John Bowe - Charger E49 R/T

V8 Supercar legend John Bowe takes us for a spin in a very special Charger. See tradeuniquecars,com.au for more.

[@3800TURBO]

To all the people giving John a hard time about knowledge, he has probably forgotten more than any youtube warriors will ever know. He was there. Show some respect.

[@timothylanders3189]

No, he's so far off the mark it's ridiculous!

[@Expedient_Mensch]

To the best of my recollection, I don't think he actually raced a Charger back in the day. He was still racing open wheelers in '71 and '72.

[@stevecrocker6904]

no. Polite correction is no showing no disrespect

[@Desertduleler_88]

Couldn't had said better John, the Charger was Australia's best muscle car coupe.

[@tyzon00800]

R u his son

[@Norego.Newzealand]

Totally agree

[@philc4520]

This car is an Aussie motoring legend. A beast of a car.

[@elitespareparts]

Well it was a 4.3.....not a 4ltr...It's also a 1973/4 not a 1970....also not the last of the chargers as they were made for anothe near five years (not as R/T's...but still chargers....E48/9 were released in second series of the charger the VJ, not the original VH so certainly not a 1970 car as chargers came out in 1971 and the 4 speed VJ series came out 2 years later....does anyone know who wrote his shit or why he thinks hes qualified to try to wikapiedia us lol

[@rossbrumby1957]

The E-49 was 1972, the E-48 was a VJ option, closer in spec to the E-38 but 4 speed.

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

@@elitespareparts can't be a '73/74. that's the start of the vj model. probably 1972.

[@timothylanders3189]

@@elitespareparts Exactly! Hence, my 2 other replies. I owned an E38 trackpack with full options. There are a few 'race details' non-owners would not know as well. I reserve that info for true enthusiasts ;)

[@timothylanders3189]

@@rossbrumby1957 Also, having lumpier cam ;)

[@yourvanity4307]

I owned an R/T E37 modified. Incredibly violent car to drive, I loved it. I was a young fella driving through Mt. Nebo & Mt. Glorious, nothing could catch it. Arms and legs everywhere with only my arse still. What a car.

[@Batman-wv5ng]

jim cuttle Yes but it didn’t handle well , but it was nice car .

[@barsixful]

jim cuttle Did you put sandbags in the boot? I did that with mine! Raced a GT once. Neck and neck till 100 mph then it couldn't keep up. Oh to be back in the 80's?!

[@thedoctor8381]

I owned both 7s290486 and 3044. 486 was a white build SOA444 was the special order approval number.

[@mosburgz]

I used to run those hills in my youth. Although in very much different cars

[@snoopythedog3266]

And the sound of those big carbs sucking

[@snoopythedog3266]

Everything on these was made in OZ which is why the brakes were like pushing on concrete. They were developed properly in NZ for production racing and cleaned up...also cleaned up Moffat in his GTHO when he came over

[@kellyboon8458]

Originally raced R/T's had unboosted brakes....

[@snoopythedog3266]

@@kellyboon8458 My mate had a red one that was bought to race in Bathurst and from memory it had a slighter different cam which raised BHP a little bit to maybe 313bhp or something. The noise of those Webers sucking and how it seemed to gulp space when you put your foot down are strong memories. Definitely a VERY gentle touch needed in the wet

[@MrMightyZ]

Four point three litre Mr Bowe! 245 was the 4.0.

[@olebrookswado7565]

Only 4 of these silver Chargers made....and only 50 on the road today! Haha. Perfect looking ride, I intend to make a replica one day...goals.

[@AntonioBrancalion-gp7wn]

My late Father was heavily involved in the development of these beautiful machines. His workshop Formula 1 Europa Garage in Neutral Bay was where he John King and Enzo Caccioti developed and built Bathurst Beasts. He was given a Silver one by Chrysler shown in the video { Bathurst 1972 Part 1} at 12.45-12.50 seconds. I played in the car whilst they worked on her I was only 7. He convinced Chrysler to use the Webers. Forever etched in Australian Muscle History. Love you Dad

[@jrg7951]

Beautiful car, I wish we had the Hemi 6 in the 70s here in the US. It would have been perfect in a Duster or Dart Sport in the mid to late 70s.

[@keptinkaos6384]

we would have certainly liked to have seen some of the big blocks over here.

[@rossbrumby1957]

It is a shame, especially considering the hemi 6 was originally designed in the USA and handed to us Aussies after shelving it in favour of using V8's's in pickups- was supposed to be a truck motor!

[@timpriddy349]

A great sound with weber carbs

[@randomdude4669]

@@rossbrumby1957 the design was very basic and not tested which we had been given and many things had to be redesigned

[@Expedient_Mensch]

@@rossbrumby1957 Originally, so was the slant 6, but the yanks got it with an alloy block!

[@r-unitme5619]

I love this car. it is so cool. hey charger

[@aussie8114]

R-Unit Me ✌🏼

[@jrg7951]

Australia was one of the few countries besides the US/Canada that had legitimate muscle cars.

