#1 Fault: Rust.
Symptoms: Holes appear where they shouldn't.
Why It Happens: Usually from water collecting in certain places. Typical places for corrosion in Valiants include the sills, around the windscreen, bottom edges of the doors, rear quarter panels, inside the boot, the bottom edge of the boot lid and the firewall around the compliance plate. (I don't know why rust in the last location is so common.)
Rating: Rust in most of these places can be easily repaired.
How To Fix It: Either (a) do it yourself with body filler or (b) get a professional repairer to weld new metal sections in place. Remember, if you just bog it up then the rust will come back to haunt you...
#2 Fault: Chassis sub-rail fracture.
Symptoms: Can vary from no obvious indication to catastrophic failure involving the steering box coming loose from its mounting points.
Why It Happens: Usually a combination of stress and internal corrosion, where the steering box bolts to the sub-rail.
Rating: This is a Very Bad fault.
How To Fix It: You must get this fixed professionally! There are kits available to plate over the affected area but this is not the best solution as corrosion will continue to occur from within. The best method is quite labour-intensive and consists of completely reconstructing the broken section.
#3 Fault: Broken engine mounts.
Symptoms: Oddly enough the first symptom can be that the clutch pedal falls to the floor. This is due to the fact that the pivoting clutch arm is suspended between the motor and the inner guard, and will fall out if the motor shifts too far.
Why It Happens: Usually due to aged and weakened engine mounts. May also be related to doing too many burnouts and loading up the drivetrain excessively!
Rating: You're going to need a tow truck this time.
How To Fix It: Just get the engine mounts replaced, as well as any other bits which fell out. Nothing much else seems to get damaged in this type of incident.
#4 Fault: Ignition lock failure (mechanical).
Symptoms: Either the key spins freely and no function is performed, or the key gets jammed in the cranking position (very nasty).
Why It Happens: The lock mechanism simply wears out with age, more so if you have a big heavy bunch of keys.
Rating: Most annoying.
How To Fix It: You can't buy a new ignition lock any more, so you will need to get a serviceable one from the wreckers. Removing the lock is just a matter of undoing four screws on the side of the steering column... but to get to those screws you have to remove the crash padding and instrument cluster then drop the steering column a short way.
#5 Fault: Ignition switch failure (electrical).
Symptoms: Usually the ignition or accessories die out when the key is jiggled in the lock. Sometimes the key can be held in a certain way to keep the ignition alive.
Why It Happens: Generally because the switch mechanism is full of crud, or the contacts have become tarnished.
Rating: Also very annoying.
How To Fix It: You can either try to find a good second-hand switch, or dismantle the old one and fix it (although it is supposed to be a non-serviceable part). Clean all the contacts with some fine grade wet-and-dry paper and spray the mechanism with some suitable electrical contact lubricant. Removal and reinstallation is as per the previous item.
#6 Fault: Automatic choke failure.
Symptoms: You leave the car idling for a few minutes to warm up, and when you come back it is running very badly and there is a big cloud of black smoke.
Why It Happens: The automatic choke is a bad idea and doesn't work properly to begin with, and it's bound to completely fail eventually.
Rating: Easy to rectify.
How To Fix It: Find the automatic choke mechanism - it's bolted to the exhaust manifold. (So wait until the engine has cooled down...!) Take it off and throw it away. Wire up the linkage on the carburettor so that the choke is fully open all the time. Remember to allow the motor to warm up in future before driving (although performance when cold will probably be no worse than when the automatic choke was still fitted).
#7 Fault: Steering componentry wear.
Symptoms: Surprising amount of free play in the steering wheel, also excessive front tyre wear.
Why It Happens: There are many parts in the Valiant's steering which can wear prematurely - ball joints, tie rod ends, idler arm, Pitman arm and the steering box itself.
Rating: Non-fatal but it is a roadworthy issue.
How To Fix It: Take it to a mechanic who is familiar with Valiants, since the steering is tricky to set up correctly. (Even a wheel alignment on a Valiant should be done by a specialist - most aligners will perform only a toe-in adjustment which is usually inadequate.) There are certain modifications which can be made to some parts to prevent undue wear. Most items should be replaced with new ones, except in the case of the steering box which can be reconditioned.
#8 Fault: Column shift manual finds fewer gears than normal, or none.
Symptoms: Gear lever is very sloppy or feels like it is just about to fall off.
Why It Happens: The torque tube usually tears away at the top end near the gear lever. Can happen through general wear and tear, more likely due to treating three-on-the-tree like F1 paddle gearshift.
Rating: Moderately bad fault.
How To Fix It: First off, if you manipulate the gear linkages under the bonnet you should be able to find a suitable ratio to at least get somewhere. (You can go most places in second gear, for a while anyway.) Then take the car to your trusted mechanic. (He will probably ask if you want to have the beast converted to floor shift or automatic - manual column shift is not popular any more for some reason.)
#9 Fault: Broken accelerator cable.
Symptoms: Accelerator pedal falls disappointingly to floor.
Why It Happens: Small lug at pedal end of cable breaks off. Can happen if cable is incorrectly adjusted.
Rating: Not too hard to fix.
How To Fix It: Get a new cable assembly. You can fit this yourself fairly simply. Also it's an idea to carry a spare second-hand one in the boot. In the meantime, the best temporary fix is to get a couple of coathangers, tie one to the throttle mechanism on the carburettor and poke it through any handy hole in the firewall under the dashboard. Then twist the other one to it and make a loop to wrap around your foot so you can operate it.
#10 Fault: Burnt-out ballast resistor.
Symptoms: Engine will fire while cranking, but dies out when key is released.
Why It Happens: The ballast resistor gives two levels of current to the coil: a high level when cranking to allow for cold starting and lower battery voltage, and a lower level for normal running. The resistance that feeds the lower current usually overheats and burns out, which means that current stops flowing and the ignition won't work.
Rating: Infuriating if you don't know what to look for.
How To Fix It: Fit a new ballast resistor (the white rectangular ceramic device on the inner guard near the battery). As usual, it is advisable to keep a spare on hand. You can bypass the burnt-out resistor by removing the electrical terminals and shorting them together (connect a small piece of wire between the two, but don't let the wire touch the car body or any other wires). This will let you drive somewhere to get the correct resistor, not too far though as the coil will eventually suffer damage.
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