Chrysler Valiant News

And he's certainly caught more than his share.  The Valiant Pacer was the performance version of the Valiant, in the days when the Australian car industry had the Big Three GM with its Holdens and Monaro, Ford with its Falcons and GT and Chrysler with its Valiants.Mr Moularas is pictured with just one of his collection, a 1970 VG Valiant Pacer, an ex-race car.  Chrysler and Valiant fans this year are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the VG model that not only introduced the famous Hemi six-cylinder engine but also stamped the Pacer as a performance and race car.  The Pacer was the first Valiant to be competitive in the Bathurst long distance race and it spawned the Valiant Charger."I've had this Pacer for three years," Mr Moularas says. "It's a late 1970 model and at the moment it's got a higher-spec 265 (cubic inch) engine in it and a four-speed gearbox. They came out with three-speed boxes and many of them have been replaced with four-speeds over the years."It's race history is a bit sketchy; I'm still researching that. But there are indications that Leo Geoghegan drove it, if you look at the shadow lines of the stickers. "I've kept it as original as possible and you can see where it's had a rollcage."Mr Moularas, a member of the Chrysler Car Club, arguably has the biggest collection of top-condition Pacers in Australia.  "It becomes a disease," he says. He says VG Pacers are "fantastic" to drive. They're thirsty on fuel but a good highway car and people are always stopping to talk about them."VG models had rectangular headlights distinguishing them from the previous VF model. But the major change of the VG was the engine: it introduced the Hemi 6, a 245 cubic inch (four-litre) inline six-cylinder engine to replace the earlier Slant Six. The "hemispherical" combustion chambers were claimed to be more efficient and so give better power.Stirling Moss became the brand's ambassador in 1970. Legend in Adelaide has it that when he was flown to do a TV commercial, he bogged a Valiant on a south coast beach, only for a film crew member to slip into the seat and drive it out.  A previous-model Pacer had come 17th at Bathurst in 1969 with former News Ltd motoring writer the late Mike Kable at the wheel but that had a fairly undeveloped engine.The VG model, however, had the Pacer with a 138kW engine as standard but also could be had in E31, E34 and E35 engine options, the top unit having a four-barrel carburettor, performance camshaft, close-ratio gearbox and well over 175kW power.Allan Moffat won the 1970 Bathurst race in a thumping Falcon GT HO but only one lap behind was Doug Chivas in a Valiant Pacer in fourth place. The tortoise-and-the-hare scenario is indicated by the qualifying times, Moffat 11 seconds as lap faster than the lighter Chivas Pacer which nevertheless finished the race on 129 laps to Moffat's 130.Leo Geoghegan was fifth in a Pacer with yet another Pacer in seventh, despite its three-speed gearbox. Chrysler had a local components policy and did not want to use an imported four-speed.  The Hemi engine was developed to the amazing 265 (4340cc) E49 unit of the Charger which really took on the V8s from 1971.Of the more than half a million Valiants built at the now-closed Tonsley Park plant of Chrysler (latterly Mitsubishi) in Adelaide, 46,374 were VG models. Only a small proportion were Pacers. Most were sedans with wagons, utes, two-door hardtops and the quad-round headlight VIP luxury version also in the mix.

