CarTorque Series 2: Valiant Charger E49 Big Tank

This particular Valiant Charger E49 is a 'Bathurst Special'. In order to qualify for racing at Bathurst, manufacturers had to sell a certain number of cars in order to pass the homologation requirements. The beautiful thing about race cars back then was you were able to buy on Monday what you watched race on Sunday.
APOLOGY: Ed talks about the 6 Pack relating to the six cylinders when in actual fact he did say it relates to the triple dual barrel Weber carburettors. Our editor was consequently taken out the back and made to gargle two stroke while we whipped him with a fan belt for his sins. We will rectify this editing anomaly and offer our humblest apologies to Ed for making him sound like a goose. We owe you a case of fine lager Ed!

[@batmanlives6456]

What a beautiful car! We Aussies should be proud of what was only a small car industry but had some of the best talent in the world This particular model was done on a shoestring budget And was a world beater! A six cylinder rocket ship of Aussie ingenuity!

[@arthurkaye8999]

They definitely don't makem like that any more.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

Mad Max had the wrong car! Props to the owner for being such a good sport about getting well and properly bent over and more props to the restorer. When you got em you got em and world class restoration work gets em every time. That is one impressive ride even above the rarity factor it has.

[@zacandmillie]

My first car was a 71 Charger. I loved it. I sold it when I went overseas to travel. Wish I'd kept it. I still get excited whenever I see one, which isn't too often now.

[@madmax2069]

Most cars just look so much better in Australia then just about anywhere else in the world. This car just looks so badass.

[@altpraize6708]

I live in the states and am a Mopar fan. I love this car, wish we had these here !

[@Rick-Jangle]

“ It was a quick car , these days it’s not particularly quick” ! Compared to what tho. It was 43 year old technology when this came out. The bloody thing was still as quick as 2002 SS commodore with a 5.7 litre gen 3. Exceptional effort in my book.

[@T1000AX]

very nicely restored car though a few things he should look at correcting is the radiator support panel, it's supposed to be black, you see it poking out from under the front roll pan and messes up the look a bit and the exhaust is missing the front joining muffler which worked a bit like a x or h pipe and smoothed out the exhaust note and the lower sill panel joins are normally painted black to hide that which tends to look a bit jagged and messy.

[@WascallyWabbitt]

It's amazing how many restored (to a high standard) cars you see these days, that the restores have failed to apply the correct "blackout". Especially behind grilles.

[@MrGoblin60]

Great presentation. That Charger has had a first class resto and actually looks to be in better condition that when it came out of the factory at Tonsley Park. When I see one of these baby's nowadays I get a sense of regret that not only did I never own one but that we took them for granted and salivated over Falcons and Toranas instead (which had their own allure).

[@darrenwalsh6965]

Absolutely stunning, what a masterpiece !

[@NZ2STROKE]

My dads mate has one of these all original,owned for 40 years since he was 18.Just getting a bare metal rebuild at the moment

[@mvnorsel6354]

Remember the 72 Melbourne Motor Show. The Charger was the highlight, such interest in it.

[@alex_k1410]

The Valiant Charger E49 is definitely a dream car of mine!

[@timsmith854]

It is not "Vitamin Orange". It is Vitamin C or Hemi Orange. Beautiful car no matter what colour you call it.

[@Ozsmallbore]

Yep, it was offically called Vitamin C

[@PUNCHARD800ftlb]

in 43 yrs in oz ive never seen an original e49 big tank and im a stones throw from lonsdale plant these truly are unicorns

[@jonarthur6839]

I grew up in a small country town in the lower flinders and there was one in the local garage's back shed. missing the webers, but an original (dont know if it was big tank or not though) The old chap is gone but his son/grandson would still have it.

[@grantreid3031]

@@jonarthur6839 I bought an lc gtr back in the eighties that had webers supposedly from a charger.

[@Hapkido82AUS]

I think 6 Pack means 6 venturi. Just like the 340 V8 6 pack( 3 two barrel Holley's) 'cuda's in the US. Nice car. My uncle had a ex police highway patrol Charger 265.