[@Joshua_N-A]

On top of that, RHD muscle car.

[@vasyvasy8568]

South Africa, Brazil and Argentina had a few too.

[@nunyabizness9955]

What muscle cars did South Africa actually make though? They rebadged Holden Monaro as Chevy didnt they?

[@michaelbousfield6114]

Fastest production car in the world over the 1/4 mile for about 3 years. I absolutely love them - my favourite Australian muscle car. I had for 10 years a 1975 770 360 Charger. To this day a big regret having sold it.

[@hoey3510]

earlier e38 cars where running a 3 speed box and no power brakes..geoghan was losing 5 seconds a lap at bathurst due to lack of brakes.. best looking aussie muscle car ever made

[@tommiraeko8541]

Break booster was removed to prevent Lock ups. The brakes got so hot that the wheel Studs had to be cooled down in the pits to replace the wheels tyres during the race. This absolutely destroyed there lap times and positions.

[@ceedoubleyou]

Harry Firth instructions to Peter Brock, was, never use the brakes in the XU1 around Bathurst, because they would only last a couple of times, brakes were never a strong point of cars of this era.

[@gorillafunk725]

Drove in an ex highway pursuit 265 charger. Owned by a cop so not detuned like most were for sale to the public. But refined over his decades of ownership. My mate became the second owner. From Adelaide to Port Augusta. A 600+ k round trip. It was one hell of a drive. These were awesome highway cars. Overtaking acceleration was brutal and big time fun. When it was time to put the pedal to the metal. The speedo wound out. But the fun stopped being fun when the front end got floaty & started lifting. Imagine those lucky enough to pilot an E49 would have a permanet grin etched on their face. Brakes & handling needed balls of steel to man handle the monster in the twisty stuff. There is something beautiful about the raw primal performance of cars like this. If I had the coin I would definitely own an E49 or a replica resto mod with motec trumpet efi, custom roller cam, close ratio 5 speed mated to an lsd 3.5 or lower. Decent dampers, properly set up torsion bars. And decent disc brakes that don't $#!t themselves when put to the test. A car like that would keep most smallblocks & barra turbos honest and handle pretty well. May be in the minority but I love a well tuned big 6 better than an 8 on the road.

[@user-kj5sl6qg1d]

A very nice four wheel machine. The man knows his stuff.

[@ldnwholesale8552]

That is an E49, late 72 at least. And 4.3 litre [265] not 4 litre. 302 horsepower, and a bit more in race trim with bigger venturis and jets in the carbs. These things were quicker over the 1/4 than a HO,, though not as quick up the mountain. A good car that was never quite 'finished' and had a deal of valve train issues and got smokey quite early. Modern components fix that

[@Banxy65]

Yes definitely not 1970.

[@alt7488]

the reason it didn't win bathurst in 72 with des west was a locked wheel nut in the pits ...otherwise it would have been immortalized

[@Sudoakado]

Finally someone knows some facts!

[@victorpetroff830]

@@alt7488 not des West it was Doug Chivas same bloke who run out of petrol in Peter Brock's Torana in 73

[@theghost6412]

@@alt7488 cold wheel nuts, hot studs. They had to wait for the studs to cool down to refit the nuts. Chrysler screwed them over by cutting corners and not giving them rattle guns. All they had was a crossbrace with a steering wheel welded to it. If they had of had rattle guns they could of just reefed on the nuts and headed back out to a guarenteed win since they only had to pit once.

[@jkmsaturn]

As an American & Australian, this is the best muscle car design I have ever seen. The Torana is on runs on its' heels, resulting in two cars that sport better balance & design restraint anywhere, this side of a Mustang Boss 302.

[@Terrestrial..1]

I once bought a charger for nz$1,600 with only a tiny bit of rust in the bottom door sills (common), had a 265 with extractors & Toyota 5sd floor change & badly slipping clutch, I later found in one of my st machine mags it was to do with a bolt interfering with the thow out arm.

[@mickcarson8504]

This Charger was a mid 1972 E49 6 Pack - 4 speed, and the E38 wa a late 1971 6 Pack - 3 speed. The E49 had a tweaked engine to give more horsepower. Both cars were certainly powerful. Hey Charger!! ✌😉

[@timothylanders3189]

The E49 had a more aggressive cam & that was about it, beside the 4 speed. I'm surprised Bowe stated 1970 for the 49. You are correct! 1972. I owned an E38 Trackpack with all track options & there are some aspects no one would know unless they owned one. I reserve this info for when needed ;)

[@kellyboon8458]

Victorian police had K-10's.... Basically an R/T

[@michaelgill5186]

Well John ..Beautiful car well presented..but No GT beater but glad to see them about ..what is amazing now us that u can but a showroom car today that would have won Bathurst without any mods !!!