Paul Holter, 54, of North Arm on the Sunshine Coast got his nickname from years of converting American cars, mainly Pontiacs, to right-hand drive.Over the years he claims he has restored, converted, traded and owned as many as 600 cars and now has a dozen in his backyard and shed as well as a few restoration projects belonging to mates.  "I've been collecting cars all my life," he says  "When I got married 35 years ago my wife threatened that if I got any more cars she would leave me. She's still here."Holter got his first car when he was 11 years old.  "My dad bought a Mk V Jag and sold off the tyres and battery and gave me the rest," he says.  "I sold it and bought a '48 Ford Prefect for $40."His daily drivers are a 2005 CVZ Monaro, a 2007 Holden Rodeo and a 2008 Honda Civic, while his collectible cars include a 1976 Chrysler VK Valiant Hemi, a 1968 Pontiac Firebird Convertible, a 1959 Plymouth Suburban sports wagon, a 1960 Pontiac Ventura, a 1962 S Series Chrysler Valiant and a 1983 Pontiac Trans Am race car.He bought the Trans Am for $2000 and converted it into a race car by pulling out the 305 Chevy engine and four-speed auto box and replacing them with a Gen III Commodore 5.7-litre V8, six-speed Tremec gearbox and adding GT-R Skyline rear suspension and brakes.  He claims it gets about 350hp (260kW) at the rear wheels and propelled him to 77th out of 185 cars at last year's Noosa Hillclimb.His current project is the Plymouth he bought for $8500 two years ago. It features nine seats, including a rear-facing row in the back.  He's leaving it in left-hand drive, but is replacing the engine with a 440 V8 he bought online.  "I don't know what it will all cost," he says. "I'd prefer not to know as it could get expensive."It's all the little bits and pieces you have to buy that add up."  Over the past six years he has spent up to $40,000 in a loving restoration of the Ventura he bought for $11,000 and plans to spend about $30,000 _ "or something stupid like that" _ on the S Series Valiant.  "When you do it a bit at a time it doesn't seem so expensive," he says.He plans to fuel-inject and turbo-charge the Valiant's 225 slant-six engine.  "It's rated at 145bhp (108kW), but I reckon I can get it up to the middle 300s," he says.  "I do all my own mechanical work, but I get interiors, paint and body done by experts."Holter is a qualified train driver who moved from Victoria to Queensland 21 years ago and started his right-hand-drive conversion business.  He also had a business importing Nissan Laurel four-door, rear-wheel-drive pillarless sedans but found compliance laws kept changing too often. He bought an Autobarn franchise six years ago and another a year later.Business must be good because Holter has been able to indulge his interest in American cars, travelling several times to the US to buy cars and ship them home for conversion and restoration.And Holter is always looking toward his next project.  He's currently considering trading his Firebird for a Grand Prix and he's always had a soft spot for a Valiant Charger although he reckons they cost too much these days, some fetching as much as $300,000.

The heat has well and truly come out of classic prices for hyper-expensive collectible cars with prices for the famous Ford Falcon GT-HO dropping in value up to 30 per cent over the past few months. The values are a far cry from 2006 and 2007 when speculators and collectors were paying stratospheric prices of up to $800,000 for Phase III versions of the Falcon GT-HO.Prices for other proven Bathurst pedigree cars like the Holden Torana XU1 and A9X, as well as the Valiant Charger E38 and E49, grew in value because of the Phase III phenomenon. But prices for some of Australia's most collectible muscle cars are cooling as investors keep their hands in their pockets because of the global financial crisis. The decline is not just restricted to the top-end cars either.Classic retailers say that some collector cars that several years ago would have fetched $200,000 are now worth $100,000 and the impact has been felt further down the price scale.But Mike Selby, owner-operator of the Sydney-based on-line company Australian Muscle Car Sales, says even though prices have softened, a mint condition Phase III Falcon GT-HO will still fetch between $500,000 and $600,000.He says even rarer versions may command more but it's a buyers' market. "We've just sold one very good Phase III for $550,000 and we've got one we're selling for $600,000," he says. "But lesser cars without logbooks and that are not perfect will struggle."Selby says a low mileage Falcon GT-HO Phase III in exceptional condition will still command big money, particularly because very few survive. "They only build about 300," he says."There are about 180 left and of those there are probably between 12 to 20 cars with less than 50,000km on the clock. Those cars will command really big dollars."Selby says there is a distinct reason why people opt for the famous Bathurst cars like the Torana