Coordinates -33.9101925,151.2167375
Picture dated November 2009
Chrysler Australia Ltd was established in June 1951, initially assembling North American Chrysler passenger cars and trucks, including the Plymouth Cranbrook, Dodge Kingsway and De Soto Diplomat.
The VE Valiant was an all-new design introduced in October 1967. The bonnet and guards were shared with the1967 North American Dodge Dart, with other styling cues inherited from the North American Valiant. The 273 V8 was improved and made available across the entire Valiant range, which 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.
The VF Valiant was introduced in March 1969. The new car shared its middle section with the previous VE Valiant, but there was new front and rear styling. The new front end featured a horizontally convex grille, replacing the VE's concave design. Valiant and Valiant Regal models were once again available, and the VF range also saw the introduction of the Valiant Regal 770 and an upgraded VIP model.
In mid 1969 the fast four-door Valiant Pacer was released. A low-cost, high-power version of the Valiant sedan, the Pacer featured a high-performance six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual gearbox with floor shifter. September 1969 saw the introduction of the all new two-door VF Valiant Hardtop, the longest coupe ever built in Australia, which was available in Valiant, Valiant Regal and Valiant Regal 770 models.
The VG Valiant was introduced in August 1970. It was an update of the previous model, the most noticeable difference being the use of rectangular headlamps instead of the traditional round ones. Sedan, Wagon, Ute and Hardtop body styles were offered as well as the same luxury levels as before. The biggest announcement to come with the VG Valiant was of the all new a 245 cu in Hemi-6 engine, replacing the Slant-6. The Pacer sedan was available with 3 different versions of the Hemi-6 engine, and this was the only year a the pacer was available in the Hardtop body style.
Chrysler released the first fully Australian-designed Valiant, the VH, in June 1971. These were larger cars, styled to look even larger than they were. The model range was extensive, starting with the new entry-level Valiant Ranger, and progressing to Valiant Ranger XL, Valiant Pacer, Valiant Regal, and Valiant Regal 770. Unlike the VG range, Valiant Pacer was now only available in 4-door sedan form,
The Pacer was replaced later that year by the Charger, a short-wheelbase fastback coupe with an aggressive wedge-like stance. The Valiant Charger came in four model guises, closely mirroring the existing sedan range — Charger, Charger XL, Charger 770, and Charger R/T.
May 1973 saw the introduction of the VJ Valiant. Externally the VJ continued with the VH series body styles, though the VJ reverted to single 7" round headlamps and a new 8-segment grille. VJ sedans also received new horizontal taillights. While the VJ range still offered sedan, wagon, ute, hardtop and coupe variants, the Pacer sedans and Charger R/T coupes were deleted from the new range.
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