[@thomas1055213]

Nooope 6pack means inline six, no charger with a v8 of any configuration had strips on the fender and the 6pack tag on it, I speak from experience as I rebuilt my fathers Cl 1978 Chrysler Charger original 318 360 swapped four speed Manuel driftor pack

[@sepuljason]

No it's for 6 venturi. ie six barrels on the carburetors

[@davideverett2104]

Agree that 6 pack relates to inline 6. My uncle had a silver E49 big tank. Also chargers had weber carbies not holleys

[@aussiebloke609]

I grew up with these things - and it's definitely a reference to having 6 carb throats (using three 2-bbl carb) - same as with all Chrysler products with this carb setup throughout the world, no matter whether they were inline 6s or V8s. They even trademarked the term for this setup. If it was a reference to the cylinders, virtually all Chargers would have been called 6-packs. www.ebay.com/itm/1970-1971-DODGE-MODELS-440-SIX-PACK-AIR-CLEANER-DECAL-Mopar-NEW-/201529506776 Unless someone can convince me Chrysler had a 440 magnum inline 6 at some point. @Thomas West They used the inline 6 for racing because it was better - tests with the 340 by Leo Geoghegan showed the engine as too heavy and it made the car understeer very badly - and the V8 and slushbox combo wasn't offered with triple carbs in Australia, so no sticker and stripe on the V8 cars. But the V8 was offered in the US with a 6-pack - using three 2-bbl carbs. With 6-pack stickers and stripes.

[@montinaladine3264]

Yes correct. Not 6 Cylinder.

[@alex_k1410]

I love this car so much, its got a such a unique design and a brilliant Hemi straight 6 engine!

[@bobkats]

GOLD what an amazing piece of Aussie history...

[@charlesmacgilchrist3648]

The power output per litre of the 6-pack was close to that of a lamborghini engine of the period - 302hp from 4.3 litres. Except it was a more usable engine at lower revs and used alot less fuel! These figures during the muscle car era will give you an idea of the actual power output of 427 hemi engines that were underrated in the US for insurance purposes.

[@TimberdeckingnowAuDeckBuilders]

Great comments, except the V8 Hemi was 426CID, not 427.

[@CGV.69]

What a beautiful machine!! My dream car 😍

[@elliot7179]

"The time it takes is the time it takes to do the job properly" then cuts to flogged out shock bushing haha

[@76charger63]

yep spotted that too!

[@jcoburn429]

I would give both testicals to own this car. Truly magnificent.

[@devilslayerthesaintofkille1317]

Dukes of Hazzard gone down under.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

except for the fact they aint related

[@drsoxami]

Great car. Check the front number plate as it looks slightly askew. Must be perfect.

[@clarencewatson8366]

Fabulous car - always wanted one of those.

[@philc4520]

This car is absolutely mint. Love that vitamin orange colour. Those triple webbers really make this beast fly.

[@victorpetroff830]

Phil C the colour is vitamin c

[@christophermarshall5765]

Just some info regarding the colour schemes. The chargers had 3 basic colours. They were: " Go Mango", "Cool Banana", & "Crazy Plum ", with various shades of those colours. The one in the video is "Go Mango".

[@colinmunro7337]

Christopher Marshall those colours you mention are not chrysler austalia colours but us chrysler,Aussie charger colour were magenta (purple/pinky),vitamin c (car in vid)hemi orange(red orange)mercury silver,blonde olive.Thats off the top of my head might have been some other colours avaliable on e38 and e49s the e37 and e48 were avaliable ithink in all production colours.

[@christophermarshall5765]

@@colinmunro7337 sorry to correct you on this, but the colours I mentioned were named as such when these cars first went on sale in the early 1970's. A family friend, & work colleague of my father bought the "go mango" coloured one. This car wasn't the high end model, as it had the baby 215 cubic inch six under the bonnet. For the engine size, I remember it still having a reasonable amount of power. These days the paint colours are known by different names. Yes, I'm showing my age here. I remember the ad campaign very well, with all 3 colours shown, & as I stated. A couple of years later, the charger could be bought with the same colour schemes as the main stream Valiants. One of my mates had a charger painted with the colour " Strike Me Pink". This car was very bright pink in colour.

