Mopar muscles in

Chrysler barely rates a mention on the new car sales charts these days, but it hasn’t always been that way. Back in the 1960s and 70s Chrysler was one of the top three manufacturers in Australia, with its Hemi six-powered Valiant Charger leading the performance pack alongside Holden’s Monaro and Ford’s Falcon GT.

Boasting up to 90 per cent local content, the Chrysler Valiants in all their two- and four-door guises were as Aussie as Vegemite, and a common sight in driveways across the nation. By 1967 Chrysler was third in the sales race with 13.5 per cent of the market – greater than Holden’s share today – and during 20 years of local production 565,338 Valiants were sold.

For patriotic petrolheads, it was an exciting period. A time when big, homegrown muscle coupes ruled our roads, not compact SUVs; when people boasted of quarter-mile times rather than C02 emissions. When a litre of Super cost 10c, and a trio of Weber side-draught carburetors under the bonnet generated more awe than any stop-start technology.

It was more fun – and dangerous – on the roads with speed cameras still a distant dream of government bureaucrats. Advertisers promoted a vehicle’s tyre-shredding or female seducing qualities rather than Bluetooth connectivity.

Safety features? You were lucky to get seatbelts to stop you sliding off the vinyl bench seats, while airbags were something found under a lowrider.

Barely disguised racecars were driven from the showroom straight to the drag strip or circuit, including Mount Panorama. If you were a Chrysler fan, you could buy the same R/T Charger (E38 or E49) raced by your heroes at the Bathurst Great Race, although the Six Pack Chryslers never did quite make it to the top of the podium.

The party was well and truly over by 1981 however, when the last CM Valiant rolled off the assembly line and Chrysler finally ditched its homegrown performance models in favour of selling more fuel-efficient Sigmas.

While Chrysler’s local operations kicked off again in 1996 with imported Jeep 4WDs, the Neon small car and Voyager people mover, it wasn’t the same with only the retro-styled PT Cruiser, V8-powered 300C sedan and overpriced V10 Dodge Viper keeping the Mopar flame flickering.

But thanks to a dedicated group of enthusiasts and clubs across the country, memories of those glory days more than 30 years ago are regularly brought to life at various events, like the inaugural Mopar Nationals in early December.

Held at Calder Park Raceway on Melbourne’s western fringe, the Mopar Nationals mimics other successful nostalgia-inducing events in other states including Queensland’s Mopar Sunday and Sydney’s Mopar Rumble. Along with the obligatory show ’n shine static display which attracted 200-plus cars, there was a competitive element where more than 100 cars raced in pairs against the clock on Calder’s hallowed 400m drag strip.

For organisers, the Albury Wodonga Chrysler club and Chrysler Australia, it was a chance to tap into the renewed enthusiasm from both young and old for classic and current Chrysler products, fuelled by recent releases like the new Challenger muscle car.

“The aim of today is to basically tie in old school Mopar with new school Mopar… and bring Mopar back to Melbourne,” explained Chrysler Australia’s after-sales marketing manager, Aaron Moorcraft during the Saturday event.

As well as selling a range of Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler vehicles, Chrysler’s local arm offers an extensive array of factory-backed parts from the Mopar Performance division, which dates back to 1929. It includes everything from dress-up kits for the latest Dodge Caliber SXT to an original Mopar oil filter for your 1970 Challenger. “Anything you can get through the US we sell through Chrysler Australia,” Moorcraft said.

Chrysler Australia’s sponsorship of the Team Mopar Dodge competing in the ANDRA Pro Stock drag racing series provides another tie in with the Mopar catalogue and the Chrysler faithful. Driven by Lee Bektash, the carbon-fibre bodied Dodge with its 820kW, 400 cubic inch Hemi V8 is currently the quickest car in Australian Pro Stock history, with a quarter mile of 7.023sec at 194.69mph (313.45km/h) – not to mention 0-100km/h of 0.8sec.

Bakesh and his crew were on hand at the Mopar Nationals to chat with fans and do a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-it passes for the 2000-strong crowd in attendance.

