![]() ![]() It’s not the nicest 7th-generation T-Bird I’ve ever seen – that would be the one that belongs to my old high-school buddy Scott, who has owned his since 1989 and kept it flawless – but it’s not bad. The driver’s side seat belt looks frayed and should probably be replaced – technically you’re supposed to replace them every 10-15 years anyway, but who does that? ![]() The floor shifter looks a little weird in there, probably because it’s the same chrome T-handle seen in millions of Mustang IIs and Pintos. The bucket seats and center console are uncommon most Thunderbirds of this era I’ve seen have a split bench and the shifter on the column. The seller calls the upholstery “leather,” but I’m sure it’s actually just vinyl. Fortunately, it doesn’t have a vinyl top even in the desert, a Valiant would find a way to rust out under there. ![]() At first I thought it was primer-gray, but looking more closely, I think it’s actually that robin’s egg blue that you see quite a lot on old Darts and Valiants. Outside, it looks like a typical Arizona car: faded, dull, but not rusty. Best bring one with if you plan to drive it home. The car runs and drives, according to the seller, but it looks like it has given up its battery somewhere along the line. It may or may not have originally had a column shifter it’s hard to tell from the photos. This one has what looks like a Hurst shifter on the floor, which I don’t think came as standard equipment on a ’75 Valiant. I don’t know whether this is a three-speed or a four-speed, but I’m guessing three, since it’s a basic four-door sedan. There’s a lot to like about Chrysler’s A-body: the venerable “Slant Six” engine, a simple but attractive bodystyle, and your choice of either a Torqueflite automatic or – as in this case – a good old manual gearbox. I’ve featured a number of them over the past year and a half here, David drove one through his last winter in Michigan, and the legend that is Project Cactus, while it has a pickup bed and a mirror-image interior, is technically a Valiant. This car should need no introduction to the Autopian faithful. ![]()
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