[@colinmunro7337]

@@christophermarshall5765 ill check my factory parts list tomorrow,ill be surprised if your correct especially as strike me pink it a torrana colour?

[@pete7869]

That is nice ride!! I liket!!👍👌✌

[@christophermarshall5765]

It is amazing that people don't know sarcasm when they see it. Just for the record, yes, my father did actually work at Chrysler, in both the Lonsdale, & Tonsley Park plants as required. He had a lot to do with the development of the Australian built chargers. The most forgotten charger is the E37.

[@rtcharger7484]

e37 was smaller carbs ?? 3 speed i had a a e38

[@christophermarshall5765]

@@rtcharger7484 e37 had a 245 with triple Weber carbs. I believe they were the same as the e38.

[@roostercogburn1984]

@@christophermarshall5765 lol

[@OldCaravans]

@@christophermarshall5765 Your an idiot mate.

[@caratcranker5874]

Am i seeing bad black tape bleed at the 209:00 mark?

[@slantsix6344]

If I could own an Aussie Muscle car, this would be it.

[@michaelellams9105]

Yep same here always loved the charger.

[@NZbreedsarerare]

Left alot of info on these rare beasts, Main one is that alot of stock car racers would buy these brand-new just to strip it for the engine to put in their race cars. The were like the 2jz/rb26/30/Barra equivalent for modern times

[@mrsmariahrand]

Six pack was the amount of barrels of carby's not the amount of cylinders.

[@johnnyasus86]

Mariah Rand in america it was carbys for the v8. its used different in aus.

[@christophermarshall5765]

Sorry to burst your bubble on this, but my father was involved with building them, & 6 pack had nothing to do with the carbies. Now you've been corrected by the son of a person who helped bring these to reality. The 6 pack is the engine, meaning number of cylinders, not number of venturi feeding it. The V-8 variants were given different terminology, such as Magnum, Fireball, or Elephant engine. You need to remember these cars were Australian built. The engines were made in the foundry at Lonsdale, whilst the rest was built at Tonsley Park. During this time, my father worked at both factories.

[@aussiebloke609]

Hmm...I wonder why all the Chargers with the inline 6 weren't called 6-packs, then? That would be almost all of them.

[@victorpetroff830]

Christopher Marshall your wrong I don't care what you reckon six pack in mopar terms refers to the carby setup why do you think a standard r/t got 265 hemi on the rear quarter panel because it didn't have triple webers

[@aussiebloke609]

Dead right, Victor. I think the term has become misused or mistaken by those who weren't around back in those days. But if it referred to the cylinders, then Mopar couldn't have a V8 6-pack - and there were plenty in North America, as shown by the 440 6-pack decal shown here: www.ebay.com/itm/1970-1971-DODGE-MODELS-440-SIX-PACK-AIR-CLEANER-DECAL-Mopar-NEW-/201529506776 And yep, that's why the R/T had a Hemi decal, and the E38/E49 had the 6-pack decal. I'd bet someone out there has sold a stock Charger with 6-pack decals for beaucoup bucks by claiming it's a 6-pack, and someone like this actually bought it - bought both the story and the car. :-P

[@TheBgred1]

bein from the U.S, our 72 charger was way different. was this a rebadged barracuda?, I cant tell, or was it a body just built for australia?, beautiful car.

[@Tommyblueeyes]

Designed and built for Australia, Like the Falcons (mad max etc) This is a short wheelbase version of the longer sedans of the same family. In australia it was sold as the Valiant charger. Not even close to resembling an american dodge charger

[@007JHS]

Lovely engine note.

[@v6_dennis229]

Beautiful

[@HawklordLI]

Nice looking car, looks like a Barracuda and a Torino had a baby.

[@peteryoung8962]

Big tank E49 is the one id like , bugger GTHOs and Holdens etc etc , this is the one.

[@MrGoblin60]

I think that Chrysler called that paint colour "Vitamin C". Between the tank and the spare wheel there isn't much useable boot space! Wasn't meant to be practical I guess. If I was financial I'd buy one in a heart beat.

[@chepachii]

I had a Charger ,mine was the E38 spec.I wrote it off around a stobie pole.To have my time again .....young and foolish.

