Your extensive knowledge of Australian Chrysler products is amazing. I've owned just about every Valiant model they produced in my home town Adelaide. Cheers from Australia
I'm honored you think so. I've had a few Valiants myself, including the one featured at the end of the video, but I have always found the Australian variations fascinating.
@@thehopelesscarguy As an Aussie I agree with Darren mate. Your knowledge of Chrysler Australia's efforts here is breathtaking. One little known fact you may be interested in though. Obviously after Mitsubishi took over there were plenty of engineers and stylists inherited from Chrysler. A reworked CM Valiant (sometimes called the Diplomat) was brewed up. The grille and lights were all new plus it gained six window styling. It was shown to Mitsubishi management where it was given "serious consideration" but went no further.
We in South Africa also got the Aussie Valiants but they were all powered by the good old slant six until 1980. So sad we never got the Hemi sixes. I remember my paternal grandparents' last car; a dark blue Dodge SE which was pretty much an Australian Chrysler by Chrysler apart from the engine.
It is amazing how tastes change with age. To a six-year old kid, the original Valiant was just a small “old people’s car” driven by your ancient 2nd grade teacher. It was hardly cool or sporty. Progressing through adolescence, the 1st Gen. didn’t improve at all in the eyes of my generation, even though they were a readily available and cheap used car that a teenager might afford. Today I find that car strangely beautiful in its curves and fake spare tire trunk lid and wouldn’t mind owning one… in restored condition. Great video, HCG! 👍👍👍
Different tastes in Australia with the early Valiants selling out quickly and supply limited by just the few thousand CKD kits supplied to Australia. All these sold out in months. The following more conventional styling of the local 1964 model did not sell as quickly. The four headlight styling previously only on large cars and the Mercedes influenced grille helping it for local tastes.
My grandma was a Plymouth Lady. She always had a new one about every 2 years or so. The Valiant was her favorite and I can remember her wearing driving gloves when I had the chance to be with her. Great memories and great cars. Thanks
I've always had a soft spot for the first Valiants and lusted after the Barracuda something fierce. Your coverage of the Australian variants was food for my greedy little soul. New data! What joy! I wish we'd had their utes stateside. So cool. Wonderful work, as always. Thanks.
@@thehopelesscarguy You seemed to have skipped the 75 and 76 Valiant... mentioning only the Duster from those years. Since I owned a 76 Valiant, the last year it was made I'm curious about how much power got dropped from it's slant six engine. I heard it produced just 85 brake HP. Also it needs to be said how rust prone the mid/late 70s Valiants became, their bodies infamously being referred to as biodegradable. Not to mention the notoriously bad electricals, vapour lock and starting/stalling problems that plagued them in wet/cold weather.
In "the (GREAT) days; Chrysler made GREAT vehicles that COULD BE WORKED WITH! Better than other "cheapies", the MoPar parts could be used for YEARS in exchange! I LOVED these GREAT old cars!
My first car was a 1963 Plymouth Valiant station wagon with the slant six and typewriter transmission. It was 11 years old when I got it, and the floors were rusted. I replaced them with sheet metal from cookie pans. It was a great car, and served me well for several years. I remember it had a really good heater.
We had a new '64 sedan sparsely equipped and took it to dealership for service and the svc writer said, let me show you something and led us into showroom and showed us a new Barracuda fastback with red interior and folding rear seat. I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen and would buy one today!❤❤❤
My "DREAM CAR" was a yellow (black vinyl top) '66 Imperial Crown 4 door! As a kid I believed this car could "cruise the clouds"! In '86, I (TOO BRIEFLY) owned a "plain" (no real options) '66 Imperial Crown! This car COULD REALLY "CRUISE THE CLOUDS"! NOTHING COMPARIBLE!
we had a '63 valiant. Black, 2 door with all red interior, a slant 6 with push button 3 speed transmission. I loved that car. We had it till 1976 and was still running great. I still feel it was one of the best cars as far a value and features and size.