XU1, A9X, various Falcon GTs and Valiant Chargers. "They are really buying what you can't buy ever again," he says. "They were cars you could buy at your local dealer, drive to Bathurst, and win a race. That is the mystic of that era. They were factory built race cars and that has not been done since."Selby does not believe that some of the newer cars like the Group A Holdens and Fairmont Ghia ESP models will command the same respect, or prices, among collectors. "They are certainly rare cars and interesting but the reason people were buying the GTs and XU1s is because they were something very special," he says. "I think that is an era that's gone."He says as with all cycles he believes the time is right for smart buyers to re-enter the market. "The market has come down a fair way, in line with what happened in the financial world," he says. "But I think it's flattened out now and holding steady," he says "I don't see anything going up yet but there's definitely more interest now than there was before even if cars are taking longer to sell." Specialist classic seller Paul Sabine of the Brooklands Classic Car dealership in suburban Melbourne echoes Selby's view of the classic slide. Brooklands specialises in rare European vehicles and Sabine says he avoids Australian muscle cars because of the over-inflated prices."Some of the later-model Europeans like Porsches, Ferraris and Mercedes-Benz have dropped off a bit," he says. However, he says demand is still strong for low-mileage early model Europeans and finding early examples is getting harder. Demand is outstripping supply but prices for these cars haven't dropped much," he says.Sabine says one segment that has experienced substantial price plunges of up to 30 per cent are the "middle American cars". "The garden-variety Mustangs, Thunderbirds, Camaros... there are just too many out there now," he says.He says the market is awash with imported left-hand drive daily drivers with people hoping to restore them and sell them for profit. "The bottom line is that the restoration costs still keep climbing," he says. "While parts are available for Mustangs the labour costs still haven't dropped. Why would you spend $60,000 doing up a Mustang that's going to be worth $40,000 and you've also paid $15,000 or $20,000 for it?"Apart from road-registered classics, original race cars are also still commanding top prices. "There are very few around," Sabine says. The national auctions manager for classic auction house Shannons in Melbourne, Christophe Boribon, says although the Bathurst cars have dropped in value, prices for some of the European cars being auctioned have remained buoyant.But Boribon admits that even values of some of the Shannons collectibles have dropped about 10 per cent since the global financial crisis. "But unlike the muscle cars, the European cars are in a less speculative area," he says. "We sell passion and hobbie cars, we don't sell the A to B cars."Selby says the market still has some way to go before it is fully recovered. "What you'll find is that once confidence returns to real estate and sharemarket, things will pick up," he says. "The stock that is there isn't moving really quickly but it is moving." He says the only people who have survived the shakeout unscathed are seriously rich collectors who have been able to hang on to their cars. "There have not been any firesales," he says. Tomorrow's highly collectible car could be sitting in your garage. If one of the original Australian muscle cars from the 1960s or 1970s are out of reach some later model cars have collector potential. And you might already be driving around in them.Early examples of the humble Ford Fairlane, Valiant Pacer and Safari wagons and various Falcons from the early 1960s like the XK and XL are becoming more desirable. Prices can start from as low as $10,000, rising up to $30,000 low-mileage mint condition locally built Aussie cars.Even the humble Holden Torana sedan and hatch are now considered collectible with growing interest in original Torana SL and SS hatchback with its "hatchback hutch" portable tent from 1976 to 1978. Very few were made and carsguide has heard of one country NSW collector who found one in mint condition, including the tent, for $15,000.Some of the older Subarus, Mazdas and Hondas are even worth a look. Early Honda Civics are relatively cheap but if you're after the S600 or S800 sportscars - if you can find them - expect to pay top dollar. The same goes for some of the older rotary-engined Mazdas. Some of the first MX5 sportscars are now considered collectible too. Early examples of Subaru's Liberty GT, if they aren't bastardised with big wheels, garish interior gauges and oversized exhausts, plus the quirky looking SVX also have collector potential.European cars like the Saab's 900 series hatch, particularly the Aero models from the early 1990s, have strong reputations and the Pininfarina-designed Peugeot 406 coupe is something of a sleeper. Cars like the Morris Minor