It wasn’t all about the sales pitch, though with at least two rev heads from head office sharing the passion. Chrysler Australia’s national sales manager Veronica Johns brought along her recently imported 1956 Chrysler New Yorker, powered by a massive 354ci Hemi V8. While Chrysler’s Victoria/Tasmania regional manager Mark Tavcar, displayed the 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury he discovered in Boston.

“My Dad was a Chrysler guy, and I’ve always been into Chryslers,” Tavcar explained. “I actually went and sold Mitsubishis when I was 19 because it was the closest I could get to selling Chryslers; the Magna was built in the same (South Australian) factory as the Valiant. So when Jeep came back into the country and I joined (Chrysler) 12 years ago, I eventually got my dream…”

Wandering through the show ’n shine display area behind the main circuit grandstand was like stepping back in automotive time, when bright paintjobs and cartoon characters, pistol grip shifters, vinyl roofs and houndstooth cloth trim, were all the rage.

While there were a few shining examples from the fins and chrome era of the 1950s, American and Aussie muscle from the ‘60s and ‘70s were the main focus, along with most styles and shapes of the 12 Valiant models produced here, including utes and station wagons.

Condition of vehicles varied from clapped-out daily drivers to fully restored matching numbers cars, with quite a few hot-rodded examples with gleaming superchargers, oversized chromed wheels or other go-hard gear.

Standing out for its clean, retro cool appearance though, was the neatly restored 1964 AP5 Valiant sedan of Laurie Cassar. While a bread and butter model, it looked the part with fresh white paintwork and contrasting black vinyl roof, and period accessories including a metal windscreen visor and venetian blinds.

For Cassar, restoring and driving one of the first Aussie-built Valiants is about reviving memories of his first car, also an AP5. It’s also a fun hobby, with the owner admitting the older cars are easier to work on than the latest ones.

“I’ve had it for two years now and just got it on the road three months ago,” he said. “I had one of these when I was 18, so it brings back memories driving it…”

Full of rust when he bought it, the old girl was stripped to bare metal and restored using parts from another AP5. He had help from his brothers during the year-long project, and one had parked his 1966 VC Valiant alongside the AP5.

“It cost me $12,000 to do it all up,” Cassar admitted. “You can’t even buy a new car for $12 grand. To me this is like brand new.”

Also showing extreme dedication to the preservation of a unique slice of Australian history was Craig Howlett. He’s owned his 1968 Valiant VE sedan for 24 years, during which time he’s clocked up more than 550,000 miles (893,550km).

A bit faded in parts but otherwise in good condition, it has the 160hp, 225ci Slant Six engine, three-on-the-tree auto and bench seat, but no radio or heater.

Used as daily transport, it’s averaged 23,600 miles a year since he bought it in 1987 for the princely sum of $1250. The engine, which was converted to run on LPG in 1990, has been reconditioned three times and the gearbox has been replaced.

“I don’t reckon I’m ever going to sell it,” Howlett said. “My missus reckons she’s going to bury me in it.”

While spawning many desirable variants, including the competition Charger and sporty four-door Pacer, few Valiants depict the era better than the Drifter panel van. Just 2000 were built during a brief production run in the late-1970s when shaggin’ wagons were all the rage, and two were on display at Calder Park.

One was a modified example with spacious rear area decked out with mobile bar and leopard print rug, as was popular in the day.  

The other was factory original with dazzling orange paint and matching wheels, Drifter decals, and bold stripes that extended down the sides of the big surfer van.

Asked about its attention-grabbing looks, owner Martin Jones replied: “Yeah, it’s interesting, you get used to people waving at you with funny smiles. The other side is businessmen in Porsches at the service stations going, “Oh man, I had one of those and they were fantastic back in the day…”

Parked next to the Drifter was another bright orange scene-stealer, this one best known to fans of The Dukes of Hazzard. A replica of the 1969 R/T Charger that played a starring role in the hit TV series, it was immediately recognizable for the Confederate flag on the roof, black grille bullbar and Dixie horns under the bonnet.?
Imported Mopar muscle has seen a recent surge in popularity, assisted by a strong Aussie dollar, and there were plenty of desirable examples from the Chrysler stable on display including Coronets, Challengers, ‘Cudas, Super Bees and Road Runners.
 