There was also an Australian Valiant panel van (sedan delivery style) made in 1977 with only about 1600 produced. I owned one for a few years, not realising how rare it was. I sold to a trailer manufacturing business, who's employee drove it into a ditch and wrote it off. I also have seen a U.S. 1962 Valiant panel van, which, I believe, is extremely rare.
I don't think I have ever seen a Valiant panel wagon, but there were certainly part of a market where they were fairly common, as far as that sort of thing goes.
As a young boy in 1970’s Melbourne Australia I always loved the Charger, sadly I never did get to own one and you only now see them at car shows or special events. Thanks for the trip down memory lane it reminds me of a better time and better place👍
Yes the Australian Charger was a very different vehicle from the US Charger. The Australian version was a shortened version of the 4 door valiant. Designed by Bill Chinnuk. Cheers from Australia
Holy Sit!! That was quiet the ride! I was unaware just how extensive the Valiant reached. Lotta love for the red Valiant that faced off against that beast of a tanker truck in "Duel"!! \m/
I grew up Mopar. We had a 1963 Dodge Dart and a friend of the family had a 1963 Valiant convertible. Both would tow small boats through the mountains of PA. My father later moved on to bigger Dodges and then Chryslers and dad rarely strayed from the brand. I knew the Valiant and Dart histories quite well but was never aware of all the Australian variants. Pretty cool....
That was great. I love what Australian and Brazilian (VW in particular) divisions do. As a kid our family had a 1963 Dart convertible slant 6. My Dad drove 129,000 miles before giving to a guy who was laid off and had five kids. Nothing on the car would break.
Great rundown. Very informative and accurate. My dad worked for a Chrysler dealership here in Tasmania, Australia and my early days were spent being driven around in a multitude of lovely Valiants. Brilliant cars.
Thank you for the great video. Neighbors had a three speed standard 1960 Valiant. Not a column shifter, but a strange floor mounted stick. Loved those cars and almost everyone in town bought a Duster, a few years later.
This brings back memories. My mom’s first car was a brown 1963 Valiant. She got it in 1968, when I was two years old. She said while she and my grandparents were at the car dealership, I started getting fussy. She sat me in several cars and I stopped being fussy when she sat me in the Valiant. She decided that was the car she was getting.
I grew up with Valiants. Dad had a white '62 Signet 100 coupe with blue interior. That car stayed in the family for over 15 years. We also had a SWEET '74 Valiant Brougham, black on black with beige-ish mouse fur interior. 318, and FM RADIO! Monaural, but still... This was most enjoyable. Thank you.
It's the 1967 - 1976 Valiants that were the really great generation of these cars. There were so many variations of these cars in these years. When the oil embargo occurred in late 1973, sales skyrocketed for the 1974 and 1975 model years. It's too bad they weren't kept on after 1976, but they were quite old by then. I liked how they had a luxury version of these cars, the Valiant Brougham, in 1974 - 76. By the later years, the slant 6 was a bit underpowered, but the 318 provided adequate performance. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything negative about these cars. Chrysler Corp got these right.
this is very informative. I am a big fan of old mopars and we had a 1964 Valiant convertable with a 170 slant and push button auto. My dad bought it for 75 bucks and said it was one of the best cars he ever owned.
Back in the 90's I bought a '69 w/225 slant out of a farmer's field for $200 and put it back to work for a year and a half (I couldn't afford anything else) All it needed was a battery, brake pads and a new float for the carb. Yeah, it burned oil like crazy and was always gunking up the spark plugs, but it never failed to start and get me where I needed to go. It must have been phenomenal when it was new.
Nicely researched for the Aussie models (sold in NZ). I owned a 1973 Valiant Ranger (base model) with a 245 Hemi 6, 3spd Borg Warner 35 transmission. It was roomier than the Holden and Falcon competition and had a softer ride.