Traveller, Ford Capri RS3100, Datsun 240Z and 260Z and Volvo 1800ES are out there but are becoming harder to find. Various older Mercedes-Benzes, like the 1970s 280SE and the 280SL Pagoda are popular but the Pagoda is rare today and commands big prices.If all else fails early versions of the Citroen DS, Mini Cooper, Alfa Romeo GTV, MG and Triumph, some Jaguars, the BMW 2002ti and 6 Series and early E39 3 Series iS models. Shannons' Christophe Boribon reckons later model limited-edition cars like the Mitsubishi Evo, the original R32 GTR Skylines, Toyota MR2, original two-door Subaru STis and the Mazda RX7 Series 8 have potential as tomorrow's classics.Further up the scale Boribon says the Audi RS4 wagon, BMW M3 CSL and even the Mercedes-Benz AMG65 SL Black Series are likely to become more desirable as the years pass. "It really comes down to whether they're limited edition models though," he says. "It's the same for Ferraris and Lamborghinis; they have to be limited edition models."Boribon, Selby and Sabine agree that a car's rarity and its condition are paramount for true collectors. "An original condition car, whatever it is, will fetch a good price," Sabine says. There are few specifics about what will, or won't, become a collectible, he says. If very few examples of a particular model exist and its in original condition, it can be more desirable, he says."But if you absolutely like the car you're looking at then I'd say buy it," he says. "Life is an experience. "The one tip is to buy the best car you can afford, whatever it is." However, he has a word of warning for those expecting their classics to drive like a 2009 model. "They often don't have power steering, handle particularly well or have the creature comforts you get today," he says.

This year's Muscle Car Masters at the Sydney raceway on September 6 will celebrate the birth of one of our muscle legends: the Ford Falcon GT-HO. Allan Moffat and John French - drivers of the first ever Ford Falcon GT-HO to win a race - will be on hand to get reacquainted with the machine that brought it home for them at Sandown in 1969.They will be joined by other racing legends, including Colin Bond, Fred and Chris Gibson, Harry Firth, Leo Geoghegan, Alan Grice, Kevin Bartlett, Jim Richards, Barry and Glenn Seton, John Harvey, John Bowe, Murray Carter, Phil Brock and Bob Holden.Based on the road-going XW Ford Falcon GT, the GT-HO was released in August that year and given just one task … win Australia's most grueling touring car event, the Bathurst 500 mile production car race. It delivered the goods, and then some, winning races and championships throughout the early 1970s.The Muscle Car Masters event is a celebration of Australia's rich motoring heritage: the cars, the drivers and a whole era of motoring, Moffat says. "The 1960s and '70s were defined by cars that you could race on Sunday and buy in the showroom on the Monday - Muscle Car Masters is no different."Restored race vehicles and road registered examples will be at the event for all to see," Moffat says. The celebration at Eastern Creek Raceway will include the GT-HO's legendary rivals - the Valiant R/T Charger and Holden's Monaro, Torana XU-1 and Torana A9X, among a field of other muscle cars.The main event on the day will be an international face-off between Australian and New Zealand, while other features include the Biante Touring Car Masters, New Zealand Central Muscle Cars, Group C and Group A Bathurst touring cars and Historic Touring cars from the 1960s and '70s.The day also includes a show and shine display of Aussie muscle cars and … of course … a homage to the legendary Ford Falcon GT-HO.For further information visit www.eastern-creek-raceway.com

Actually, it's not a toy because it's an exact scale replica of one of the most memorable cars of my childhood.It's the Ford 'Super Falcon' raced by Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan in the early 1970s.The original raced towards the end of a golden era in the Australian touring car championship, running up against Allan Moffat's Coca-Cola Mustang, Norm Beechey's Monaro and Bob Jane's brutal Chevrolet Camaro.I have 1:18th scale replicas of those cars as part of my car collection.The difference in the Super Falcon is the amount of detail in the latest product from Classic Carlectables which, together with Biante, is tapping a rich vein of Australian motoring history. Both brands do a lot of work on current V8 Supercars, but more and more people are turning to everything from Classic's replica of Allan Moffat's 1978 Bathurst Falcon to the 1971 Valiant Charger.The cars look great, and more as I remember them than the way they look in 2009, and the detail work is incredible on everything from dashboards and seats to engines and suspensions. They are way, way, way down the road from anything in the Hot Wheels lineup.A model from Classic Carlectables is not cheap, and you have to go to their website or a specialist shop, but they are well worth the investment.