[@marknasser2843]

This is the definition of muscle car

[@fixitdude74]

when i was in my early teens a mates sisters bf took us for a wild ride in his hemi powered 265 centura, that thing was a weapon, a true v8 killer in its day, it was drag raced at castlereagh dragstrip in the final year before it closed

[@ripme6616]

I would love one of them

[@tommiraeko8541]

The Centura was extremely ugly with deadly braking and appaling handling but the 265 4speed was quick

[@gavmansworkshop5624]

Last of the chargers was the 1977 CL Charger.

[@ACDZ123]

Ugly things the CL

[@bigal6369]

Something that Mr. Bowe mentioned and I think history repeated itself. Sydney Morning Herald publishing that story about super cars. I believe that same approach was used years later that caused the death of the Australian car manufacturers, the death of the full size family sedans and wagons. I remember all the stories in the news papers and to their shame in car magazines promoting stories of the public not wanting the 'old tank, fuel guzzlers...' Apparently we all wanted small city hatchbacks. If you drove a commodore or falcon you were considered a backward bogan that considered wearing a singlet as being dressed up. The politicians, being gutless wonders, went along again and saw the elimination of big 6 and 8's as points with the so called green movement. Holden and Ford, well... they simply forgot their roots and listened to their 'Chief Financial Officers' that were more than happy to sell re-packaged crap from overseas than design and build something local that the whole county can be proud off. Funny thing is, today most of the so called sensible people that wanted the small European and Asian buzz boxes are driving 4x4's that are no good on fuel, have F'all space compared to the cars from previous eras and are stupidly overpriced. It took real designers and company managers with balls to design and build cars like the Charger. Sadly that will never happen again. Cars have become the politically correct mirror images of politics these days. The people that drove these cars in the past know the sweet sound, smell, feel of these amazing machines. You'll never hear anybody these days talking about their car with passion and use terms such as soul when referring to their hi-lux, triton or camry. It's a use and dispose world and new cars reflect that.

[@BlowmeRoger]

I had a couple of VG Pacers over the years, one was a very rare color Deep Charteuse Green with white stripes, pretty oddball choice. They went well, pity they didnt have the 4 speed earlier.

[@chuckselvage3157]

Underrated car they're very quick.

[@steviesindahouse4903]

There are SO MANY things I don't know, so my apologies saying this .. and John Bowe, you're a bona fide Aussie Legend. The Charger began production in 1971 ending in 1978 .. as I understand it total production, of all Charger models, was a little over 30K, of which a tad over 150 were E49s (there were other 6 cylinder performance variants like E48s etc. which perhaps John might be including in his tally) .. as far as relative performance between the 302 hp E49 (or the 3 speed 280 hp E38) and the legendary GTHO Phase 3, it was mixed .. Alan Moffatt in a Phase 3 was comprehensively beaten in NZ by an E49 .. (according to Wikipedia) "Moffat proclaimed the winning car as "The Fastest Charger in the World"." .. The whole Wikipedia entry is great reading (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Valiant_Charger) and a wonderful starting point into the fascinating world of Aussie Chargers, distinctly different to their American cousins .. I love em' all .. including all sorts of cars from all round the world past and present, as well as our vintage Australian Capris, Chargers, Toranas, Geminis .. Aussie legends all (the 1971 GTHO Phase 3 was the fastest four door car in the world back then, faster than the Jaguar XJ12, and the Mercedes Benz 300SEL 6.3 .. YAY !!! ) Given the amazing Brabham BT62, which has been such a hit, including at Goodwood in 2018, amongst some truly amazing machines from all around the world, (especially in the soundtrack stakes !!!) .. made right here in Australia; I sure hope we can get back to making Aussie muscle cars again .. never say never .. and maybe we can export them like we did Fairmont GTs to South Africa back in the day .. :-))))))) ... P.S. BTW, I'm open to being corrected on some of my figures .. there are some seriously authoritative folk out there, especially when it comes to how many examples had this option and that option (like the 36 Gallon 'Big Tank'), and various combinations ..' from the factory', 'brand new' (as an obvious comparison there are rather more Cobras in the world than Carroll Shelby produced in the 60's, including some built later by Carroll himself ('Hey Carroll !!! Thanks for making the world of cars a much better place !!!' Just imagine a world without Shelbies .. I just DON'T WANT TO !!!), and in some ways these are improved cars, as I understand it, but they're not the original ones that started it all (or the 'one', with all the different paint jobs Carroll sent out for tests and the photo shoots with different publications .. but I digress !!!) I'm going to go off now and check out the market !!! .. :-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) ... P.P.S. If I might make another analogy re E49s vs Phase 3s, Aussie marathon runner Rob De Castella, back in the day, may not, unfortunately, have won the Olympic Gold (he came 5th), but he was still a world record holder ... (GOOD ON YOU ROB !!!)

[@peterbarber9893]

it was the fastest 2 door that's all

[@chargerwoh]

peter barber your wrong it was way more then that and it nearly took the win at Bathurst

[@peterharrald2024]

I had an VG auto 318 4 door 770 Regal.Those V8s had plenty of grunt down low. Tough torquey bulletproof motors.