Great video I got my drivers licence in 1971 in a CHRYSLER Valiant VC Regal Sedan we bought new in Adelaide in 1967. I didn’t learn to drive in it as we lived on a farm so many vehicles there to drive. I still have the Valiant under my house its only done 133,000 miles. I also have a 1972 Plymouth Duster 9sec drag car, and a 1974 Dodge Charger SE Brougham 400ci. Plus a 2010 Chrysler 300C Hemi a really great car to drive. Thanks again I’ve found your videos very interesting.
just a couple of updates: In 1959 my Father drove a 1960 Valiant. It had the 3 speed manual of the floor, not on the column. In 1970 the 340 and 440 engines with three two barrel carbs were called SIx Barrell. The Dodge versions were called SIx Pack. You put together a great video.
Another thing about Chrysler Australia factory at Tonsley Park in Adelaide. After Mitsubishi closed production in 2008, the site was redeveloped as an education and technical research centre. Flinders University have their engineering school there, the TAFE (our technical and polytechnic colleges) has a trades and vocational campus and many research and training companies are located on the site. Fun fact, much of the old assembly building is still intact and has been repurposed. You can look up and see the old saw tooth roofline and the overhead cranes from the factory floor.
We had the original first year 1960 Valiant. It had a three speed FLOOR MOUNTED shifter. We next got the 1964 1/2 Barracuda with the 273 and push button auto transmission. We drove it fm Detroit to L.A. and people stared as if they saw a flying saucer. Barracuda beat Mustang to the market but Chrysler did no ads so no one ever even heard of them until very late that year. It was like riding in a custom car from an auto show.
The 1961 Valiant had a manual 3-on-the-floor. It’s the car in which I learned to drive at age 13, which we inherited from my grandfather. It might also have had 3-on-the/column-not sure. It was very basic-manual steering and brakes-but fun to drive, since there was plenty feedback through both, unlike all the numbed-down, tech-laden cars of today…..Just realized what an old crank I’ve become. 😉 Anyway…thanks for the memories.
7:50 - still pic from Duel. I always loved these old A-body cars when I was growing up, the 71-72 dart Swinger and Plymouth Scamp were my favorite, hardtop and the taillights recessed in the bumpers, a lot of cars had those back then, I can tell what car it is just by seeing only the taillights. Today’s cars all look alike and 2 door cars are few and far between.
7:12 The first Pacer, 1969 VF, with the warm slant 6 had a single 2 barrel Carter carb, not dual carbs. 9:28 Australian 1970 VG Valiant sedan was still 108" wheelbase. Only the 2 door hardtop rode on the Dodge Dart 111" wheelbase, using said Dart's body shell. The VIP version ran a 112" wheelbase. 9:45 Pacer engines were 200HP, 215HP and 235HP.
I had a 73 Valiant sedan I bought used from the original owner, rust free. Highly optioned for an economy sedan, it had the 225, automatic, deluxe interior, p/s. power front disc brakes, factory a/c, blower type rear defogger, AM stereo radio with 2 speakers, dual outside rear view mirrors, and deluxe wheel covers.I loved that car. Sadly I lost it to an accident. I'd love to have another. The A body was 1 of Chrysler's best innovations, IMO. The F and M cars were nowhere near as good, even if they were more luxurious.
Mopar Mopar Mopar, if you've never had one you'll never know, i totally have a soft spot for Mopar especially the Valiant, actually i like all makes of vehicles from that era, it's good to see that you included the Aussie Valiant, not many if any ever mention the Aussie Valiant, as it's normally all about their American cousins, I have a 68 Valiant V8,
1968 Australian Valiant got Wheels magazine car of the year- the year I was born! Also the 71 Charger was car of the year, rightly so- at the time it was a superstar making up 50% of all Valiant production and a lengthy waiting period to buy one.
Great history. My only brush with the nameplate was trying to talk my girlfriend into a new 93 v6 5 spd. coupe. They let us drive it for the weekend (remember those days?). Ultimately she thought it too plain compared to her Z24 Cavalier, so it was a no go. I liked the little thing though
I once wrote a letter to Chrysler suggesting, among other things, that the Shadow/Sundance could use a V6. Seems they agreed, but I don't think it went over so well.
