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The Valiant was introduced in 1959 as a 1960 model, creating its own brand for one brief year. Shortly thereafter, the Valiant became a Plymouth - after 190,000 Valiants were sold (by comparison, Plymouth sold only about 250,000 vehicles) - and a more plush Dodge Lancer version was brought out. Before long (1963), Chrysler dropped the Lancer name, and applied the Dart name (from a 1960 B-body) to the new Dodge compact. By 1963, an Australian version was being made, complete with right-hand drive - and that spawned a variety of new models such as the Valiant Charger, Pacer, and Ute. In South America, there were even more - Coronados and such (see elsewhere on this site). The incredibly popular Plymouth Duster is the only variant that outsold its parent, though its companion, the Dodge Demon, sank quickly (the Dodge Demon may return as a small car with underpinnings shared by Mercedes).
Australian Valiants had Australia-only 215, 245, and 265 inline six Hemis, (loosely) based on US engines, originally meant for trucks, that never saw the light of day; the 265 Charger E49 could run a 14.4 second quarter mile! New Zealand had a unique, higher-power version of the 265 (click for more info). The Valiant line in Australia included both the American-style A-bodies and domestically-designed varieties, such as the Valiant Charger. They also used the standard slant six, 273, and 340. Click here for more information.
South America saw a large variety of rebadged and reshaped Valiants. We’ll be having translations of some of these pages into Spanish soon.
The various North American models were:
| Year | Model | Wheelbase |
| 1960-62 | Lancer and Valiant | 106.5" |
| 1963-66 | Valiant, Barracuda, Dart Wagon | 106" (except Canada) |
| 1963-76 | Dart (except wagon) | 111" |
| 1974-76 | Valiant | 111" |
| 1967-73 | Valiant | 108" |
| 1967-69 | Barracuda | 108" |
| 1970-76 | Duster | 108" |
| 1971-72 | Demon | 108" |
| 1973-76 | Dart Sport | 108" |
The Valiant, Duster, Dart, Lancer, Demon, etc. were all "A-bodies." Four major vehicle platforms used by Chrysler at the time:
The K cars would eventually replace the A (or, by then, M/J) and B bodies.
The prototypical taxi for many years would be the Dodge Diplomat and Plymouth Gran Fury, both essentially fourth-generation Valiants (though officially the A-bodies ended when the F-bodies began, and likewise the M replaced the F - the similarities are fairly strong from F to M and not inconsiderable from A to F), but there were very few Valiant/Dart taxis.
Taxi-historian Mike Sealey wrote: "First-generation Valiants and Lancers were tried as cabs in the US when new, only failing as a result of legroom. From 1962 on, Slant Six B-bodies had all the virtues at very little more expense and almost no more operating costs, and with ample legroom. Even the longer wheelbase 1963 Dart (and Canadian Valiant) were not enough to get cab companies to take a second look at A-bodies... it took a series of smog laws, accompanied by diminishing horsepower ratings and, finally, the 1973 oil embargo, to accomplish that. Chrysler appears to have brought back the A-body taxi package in 1974, the same time they officially released a police package in the A-body range."
The Valiant and Dart station wagons were dropped after 1966, and the Valiant convertible became the Barracuda convertible. Lancer wagons were available in 1961 and 62; Valiant wagons from 1960 to 1966; Dart wagons from 1963-66; Valiant convertibles from 1963-66; and Dart convertibles from 1963 to 1969.
The Lancer was a short-lived Dodge version of the Valiant, given to Dodge dealers due to the incredible runaway popularity of the new small car. We don't have a separate page for the Lancer, but Allpar.com did a comparison of the 1961 Dodge Lancer and the Plymouth/Chrysler/Dodge Neon. We do have a page on the Dart.
The Lancer name came back decades later for the Dodge version of the Lebaron GTS (this Lancer looked exactly like a Sundance). Now, Mitsubishi is using the Lancer name outside the US!