[@freeagent8225]

Such an understressed engine unlike engines of today.

[@chrisbailey4254]

I remember the advertising these cars got with the slogan "If your man enough to drive it"and of course quite a few wrecks after that little ad campaign. A mate of mine brought a new car and after he wrote it off all that was left of it was him in the seat and the car just shredded, walked away from that and of course he wasn't speeding officer!!

[@FENBASS100]

Sweet Charger 👌🏻

[@Justwantahover]

After not seeing a charger since the 70's l think the Charger looks better then the others.

[@sovereignbeing8530]

It's a shame thay are not making these anymore, allsome cars

[@stanrabbo1264]

At the time it was the fastest factory built (stock) muscle car down the quarter mile.

[@twooccystraps6458]

I had the E48 version in Limelight Green, a fantastic car at the time..

[@Norego.Newzealand]

They made a prototype vg valiant 340 v8 4 speed that was never a production car after already using that shape for 3 models ve vf vg nobody ever talks about this i would love to know more about this prototype,from the valiant book i had this thing was nuts,the vg was a very good handling car in that era.

[@keithbagshaw3146]

had a hot mustard 770 the got an limelight e55. Wish I had realised what I had then.. now!

[@petergiourelas3753]

Best of the era

[@johnkauppi7078]

I raced a SixPac Charger back in 1986 with a XY GT replica.The Charger guy gave me a head start, then he took off, Smoking the tyres

[@nealenewton4193]

I hesitate to correct a true Oz motorsport great in John Bowe,tho the E49 Charger was released in time for the 1972 Bathurst 500, by which time Ford were racing the Phase 3 GTHO, not the Phase 2 as he stated. Phase 2's raced against the VG Pacer in 1970. 1971 saw the E38 race the Phase 3,then E49 against Phase 3 with the Globe 15" rim, that had been made for the stillborn Phase 4. Stillborn in that it never raced on a track,only in rallying, of all things. Bruce Hodgson in the 1973 Australian Rally Championship. Hope folks don't find me too pernickity, tho I remember the era like it was yesterday.

[@robertphillips3078]

The RT Charger was better looking than the GTHO. The GTHO's shape & look & design was out of the 1960's. Whereas Chrysler took the over the top American Charger & refined its looks in every way. There was talk of a 4.8ltr stroker 6 cylinder hemi which unfortunately didnt see day lite. If that had come about then disk brakes upfront , perhaps rear as well & the Charger would have been sensational. Wish l had the coin 4 one in Purple 😀😁

[@lifelongbachelor3651]

it helped that brock had use of factory machinery for the bulk of his career. and evan green was a dope.

[@Kwaka28]

Always wanted one.. best looking Aussie car ever.. outbraked falcon gt and fastest accelerating 1/4 just..

[@keptinkaos6384]

my uncle had an E55 340 4BBL in that colour scheme in his garage after he stopped driving it's for years wonder where it is now I hope it got saved it was an original barn find the cops didn't grab.

[@7071t6]

Yep like the old peace finger symbol, 2 fingers hey charger, then followed by channel 7's five and then 2 finger salute for channel 7, should bing out that commercial again, for channel 7 but a new version, which was in the 1980's, lol :) Also my friend did his WY fairmont into a GT, but it had a 221 done up and took most of the V8's at that time a run for thier money, which i would say had at least 250HP to 300 HP at the rear wheels and especially with the right diff gears made all the V8 XY, XA, XB and the holden varians look very slow, except for the XU1 and anyone who had the money even back in the early 1980's had that engine done up with SU's and had the right gearing and diff ratio would beat the XY GT with the 221. :)

[@Expedient_Mensch]

"… it was the last of the Chargers...". Uhm, No it wasn't, the E49 was a VH. Then came the VJ, VK and CL. No CM Charger. "This was a 1970 car..." No it wasn't. The Charger was released in 1971, the '71 R/T was an E38 six pack. The '72 R/T was the E49, specifically designed to compete against the GTHO Phase III AND the GTR XU-1 in Series Production class racing. Funny that the front seat backs didn't fall down on the gear changes, they did that after a few years.

[@nicholascallaghan4074]

Wa-ay better looking than 4 door Falcons!!

[@tommiraeko8541]

Only 141 E49s built There was 1 VJ sedan ordered from factory with an E49 with a 727. Only automatic E49 spec Valiant

[@philkelly8031]

Right on the ball they had but the 3 speed gear box let them down along with not winning Bathurst was the death knocker but always loved the Charger they had that Australian toughness built in as did Holden & Ford they all had a sound of their own, now a lot of Australian muscle car’s are going off shore.

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

Lovely motor

[@karlnehofarrington4265]

Miss that car

[@shanesalmo1163]

Sorry john to say i had a vh limited edition sportsman. 265 duel throat hemi, 4 speed box. Pretty sure it was a 70 _71 mod with the round head lights.

[@jondunn5986]

vj sportsman not vh also square headlight in vh and round in vj vj started in 73

[@I_hate_Vegemite]

4.3L 6 cyl engine?

