The Chrysler Valiant (VK) 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 October 1975 to October 1976. It was the eleventh

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 ...

n produced

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 ...

series.

Overview

The Chrysler Valiant VK series was introduced in October 1975, replacing the Valiant VJ series. The VK was essentially a facelift of the VJ with revised grilles, taillights and badging. The VK was intended to have significantly different styling to the VJ, however this did not eventuate due to financial constraints. The range was rationalized with a reduced number of models and options. The Chrysler name was now promoted more strongly with Chrysler badging displayed prominently on the new models. The Charger was now known as the ''Chrysler Charger'', having previously been promoted as the ''Valiant Charger by Chrysler''. The six cylinder engines were fitted with a new Carter carburetor.Tony David, Aussie Cars, 1987, page 143 A vacuum operated “Fuel Pacer” was offered as an option, the device using a flashing light to assist the driver in avoiding fuel wastage. This light was initially on the right-hand guard, but was later fitted to the instrument panel. Additional safety features included a pressure proportioning valve in the rear brake circuit, power-boosted brakes and hazard warning lights. Indicator, headlight dipping, headlight flashing and windscreen wiper controls were now housed in a steering column stalk. This was the first multi-purpose stalk control to be fitted by any of the “big three" manufacturers, the other two being

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of United States-based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in Geelong, Victoria, in 1925 as an outpost of Ford Motor Comp ...

and

General Motors-Holden's Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last three ...

Model range

The VK series 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 ( ...

coupé 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

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 the following models: * Chrysler Valiant Ranger sedan * Chrysler Valiant Ranger wagon * Chrysler Valiant Regal sedan * Chrysler Valiant Regal wagon * Chrysler Charger XL''Chrysler Charger'' (sales brochure for VK series Chrysler Charger XL & 770), Chrysler Australia Ltd. * Chrysler Charger 770 * Dodge utility 200 Charger White Knight Specials were produced, based on the Charger XL.James Cockington, ''1976 VK Chrysler Charger White Knight'', Australian Muscle Car, Issue 78, 2014/15, pages 38 to 45 Specified via Option Code A50, 100 examples were produced in Arctic White and 100 in Amarante Red. File:Chrysler Valiant VK (17123843219).jpg, Chrysler VK Valiant Ranger sedan File:1975 Chrysler VK Valiant Regal sedan (30706484745).jpg, Chrysler VK Valiant Regal sedan File:Chrysler VK Valiant Regal Sedan 02.jpg, Chrysler VK Valiant Regal sedan File:Chrysler Valiant VK Regal Wagon (16774648948).jpg, Chrysler VK Valiant Regal wagon File:Chrysler Valiant VK Regal Wagon (16342185514).jpg, Chrysler VK Valiant Regal wagon File:Chrysler Valiant VK Charger Police Highway Patrol (16167370936).jpg, Chrysler VK Charger XL coupe File:Chrysler Valiant VK Charger Police Highway Patrol (16191343711).jpg, Chrysler VK Charger XL coupe File:Chrysler VK Charger 770 360.JPG, Chrysler VK Charger 770 coupe File:Chrysler Charger (16718799284).jpg, Chrysler VK Charger 770 coupe File:Chrysler VK Charger White Knight (15037593750).jpg, Chrysler VK Charger White Knight Special coupe in Amarante Red File:1976 Chrysler VK Valiant Charger "White Knight Special" (5279713988).jpg, Chrysler VK Charger White Knight Special coupe in Arctic White File:1976 Dodge VK utility (4472404128).jpg, Dodge VK utility File:1976 Dodge VK utility (44913161914).jpg, Dodge VK utility

Engines and transmissions

The range of engines available in the VK series comprised I6, I6, I6, V8 and V8. 3 speed manual, 4 speed manual and 3 speed automatic transmissions were offered. As of July 1976, the 215 and 360 engines were dropped from the lineup, to conform with

ADR27A ADR27A was an Australian Design Rules, Australian Design Rule specifying design and operating regulations to limit fuel evaporative and exhaust emissions for motor vehicles in Australia in order to reduce air pollution. The rule covered "all mo ...

emissions requirements. The 215 was replaced by a low compression version of the 245.

Production and replacement

VK production comprised 11,722 sedans, 4,039 wagons, 1,625 Chargers and 3,169 utilities for a total of 20,555 units. This was the lowest Valiant production since the

S Series S series or Series-S or ''variation'', may refer to: Transportation * Bedford S series, trucks * Chevrolet S-series, pickup trucks * GMC S-Series, school bus * International S series, trucks * International S series (bus chassis) * S series (T ...

. The VK was superseded by the

Chrysler Valiant (CL) The Chrysler Valiant (CL) is an automobile which was produced in Australia by Chrysler Australia from 1976 to 1978. The CL, which was the twelfth Australian Chrysler Valiant model, replaced the Chrysler Valiant (VK). It was also built in South Af ...

in November 1976.

Chrysler CK series

also produced the related Chrysler CK series, a long wheelbase, luxury model developed from the Valiant VK. In July 1976, the 360 (5.9L) engine was dropped to meet ADR27A emissions requirements, being replaced by the 318 (5.2L) engine as standard fitment to the Chrysler, which gained colour coded hubcaps and Cloth Cord trim at the same time. The Chrysler CK was replaced by the Chrysler Regal SE in October 1976, the later being the prestige model in the newly released

range.Tony David, Aussie Cars, 1987, page 147

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 ...