Canadian Valiants started out as Valiants. Then, for reasons explained in our Canadian Valiant page, they became Darts with Valiant grilles and nameplates. During the early years, Chrysler did interesting things with the Valiant in every country, including the US, apparently because their strategic plans had a lifespan of about a year. Click here for more information.
We finally have a page dedicated solely to the Duster, Demon, Twister, and Dart Sport! These were essentially Valiants with rounded rears, but some were available with unique packages (340 or 360 engines for power, gas-saving 38-mpg Feather Duster, etc.).
Early versions of the famed Barracuda were also A-bodies! See Allpar's Barracuda page.
Dana Atchley wrote: the easiest means of telling a 1971 Scamp from a '72 is the front and rear fender lights. In '71 they're set in a recessed metal frame and in '72 (and later) they're only plastic elements screwed to the side of the fender. The taillights in the bumper were one tail/brake lamp per side on 1970 Swingers and 1971-73 Scamps, and two tail/brake lamps per side on 1971-1973 Swingers.
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Dominick's Scamp
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Andy Garland wrote: Chrysler used to get criticized in the 70s for being behind everyone else. They downsized their big cars too late, never really "downsized" their intermediates, waited too long to bring out a subcompact, delayed too long in the "luxury compact" market, etc.
But the Dart SE/Valiant Brougham came out in '74, and the Granada/Monarch were introduced in '75. GM made luxury versions of their Nova, but I don't think these came out until '75, either. Was Chrysler aware of the impending Granada/Monarch, and thought they'd try to beat it to the market by guzzying up the Valiant/Dart? Didn't they do the same thing with the Barracuda, bringing it out a few weeks ahead of the Mustang? By any means, though, the Dart SE/Valiant Brougham are nicer than any Granada or GM X-car I've seen from the period. And while Chrysler never downsized their intermediates to compete with the Malibu/Century/etc., the Diplomat and LeBaron were more than a match for them, and came out a year earlier!
Jim Benjaminson wrote in the Plymouth Bulletin (reprinted by permission):
In its August 1976 issue of Car and Driver, editor William Jeanes reported on a one-off show car built by the good folks over at Plymouth and called the "Fonzmobile." Based on a Duster 360 coupe, the Fonzmobile was built to capilize on the popularity of the televison show "Happy Days." The car featured a flame paint job, lakes pipes exhaust running under the body sill, dummy dual spotlights, wide whitewall tires, baby Moon hubcaps, a fold-down rear seat and a sliding sunroof. At the time, no plans existed to build such a car for public sale. The idea was to entice owners of the 1,173,000 used Dusters and Darts on the market to modify their own cars in similar fashion.
Stan wrote that his 1974 Dart Hang Ten has "Hang Ten" decals, a fold-down rear seat (presumably so surfboards could go through the trunk to the rear seat, a 225 slant six, and a center-console-controlled automatic transmission. vaanth@s3109gdl.atl.hp.com wrote that the Hang-Ten was a special appearance/feature package on the Dart Sport for 74-75. They were Spinnaker white (W1) with the special blue/orange striping and decals. The interior had the white/orange accents. The standard engine was either the 225 or the 318. The 360 was available. The option code was A63.
Chris Krisocki (not the New Jerseyan) spotted a Valiant Super Bee in Mexico, and we let it ride because most unconfirmed sightings turn out to be hoaxes - like the guy who put a "Turbo" sticker onto his 1976 Nova. Then we got a note from Mark Staroselsky, who said he has a 1971 Valiant Super Bee, which he thinks was a Mexican model. It was like the 1972 Scamp, with a 1974 style dashboard and Super Bee logos and stripes. His is red with a white interior, bucket seats, and four speed manual transmission hooked up to a 318.
Special A-body models were made for Europe and South America; these were very similar to the US models in every way except trim and sheet metal. The Charger, in particular, was an imaginative variation on the US Valiant. Click here for more details.
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The Plymouth Valiant / Plymouth Duster site, with Dodge Dart, Barracuda, Scamp, and other Chrysler A-Body coverage
Thanks to Dan Stern for his technical assistance and corrections.