[@hoey3510]

Aussie chargers Looks fantastic..

[@timothylanders3189]

1970 John? I don't think so mate! You have memory problems? I owned an E38 trackpack, full options car. There are a few things non-owners would not know about these. I reserve those things for chats with true enthusiasts. I'll give one nugget out ~ it wasn't so much a lighter steering in the R/T's but the tighter ratio ;)

[@breathestrongcycling3672]

Those things were lust on wheels!...🤟

[@kerincrowe4161]

These things were RUST on wheels - also I managed to finish a 300 km trip with only one wheel stud intact on the left rear - 265ci Hemi , 350 Holley, Broken Drivers seat held up by spare wheel Drivers door sagging

[@germanshepherdlover2613]

I thought these E49's were faster than the GTHO in acceleration but not as high top speed. These Chargers will pretty much match a STOCK Ba/Bf xr6 turbo

[@hoey3510]

They where hitting 235km at Bathurst in 72 which ain't bad for a 4 speed..about 145mph...

[@rossbrumby1957]

They were quicker all the way to 100mph. And through the gears- as the comparisons oin the magazines of the day tested.

[@gregorybathurst7171]

did the 74 charger vj 770 coupe with a big v8 end up on Englands roads?

[@rossbrumby1957]

Probably. Check out Alexei Sayle's "ullo john gotta new motor" video- in the caryard in background behind the cortina- an orange 770 charger!

[@T1000AX]

nice little video. love the charger.

[@danmarshall8599]

ve pacer valent

[@bernzie001]

Its a 4.3 and it wasn't the last of the chargers.

[@dragonnumbnuts]

I think what he meant was the last of the racing Chargers.

[@hoey3510]

Took my stock e49 to the drags in 1981 with better available tyres and ran a 13.7 quarter...

[@tommiraeko8541]

A modded e55 with just tyres and rear leaf changes bought the car down from mid 15s to high 14s. Tyres from the seventies would have been appaling

[@boggo58]

Its a shame it doesn't have that black winged spoiler on the back.

[@stevecrocker6904]

it's a 4.3 litre engine

[@shondarpowlessjr2215]

I love muscle Cars

[@ceedoubleyou]

just out of interest, where was the handbrake? Under the dash in a XA Falcon and between the seat and door on a HQ Holden, wondering that's all.

[@shanecrosby2254]

cee doubleyou its same place as HQ.

[@bruceraymond8611]

cee doubleyou down on drivers door like HQ. Iv owned both cars.

[@theghost6412]

between your seat and the door. best place to look if you lose your wallet out of your right pockets. catches it and stops it from going out the door every time LOL

[@zzr1985]

4 litre???? nah 4.3 johnny

[@tipeneuriti5489]

Yes chargers vh VJ are awesome problems are the torsion bar suspensions as you know can be lowered by turning the adjustment bolt up or down and because the cornering lifted the car in a corner the left front wheel could undo the nuts losing a wheel

[@mordeth1964]

I'm surprised with all his knowledge that he stated the engine is a hemi, it isn't. It's a "semi" hemi at best. Chrysler called it a hemi purely for marketing purposes.

[@HHowardHH]

and how old were you back then? 2? lol

[@JohnSmith-xe9hz]

Didn't Alvin purple have one

[@victorpetroff830]

I think by memory it was a E55 in Alvin rides again

[@JohnSmith-xe9hz]

@@victorpetroff830 to far back for me to rember I am 60 I rember his charger turned in to a double bed and he was a randy bugger and the girls loved him

[@fixitdude74]

he had a maroon VJ

[@rossbrumby1957]

Chargers were used in both alvin purple films, there was a chase with a red one, dunno which film, just saw the chase clip. Don't forget the blue one in The man from Hong Kong, and the VH in Metal Skin.

[@lonersanonymous]

Wasn't the biggest problem the Chargers had at Bathurst with the brakes fading?

[@aussiebloke609]

Just not enough power to keep up, I think - 265ci can't really compete with 350/351ci on that sort of track, with the steep hills and long straight. However, they didn't have power brakes, which makes for an incredibly heavy pedal (I used to have a VG Pacer, which also had front disc and no booster - and I'd nearly rip the steering wheel off trying to push hard enough), and as the race wore on, your legs would be getting very tired pushing on that brake pedal. Mind you, this was the early 70s, so brake fade would certainly have been a factor as well - since all manufacturers were having issues with it to some extent.

[@toyneh]

I had the E48 which had power brakes, they would lock the front wheels up all the time , so they did away with the power booster on the E49, What a beautiful car it was!

