The Chrysler Valiant (CL) 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 in Australia 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 1976 to 1978. The CL, which was the twelfth Australian

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, replaced the

Chrysler Valiant (VK) The Chrysler Valiant (VK) is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from October 1975 to October 1976. It was the eleventh Australian produced Chrysler Valiant series. Overview The Chrysler Valiant VK series was introduced in Oc ...

. It was also built in South Africa by

Sigma Sigma (; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; grc-gre, σίγμα) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as ...

, who marketed it there as the Chrysler SE.

Changes

The Chrysler CL models featured new grilles, a new nose cone and new bonnet, and, (on sedans), new rear panels including boot lid, lower panel and quarter panel. A

panel van A panel van, also known as a blind van, car-derived van (United Kingdom) or sedan delivery (United States), is a small cargo vehicle with a passenger car chassis, typically with a single front bench seat and no side windows behind the B-pillar. ...

body style was added to the range in April 1977.Tony Davis, Aussie Cars, 1977, page 147

Model range

The Chrysler CL passenger car range comprised 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

coupe 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 ...

body styles in the following models: * Chrysler Valiant Sedan * Chrysler Valiant Wagon * Chrysler Regal Sedan * Chrysler Regal Wagon * Chrysler Regal SE Sedan * Chrysler Charger 770 Coupe The Chrysler CL commercial vehicle range comprised a 2-door

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 ...

and a 2-door

. * Chrysler Valiant Utility * Chrysler Valiant Panel Van Regal and Charger models were not designated as Valiants. File:Chrysler Valiant CL (15856927356).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant Sedan File:1977 Chrysler Valiant (CL) sedan (24289104411).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant sedan File:Chrysler Valiant Wagon (CL).JPG, Chrysler CL Valiant wagon File:Chrysler Valiant CL Wagon (15761874421).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant wagon File:Chrysler Valiant CL Regal (16446432139).jpg, Chrysler CL Regal sedan File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant Regal sedan (15625734296).jpg, Chrysler CL Regal sedan File:1977 Chrysler Valiant CL Regal Sedan (21784734403).jpg, Chrysler CL Regal SE sedan File:1977 Valiant CL Charger

.JPG, Chrysler CL Charger 770 coupe File:1976 Chrysler Valiant (CL) Charger 770 coupe (23743819314).jpg, Chrysler CL Charger 770 coupe File:Chrysler CL Valiant Utility.jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility File:Chrysler Valiant CL Ute (15322213754).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant panel van (30618180171).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant panel van File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant panel van (30072338163).jpg, 1977 Chrysler CL Valiant panel van

Limited edition models and option packs

* A limited edition Chrysler Le Baron luxury model was announced in April 1978.Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia, page 202 400 examples were produced. * A Charger XL model was available, but only as the K16 Police Pursuit Special with the 318 V8 engine and automatic transmission. * A Sports Pack was available for the Panel Van and the Utility as Option A53.Gavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia, page 422 * A Drifter Pack was offered for the Panel VanGavin Farmer, Great Ideas in Motion, A History of Chrysler in Australia, page 200 and Utility.Sales brochure for ''Chrysler Drifter'' Models fitted with this option were marketed under the

Chrysler Drifter The Chrysler Drifter is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1977 to 1978. It was offered in panel van and coupé utility body styles. Chrysler Australia added a panel van to their Chrysler CL Valiant range in April 1977, ...

name. * A Charger Drifter pack was offered as Option A34 (white) and Option A49 (Impact Orange, Sundance Yellow or Harvest Gold). File:1978 Chrysler CL Regal Le Baron sedan (39661043860).jpg, Chrysler CL Regal Le Baron sedan File:Chrysler CL Regal Sedan (2).jpg, Chrysler CL Regal Le Baron sedan File:1977 Valiant CL XL only Police cars were XL

.JPG, Chrysler CL Charger XL coupe (K16 Police Pursuit Special) File:Chrysler CL Valiant Charger XL- NSW Police (5175570495).jpg, Chrysler CL Charger XL coupe (K16 Police Pursuit Special) File:Chrysler Valiant CL Sportspack Ute (16756769448).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility with Sports Pack File:Chrysler Valiant CL Sportspack Ute (16689774263).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility with Sports Pack File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant panel van (37774668804).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant panel van with Sports Pack File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant panel van (26713927539).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant panel van with Sports Pack File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant Drifter utility (30072339813).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility with Drifter pack File:Chrysler CL Drifter ute.jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant utility with Drifter pack File:Chrysler CL Drifter Van.JPG, Chrysler CL Valiant panel van with Drifter pack File:1977 Chrysler CL Valiant Drifter panel van (15650267232).jpg, Chrysler CL Valiant panel van with Drifter pack File:Chrysler Valiant CL Charger Drifter (16247751529).jpg, Chrysler CL Charger coupe with Drifter pack

Engines and transmissions

Three engines were offered: * I6 * I6 * V8 Four transmissions were offered: *3 speed manual *4 speed manual *3 speed Borg-Warner 35 automatic (6 cylinder models only) *3 speed TorqueFlite A904 automatic (V8 powered models only)

Production and replacement

32,672 CL models were built prior to the replacement of the CL by the Chrysler Valiant (CM) in 1978.

South Africa

In 1978 a model of the CL Regal was introduced in South Africa for local assembly. These cars came equipped with a locally-built four-barrel 225 slant-six producing . In spite of the engine's impressive "Charger-Power" name, this only sufficed for a top speed of in a period road test. While the performance came in for some criticism, fuel economy and brakes received higher marks. The SE only came as a fully equipped model, with the interior and suspension having received some fettling in Detroit prior to Sigma finishing development in South Africa.

References

{{Chrysler Valiant Cars of Australia Valiant vehicles Valiant (CL) Cars introduced in 1976 1970s cars