The VF's new Hardtop grafted a Dodge Dart coupe body onto Valiant front sheetmetal — and at over 5,000mm, it's still the longest coupe ever built in Australia.
Lead trim: VF V8 318 LA
Chrysler Valiant VF1969–1970
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Chrysler Valiant VF yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThe VF's new Hardtop grafted a Dodge Dart coupe body onto Valiant front sheetmetal — and at over 5,000mm, it's still the longest coupe ever built in Australia.
In March 1969 the VE was replaced by the VF, sharing its middle section but with new front and rear styling: a horizontally convex grille replacing the VE's concave one and front indicators on the top leading edge of the guards, which allowed a thinner bumper and made the single round headlights look larger. The Valiant and Regal were joined by the Regal 770 and an upgraded VIP, which two months later became the Chrysler VIP (sedan only) on a stretched 112 in wheelbase with longer rear doors; a padded instrument panel and energy-absorbing steering column were added, and a larger 5.2 L (318 cu in) LA V8 replaced the 273, with a top speed of 109 mph, with a three-speed manual or three-speed TorqueFlite. The most significant new model was the two-door Valiant Hardtop, essentially a North American Dodge Dart coupé with Australian Valiant front sheet metal and trim, released in September 1969 as the Valiant, Regal or Regal 770; at over 5,000 mm (200 in) it was the longest coupé ever built in Australia. The high-performance Valiant Pacer of mid-1969 is catalogued separately.
Collectors Spotted in the Chrysler Valiant Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Chrysler Valiant yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VF V8 318 LA | 1969–1970 | 5.2 L V8 | 210 hp | 320 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
By 1979 a 4.0-litre Valiant with Electronic Lean Burn beat a 2.0-litre Ford Cortina on fuel in Wheels magazine's economy test.
New Zealand held off launching the VJ for nearly a year after Australia, a 60 percent tax on big engines having killed the market's appetite.
The VH was the first Valiant Chrysler Australia engineered entirely in-house, Charger included, ending reliance on Detroit.
The VG Pacer's hardtop body lasted exactly six cars, three E31 and three E35, before Chrysler dropped the style for good.
The VF's new Hardtop grafted a Dodge Dart coupe body onto Valiant front sheetmetal — and at over 5,000mm, it's still the longest coupe ever built in Australia.
Though built on American bones, the locally-developed VE Valiant won something no US donor car ever did: Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year, Chrysler Australia’s first.
The Australian-built AP5 Valiant looked American but barely was one — Chrysler's local arm redesigned nearly everything, keeping just the doors, windscreen and front guards from its US counterpart.
Australia's first-ever Valiant quietly beat the rest of the local industry to a piece of modern electronics: it was the first Australian car built with an alternator instead of a generator.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
Nissan hired former BMW engineers to help develop the 510's suspension, which is why period reviewers frequently compared its handling to the BMW 1600/2002.
A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.