This Classic does not have a FRAME. Those in the Northern states would have their front end stubframe start rusting early and that would throw off the steering. It finally did in my Dodge Dart, which was still operable when I scrapped it. OP’s seems to have escaped that.
However, with a 47 year old car you need to inspect everything, since fixing it underway may be time consuming if anything breaks.
I did the A/C retrofit on my '72 Duster (198 cid slant 6), then I had to upgarde the radiator and fan. Not expensive, but that A/C put quite a bit more heat into the radiator. Just make sure it can handle the heat. Not much fun having to run the heater in the middle of the summer (like I had to do).
You will find out if you have problems when you climb those hills out of Ca. or farther into Ca. Check the radiator from behind it and if you have 5% of the cross fins missing, replace it. Those fins will hide behind the shroud, so you may have to pull it back to see them.
Nice and cool in San Diego. In fact: of all Tijuanas suburbs, I like San Diego the best. South of Miramar, har, har, har. If your engine gets hot going uphill, turn the heater up to full hot and the fan speed to full. So get a few quarts of straight 30 Wt and hit the road.
You sound like Dennis Weaver of Duel; how about if you were threatened by a sicko truck driver ? Regardless of the reliability, I feel unsafe in cars on the highway that can’t perform as well as those around me. I know it’s not a race, I just don’t want to spend too much time waiting for a spare part or dealing with a disadvantaged car if there are other options. You’re not crazy IMO, just a little naive. The stripes should help a lot though !
You probably won’t be able to go as far each day with the Valiant. Driving with the windows or roof down will tire you out more quickly, but I’m sure you remember that from the days when you did drive this car on longer trips. Having AC does make the station wagon a summer car for a long trip.
The only real weak point this car has is the BRAKES…They stink. A quick stop from 60 mph is a white-knuckle affair…
Does it still have 6:50 X 13 tires?? Hopefully those have been upgraded to something like P195/70/13 or 14…
Your valves will be fine…the unleaded/valve thing is an urban legend. You have proved that yourself… Install seat-belts?? Good luck with that…Aftermarket seat-belts disappeared a long time ago…Just drive it!
“If you have never been to Gettysburg or Antietam, do that. The drive from Antietam down to Harpers Ferry is stunning and the history just oozes out at you.”
That’s at least 5 hours north of NC, but it is lovely country. Just be prepared to see the site of the bloodiest day in the history of the USA - Antietam. Frederick County is lovely in the summer, though. But it can be very hot and is almost always humid. July and August are perfect thunderstorm weather from the Mid-Atlantic on south.
Thank you for your information. I haven’t had a Valiant in 30 years, and like most car ownwers, was for decades unaware of the existence of timing gears, chains, and belts.
The dirty little secret is that most car owners NEVER have their timing thingy changed.
You see where I said “thingy” in both of my posts? That’s something called “self-deprecation.”
Thank you, though, for the gratuitous ad hominem attack at the end of your post.
"To the best of my recollection, the Slant Six used timing gears.
If not timing gears, then it most certainly has a timing chain which would almost always provide auditory cues that it needs to be changed.
The presence of very reliable/durable timing gears or a timing chain is the reason why nobody has “pounced” on the OP regarding this issue.
With the exception of Pontiac’s OHC six cylinder engine of the late '60s–early '70s, timing belts did not come into use on American engines until several decades later.
Once again, ZW has revealed his/her very scant knowledge of both automotive mechanics and automotive history. "
ZW
No thanks are necessary.
It was my pleasure to point out once again that you have very scant knowledge of the matters that are discussed in this forum.
Incidentally, what I stated was not an ad hominum attack, because an ad hominum argument or attack is based on a premise that is false or is totally unrelated to the subject at hand. Since I was pointing out your factual errors, I was making a valid statement. This, by definition is NOT an ad hominum attack. If I tried to include something totally extraneous or erroneous in my statement, that would have been an adhominum argument on my part.