[@catey62]

Lol, now you just have to be a South Aussie to call it a stobie pole, sorry about your car though.have had 2 Chargers in my time, VJ Sportsman with 265 and auto, and another VJ, standard with a 245 and 904 transmission. that car was a bit of a surprise pack. it went incredibly well for being the smaller motor and absolutely flew when you put your foot to the floor.

[@marcconyard5024]

I recall reading that a VG ute was sent to Italy for Webber to build the carburettor setup for the six pack albeit on a 245 rather than the intended 265 engine. I did hear that the ute still exists!

[@rodpalmer4652]

I believe that was the test mule for the VH Charger.

[@victorpetroff830]

It was a vg pacer that was sent to Webber in Italy the bloke who took it there was John Ellis they used a vg Ute that had been shortened and weighed the same as the charger here for testing

[@thatpanamahatlife1497]

I read the Italian engineers were astounded that it could pull up the hills in top gear.

[@OldCaravans]

@@victorpetroff830 Yes it was a Green Go VG Pacer sedan they sent to Italy. The shortened VF Mule ute had the 340 V8 ute did not leave Australia. It was later bought back to Tonsley Park where a 6 Pack 6 cylinder was put in it and it shaved off 5 seconds of the lap time at Malala race track, so Chrysler went with that engine. The latter VG ute latter only had the 6 pack engine in it. They both are under going restoration in South Australia as we speak. Both are owned by the same owner now.

[@OldCaravans]

@@victorpetroff830 It was a VF ute. The original Mule.

[@willybshreddn3794]

I love in the United States and a 265 Hemi Valiant Charger is for sale a few towns over.....its in mos restoration. I'm sure cost of parts plus shipping killed it for him.

[@elodura5386]

my neighbor has one.. trying to buy it off him.. needs a bit of work done but totally worth it

[@chargerwoh]

After owning other Aussie cars I found out first hand there’s a few lies about them that’s for sure

[@chrisboutin401]

If I could import one of these to Canada one day I would be so happy.

[@psk1w1]

The E49 is mostly a parts-bin car, so you can replicate it from an ordinary Charger body. But one of those will be hard to come by these days

[@georgewoods3884]

Hope you have plenty of cash to buy one.

[@rage2win223]

That charger badge is similar to dodge charger, isn't it?

[@markaylott1780]

Great car! I just can't stand self appointed experts that don't realy know what they're talking about. For those that doubt me, read the CHRYSLER literature on the R/T CHARGER, 6 PACK is the number of throats in the 3 webber carburetors, not the amount of cylinders. If that where true, all chargers would be 6 PACK and that is not the case. I wonder how many of you were around when these cars were on the roads?

[@Tommyblueeyes]

love how people say all chargers when there were 340 and 360 v8 chargers also

[@grantreid3031]

@@Tommyblueeyes From memory the v8s wore a badge that said 770

[@markaylott1780]

@@Tommyblueeyes yeah sorry about that, I should've been a bit more clear

[@markaylott1780]

@@grantreid3031 * believe it was only the 340 E55 that had the 770badge but I could be wrong as I have seen a 360 with 770 SE badges

[@Zippy_x-un9vw]

The only things I would ever do to a Valiant Charger E49 is put some air pipes from inside the front grill to the filters and tune the transmission and Il would always take care its my dream classic

[@psk1w1]

I'm sure there's a Borg Warner 5 speed which would fit and take the torque. Perhaps off a Mitsubishi Galant.... It would benefit from proper links to tie the rear axle down, and coil-overs. Rack and pinion steering would be nice, and some bigger brakes. Such a car would leave any period Holden or Falcon in its dust. The nice thing is that any 265 Charger could be built in that way

[@perpetualgrin5804]

Remember the Melbourne Motor Show, 1972, the Charger stole the show😅.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Looks like a competition front sway bar thicker

[@petergiourelas3753]

Best of era

[@slantsix6344]

Vitamin C Orange was a great Mopar color.

[@jimclarke1108]

Beautiful looking charger

[@robertphillips3078]

Gr8 Car.. Vitamin Orange or the Purple. Better look'in than the Yank version. The Aussie Charger had way better propositions than the American counter part. Nice bit of history.

