The Chrysler Valiant was a full size car sold down under by Chrysler Australia between the years of 1962 and 1981.
Originally this was the second generation rebadged locally assembled Plymouth Valiant from USA. The Chrysler Valiant was completely manufactured in Australia.
The Valiant was predominantly sold locally and distributed to Australia’s cousin country, New Zealand.
Operations of the Chrysler Valiant were established in South Australia with an assembly plant at Tonsley Park in 1964.
The Valiant was established as the third edition to the well-known “Big 3” Australian-made vehicles, following the Holden Kingswood and Ford Falcon.
Things started to get pretty serious in Australia with the second generation Valiant, and it all begun with the AP5 series (“AP” stands for Australian Production).
The AP5 Series first hit the scene on 30 May 1963, when Chrysler Australia first produced its first fully Australian manufactured Valiant.
A complete makeover was on the agenda for the second generation Valiant, and thats just what Aussie manufacturers did. The AP5 had an entirely new design that only shared four doors, the windscreen and front guards in common to its American counterpart.
This new showstopper Chrysler Valiant strengthened the brand’s positioning in Australia’s marketplace.
The Chrysler Valiant AP5 saw nothing short of success with total production amounted to 49,440 vehicles produced and sold.
Photographer, Chris Talevski recently visited Gosford Classic Car Museum and captured these beauties. Second generation Chrysler Valiant’s in the flesh.
