The Chrysler Valiant AP6 is an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

which was produced by

Chrysler Australia Fiat Chrysler Australia, officially FCA Australia, is the official Stellantis subsidiary in that country, operating as distributor of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles. However, there had previously been a "Chrysler Au ...

from 1965 to 1966. It was the fourth

Chrysler Valiant Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automotiv ...

model produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Overview

The Valiant AP6 was released in March 1965, replacing the

Chrysler Valiant AP5 The Chrysler AP5 Valiant is an automobile produced by Chrysler Australia from 1963 until 1965. It was the third Chrysler Valiant model to be produced in Australia. Overview The AP5 Valiant was released in March 1964, replacing the SV1 Valian ...

. The basic styling was carried over from the AP5 but differed in having a new split grille, a new bonnet and new front mudguards. Mechanical changes included a redesigned camshaft, the introduction of self-adjusting brakes and the replacement of the push button gear selector on models with automatic transmission by a traditional lever system. Optional power brakes were made available across the range. A

coupe utility A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

variant was added to the range in April 1965 and marketed as the Valiant Wayfarer. This was the first Valiant-based coupe utility to be produced by Chrysler Australia. As with the previous AP5 model, station wagon rear styling varied depending on production dates. Early build wagons used 1965 US Plymouth Valiant wagon-style tail lights. At some time in the production run Chrysler Australia invested in new tooling for the wagon rear sheet metal, allowing the use of sedan rear doors. Later style wagons again used vertical style tail lights. The new pressings required revised rear cargo area side windows and rear bumpers were also redesigned. Changes occurred from build number AP6-2W-3107 (manual Safari), AP6-4W-2167 (automatic Safari), AP6-4HW-1418 (Regal Safari) and AP6-4WHV-209 (V8 Safari). The difference in sheet metal is most notable where the rear bumpers on the later versions finish. On early build cars the rear bumper ends lead into a pressing on the lower rear quarter panel sheet metal, whereas on later build cars the bumper has curved ends with a flat sheet metal surface on the lower rear quarters. Valiant V8 models were released in August 1965. A V8 sedan and V8 Safari wagon were offered, both 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. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...

with “TorqueFlite 8” automatic transmission. V8 models could be identified by V8 badges, with the V8 sedan having a vinyl roof and the V8 Safari wagon being fitted with a roof rack. Power-assisted brakes were standard equipment. Although it utilized Regal trim and equipment, the V8 was marketed as the Valiant V8, not as a Valiant Regal V8.Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia 1946-1981, Ilinga Books, 2010, page 125

Model range

The Valiant AP6 was offered in 4-door sedan, 5-door

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

and 2-door

coupé utility A coupé utility is a vehicle with a passenger compartment at the front and an integrated cargo tray at the rear, with the front of the cargo bed doubling as the rear of the passenger compartment. The term originated in the 1930s, where it wa ...

body styles in ten models. * Valiant manual sedan (AP6-2) * Valiant automatic sedan (AP6-4) * Valiant Regal sedan (AP6-4H) * Valiant V8 sedan (AP6-4PV) * Valiant Safari manual wagon (AP6-2W) * Valiant Safari automatic wagon (AP6-4W) * Valiant Regal Safari wagon (AP6-4WH) * Valiant V8 Safari wagon (AP6-4WHV) * Valiant Wayfarer manual utility (AP6-2U) * Valiant Wayfarer automatic utility (AP6-4U) File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant sedan (41469892431).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant sedan (non standard wheels) File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant sedan (41469891111).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant sedan (non standard wheels) File:Chrysler Valiant AP6 Wagon (16934780705).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Safari wagon File:1965 Chrysler Valiant AP6 Safari Wagon (16919719098).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Safari wagon - early build. Note US 1965 Plymouth Valiant wagon style tail lights with amber turn signals, and rear bumper ends that finish against pressing in lower body panel. File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant Safari station wagon - late build.jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Safari wagon - later build. Note vertical style tail lights and rear bumper with curved ends that finish against flat body panel. Later build wagons also used sedan rear doors, necessitating revised shaping of rear cargo area side glass, and body trim. File:1966 Chrysler Valiant (AP6) Regal sedan (2015-07-06) 01.jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Regal sedan File:1966 Chrysler Valiant (AP6) Regal sedan (2015-07-06) 02.jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Regal sedan File:1965 Chrysler Valiant (AP6) Safari station wagon (21064802751).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Regal Safari wagon File:1966 Chrysler AP6 Valiant Regal Safari station wagon (15462708929).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Regal Safari wagon File:Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8.jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 sedan File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 (5279053719).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 sedan File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 sedan (45637928601).jpg, 273 cubic inch V8 engine as fitted to Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 sedan front guard badge (5279032177).jpg, V-Eight badge as fitted to Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 front guards and to wagon tailgates File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 sedan (44724033485).jpg, V8 badge as fitted to AP6 Valiant V8 sedan boot lids File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 Safari station wagon.jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 Safari wagon File:1965 Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 Safari station wagon (41469886681).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant V8 Safari wagon File:Chrysler AP6 Valiant Wayfarer utility.JPG, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Wayfarer utility File:Chrysler AP6 Valiant Wayfarer utility (6336707048).jpg, Chrysler AP6 Valiant Wayfarer utility

Engines and transmissions

Straight-six engine The 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 bala ...

was fitted to all models except the Valiant V8, which was powered by a

. Three speed manual and three speed automatic transmissions were offered.

Production and replacement

A total of 43,344 Valiant AP6s were produced prior to its replacement by the

Valiant VC The Chrysler VC Valiant is an automobile that was produced in Australia by Chrysler Australia from 1966 to 1967. It was released in March 1966, replacing the Chrysler AP6 Valiant. The VC was the fifth Chrysler Valiant model to be produced in A ...

in 1966.Elizabeth Tuckey and Ewan Kennedy, Chrysler Valiant, 1996, page 37

References

{{Chrysler Valiant Cars of Australia Valiant vehicles

Valiant Valiant may refer to: People * James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer * The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers ** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010) ** Jimmy ...

Cars introduced in 1965