You might want to confine your responses to posts regarding the largely non-automotive Puzzlers which seem to hold more interest for you, and where your expertise is likely to be much better than in anything related to automotive technical issues.
I’ve been thinking about Antietam since your post, Caddyman. I know that it was the bloodiest day in US history, but I was not familiar with the exact numbers. There were almost 13,000 casualties that day; 3654 dead. Astonishing. Imagine the terror those men felt as they wandered helpless in the corn field until they came to the edge and found an enemy battery to massacre them. It sure makes today’s problems, especially mine, seem pretty small.
Mopar2ya,
I apologize for not answering your question:
Yes, you are crazy. Keep up the good work.
Kick the tires and light the fire! If you can’t find a water pump for the" Old Slant Six 'between the beans and corn in a West Virginia country store this isn’t the good O’le U.S.A. anymore!Been there ,done that! Hit the road jack!
Where are you driving it from? If it’s been reliable, it’ll probably be okay. But you could encounter conditions which could undermine that. Desert heat, thin mountain air, high humidity, anything that your car doesn’t normally deal with.
Also, is that 70 miles a day at freeway speeds? You might want to make sure your car is safe at those speeds before you try driving hundreds or thousands of miles like that.
Inspect everything before you go, carry a phone and some cash and/or cards, and you’ll probably be fine, though.
I think the car might hold up better than OP. Without air, and the top down there is a full day of traffic noise and heat to put up with. With the top up, it’s going to be muggy inside.
With a good checkup the car will do OK if driven at a resonable speed.
A cell phone and AAA membership is a must on a trip like this.
OK , OP here. Thanks again for all the opinions, you may have proved I am in fact crazy.
Another reason for taking this trip in this car is to cure my wife of her romantic notion that a motorcycle trip across country is a “must do” thing. I love riding the motorcycle but across country? I dont think I could handle it. I think she’ll understand this after day two of this trip.
Some additional info about the car…
I have upgraded the tires to P235-60R14s, Front brakes are disk and the rears are 10 inch drum upgrades on a 3:23 sure grip 7.25. I drive the heck out of this thing every day at over 80 miles an hour, she will run and stop with most any car out there (under normal conditions). I took it on a 10 hour ride to Sacremento for Thanksgiving and for those who have noted, your right, she doesnt like going up big hills, The hills will be an issue along with comfort.
Our first long stop will be at my folks house in NJ. I think I’m going to buy an old Dodge TRAVCO from an aquaintance there and give the valiant a nice relaxing tow back home. Hopefully that will get the “classic car on route 66” out of my system, cure the wife of the cross-country motorcycle tour syndrome’ provide a bit of adventure for us to gab about at the next campfire, and I wont have to buy my wife a plane ticket while I drive home by myself 
Thank you for yet another gratuitous ad hominem attack.
"ZW
No thanks are necessary.
It was my pleasure to point out once again that you have very scant knowledge of the matters that are discussed in this forum.
You might want to confine your responses to posts regarding the largely non-automotive Puzzlers which seem to hold more interest for you, and where your expertise is likely to be much better."
I took my 235 Chevrolet cross country and what failed? the timing gears (it was gear to gear in this one) lore and legend will only get you so far.
Sure the slant-six is all they way around better than the 235 but it is still mechanical and something will break sooner or later.
Good,I was wondering about that-I didnt know if this vehicle had a full frame or not(didnt Dodge sort of pioneer the unibody concept in the US auto industry?)-Kevin
That is a good point, oldschool.
On my 1960 Falcon, the only major mechanical breakdown that I ever experienced with the car was the failure of a timing gear. It took 17 years for the gear to fail, but nevertheless it did fail, thus bringing the car to a rapid halt.
Kevin; a weak ppoint on this car is the “frame” part where the torsion bars (no coil springs on this car) are achored. If this rusts through, it’s game over. On my Dodge Dart I had one of the anchors replaced. Corrosion was the big enemy of these cars; mechanically they were very tough!