Hey there great magazine! I just
bought a ’66 Valiant which
was made in Canada. The car
looks more like a U.S. Dart. What
is the difference? When ordering
body parts from the U.S. should I
be ordering for a Dart?
To the best of my knowledge
and memory, yes, the ’66
Canadian Valiant was basically
a Dodge Dart (111˝ wheelbase)
with Valiant badges bolted on. I
think, but I can’t swear, that it was
a U.S.‑built product. Furthermore,
the brand name itself was
Valiant, not Plymouth or Dodge,
a practice that was used for only
one year in the U.S.—1960. In ’65,
however, equivalents to both the
U.S. Valiant and Darts were sold
(106.5˝ and 111˝ wheelbase cars)
and built in Canada (Windsor,
Ontario), differentiated by model/
series designations, but always
under the Valiant marque. Both
used U.S.‑Valiant front‑end sheetmetal,
making for, in the 111˝
version, what was basically, to us
Yanks, a Dart with a Valiant nose
sometimes referred to as a Vlart
or Daliant.
These oddball variations
ended totally by 1967, a result
of APTA being signed into law in
January, 1965, in both countries,
effectively ending cross‑border
tariffs.
At any rate, except for badging,
your car is effectively a ’66 Dart,
so, yes, you’ll be looking for Dart
parts.