[@jesuiscequejesuis2267]

I remember the cheesy ads. Hey Charger.

[@feelthafunk4548]

BEAUTIFUL CAR GOOD OL VALIANT

[@scorpiuswireless1]

Incorrect. They are 6 pack because they have 6 barrels of fuel going in. The USA 6 V8s are the same 6 barrels. 2 work in fuel saving mode, put your foot down and 2 two barrels, one at the front and one of the back open up.

[@l3n221]

Where are these cars made ? USA?

[@STIK977]

I love my 73 Charger 770

[@jx4312]

6pack = 3 x 2 barrell carbys,3 x webers on 6cyl and 3 x 2 barrell carter carbys on v8....

[@joeblow6852]

Never knew about this

[@knowbodiesfull5768]

Valiant Charger. I like that name! "I'M A VALIANT CHARGER! I'M VALIANT, AND I CHARGE!"

[@Ayaki6166]

This car appears racing video game Forza Horizon 3,Forza Motorsport7,Forza Horizon 4.This car nice and fantastic.

[@38skippers]

Sighhh! one day

[@gregorybathurst7171]

12 port head got air / fuel in , and cleared out the exhaust .

[@BuzzLOLOL]

Still hasn't fixed the Six Pack stuff... 4 years later...

[@Tommyblueeyes]

but there are plenty of idiots still arguing about it

[@kostahatzis5569]

when you need Power , Class , Style and Economy you don't know till you Drive one like I didn't know till the Police Charger keys was given to me to test and saw what the name is a Big HEMI machine that no thing can beat like the 1971 Bathurst Lap time was Broken till 2003 the Holden Crapadoro broke the Charger Lap time

[@colbster1970]

wth are you talking about? The fastest lap for touring cars on the old, pre chase, circuit was held by George Fury in a Turbo Bluebird at 2:13.85 in 1984 hardies heroes. Brocky got the race lap record with 2:14 dead in the same year. The qualifying time in 1971 for an e38 charger was 2:45.7.....6.8 seconds behind a phase 3 falcon...

[@Eoquencawacha]

I've got a dashmat for a '69 Nova I want to sell and a car cover for any Dodge '79 to '84.

[@markb7906]

is that you Joe??? how's Brandy ??

[@camwells9726]

What was the difference between the charger and the pacer ( apart from looks )

[@OldCaravans]

Pacer has 4 doors Charger has 2 doors. VH Pacer came out before the Charger did

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Charger shorter wheel base is 1

[@Eric-kn4yn]

@@OldCaravans depends on optioned charger weight is less

[@Eric-kn4yn]

@@OldCaravans Australia 2022 in a scramble to get nuke subs sans weapons nuke imperial China wants use make no mistake ok Polling who done this should be %$#@&^%%$

[@Eric-kn4yn]

@@OldCaravans politians who have done this should be $#@*&>$. Big non European migration unwanted. It sux

[@StormCentre88]

1:40 - Not sure too many people would place an Oz charger up there with an E type Jag or Aston Martin. Good Oz muscle car for their day though, and that 6 cylinder engine was (for its time) a beast.

[@347windsor3]

6 pack is about the carbs not the cylinders !

[@hoey3510]

this car just sold for 450k

[@montinaladine3264]

wow.

[@007JHS]

Vitamin orange... I always thought it was Daytona orange.

[@streetguru3054]

Only 21? I was of the belief they had build and sell a minimum 200 to qualify

[@OldCaravans]

The built 22 big tank R/T E49s. Not 21 like the bloke claimed.

[@timothylanders3189]

It's as if the E38 big tank never existed...

[@Tony-rd9rc]

Yh i own one.... As an autoart model 😞

[@grahamwood156]

I remember the Police had them for one or two years

[@tightlines106]

Aye charger

[@benpeterson4056]

Its got a miss

[@rabbitphobia]

I guy a few streets from me has an even rarer V8 version specifically made to win Bathurst I so love this model if/when I win lotto I will approach the man and give him an offer he wont refuse.

[@rabbitphobia]

Are you sure about that?