[@alt7488]

seized wheel nuts

[@theghost6412]

You get to see the real problem in the back ground of Brocks DVD of his first race in the red and white Torana. Chrysler made massive cuts and didn't supply their pit crews with the proper tools like rattle guns and such. All they had was a cross brace with a steering wheel welded to it. The problem came at the half way mark, they planned to stop only once for brake pad change and possible tires. They pitted and began to change the brakes to find a massive problem, the nuts cooled far quicker than the studs, they had to wait 10 or 15 something minutes for the studs to cool and shrink down to put the nuts back on. they were 3rd I believe before that and fast gaining on the leader, when they got back onto the track they got back into the top somewhere but never caught up with the leader. the E49 was lighter, went harder and faster than the V8's. Oh and for the Scene in particular, you can see Brock entering the pits and in the background one of the E49 pit crew can be seen screaming blue murder and throwing the crossbrace across the pits. You see him slouch when he realises what he has done and trudge across the pits to look for it and pick it back up. In essence the E49 was guaranteed to win. If they had rattle guns they would of reefed the nuts back on by force and continued the race and won.

[@theghost6412]

they competed just fine. faster in the 1/4 mile by heaps. the V8 would ultimately win in the 1/2 mile though with their top end. but on a track like Bathurst, the V8's didn't stand a chance against the lighter and faster 6.

[@randyman828]

Nice car. In US would be left side drive.

[@petermalezewski4022]

Imagine that with a 426 hemi v8

[@StewartGartland]

Heeeeeeyyyyyyy!!!!........Charger!!!!!!

[@Sudoakado]

"Not in the same performance as the GTHO" BULLSHIT! (WAS NOT LINED UP WITH XW PHASE 2 it was lined up against XY PHASE 3! LOL The E49 was KING. Only Bathurst gave it an advantage with 350cu's on one straight not even factory backed. A privateer who drove to the track nearly won it Doug Chivas (last minute private entry) using a steering wheel to change nuts not like the factory teams. Was in the pits for over 6 mins cause they couldn't change the cold nuts on the hot studs. The GTHO 100% could not touch the E49 in a straight line has Webbers like Ferrari's of the time. Ask Moffet about NZ couldn't come close to all the E49's on a tighter track and packed up embarrassed to go home. Believe me when I say it and any of the old blokes around at the time the E49 was tremendously underrated less developed.They were the most Australian built and had stupid small Aussie Brakes for STAYING ALL AUSTRALIAN UNLIKE HOLDEN AND FORD did not put on the BIGGER BRAKES available from the states and MOPAR race versions or the 340 which would SMASH any other car like the Chargers and Challengers in the STATES. PLEASE get your facts straight and head out of Ford and Holdens ARSE. E49 WAS KING FASTEST CAR IN AUS for over 27 years and even then that Yellow Holden crap GTS-R they called foul and this was on all modern rubber the list goes on and on! Do you remember the "FASTEST 4 door (CHARGER 2 DOOR) sedan BULLSHIT?" sales story from the FORD GTHO fans brainwashed LOL. So many people talk shit when hardly ANY owned or drove an E49 (DO NOT PUT A STANDARD CHARGER IN THE SAME CATEGORY!). Cant corner or brake comment LOL the GTHO could NOT touch it on a more realistic track this is a FACT! The brakes had proportioning valves in the E49's so they could not lock up!! Less money pumped in and not factory backed so please use your brain. By the way it was one of the only cars with a HUGE cam that could idle on 500RPM cause of the Webbers as you would know now John Bowe cause you have driven one and a granny could drive it to the shops for her shopping! None of this is directed at anyone in particular just the brain dead usual comments from the uneducated on the stealthy E49 charger. Lastly listen to the Ford CEO talking about the Phase iV at the time and how he wasn't worried about Holden but IF the Valiant Charger introduced the fully RACE SPEC 340 in the R/T Valiant Charger GAME OVER!!! so put the Phase IV wet dreams to bed as proven in the states no comparison MOPAR was #1 over and over again!!!! I love Mad Max but on the race track and street E49 and E55 were #1 and with all the bullshit spoken over the years, I'm not surprised Valiant pulled out regardless of the supercar scare!!! Got voted Australia's most sexiest Car behind James Bonds Aston Martin no HOLDEN OR FORD IN THE TOP 10! HEY CHARGER!!!!! There is even a MAMBO shit with the Australian Valiant Charger on it!

[@drichelt]

Nicely said . Couldnt have said it better myself .Huge mopar fan

[@theghost6412]

Im a val driver. The phase 4 was frightening. Leaps and bounds ahead of the phase 3. It was a mere candle in the wind. It was sad that the E55 never saw itself fully researched and realised. As a 770 it was delegated behind the R/T's. But if they got dead serious and put a 6 pack or something more powerful, then yeah i can see it would of been on par with the phase 4. That would of been a damn brilliant race to see. Holden just wasnt in the game at that point.

[@Sudoakado]

The Ghost The 340 would smoke the Phase IV make no mistake bro. Just look to the states for evidence. No candles about it.

[@victorpetroff830]

@@Sudoakado the 340 was underrated here in Australia I owned a charger VH 770 with a 318 it was replaced with a genuine 340 no gt falcon could touch it

[@Sudoakado]

victor petroff imported ready to race only to be De-tuned and tiny exhausts to sell when Valiant pulled out of racing cause of the supercar scare before the E49 raced Bathurst hence no factory backing.