One you don’t see every day, at least in Australia, was Terry Barker’s 1970 Plymouth GTX. Finished in striking blue with white vinyl roof and blacked out bonnet, it oozed muscle car pedigree with a four-barrel 440ci (7.2-litre) V8, three-speed auto, Go-Wing rear spoiler, bonnet racing pins and just 65,000 original miles on the clock.

Apart from its tough looks, Barker said the burbling, growling V8 was a major attraction. “When you start it up and it makes that noise, people just come from all different directions…” he said.
?While a comfortable cruiser with power steering and air con, he admitted that “like any American car it doesn’t like going around bends, they’re only designed to go in a straight line!”

When asked about its fuel economy he laughed. “I just fill it up when it needs to be filled up. If you worry about how much it’s going to cost to run you’d never buy one!”
?Like many Mopar owners who prefer to stand out in a crowd, Barker said the fact that Chrysler muscle cars have traditionally been overlooked in favour of more popular GM and Ford offerings, was also appealing.

“I’ve always been into Dodges and Chryslers, mainly because everybody else is always into Fords and Chevies, so I thought, no, there has to be something better than that. And now I think the Chrysler, if it’s not right up there it’s pretty close.”

In a blow to Essendon Chrysler Jeep, which had a full range of new vehicles on display to entice spectators, the new model that seemed to attract most interest was one not currently available in local showrooms. Imported by Melbourne Jeep specialists Poly 4x4, the 2010 Challenger SRT8 complete with orange and black stripes bodywork, 20inch forged alloys and a ground-thumping 350kW, 6.1-litre Hemi V8, is a rare sight Down Under.

Despite a sticker price of $139,000 plus on-roads, proprietor John Doukas said he sells about 12 right-hand drive converted Challengers a year, with 50-plus baby boomers the biggest market for the modern take on the 1967 Challenger R/T.

Most eyes though were on the drag strip, where a motley collection of Chryslers from family hack to Top Fuel dragster queued to take part in one of the oldest forms of motorsport. While a few stock-standard Valiants and factory muscle cars joined in the fun, it was the dedicated drag cars with their serious horsepower engines, massive rear tyres and skinny front rubber that caused most mayhem, with plenty of smoke, thunder and the odd wheelstand off the line.

While not quite as quick as the dragster that clocked 7.048secs, the Team Mopar Dodge wasn’t far off the pace with a sharp 7.307secs on its second pass. ??Most surprising was the performance of some local versions of the compact French Chrysler 180, which were sold here as the Centura Six with a selection of Hemi Six engines. Looking more shopping trolley than drag car, one turbocharged example managed to embarrass some bigger, V8 cars with a blistering 9.3secs pass.

Chrysler Australia had two menacing black, 300C SRT-8 sedans for staff and media to try their luck. Most easily went under 14secs thanks to the modern benefits of traction control, a five-speed auto that shifted at redline, and brutally effective 317kW, 6.1-litre Hemi V8.

But if you had to choose one car to sum up the vibe of the event, it was the aptly named CL300C that blended classic Aussie coupe with the latest Mopar performance. Starting life as a two-door CL Charger from the mid-‘70s, the engine bay was stuffed with a 5.7-litre V8 from the 300C, with the interior decked out with 300C dash and seats.

The owner had created a tongue-in-cheek flyer announcing the new model and its “welcome return to the Aussie landscape with powerful performance, unmistakable styling cues reminiscent of the original Charger… engineered to give customers everything they want in a sophisticated modern muscle machine… (that) makes other modern coupes on the road seem outdated”.

With its clever mix of old and new Mopar, it summed up the feelings of many who attended the Mopar Nationals: while the head dictates a brand new car with three-year warranty, the heart says some stylish Mopar muscle from the good ol’ days.