About 20 years ago, John Marquette was looking for a Mopar convertible. A friend told him he knew someone who was considering selling a 1964 Plymouth Valiant Convertible. They met up at a car show, and after careful consideration, John decided the price was right and he brought it home.

At the time, fall weather was approaching, and John knew it would be a good time to get the Valiant into the garage to work out the bugs over the winter. It didn’t take long for the Valiant to earn its nickname, Leaky, because anything and everything that could leak—leaked!

According to John, the convertible top leaked, so it got replaced. Just about every seal on the car had to be replaced. All of the door and trunk seals were replaced. There was an extensive list of leaks: heater core, oil seals, speedo housing at the transmission, differential, gas tank, and the brakes. All of these leaks were addressed, and eventually, Leaky was no more!

The 170-cubic-inch small slant 6 engine, with a single-barrel carburetor, hasn’t been touched. John says the engine delivers 101 horsepower, and it is still in fine shape. The ignition has been upgraded to a Pertronix electronic setup. The transmission is the same, three-speed (three on the tree), again not rebuilt, and the differential is also stock.

John repaired the brakes and added new wheel cylinders; the brake shoes and lines were replaced. The car has four-wheel manual drum brakes. Most of the repairs were basic fixes, maintenance and upkeep. The tires on the car are 13-inch radials, on stock rims. They handle much better than bias ply tires.

Where John did the heaviest work was on the Valiant’s interior. The seats have been reupholstered, with factory correct fabric by M&M Glass, in Midlothian. The dashboard has been repainted. John added seat belts. The original AM radio has been modified by Ralph the Radio Guy out of Chicago. The factory Radio has had the internal workings removed and fitted with an AM/FM receiver with Bluetooth capabilities. While it looks just like a factory unit, John says he can make phone calls from it! All of the gauges are original; the only one that needed to be repaired was the speedometer, which is still a bit off, but it’s functional.

Back in 1964, the Valiant was the lowest-priced Plymouth at the time, $1,920 for a “Plain Jane,” to $2,475 for a fully loaded model. The only options that came with John’s Valiant were the AM radio and reverse lights. The car is basic transportation, with no power brakes, air conditioning, or power steering.

A MOPAR man through and through, John’s daily driver is a 2023 Dodge Challenger. A member of the Frankfort Car Club, John says he doesn’t get to as many car shows and cruise nights as he would like, but he’s hoping to get to more next year. He also has another project, a 1970 Challenger, which he’s hoping to have completed soon.

John really likes the reliability of his car. He says that you just turn the key and it starts right up.

Only 2,600 Valiant convertibles were built for the 1964 model year. As far as John knows, he was told the previous owner bought the car from the original owner in Southern Illinois, making John only the third owner.

If you have a car you would like to see featured in Classic Wheels, contact Rudy Host, Jr. at Classic.Wheels.Rudy@gmail.com.