Chrysler Valiant

The Chrysler Valiant was a full-size car which was sold by Chrysler Australia between 1962 and 1981. Initially a rebadged locally assembled Plymouth Valiant from the United States, from the second

generation launched in 1963, the Valiant was fully manufactured in Australia. It was sold locally but also in New Zealand and South Africa, with smaller numbers also exported to South-East Asia and the United Kingdom. Parent company Chrysler made a substantial investment in Australian manufacturing facilities, by establishing operations in South Australia with an assembly plant at Tonsley Park in 1964[1] and an engine foundry at Lonsdale in 1968. The Valiant thus established its position as the third of the "Big 3" Australian-made vehicles behind the Holden Kingswood and Ford Falcon.

The Australian Valiant was built on the North American A-body platform but with many parts and components from Australian suppliers. Apart from a sedan and wagon body style, 1965 saw the introduction of a commercial utility that was badged the Wayfarerand later exported to South Africa as the Rustler. In September 1969 the two-door Hardtop was released and in 1971 the Charger.

Greater differentiation from the donor car creeped in over time, particularly since the VE series, which was embraced by the Australian motoring press and won the 1967 Wheelsmagazine Car of the Year award. The VF series of 1969 and the VG of 1970 departed even further from its North American donor both in terms of styling and performance—with the latter series introducing the Hemi-6 engine that replaced the Slant-6. Moreover, Australia continued to produce a station wagon model, called the Safari, even after this body style being discontinued for North America.

Beginning in 1971, the VH series saw Chrysler Australia develop the entire lineup locally until the CM series of 1979, which marked the end of local production in 1981, after the takeover of operations by Mitsubishi Motors Australia.

Chrysler V-E
This Valiant was an all-new design introduced in October 1967, based on the North American platform, which had a 108 in (2,700 mm) wheelbase. The bonnet and guards were shared with the also-new 1967 North American Dodge Dart, with other styling cues otherwise inherited from the North American Valiant. The car feature slightly larger body dimensions and greater interior space than the preceding VC Series. The roofline was also flattened out and the rear window was given a concave profile. Higher levels of standard equipment were featured and two engine options became available. The basic Slant-6 was retained with its 145 bhp (108 kW) rating, but a new 2-barrel carbureted version was released with output of 160 bhp (120 kW). The 273 V8 was also improved and made available across the entire Valiant range.

Other upgrades included the introduction of a larger 64-litre (14 imp gal; 17 US gal) fuel tank, shorter gear lever throw on the manual gearbox, relocation of the dipswitch from under the brake pedal to the high left of the firewall, and the windscreen wiper motor was relocated to the engine side of the firewall — greatly reducing wiper noise. All models benefited from additional safety features (some compulsory under new Australian Design Rules, or ADRs) such as dual circuit brakes with a tandem master cylinder, double sided safety rims, front seat belts and front power disc brakes on V8 models.

The VE range consisted of Valiant & Valiant Regal sedans, Valiant Safari & Valiant Regal Safari station wagons and Valiant, Valiant Wayfarer & Dodge utilities, the latter being a lower-priced version of the Valiant utility. New for the VE model was the high-specification Valiant V.I.P.in both sedan and Safari wagon versions. It used the same body as the lesser Valiants, but featured a more luxurious interior, 273 V8 engine, and also shared the 3 'sergeant stripes' of the VC V8 on the rear quarter panel.

The biggest accolade for the VE Valiant was Wheels "Car of the Year" in 1967 — the first for Chrysler Australia.

68,688 VE Valiants were built.