Dodge 3700

[Bren]

 

 

 

I remember seeing one of these in the film "the hit" starring Tim Roth, John Hurt and Terence Stamp (brill film).

 

I wondered what an american car was doing in rural spain, apparently they were spanish built and based on the dart / valiant but with a 3700 cc six cylinder lump in place of a bent eight. Apparently spanish politicians etc used them.

 

Possibly more interesting than a tagora / 180? Discuss

[Rocket88]

Slant 6 is a peach of an engine.................many horses can be liberated, and there;s a lot of tuning parts out there for them,,,,,,,,,

[mercrocker]

More interesting to me, certainly....Barreiros built I believe from Argentine CKD kits.   By the same people that brought you those Dodge truck units that only Ryton seemed to use and hauliers running to Spain from the South coast here!   Quite a bit different to the Yank stuff.   I want one.

[chaseracer]

Great film.

[Wilko220]

I remember being surprised to learn that Plymouth Valiants were sold in the UK through Rootes dealers.

More here: http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/aussie-chry.html

 

But build under licence in Spain? Very interesting.

[sutty2006]

Nice looking motor, my kind of shite.

[eddyramrod]

I'd certainly have a crack at one of those if the price was right, and I've had that engine in a Gran Fury.  I also drove a South-African-built Valiant in Cyprus, with a view to buying it, but it was off-road and knowing what I now know about the local tax regs, I'm very glad I swerved it.

[Junkman]

I remember being surprised to learn that Plymouth Valiants were sold in the UK through Rootes dealers.

More here: http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/aussie-chry.html

 

But build under licence in Spain? Very interesting.

 

Rootes dealers even sold you an Imperial, if you asked them to.

 

The Dodge 3700 was not built under license in Spain. To the contrary.

After building the Dodge Dart under license from 1965 - 1970, Barreiros Villaverde decided to launch their own model for 1971.

The 3700 had the same wheelbase as the US Dart, but utilised the sheetmetal of the Argentinean Dart, with modifications for the Spanish market, i.e the rear wheel arches, grille, lights, and instrumentation, were specific. It also had servo disk brakes up front, and power steering, as standard. About 30,000 units were made until 1977, which makes the Barreiros Dart the most successful Mopar ever to be produced outside the USA.

 

Do I want one?

 

You fucking bet.

 

Unfortunately, they command considerable scene tax in Spain.

Not so in their prime export market - Switzerland.

[Wilko220]

What happened in '77?

New model or did they go out of business?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I remember being surprised to learn that Plymouth Valiants were sold in the UK through Rootes dealers.

More here: http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/aussie-chry.html

But build under licence in Spain? Very interesting.

I've got a Valiant brochure somewhere that I got from a Chrysler garage when I was 10.

 

In an episode of The Sweeney ,one was used by two caricature Australian villains,played by George Layton and Patrick Mower. As an 11 year old I thought this was brilliant product placement.

[RichardMoss]

But build under licence in Spain? Very interesting.

Franco would not permit any foreign-built cars to be sold in Spain. Hence all the locally built SEAT/FIAT stuff. It's probably also why Ford and Opel (and BMC in days gone by) have had factories there for many years

[martc]

Franco would not permit any foreign-built cars to be sold in Spain. Hence all the locally built SEAT/FIAT stuff. It's probably also why Ford and Opel (and BMC in days gone by) have had factories there for many years

 Not probably but exactly the reason why "foreign" companies set up factories in Spain - it was the only way they could sell cars. In theory you could import but the tax was horrendous.

See also India. And possibly China?

[Junkman]

What happened in '77?

New model or did they go out of business?

Peugeot bought the Villaverde factory, as Chrysler pulled out of Europe.

 

Not probably but exactly the reason why "foreign" companies set up factories in Spain - it was the only way they could sell cars. In theory you could import but the tax was horrendous.

See also India. And possibly China?

Correct. Franco did allow foreign cars to be imported into Spain, but a hefty tax was levied on them.

That's why imported cars were usually for the rich, i.e. high end models. Spain at some point had the highest Cadillac density in Europe.

[Squire_Dawson]

Somewhat related to this discussion is the Hillman Avenger which was available in the U.S. as the Plymouth Cricket, in an attempt to cash in on the 'compact' market. The Morris Marina was also available but was Austin badged due to Morris being comparatively obscure in the States. The most successful British saloon car export to North America was, I believe, the Austin A.40 Devon, which was a massive dollar earner at the time (export or die).

[Bren]

I've got a Valiant brochure somewhere that I got from a Chrysler garage when I was 10.

In an episode of The Sweeney ,one was used by two caricature Australian villains,played by George Layton and Patrick Mower. As an 11 year old I thought this was brilliant product placement.

image.jpg

I think this is an aussie ford - possibly a fairmont.

[AnthonyG]

No, I remember that episode and it is an Aussie Valiant. I think these were a half-hearted attempt by Chrysler UK to replace the big Humbers after it was realised that a 1.8/2 litre saloon built in France that looked vaguely similar to the Avenger wasn't going to cut it. After the fuel crisis this was all academic anyway as hardly anyone could afford to run one, and if they could, Jaguars XJs and Rover V8s no longer had long waiting lists....

 

Whoever imported Canadian built US Fords in the 1960s (Lincoln Motors of West London?) moved to Aussie stuff in the 1970s as it was factory RHD. So Fairmonts/LTDs (effectively upscale Falcons) were available as well in the early and mid 1970s. Again a lack of any real interest killed this off, as Brits who wanted a lookalike American car had a choice selection available from Datsun and Toyota.