Chrysler Valiant Charger

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Chrysler
Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R / T
Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R / T
Valiant Charger / Charger
Production period: 1971-1978
Class : Middle class
Body versions : Coupe
Engines:
Petrol engines : 3.5-5.9 liters
(103-206 kW)
Length:
Width:
Height:
Wheelbase :
Empty weight :

The Chrysler Valiant Charger was a muscle car introduced by Chrysler Australia in 1971 . It was a two-door coupé with a shortened wheelbase based on the Valiant sedan . It was introduced as the VH series and then continued as the VJ , VK and CL series until production was discontinued in 1978.

As a VH Charger, the car was particularly popular in Australia and also in New Zealand , where it was assembled from parts supplied by Australia, it was right at the top of buyers' wishes. It was named Car of the Year by the automobile magazine Wheels in 1971 .

The wild character of the Charger was somewhat lost in the VJ Charger and had completely disappeared in the VK series introduced in 1975. During its seven years of production, it was powered by different variants of basically two different engines. One was the Australian-built Chrysler Hemi 6 , the other the Chrysler LA series V8 engine imported from the USA .

VH series

The model range of the VH Valiant Charger was introduced in 1971 and consisted of the Charger , the Charger XL , the Charger 770 and Charger R / T . The R / T version (Road / Track) continued the image of the predecessor VG Valiant Pacer and soon became the new platform for Chrysler's continued involvement in the Australian touring car championship. The model range was very broad, taking into account the diversity of customer requirements:

Charger - 3.5 L R6 engine with 140 bhp (103 kW), three-speed manual transmission, price AU- $ 2795, -

Charger XL - 4.0 l R6 engine with 160 bhp (118 kW), three-speed manual transmission, price AU- $ 3195, -

Charger R / T - 4.3 liter R6 engine with 218 bhp (160 kW), three-speed manual transmission, price AU- $ 3395, -

Charger 770 - 4.3 l R6 engine with 218 bhp (160 kW), three-stage automatic, price AU- $ 3625, -

The R / T and the 770 both had the six-cylinder in-line engine in the high-performance version with 4343 cm³ displacement and double carburetors, while the E37 option had this machine with triple Weber flat-flow carburetors. Only for the R / T there was the even more tuned E38 option , which formed the basis for Chrysler's participation in touring car races. This option gave the Charger R / T an output of 280 bhp (206 kW) and drove the price to AU- $ 3975, -.

Chrysler VH Valiant Charger

From 1972 there was the option E49 for the Charger R / T, which had the six-cylinder in-line engine in the version with 4948 cc displacement and a four-speed manual transmission. This machine delivered a remarkable torque to the sevenfold bearing crankshaft, which allowed a performance development previously unknown from six-cylinder engines, which was only surpassed in 1975 by the Porsche 911 Turbo (300).

Charger 770 SE - In August 1972 Chrysler brought out an exclusive model based on the Charger 770. The Charger 770 SE (English: Special Edition) had the E55 option with a V8 engine with 5571 cc and quadruple carburetor, which, according to many motor journalists, was originally introduced by Chrysler for an attempt to homologate a racing touring car, which was then abandoned . Instead of delivering this engine as part of an option for the Charger R / T, Chrysler decided to bring the engine for the Charger 770 with a single exhaust pipe and only in conjunction with the TorqueFlite 727 automatic transmission. In addition to this unique engine, the Charger 770 SE had other typical equipment details to offer, such as white / black vinyl equipment, a metal dashboard and only three available paint finishes: Vintage Red (red), Lime Light (green) and Sunfire (yellow metallic). According to Chrysler records, a total of 125 VH Charger 770 SEs were built, two of which were not painted in the standard colors mentioned above.

VJ series

In March 1973 the VH series was replaced by the VJ series. The VJ had a modified bulkhead, a different grille, new headlights and rear fenders. New 7 ″ headlights replaced the old rectangular lights. The Charger R / T was no longer represented in the new model range because Chrysler withdrew from Australian touring car racing at the end of the 1972 season. The most important elements of the E37 option were carried over to the VJ series, now available as the E48 option.

  • Option E48 - R6 engine with 4343 cm³ displacement and three Weber double carburetors, four-speed manual transmission
  • Option E55 - V8 engine with 5572 cm³ displacement, 275 bhp (202 kW) power and 48 mm valves
  • Option E57 - V8 engine with 5899 cm³ displacement and 255 bhp (188 kW) output (introduced in 1974 instead of the E55 option)

VJ Charger 770 (with option E55)

Chrysler VJ Valiant Charger 770 E55

The VJ Valiant Charger equipped with the E55 option was no longer called the Charger 770 SE. This meant that the VJ Valiant Charger 770 E55, unlike its predecessor, was available in different colors and equipment variants - like some Charger XL with the E55 option - and so only on their 14 ″ × 7 ″ five- hole aluminum rims Dragmag and on the 340-4BBL emblems on the front fenders.

The VJ series had an electronic ignition instead of the VH series contact ignition. This significantly improved the cold start properties and made an ignition adjustment every 10,000 km superfluous.

The Carter Themoquad carburetor was also used in this series, albeit not from the beginning and in all models. Some cars still had the AVS carburettors from the previous series. It is unclear when the switch took place; there are earlier built cars with Carter carburetors and later built cars with AVS carburetors. It is assumed that the Carter carburettor will increase performance, as the flow in the carburetor has increased.

