The Chrysler Valiant (VC) is an
automobile
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
that was produced in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
by
Chrysler Australia
Stellantis (Australia and New Zealand) Pty Ltd (formerly FCA Australia), is the official Stellantis subsidiary in Australia and New Zealand, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Leapmotor vehicles. Ho ...
from 1966 to 1967.
[ It was released in March 1966, replacing the Chrysler AP6 Valiant.][ The VC was the fifth ]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 fu ...
model to be produced in Australia.
Overview
The VC Valiant was longer and lower than any previous Australian Valiant model, and was based on the 1965–1966 U.S Plymouth Valiant
The Plymouth Valiant (first appearing in 1959 as simply the Valiant) is an automobile which was marketed by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States from the model years of 1960 through 1976. It was created to give ...
which itself was essentially a facelift of the 1963–1964 model,[Chrysler Valiant VC at www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au]
Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Chrysler Australia photographs of early VC's show them bearing the model designation AP7. While the equivalent U.S Valiant came with a split-grille, the VC came with a new full-sized grille. Although made in Australia, it's front bumper, fenders and bonnet were shared with the U.S model.[
Different to the U.S model, the VC had new rear styling with vertical taillights.][Tony Davis, Aussie Cars, 1987, page 96]
Regal and V8 models had a chrome strip situated near the lower edge of the doors[Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, 2010, pages 129-133]
Model range
The VC series Valiant was offered in 4-door sedan, 5-door station wagon
A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...
and 2-door coupe utility
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and typically with two doors.
The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the Fr ...
models.[
* Valiant 225 sedan][Sales brochure for VC series 225 Slant 6 and 273 V8 Valiants] (VC-M41)
* Valiant 225 Safari wagon[ (VC-M45)
* Valiant Regal sedan][ (VC-H41)
* Valiant Regal Safari wagon][ (VC-H45)
* Valiant 273 V8 sedan][ (VC-P41)
* Valiant 273 V8 Safari wagon][ (VC-P45)
* Valiant Wayfarer utility][ (VC-M20)
File:1967 Chrysler VC Valiant (5279034145).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant sedan
File:1966 Chrysler Valiant (VC) Safari station wagon (2015-06-08) 01.jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Safari wagon
File:1966 Chrysler Valiant (VC) Safari station wagon (2015-06-08) 02.jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Safari wagon
File:1966 Chrysler Valiant (VC) Regal sedan (16932852650).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Regal sedan
File:1966 Chrysler VC Valiant Regal sedan (15625630286).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Regal sedan interior
File:Chrysler VC Valiant Regal Safari.JPG, Chrysler VC Valiant Regal Safari wagon
File:1966 Chrysler VC Valiant V8 sedan (15646640591).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant V8 sedan
File:1966 Chrysler VC Valiant V8 sedan (15649329995).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant V8 sedan - note three horizontal chrome stripes on rear quarter panel to further differentiate V8 sedan from Regal
File:Chrysler Valiant VC V8 Wagon (16059215794).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant V8 Safari wagon
File:Chrysler Valiant Wayfarer Utility (VC).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Wayfarer utility
File:Chrysler Valiant VC Ute (15724160784).jpg, Chrysler VC Valiant Wayfarer utility - note rear bumperettes carried over from the previous AP6 utility
File:1966 Chrysler VC Valiant Regal sedan (15462692539).jpg, 225 cubic inch slant six as fitted to VC Valiant and Regal range
]
Dodge 106 heavy duty utility
A variant of the Valiant Wayfarer utility was marketed as the Dodge 106 heavy duty utility.[ The Dodge had a 1,500 lb load capacity,][ as against the 1,200 lb capacity of the Wayfarer,][ and was visually differentiated by less chrome and exterior decoration.][
]
Engines and transmissions
A Straight-six engine
A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...
was fitted to all models other than the 273 V8 sedan and wagon, which were powered by a V8 engine
A V8 engine is an eight- cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration.
Origins
The first known V8 was the Antoinette, designed by Léon Levavasseur, a ...
.[Valiant VC Technical Specifications, www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au]
Retrieved on 24 May 2012 Base models were available with either three speed manual transmission or three speed automatic transmission, whilst Regals and 273 V8s were fitted with a three speed automatic as standard.[
]
Production and replacement
A total of 65,634 VC Valiants were built prior to its replacement by the VE Valiant range in 1967.[
]
Motorsport
Two VC Valiant V8 automatic sedans contested the 1966 Gallaher 500 endurance race at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, finishing first and second in Class D. They placed 10th and 11th outright, beaten only by the Morris Cooper S
The Mini is a very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally (br ...
which filled the first nine places.
Police Cars
Chrysler Australia produced 33 or 34 (actual figure is disputed) Valiant sedans with the base level trim, but equipped with the 273 V8, for use by Victoria and South Australia Police forces as high speed pursuit vehicles. These show in the production records as model code V41. Regular production base model Valiants used model code M41, whilst regular production V8 with the luxury trim used model code P41. Externally they were identical to the regular six cylinder Valiant sedans, and had standard base trim level interiors instead of the luxury interior of the regular production V8s
United Kingdom
Australian Chryslers were brought into the United Kingdom through Warwick Wright Ltd. beginning with the VC Series. Several VC Valiant sedans and station wagons were presented at the October 1966 British International Motor Show
The British International Motor Show was an annual (bi-biennial after 1976) motor show held by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) between 1903 and 2008 in England. The show was relaunched in 2021 with a new location at Farnb ...
in London. The cars were sold through Rootes Group
The Rootes Group was a British automobile manufacturer and, separately, a major motor distributors and dealers business. From headquarters in the West End of London, the manufacturer was based in the English Midlands, Midlands and the distribu ...
dealerships on a shared commission basis with Warwick Wright. [https://www.aronline.co.uk/around-the-world/australia/around-the-world-australian-chryslers/]
References
{{Chrysler Valiant
Cars of Australia
Valiant vehicles
Valiant
Cars introduced in 1966
1960s cars
Cars discontinued in 1967