roof. It was the alternating or "eccentric" model where the 4 light unit moved back and forth through an arc of about 100 degrees. We called them the "wobblers" because they appeared to wobble back and forth. The wiring and siren were not included, only the places for hook ups of the wiring and siren were there. OOOps! But the bids were accepted so they got the Fords. The bid that Plymouth made was $1,837.00 per car, less 100 dollars for set up fee for a total of $1,737.00 a car. Up against bids from Ford, Chevrolet, and Pontiac, Plymouth beat them all.

Out in California, it was more of the same for Dodge, again taking the prestigious California Highway Patrol competition. Los Angles City Police choose Plymouths. Los Angeles County Sheriff, which is the second largest department in the nation, outside of New York City, choose Dodge Darts. This represented the first time LASD ever used a Chrysler product. From their inception they had utilized Fords. In 1958 they bought their first, and last Chevrolets, going back to Ford in 1959.

The Dodge Darts were a revelation to the Deputies. Here was full size car that went fast, handled neutrally, and stopped like you had thrown out an anchor. As one deputy noted in a log," this Dodge was the only car that I could operate at high speed with one hand holding the microphone, the other hand holding a doughnut, and steering with my knees." Another noted that "if the guy I was after went through a corner at 80, I could go through it at 90 without any worry."

Plymouth wasn't sleeping while Dodge played, either. In the second round of orders that came through in the Spring of 1960, quite a few of the Pursuits were equipped with 383 cubic inch V-8s. This was not an advertised thing. It was however, a means for Plymouth to get its necessary 500 unit production requirements for NASCAR compliance. The Petty clan had already equipped their 1960 racing units with the big block 383. It helped, but not much. Plymouth contacted the customer for permission to upgrade the 361 V-8 to the 383 (Dodge) big block. This raised the horsepower from 305 to 325. No big deal. However, the torque production flung those pursuits to a 7 second 0-60 time! Top speed was over 130 miles an hour... for a PLYMOUTH! The 361 generated 390 foot pounds of torque at 2800 r.p.m. The big block 383 put out 450 foot pounds at 2500 r.p.m. Quite a difference in power. The State Police accepted the 383 with huge smiles. This would not be the last time that Plymouth bigger engines in their Pursuits, and sometimes, they didn't even tell the customer that they had done it.

Introduced as its own car line was the new smaller car named the "Valiant." Styling was based upon the Exner "S" car that he had secretly designed out of the prying eyes of the ChryCo board. I am not saying that the Valiant was unpleasant in its looks, it was just unlike anything else.

Conventional in layout, the Valiant rode on a 106.5 inch wheelbase. There were two models, the Valiant V100 as the base and the V200 as the upgrade. There were two body styles, a 4 door sedan and a 4 door station wagon. The wagon could be configured to carry 6 or 9 passengers. Transmissions consisted of a floor mounted 3 speed stick or a brand new Torqueflite built just for the Valiant. The case was made from aluminum which made it some 60 pounds lighter than the conventional model.

There were other innovations on the Valiant that would eventually find their way to the rest of the car lines. The biggest news was the switch from a generator in the electrical system to an "alternator." The difference was that instead of making direct current, the alternator made alternating current. It provided electrical flow even at idle speeds, keeping batteries and accessories operating at optimum power.

It had a direct linkage floor shift, the first standard floor mounted shift since 1939. Of course it had the slant six engine that cubic inch for cubic inch developed more torque and power than any other manufacturer's engines. It also had a new design for its brakes, from Bendix. The Bendix design eliminated the need for two brakes cylinders per wheel. It was a duo-servo system, which meant the weight of the car actually helped braking power. The brake drums were flanged on the ends as well as being finned. They were also a full three inches wide! The drum size of the Valiant was 9 inches, however on a 2700 pound car, they were tremendously powerful. The flanging and fins were a boon to prevention of brake fade. Once again, Chrysler had achieved putting good brakes on a car. The only problem was that it would be three full model years before these good brakes found their way to the rest of the car line!

The standard 170 cubic inch engine was rated at 101 horsepower. There was another engine available, again not advertised, but a dealer installed option. It was called the "hyper-pak." It consisted of a 4 barrel carburetor, exhaust headers, reworked distributor, and a larger radiator capacity. It developed 148 horsepower. The first indication of its power and ruggedness was when Lee Petty took a 1960 Valiant with the Hyper-Pak to a victory at Daytona in the "small car class."

The race was run in January, prior to the speed weeks and Daytona 500 miler. In a first, CBS Television decided to air the compact sedan races as well as the qualifying for the Daytona 500 race in a live TV special for CBS's "Sports Spectacular." It was estimated that 17 million people were watching. The compact sedan race quickly turned into a very dull affair as lap after lap Lee Petty managed to turn away all challenges. It was made even duller by the fact that besides his Valiant, the next 14 positions, his "challengers" were also all Valiants! The finishing order was Valiant 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15! Did Chrysler use that for advertising fodder? Nope. Go figure! NASCAR agreed with CBS on the dull part of the race, and quickly canceled any other plans for compact sedan races. Well, not the first time a sanctioning body has changed the rules because Chrysler showed up ready to race.

 

Click here to go back to an annotated index for this series

Main Page Inside Chrysler History End of Plymouth Worldwide

Allpar Chrysler Valiants Books D-500 Museum