1974 Chrysler Valiant Regal

[Cuda68Scott]

Cool car, do you plan to keep it all stock? Was it manufactured in Australia or here and exported?

 

[BadAss71]

Cool car, do you plan to keep it all stock? Was it manufactured in Australia or here and exported?

Thank you! For the most part it will remain stock. Although I have a hard time leaving things stock for long lol. They were assembled in south Africa at the Chrysler plant there, but the bodies I believe were all sourced from Australia.

 

[norton]

Man that car is just out and out cool. It should draw all kinds of attention at shows.

 

[hemitheus]

Very impressive. Now you are guaranteed to have a car at the car show without compare. Nice find.

 

[BadAss71]

Man that car is just out and out cool. It should draw all kinds of attention at shows.

Very impressive. Now you are guaranteed to have a car at the car show without compare. Nice find.

Should definitely be the only one around! I should be able to put the car in "A body stock" classes at the shows right?

 

[roadrunnerh]

That's an interesting car! It would be cool cruising a right had drive car on US roads.
Enjoy, and post more pics when it arrives.

 

[norton]

Should definitely be the only one around! I should be able to put the car in "A body stock" classes at the shows right?

It's hard to say how it will be accepted. But I for one would think that you should be able to put it in the a body class.

 

[BadAss71]

That's an interesting car! It would be cool cruising a right had drive car on US roads.
Enjoy, and post more pics when it arrives.

It will definitely take some getting used to for sure lol. Drive thru's will be a challenge haha.

It's hard to say how it will be accepted. But I for one would think that you should be able to put it in the a body class.

I think so too. I mean it is an A body after all. It shares all of the same suspension and k frame. Even the wheel base is the same as Swingers and Scamps. Really looking forward to the first show!

 

[BadAss71]

Well after an exciting trip, the Valiant is on its way to Durban! My friend Leon went up yesterday to Johannesburg, where he would be meeting up with the owner of the Valiant today. Leon met him at a car show today being held in Johannesburg. The car checks out great. On the trip back today he ran in to some issues. The fuel line at the fuel pump has deteriorated and is sucking air, causing the car to sputter then finally quit. He had the car towed about 30km to the next town, where they found the problem. They replaced the rubber line and Leon headed out of town. He made it about another 100km when the car stalled again. This time it sounds like the fuel pump has taken a crap. At this point Leon and I decided it would be best just to have the car towed to Durban. The car should be there in about an hour from now. Leon was very impressed with the condition of the car, and says I will be very happy with it. Besides the obvious maintenance the car needs, its a true survivor. And in south Africa that's pretty much unheard of. Leon sent me a couple of pictures from Today's adventure.

 

[YY1]

That's an interesting truck in the last batch of pics.

I drove a Jeep DJ (postal) for work for a few years (not a postal job, though).

It really doesn't take much time to get used to it.

The worst parts is being on the low side of the road crown.

 

[cjh]

It is really strange to see a slant 6 in a VJ Valiant,..... when they were made here, they had either a 215, 245, or a 265 Hemi 6.....or a 318 or 360 V8.
They kept the 340's for the E55 Chargers.

 

[BadAss71]

It is really strange to see a slant 6 in a VJ Valiant,..... when they were made here, they had either a 215, 245, or a 265 Hemi 6.....or a 318 or 360 V8.
They kept the 340's for the E55 Chargers.

You know, I wouldn't mind finding a 265 Hemi to put in it! Bring her back to her roots!

 

[cjh]

You know, I wouldn't mind finding a 265 Hemi to put in it! Bring her back to her roots!

I know where some are sitting.....not mine though.

 

[cjh]

Some pics..............all these are Hemi 6's.

 

[cjh]

This is a VK Regal V8.

 

[BadAss71]

Little update on the Valiant. Finally got all of the export paperwork done and approved. Obviously they don't export many vehicles from South African to the United States. It took several months to get the process done, but she's on her way! It's loaded in the container and on the ship. Hopefully should see it in the next month or two.

 

[Tony Fields]

Nice car!

Love it.

 

[Abodybomber]

Nice... Congrats....

 

[Dustdevl340]

Good news. Those foreign Mopars are very cool. I'd love to have an Aussie Valiant Charger R/T but lacking a lottery win, I think that will remain a dream.
Let us know when she arrives.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[moparmat2000]

Very cool, i wish i had the funds and ability to get one of these. Hopefully the paperwork shuffle once it gets to the U.S. isnt too bad, so you can start driving it right away.

 

[BadAss71]

Well she made it! Picked her up at the port in long beach California a couple of weeks ago. Only took quick few days after it's arrival for it to clear customs and be taken to a warehouse where I could pick up. When I arrived at the warehouse they had just started to remove the wheel chalks and straps so I had to hang out for a little while for them to do their thing. They asked if it would run so they didn't have to push it, so I hopped in and tried to fire it. Well the battery was pretty weak from sitting for 2 months in a steel box, but it had just enough juice to fire. The gas had gone totally rotten and wouldn't hardly run. I also noticed that the brake pedal hit the floor lol. It seems the master cylinder took a crap on the trip as well. So much for driving it! The guys pushed it in to the warehouse and down the ramp where my trailer was waiting. Got the car loaded up and made my way back to Phoenix.

Once I arrived there my friend Tim helped me unload it in to his shop. Here are some pictures of picking it up and when I got it to the shop. More to follow!

 

[BadAss71]

Here are a few more pictures of the car for those interested. It's really amazing how many things that are unique to these cars vs the American a body cars.

 

[BadAss71]

So trying to find a master cylinder for an African mopar in the united states is not easy lol! I spent about an hour at our local BAP imports auto parts store trying to find one. Well no dice. We did figure out from the casting number that it crossed over to an early 70's land rover. Well these particular ones were not sold in the states. So. After returning to the shop we started doing some brainstorming. We happened to have a 95 Dakota sitting in the parking lot that has a blown motor. Looking at the master on it we thought hell, let's take it off and see what they look like next to one another. Well the bolt spread was identical to the African car! Basically all we needed to do was drill out the mounting holes a bit bigger and install a short slug inside the bore for the pushrod. The lines on the valiant used a bubble type flare so we needed to reflare the lines. After that she was ready to go!

Take a look at the front brakes. It uses a twin piston caliper and a non vented rotor. I will say that I am not impressed with the brakes lol. It stops ok, but I will be upgrading to the 73 up disk brakes right away. I have the spindles and everything else needed to do it just sitting around, so I may as well put them to use!

 

[MrJLR]

What are your plans for it? Daily driver?

 

[BadAss71]

So I got the car insured and registered the day after I got it to phoenix. All I had to bring to motor vehicle was the customs clearance form, the bill of sale, and the South African title. That's it. I was there for about ten minutes and walked out with a license plate in hand! Went way easier than I had imagined it would.

I will be making quite a few changes to the drivetrain and suspension over the next month or so. I will start a thread in the members restorations section for those who would like to follow.