[@alt7488]

it came 4th at bathurst with des west at the wheel in 1972,,,,due to a seized wheel nut in the pits

[@bazzag7614]

Not sure what u mean by "it", but, Des West was driving a Falcon & did not finish in '72!

[@victorpetroff830]

@@bazzag7614 meant to say charger my mistake

[@thedoctor8381]

It finished 3rd. Car 15 the Chivas West car is in my mate Steves shed

[@rossbrumby1957]

3rd and 4th outright 1972.

[@OldCaravans]

@@thedoctor8381 Last time i saw it was at Birdwood Mill in SA.

[@philc4520]

Not very ballsy - love it😂🤗

[@RB-er6gu]

Looks like a ford maverick??

[@shanerorko8076]

I love the media but when you let them dictate the outside world it's not a good thing. They have their use but they also have a lot to answer for. They need to realise their place not over step those bounds.

[@paulforti9847]

That’s a 4.3l not a 4.0l..

[@tipeneuriti5489]

Realise the main manufacturer only embraced it's brand of cars were or USA attitude Chrysler were handicapped by its 4spd boxes not allowed to be imported which were Hurst shifter boxes of America import

[@bradcoulter1316]

Most underrated muscle car of all time up there with xa ab xc falcons sexiest muscle cars of all time bullet proof 265 hemispherical motor should've won Bathurst gave the v8's hell

[@malmaclachlan3088]

If you dont know, dont make it up mate.where the hell did you get your facts from.

[@bentriglone116]

Embarrassing lack of knowledge from someone who's made a living out of motorsport.

[@anarchistangler]

Valiants were sick but VX Commodores onwards were the finest point in Australian motoring history. Hands down.

[@petergiourelas3753]

You can't be serious?

[@anarchistangler]

I am dead serious, mate. I had some sick Holdens, Fords and Valiants when I was young. Ford were the least mentionable. My favourites were a couple of Holden station wagons I drove around for years, a HJ Premier and a HZ Kingswood. Hell, I had some adventures in them. Even better were two VJ Valiant Regals I owned. One had a hemi 245 and the other had a 318. Holley double pumper carbs on both, with extractors. That's all you need. They both went like the clappers, but I loved the one with the 318 in particular. It was sick. I heaps preferred the Regals to the Chargers appearance wise, once you lowered them, tinted the windows and put fat tyres. That long saloon look. But the best looking and most hardcore Australian cars for me are the V series Commodores, Berlinas, Caprice, Monaros, Statos etc, from VX onwards. Modern technology made a lot of difference in power and drivability from the earlier cars I owned. Blind Feddy could tell you that. Their aesthetic and brute strength are the reason Holden exported them, and why they are now cult cars in America and the Middle East, where I now live. I still have a VY and a VZ commodore, among the last to be seen in my city, and they are still the finest looking cars on the road. I get asked to sell them every day. What do you drive, anyway? A Toyota?

[@marcconyard5024]

Not the last of the Chargers at all as there was a CM series. If this Charger is a 72 E49 the turn indicator lenses are incorrect. VH E38 had clear lenses, all the rest had tinted lenses.

[@erroneouscode]

No CM Charger. I think you mean CL

[@gilesflower]

The last Charger was the CL, and I think he meant it to mean that the E49 was the last Charger to compete in the ATCC and at Bathurst. I'm not sure I agree with you on the turn indicator lenses. The orange lenses came with the VJ Valiant, but I'm not going to dispute it if I'm wrong. Having said that, Bowe did get the year and engine size wrong in his bit. Also, the E55 did end up being made, but saddled with an auto and possibly not as high a spec as it might have had on that lovely 340 if they hadn't been scared off.

[@7s29]

49 had clear lenses as well.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Govt reg made tinted lense mandatory

[@phillipcox516]

Why the big 3 all ducked for cover with the supercar scare was because a large number of their car sales, were for government contracts, so to loose the sale to the government would be catastrophic , 46 years later the big 3 now no longer exist. AUS

[@Batman-wv5ng]

Phillip Cox Race was interesting to watch you had Charger Monaro Ford HO we have nothing today .

[@MrTallpoppy58]

No power assist ? !!!

[@ray.shoesmith]

John Bowe simply doesn't age wtf

[@DwainDwight]

awesome cars. not worth $250k, but still great. pretty quick for a six.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

135mph top speed gt falcon 150mph more or less

[@shanesalmo1163]

Buy the way , the ole crysler 225 slant motor is a true hemi.

[@b577960]

The 225 slant 6 was not a hemi engine- sorry to tell you. The Hemi 6 cylinder came out in 245, 265 and there was a low end 215.

[@DerSpiess11]

Great car in a straight line on a dry road, but cornering hard on a wet road shows their limitations big time, with all that weight in front & light at the rear, they slide all over the place, which was a lot of fun, until you slid into a tree or pedestrian.