Driving the auction fever were record prices achieved for a pair of classic Australian muscle cars of the 1960s and '70s.A genuine one-owner Bathurst race specification 1967 Holden Monaro GTS 327 was sold for an Australian record $220,000, accompanied by cheers from a crowd of more than a thousand people.The auctioneers, Shannons, had expected a price between $100,000 and $130,000."Australian muscle cars of the early Bathurst era have been the hottest segment of the classic car market over the last year or two, but the extent to which the result exceeded our expectations just shows the passion these cars arouse," said Shannons' national auction manager Christophe Boribon."The auction showed there is continuing strong demand for muscle cars, particularly amongst baby boomers, and the market shows no sign of weakening."Minutes later, a painstakingly restored one-owner 1971 Valiant Charger R/T E38 "Bathurst" coupe, which had been expected to attract a price between $70-100,000, sold for an Australian record $128,000.The car will go into a private Victorian collection, much to the relief of the man who had owned it since new, 69-year-old Charles Edwards of Hay in western New South Wales."It's sad to see it sold. I would have liked to have seen it passed in, but I know it's going to a good home," said Mr Edwards.The former owner says the credit for the record price should go to David Norris from West Wyalong who spent nine years returning the car to showroom condition.Another immaculately restored lot, a 1963 150cc Vespa scooter, sold for $8,300 - more than $2,000 above predictions.A 1940s children's pedal car sold for $5,500 - roughly double the expected price.Two antique petrol bowsers - from the 1940s and '50s - were both bought by the same bidder for prices as much as 50 per cent above predictions.The chief executive of the Australian International Motor Show, Peter Sturrock, said the auction results were paralleled by strong orders for new cars at the motor show."Automotive brands exhibiting at the show are extremely happy with the quality and quantity of sales interest the motor show has generated," said Mr Sturrock."The message from this year's Australian International Motor Show is that consumer confidence remains very high.""Regardless of rising interest rates the collectable motor vehicle market is still going very strong," said Mr Boribon.

From the background to the limelight, cars have been a vital ingredient in Australian television – be it Ted Bullpitt's obsession with his Kingswood, to Kath's "beep beep Barina".The Wiggles would be lost without their Big Red Car - and how would Australia's best on-screen detectives have caught their criminals without their trusty Fords and Holdens in shows such as Division 4, Homicide, Matlock or Blue Heelers.Cars have also been involved in the invention of new technology, with Channel Seven pioneering the Racecam, a camera mounted inside race cars that lets viewers see their driving heroes in action.It ranged from the lively connection to the camera from Sydney car dealer and driver Peter Williamson and the whimsical Dick Johnson to others such as Bob Morris, who wasn't quite as excited over the technology.Four-wheel drives have allowed the Bush Tucker Man, Russell Coight and Malcolm Douglas to explore nature, bringing the outdoors to our living rooms.Outback automotive ingenuity starred in Bush Mechanics.And it was cars that came to the rescue when Seven experienced a power outage during filming for the first show, with car headlights used to light the set.Now take a walk down memory lane as CARSguide brings you the best, the worst, the coolest and the daggiest cars of Australian television.Kingswood Country"Not the Kingswood" were the words made famous by Ted Bullpitt as he spoke of his pride and joy, never allowing his son or son-in-law to drive his beloved Holden car.The Leyland BrothersIt was a Toyota LandCruiser that allowed Mike and Mal to "travel all over the countryside, ask the Leyland brothers", as they brought the delights of Australia to television - a forerunner to today's travel shows such as Getaway and The Great Outdoors.Beyond TomorrowA show exploring new and upcoming technology, Beyond Tomorrow has shown off some of the fastest and most impressive cars, from the Lotus Exige to the Koenigsegg CCX and concept cars such as the Holden EFIJY.BathurstThe top race car drivers and the best cars are brought to the small screen in an annual ritual. Highlights have included