During the term of option E55 there were also other engine variants, e.g. B. with modified cylinder heads. According to the workshop manual, earlier models in the VJ series had heads with an inlet valve diameter of 51.3 mm. This diameter was later reduced to 47.8 mm. Again, it is not clear exactly when the change took place, and there are earlier models with a small valve diameter and later models with a larger valve diameter.

Apparently the majority of the VJ Valiant Charger E55 were built in the second half of 1973. When stocks of the 5.6 liter V8 ran out at the end of 1974, Chrysler let the E55 option expire and from then on built the weaker 5.9 liter V8 (from the Chrysler by Chrysler luxury sedan ) into the Valiant Charger 770.

VJ Charger Sportsman (Option A23) - In August 1974, a Charger Sportsman came out as a limited special model based on the Charger XL. Exactly 500 Charger Sportsman were created, all of which were painted two-tone (vintage red and white) and provided with a black / white interior in a special fabric quality. These cars had the normal 4.3 liter R6 engine with a four-speed manual transmission.

VK series

Chrysler VK Charger 770

The slightly revised VK Charger came out in October 1975 in only two versions:

Charger XL - 3.5 liter R6 engine with three-speed manual transmission; 4.0 l-R6 or 4.3 l-R6 on request

Charger 770 - 4.0 l R6 engine with three-speed manual transmission; 4.3 l R6, 5.2 l V8 or 5.9 l V8 on request

With the introduction of the VK series, the E48 option was no longer available, leaving only the normal 4.3-liter R6 engine.

The Charger was now offered as a Chrysler Charger and no longer as a Chrysler Valiant Charger , with the Chrysler emblem on the back and front replacing the Valiant emblems. Other changes to the VK series were the white radiator grille, different taillights and other decorations on the C-pillars with extended, black GRP panels with XL or 770 emblems. Inside, the function of the windscreen wiper and washer was placed on the turn signal lever and there was Boca Raton fabrics for the seat inserts of the Charger 770.

In June 1976, the ADR 27A , a revised exhaust emission regulation for all cars offered on the Australian market, came into force. The 3.5 l R6 and 5.9 l V8 had to be retired.

VK Charger White Knight Special (Option A50) - From July 1976, Chrysler brought out a limited special model of the Charger XL, which basically only contained cosmetic changes inside and outside, as well as a front spoiler. Half of the 200 cars were painted in Arctic White and the other half in Amarante Red. The bumpers and grille were painted in body color. These cars had a 4.3 liter R6 engine with manual or automatic transmission depending on customer requirements. The interior was made of white vinyl with red trim.

CL series

Chrysler CL Charger 770

The CL Charger was introduced in October 1976 and ultimately turned out to be the last charger from Australia. This series had a new front and should actually be called series VL. Chrysler chose the CL name because it was a better fit for the Chrysler name, which now appeared on all Chrysler models offered in Australia.

The Charger XL was dropped (with the exception of the police version), so that only the CL Charger 770 remained for free sale.

CL Charger Drifter (Options A34 and A49) - Relatively late in the production cycle of the CL Charger, Chrysler offered the Drifter option , which was available in four paint colors: Spinnaker White (A34), Impact Orange (A49), Sundance Yellow (A49 ) and Harvest Gold (A49). Basically, this was just a cosmetic option based on the trim details of the Chrysler Drifter van . These cars were available with either 4.3 l (R6) or 5.2 l (V8) engines, but only with a four-speed manual transmission.

Production of the Chrysler Charger ceased on August 16, 1978.

Motorsport

Valiant Charger by Leo Geoghegan

The Valiant Charger was officially used in competitions in Australia in 1971 and 1972, with the focus on the Bathurst 500 mile touring car race . Chrysler Australia hired racing driver Leo Geoghegan to help develop the Charger as a touring car. In 1972 a VH Valiant Charger R / T E49 with driver Doug Chivas finished third in the Hardie Feredo 500 race in Bathurst.

Due to the political sensation caused by the “supercars for the road” in 1972, the rules for touring car racing were changed in 1973 so that the manufacturers no longer had to produce street versions of their racing cars. These changes lead to Chrysler and later also Ford pulling out of Australian touring car racing.

In New Zealand, where the rules for touring car racing were less open, the Charger proved to be almost unbeatable in the famous B&H 500-mile race (later: 1000 km race) at Pukekohe Park Raceway from 1971 to 1979 . The most successful drivers in New Zealand were Leo Leonard and Jim Little .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Gavin Farmer & Garry Bridger: Hey Charger: The Sensational Chrysler Valiant Chargers of Australia . Reed Publishing. Auckland (2003). ISBN 0790009382
  2. ^ A b Tony Davis: The Valiant Book: A History of Chrysler Australia's Valiant, 1962-1981 . Marque Publishing Company. Hurstville NSW (1987). ISBN 0947079009
  3. ^ Elisabeth Tuckey & Ewan Kennedy: Chrysler Valiant . (1996). Pp. 140-141
  4. ↑ Tony Davis: Aussie Cars . Marque Publishing Company. Hurstville NSW (1987). ISBN 0947079017
  5. ^ Elisabeth Tuckey & Ewan Kennedy: Chrysler Valiant . (1996). P. 165