[@marcoyen8078]

rabbitphobia yeah unfortunately it was a 6 banger. 340 Bathurst was a rumour. Perhaps in the year or preceding it. But never eventuates

[@marcoyen8078]

I know. I have one. But i reckon a factory turned out 340 6 pack manual would have been sweet

[@rabbitphobia]

It is a great six no doubt.

[@rabbitphobia]

You have no idea how lucky you are mate, hang on to her no matter what.

[@kylesoler4139]

After looking at the price of these new after inflation I realised they were cheap fo what they were.

[@boostedsaleen6146]

What makes it a Hemi ?

[@rick1622]

Hemispherical cylinder head design google it

[@autophyte]

The valves were not inclined enough to make it a true 'hemi' which would have required the valves to be inclined to each other at close to 90 degrees. The U.S. V-8 'Hemi had the valves at that angle, but in a crosswise orientation, which made for a very wide head, but made both the intake and the exhaust ports quite short, good for power. The Valiant 'Hemi" which had the valves arranged lengthwise, had a narrow head, with exhaust and intake ports on the one side. But with 12 ports, it did breathe well. Time has shown that a true hemisphere head is not as efficient as one with a shallower 'bowl; with a squish area to quell detonation with high compression ratios. Cosworth pioneered the narrower valve angle 'Hem' head.

[@billmago7991]

HEY CHARGER ✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️

[@ianmontgomery7213]

It was based on the ute wasn't it.

[@grantreid3031]

I think they used a ute as a mule to test the carbies as far as i know they even sent one over to italy or wherever the webers were made so they could develop it.

[@ianmontgomery7213]

@@grantreid3031 if you look under one you can see that it was based on the ute.

[@OldCaravans]

@@grantreid3031 Which ute ?? The VF or the VG ?? None of the Mule utes left Australia.

[@Chowbizful]

i want to see this car in the necks fast and furious

[@1spunkymonkey2]

No, absolutely no. Do you want these rare cars blown up, crushed, smashed or made into street legal go karts? We all know FnF's tenancy with nice cars.

[@certifiedgeneralwelding5104]

My dad's god a lime green charger

[@psk1w1]

Your da's god is a lime green charger? Each to their own, I guess.....

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Die-cast door handles snapped stupid big steering wheel rubber bush no bearing on pitman arm.

[@bradcoulter1316]

E49 charger ...... OH YEAH

[@revelairfanman6171]

‘6 pack’ does not mean ‘6 cylinders’!! :-)

[@joeblow6852]

There it does

[@randomdude4669]

@@joeblow6852 no it doesn't

[@hugolinning3133]

They were called a six pack for the carb set up

[@Tommyblueeyes]

so much aussie "upspeak" going on in this video. thought it wa sonly the young uns that spoke like that

[@welshlyn9097]

I am going to have to sell a kidney or two stunning stay safe Welsh miner

[@TRXfiend]

:)

[@AF-qc5vo]

I would still prefer a XB falcon or XA or XC, but a valiant charger looks just fine.

[@markdubois4882]

70-71 E Body Chrysler (Dodge Challenger/Plymouth Cuda) with the HEMI

[@user-we4nb8um2q]

Sad times we live in. Fortunate enough to own an E49, then posts a video online full of misinformation about them. Sad times. Should probably trade it on a HSV, more his style IMO.

[@davidbonnell6601]

It’s called a six pack because of the six barrels on the carburettors. He doesn’t know his facts. Google 340 six pack. V8 with a six pack on the valley cover.

[@Astrophysix1]

Such a strange fella this one is.

[@crunchytheclown9694]

I had police pursuit 318 fireball (nsw car), good car shocking front end.

[@jesuiscequejesuis2267]

Noice.

[@PeteLeBoydre]

Hahahahahaha....6 pack refers to carburetor set up.......

[@timpriddy349]

The 3 speed was useless........whhhhhaaaaaaaa, wishing you had fourth on my 318

[@markjmaxwell9819]

A great car The suspension and brakes let the E49 down on the racetrack..... Drove a 265 auto charger it had no steering feel and wooden brakes..

[@Eric-kn4yn]

And on the road

[@trewqpoiutl9774]

Best looking Australian muscle car. The XY GT is ugly AF..and overrated too.