The info on the US cars is accurate! I've heard of the Aussie variants and the revered Hemi 6 (which wasn't a true hemi like the 426 and was more a marketing term), really cool to see so many pics of them in one place. Excellent video! Thanks!
The S series valiant was the only car I ever got car sick in While Driving, the curve of the windscreen right in the middle of my field of view was the killer. I really appreciate your Aussie knowledge and your understanding of the difference between faster and quicker.
Greetingss from Sydney! What a nostalgia trip. I learnt to drive on a Valiant ute my father owned. A 1970 model with 225 slant six and three on the tree manual. Drum brakes, no belts, poverty level trim and the standard corrosion straight from the factory gate. When it finally rusted away, it was replaced with another Valiant ute a 1977 model with the 245 Hemi six. It had the performance of a supercar in comparison to the old one and with the standard disc brakes, it would actually stop, too. Also luxury and safety items such as a heater, radio and seat belts. That was a big thing in those days. BTW, the Radial Tuned Suspension was actually a term used by Holden from about 1977 (?) I think. It was their marketing name for better tyres, brakes and chassis tuning. It was a massive improvement on the understeering pigs they were before. Ford and Chrysler introduced similar upgrades to the Falcon and Valiant models very soon afterwards, but I can't recall what they called their packages.
What an excellent video. Especially for adding Australian content. Maybe you could do a video on the Ford Falcon, as it continued on in Australia until 2016. Thank you from Australia.
I was born in 1946, saw all the American versions hit the the streets. I thought it awesome when the first valiant had a V-8. Just a hint of things to come. A friend had a Barracuda formula S with the 273 and four speed. It was a really neat car. In the seventies, out of desperation I had two Dusters that I repaired and kept running by swapping parts as needed. At one time I had a 64 Valiant 2 door hardtop with bucket seats, four speed and the 225 six engine. It had a low geared axle and was really quick off the line. I only got about 25 mph from first gear before the tach hit 5,500, time to shift. The single barrel carb was choking that engine, so I got a 2bbl when the opportunity arrived. Eventually rust made the car unsafe to drive, I sold it to a guy who wanted the seats and four speed trans for a one of a kind Plymouth valiant wagon he was building. I'm hoping one day I'll see that at a car show. A guy in my car pool had a Valiant with 318 auto and it pulled the four of us with no trouble.
I had a 65 Barracuda 273 automatic back in the mid 70's. Both front fenders had rust holes in the top and when I went through a puddle they would spout water like a whale! On the other hand that would help cool the car from the intense heat generated by that gigantic real window. Good times... 😄
I bought a 67 4 door (slant 6) around 1980 for $125. The right front fender, grill, bumper, hood and control arms were wrecked, so I went to my local junkyard and took the parts off a 68 valiant (they still let you do it yourself in those days) for about $125. Got a little over 10 years and 100k out of it. The car needed a lot more maintenance back in those days (like all cars), but the parts were cheap and easy to replace. Might have got another 10 years and 100 k, but something got into the distributor drive gear on the cam that kept tearing up the plastic gear on the distributor.
Very well informed coverage of these great Plymouth & Dodge so-called compact cars from the 60s and 70s. However there were also some very interesting Canadian and Mexican model offshoots that in my opinion would've been worth mentioning too.Thanks, kudos to your automotive history knowledge.
They were compact compared to the huge land yachts that were also being built and sold. Now they would be considered family sedans and are the same size as most so called family cars such as Camry, Accord, Even Lexus.
Do not forget: Valiants have been built also in Switzerland from 1960 to 1972, named Chrysler or just Valiant, but never Plymouth. Valiants, Barracudas, Darts and Lancers left the lines in Switzerland, nearly hand made, sometimes with differences in equipment, trim and color. Cars were orderable with sunroof from german manufacturer Golde. And swiss cars had about the double of welding points to the american ones....