[@ThePaulv12]

What a load of shit. A TC Cortina 6 was a bit like that and maybe a Centura, but a Charger?? - not really. They had V8s in them too you know and they weren't like that with them.

[@theghost6412]

LOL yes they were, they had a lot of body roll and they were extremely tail happy all the time, even in the dry. had to be very careful of oversteer. they are a lot of fun though :) they fixed some of the body roll in the CL charger. the CM sedan was the last one and majority of the issues they had were finally fixed, but it was a lil too late.

[@Batman-wv5ng]

stefan Hahn Yes they used to lose ass lot of times .

[@rossbrumby1957]

The kiwis knew how to set up the suspension, Chargers were unbeatable in N.Z.

[@Eric-kn4yn]

Those brakes for all muscle cars were 🤮

[@Cattimanmatt]

Bloke doesn't know what he's talking about

[@paspax]

John Bowe, a famous race car driver. He knows.

[@alt7488]

he knows heaps,he just never drove a e 49 and whoever gave him the info card didn't proof check

[@theghost6412]

He knows but was reading off a BS script that was completely and utterly incorrect making himself look like a fool. He would be kicking himself dont you worry.

[@Tk-ou9ec]

Nice cars yes but NOT worth big dollars. I don't see it.

[@joshuaberlin9419]

+Tk They are a big money car, no different to a GT Falcon or an XU-1 Torana.

[@MrStevecro]

none of them are actually worth it if practically assessed but demand by collectors denotes their worth. They hold their prices based on emotion (which is fine). Things don't always have to be practical

[@ThePaulv12]

The hobby has become gentrified.

[@victorpetroff830]

I owned a few chargers including r/t 6 packs but I wouldn't pay the money that some people are asking for them

[@Batman-wv5ng]

Tk It’s rare not many left .

[@markaylott1780]

Ha, supercar scare, and look at whats in the hands of inexperienced driver's now! No wonder the road toll is so high

[@mikevale3620]

The road toll is NOT high. If you look at the stats, the road toll is around one tenth of what it was in 1972.

[@jamesgovett3225]

If you look at the road toll today in victoria, they go on about it being 50 or 60 higher than at the same time last year, as of august 2019, but if you go back to 1970-1971, it was well over a 1000 for the whole year, now that was nearly 50 years ago and roughly about 75% less vehicles on the road, so that means it would statistically be like over 4,000 people dying on our roads today! So as you can see we have the lowest road toll on record, so dont be sucked in what those wannabe politicians and suckhole just out of school pimple faced hiway patrol (most of the ones with jugs are lesos anyway) tell you and not forgetting the corrupt Andrews govt. That loves the free and easy money from all those speed cameras out there, they also find it hard to part with all their TAC money to the genuinely injured because they like to put it all back into consolidated revenue, the toll would even be lower its only because of the Asians that are here that cant drive causing accidents let alone all the camel herders and currys that come here with bullshit licences and change them for legit ones! But the trouble is the majority of our poulation are just dumb bastards that dont consider the facts. More cars statistically mean more congestion more accidents, l know that car safety has improved since 1970 but if it didnt the toll would probably be 10,000 a year! Its all the fucking idiots on drugs and texting on their mobiles thats the biggest problem nowadays!

[@bigears4426]

What a load of crap he is talking

[@ThePaulv12]

A dreadful engine. Harsher than your mother in law but made good power no doubt. There is absolutely no reason why an inline 6 should be harsh yet Chrysler Australia managed it with this awful design. People say Valiants were bad handling - they weren't. The motor in this one is far, far smoother than they were. It still annoys me that they're called a Hemi. If you want see a real hemi look inside a Chrysler 392 or 426, a Nissan RB30 or a Jaguar 4.2 combustion chamber and put the Valiant 'hemi" head next to them and you'll see my point. I always thought it was a shame the rear windows were fixed in Chargers.

[@alt7488]

hemi was a catch phrase Chrysler oz wanted in on ...even the new ones are not proper hemi's

[@victorpetroff830]

rear windows were not fixed in latter chargers they were pop outs

[@ThePaulv12]

@@victorpetroff830 yeah victor i completely forgot about that. They certainly were. Still would have been good if they wound down ay!

[@ThePaulv12]

@@alt7488 yes, but at least the changes made were suggestions of a combustion chamber design by the people that modified the gen 2 Hemis.

[@theghost6412]

ROFLMAO It was the best engine, what do you mean harsh? you mean the thin tinny cast iron exhaust that gave it its legendary sound? These engines are not a true hemi, but they put out more power than the medium V8's. Valiants were extremely bad handling and were a death trap in the hands of a novice who didn't understand how to actually drive a car properly. The Last one in the CM they fixed all the bodyroll which made the cars corner badly, but not the tail happy rear end. They were awesome and amazing to street race in, and anyone that told me they were impossible to drift were swiftly proved wrong. you just had to turn earlier and go faster LOL they had a lot of tricks to improve handling like gently flareing and powering into a corner to keep traction that would normally have spun out otherwise without that trick.