the Australian innovation of Racecam, which put cameras inside speeding cars; Dick Johnson's famous tangle with a rock and the resulting crash in 1980 that led to an impromptu fund-raising telethon; Peter Brock's teammate Doug Chivas running out of petrol and pushing his car in 1973, and the 1977 Ford 1-2 finish captured by Channel Seven's chopper.SkippySonny and Skippy, his clever pet kangaroo, were the undoubted stars of the show, but who can forget Tony Bonner's knockabout ranger character and his tough-as-teak XR Ford station wagon kicking up clouds of dust as he made his daily runarounds?The SullivansSet during Word War II, this story followed the Sullivan family - and it was an old Ford that was their vehicle of choice.Comedy CompanyGlen Robbins' character Uncle Arthur, one of the stars of this Channel Ten sketch show, relied on an Austin A70 for transportation.The WigglesThose skivvy-wearing, finger-pointing Wiggles travel in class as they bundle into their Big Red Car.Kath & KimThe "beep beep Barina" took foxy Kath on all of her journeys, especially her shopping trips to the Fountain Gate shopping centre.The Aunty Jack ShowThe star of this comedy series, which aired in the early 1970s, was a motorcycle riding, transvestite boxer. And it wasn't just any old motorcycle but a Harley Davidson that everyone's favourite aunty rode.Mother And SonA divorced son, a peculiar mother and a Morris Minor. Mother and Son was a classic Australian comedy and the quaint and quirky British car matched the characters.The Bush Tucker ManIn his trusty, rugged Land Rover, Australian Army bush survival expert Les Hiddins went right off the beaten track to bring the Outback and its host of hidden, free culinary delights to city slickers' lounge rooms.TorquePeter Wherrett's pioneering ABC car show broke new ground by bringing car tests and new products to our screens in the '70s. No other Australian car shows have reached the same heights. However, Jeremy Clarkson and his BBC Top Gear show have followed the theme and taken car shows to a new level.Sylvania WatersIn what was essentially Australia's first reality television show, this documentary followed Noeline Baker and Laurie Donaher and their family. The Donahers were already a motor-racing family, with starts at Bathurst in a Holden Commodore and in historic touring car racing in a classic Ford Mustang.HomicideShot in Melbourne, Homicide used Falcon XPs and XRs as police cars. It ran for a decade from the mid-'60s to the mid-'70s and was one of the most popular and influential programs of the time, winning 11 Logies.Matlock PoliceNot so much a car as the star (Valiants filled the car role) - instead it was the police bike Paul Cronin's character rode that is synonymous with this '70s cop show.A Country PracticeFew star TV cars have ever lived beyond the small screen, but the red Falcon ute used in Wandin Valley has survived. Now restored, it is a regular at Sydney car shows.Peking To ParisThe car hit of 2006 saw five ancient machines recreate an historic car race. The three-wheeled Contal was the star.All-Aussie AdventuresAnother persona of comedian Glenn Robbins. In this hilarious show, inept would-be larrikin adventurer Russell Coight, the man who is a danger to anyone (or anything) he meets, gets around the outback, somehow, in a rugged-looking Toyota LandCruiser.Acropolis NowIt was hotted-up Valiants and Monaros, mag wheels and fluffy dice all round in this Greek Australian comedy set around a restaurant in Melbourne.Great commercialsAnd love them or hate them, there have also been some great car ads on Aussie TV. They include: the Yellow Pages Goggomobile ad (gee-oh, gee-gee-oh), Honda's award-winning Cog ad where an Accord performs piece by piece, GMH's "Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars", Valiant's "Hey Charger" campaign, and the catchy "Go well, go Shell" jingle are among them.

Amid the glamour of new models, star cars from the past add variety and a sense of history to the Motor Show.Always a favourite with the crowds, the 2006 Shannons Insurance and Auctions display highlighted the growing popularity amongst collectors of Aussie muscle cars from the 1960s and ’70s.According to Shannons, cashed-up Baby Boomers are driving muscle cars to record prices at auction. Several such cars, including an original one-owner 1971 Valiant Charger E38, were offered at Shannons’ traditional motor show auction – held on the last afternoon of the Show.Shannons 2007 Auction Items