Great informational video! I've owned a 1969 Valiant /6. Great car. I also owned a 1967Barracuda with a factory 383, fun times. It's sad that the A bodies didn't get the love and support like the B and E bodies.
There are pics online of the 69/70 Valiant hardtops converted with fibreglass rear roof to be ambulances- very ugly! And long wheelbase 1972 wagons with at least 1 rear door deleted with long side windows as hearses. Saw a old cop show video of a VJ cop panel van circa 74 in a car chase- well before Chrysler built their own panel vans. It looked just the same as the later vans but with the VJ front end. Saw one CL panel van 3 door ambo also.
@@thehopelesscarguy you mentioned the Drifter trim package, showing the Ute version. The panel van introduced the Drifter, then you could also get it on utes and Chargers as an option. Charger Drifters are rarer. Drifters came standard with the 265 and 318 as optional, 4 speeds most common on either so not just a trim package.
Chrysler's original Valient was one of the best original compact cars of the big three. The big sister of one of my high school friends had a fairly new one, and it was a very well designed early compact. The engineers did everything right except the market's desire for something more performance oriented. The original Valient was an excellent car ahead of its time!
One other thing unusual about most of the Australian sixties Valiant was that the standard engine was the 225 slant six with a stated 145 hp. Most Australian car guys are surprised that Valianyts were made with an engine as small as the 170 slant six. In Australia that gave the Valiants 145 hp quite a performance edge against the larger selling Holden, Falcon and British Motor Corporation six cylinder models that were the only engine available to start with. Power of these were well behind at 75 to 90 hp. Gave the Valiant quite a performance image at the time. The other makes played catch up for years in the dominant six cylinder market of Australia with the BMC cars giving up quite soon after. Even the Valiant here was the first to provide an expensive V8 option with the 273 V8 in 1965 before the Falcon and Holden cars offered a V8 option. But aimed at luxury rather than a performance car. Also unusual in that Australian versions of US cars, for those that could afford them, were in this era only available with the smaller US V8 motors such as the 221, 260, 283 and 289. Early on the Australian Canadian parts sourced Dodge Phoenix only went to a 318 until near the end of the sixties.
I owned the UGLY '60 Plymouth Valiant and the VERY BASIC '66 Plymouth Valiant! Both were powered (WELL) by the EXCELLENT CHRYSLER "slant 6"! The '60 Valiant ( a $50 TIRED "V-200" 4 door was a "170"! The "225 Slant 6" was a $70 car (needed a transmission replacement) that I purchased in 1981! These BOTH were the BEST "cheap rides" EVER!
Well done on including the Australian Valiants. In 6 cylinder form they were better than what Holden and Ford offered. The V8s were good but not marketed as strongly as the 6. My first car was a 1972 Charger with a 265 Hemi. V8 performance in a 6 cylinder for sure. Good times.
Any dodge, Plymouth,or later Chrysler Cordoba and le Baron that came standard with slant six engines, they were my favorites, Plymouth valiant tops the list,in 1975 became the volare dart/ duster, demons became dodge aspens,fine rentals and daily driver.
Ahhh, the F-Bodies. Perfect example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but that’s progress. Bad front suspension (recall), early rust out of front fenders (recall), etc. There was such a problem with the taxi version on NYC, that Chrysler had to scrap and replace 3500 of them. I had a 1977 Volaré landau roofed coupe in “Spinnaker White” with the 225 slant. It lasted over 100k miles but was rusted out on both sides behind the rear wheels. It also ate transmissions, I had to replace them at 33k and 66k give or take. It lasted until about 1989 .
Chrysler never made a big thing of the name of their radial tuned suspension because Holden went overboard advertising it even putting badges on dashboards.
