Family's second vehicle has long been No. 1
Charles Taylor's father was out for a drive in the summer of '63 when he saw something he just had to have: a shiny new red convertible.
"He drove by a showroom on his way home from work. He thought it would make a nice second car," Charles said.
The Taylor family was living just outside of New York City when Taylor's dad purchased this Plymouth Valiant in nearby Madison, New Jersey. More than likely his father was smitten by the Valiant's styling, which was totally updated for the 1963 model year. Or it could have its petite size and fuel-sipping tendencies - both ideal for zipping and darting through traffic.
Whatever the reason, he splurged and went for the top-of-the-line Signet 200 trim, complete with a white convertible top. Naturally, he wasted no time in showing it off. It went right to use as a daily driver for his work commute.
It wasn't all work and no play for the Valiant's road time. The Taylors used it most summers to caravan down to the sun-soaked shores of the Outer Banks in North Carolina.
"Those family vacations were some of my best memories," said Charles, who was a high schooler for most of these jaunts. "We always put the top down once we got close to the beach so we could hear the crashing waves."
After his dad put several more years of use on the car, he let his kids use the sporty drop top. Charlies and his older sister drove the Plymouth to their classes at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, in the late '60s.
Both moved on to other rides and the keys to the Plymouth went back into their father's hands. He continued to use the vehicle until 1975, when he was transferred to the Chicago area. The family settled in Naperville and Charles still lives there today.
His father once again used the Valiant for work commuting, this time to AT&T Bell Laboratories' Indian Hills research center in Naperville. The Mopar machine served faithfully until 1986.
As Charles recalls, "something happened" to the family cruiser. Whatever the breakdown was, it caused his dad to stop driving the car, though he could never bear to part with it, having accumulated quite a few years behind the wheel. The Plymouth sat in the garage until 1998, when Charles came to own the rolling family heirloom.
Another family member, brandishing some newfound mechanical skills, came to the rescue in getting the convertible road-worthy once again.
"My nephew was a recent grad of UTI (Universal Technical Institute) and offered to help," said Charles. "He was eager to dive into the project and really did a nice job."
The slant six-cylinder engine was torn apart and rebuilt, and the nephew also rebuilt the brakes and went over the electrical system. Charles has taken to the streets once again, following in his father's footsteps. He, too, has come to thoroughly love this perky Plymouth.