It’s the 60th anniversary of the VC Valiant.
Released in March, a month before the HR Holden made its debut and seven months in advance of Ford’s all new “Mustang Bred” XR Falcon, the VC was a deftly styled Australian update of an American design that had been around since 1962.
Chrysler Australia’s advertising positioned the Valiant as a cut above a Holden or Ford.
It was not a hollow boast.
Many of the interior appointments in the base Valiant could only be found in the so-called luxury models of its competition.
The formal roof line and squared-off fenders the Valiant added a dignified visual appeal for buyers who wanted others to know they had spent extra to buy a Valiant.
Where the Valiant had always had an advantage was up front and under the bonnet.
For it was there that lurked Chrysler’s powerful 3.7 litre (225 cubic inches) slant six-cylinder engine.
The Ford and Holden sixes were no match for Valiant’s 108kW (145 bhp) output.
Plus, the Valiant could be has with a 4.4-litre V8 (273 cu.in).
Power was claimed to be 135kW (180 bhp).
It came as a separate model, with all the Regal’s “luxury”, plus a vinyl roof and floor shift automatic as standard.
Trouble was, drum brakes were standard, and there was no option of disc brakes.
Motoring journalists of the day complained about the lack of discs in a 160km/h plus car.
Said Barry Cooke in the June, 1966 edition of Modern Motor “Chrysler remains the only one of the Big Three to stand against disc brakes.”
He added that “Chrysler can’t hold out much longer against pressures of public opinion and motoring writers.”
By November the VC had its discs as an option across the range.
But by then the new longer, lower, wider and much more attractively styled XR Falcon was in Ford dealerships and it had discs as an option and a V8 available across the entire range.
The local power and styling race had begun!
David Burrell is the editor of retroautos
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