My dad loved Valiant! He had a few Pacers and a few big regal and ranger but I had a VH charger 770. What a cool car! Paid a staggering $900 for it and sold it two years later for $2000. Today it would be worth more than my house 😢
My first real car was a 71 VH Charger XL. A 265 column auto. Bought in april 1986. Still got the receipt. Where i got it there was a choice of my Charger- $1400, a VH 265 Pacer $1200, or a VG Regal hardtop 318 with factory air and black vinyl roof over white but the left rear quarter was lightly gateposted- for$900. If only those prices were today.
Good comprehensive video. My wife's family had an early 1960s Valiant. She told me it was a very good car. I own a 1963 Falcon. It seems that the early 1960s Falcons have survived in much larger numbers than the Valiants. I am not sure why that is.
Back in the early '70s my dad had a 1961 Plymouth Valiant 2 door. It had a straight six, but it was not the slant six. I'm pretty sure it was the original engine. It also had a pusbutton automatic transmission. White with a light blue interior. It was a very unique car. I was not happy when he sold it, because I wanted it when I was 16. In the 50 years since, I have never seen another one like it other than in pictures. Apparently the 2 door Valiant with the original styling was a 1961 model only, and not many were made.
After the controversial styling of the first series Valiant was replaced by the more conventional looking 1963 model, sales of all the various versions of these very well engineered, good performing, well built, durable cars improved so much that they lead the domestic compact market segment for many years.. This was very important for Chrysler as their market share for large cars never really regained the success they had up through about 1957.
My parents dumped their 60 Morris Oxford in 66 for a Canadian model 1966 Valiant Custom 200. It was a two-door hardtop in metallic bronze with the 273 v8. The Canadian version was not badged as a Plymouth. It was actually a rebadged US Dart.
My uncle Jack had a valiant slant six auto in NZ and on the back i am shore it said 160hp and i think it was the sloping six . It was his favorite car.
Rather comprehensive, especially considering the confusing legacy of this model! Some Latin American countries also built their own versions, but I don't have very much knowledge of the details. South Africa imported the Australian bodies and assembled them with local Slant 6 power units...the 1971 restyle being nicknamed "Fastbody." This wound up around 1978. The Australian Valiant was also sold in the UK as a "High Line" model, replacing the Humber range...not many were sold and this ended around 1976. Valiant was possibly the greatest missed opportunity for Chrysler - a more focused approach which combined the efforts of the overseas branches in evolving the platform, a Chrysler version of the A Body for the US and less spending on the C Body during the early 1970s may have saved them from some of their troubles. $0.02.😊
There is a whole other couple of volumes of the Valiants produced in Argentina (1960-66 style), the ones produced in Spain (1964-70 styles), the ones produced in Brazil (1967-76 styles and locally-designed variants, including a fastback), and the onee used in Scandinavia assembled by Saab)
The valiant was a great car in terms of reliability and handling when equipped with HD suspension, its only drawback was the 3 speed manual gearbox that shifted rathed badly and grenade if driven hard.
The Pacer 225 wasn't dual carbs- it was a single 2 barrel carby. The 1970 Aussie Valiants were 108" wheelbase except the hardtops which were 111" . 1971 Valiants were 111". The 4 speed became available in 1972 in Aussie valiants, with the 302 hp triple webered E-49 R/T Charger. I had a 74 Valiant Ranger sedan with a factory 4 speed behind a 245 Hemi. The 77 CL model also kept the 4.3L 265ci six. The 265 was the most fuel efficient of all aussie sixes even before lean burn technology- giving over 32 mpg (imperial gallons here) if not driven over 60mph (100k). I've gotten 34.5mpg from a 245 with an economy cam grind, but a 265 has bigger inlet valves so would have gotten better.
When I was a little kid the old lady across the street had one,boy that car was ugly,even though I was young I still had taste.😁 It was early 60's. Later, when I was a teenager, another neighbor had a cuda.He took me for a ride once,you talk about fast.... WOW.
'60-2 Valiant styling was yes-no indeed, but I LOVED it even as a pre-schooler (family friends had a red wagon.) The perfidy to me: what '62 Dodge did to those styling cues.
