1965 Valiant truck????
Here’s one built in 1958
Even on Australian roads, the Wayfarer was a pretty rare sight. Production commenced in 1958. It ended in 1960, but some of the final examples didn’t find homes until 1961. During that 3-year production run, a mere 1,205 Wayfarers rolled out of Chrysler’s factory. For our American readers, there is probably something vaguely familiar about the styling, and this is because there is more than a little borrowed and reworked 1955 Plymouth P25 sheet-metal that you can see, especially around the doors and front fenders. Some restyling was performed by Chrysler Australia, and the sedan version was sold as the Chrysler Royal. The ute morphed from that, but due to budgetary restraints, as much of the original Chrysler America tooling as possible was used. The result was a distinctive vehicle, and from my perspective, it sort of sits somewhere between the Plymouth and British vehicles such as the Ford Zephyr in appearance. The owner states that when he undertook to restore the Wayfarer, he came to the conclusion that Australians don’t use salt on the roads Down Under (correct) because there was virtually no rust to repair. The vehicle has been stripped to bare metal, one small patch was welded in to address the single rust spot, and a fresh coat of Yellow and White paint was applied. The bed features a combination of the original, painted steel, interspersed with strips of timber. The exterior trim and chrome is all in beautiful condition, as is the glass. Two of the harder trim items to locate today are the original rear bumper and the hubcaps. The bumper ends were quite prone to damage, but the rear bumper on this Wayfarer, complete with an original stainless steel center section, looks close to perfect. The same is true of the hubcaps. Those that weren’t damaged by curb strike would tend to shake loose on some of Australia’s rougher rural roads (Fact: Australia has, on average, the roughest rural roads on the planet). This Wayfarer retains all four of its original hubcaps, and they are all in great condition.
Here’s one built in 1958
Rare Aussie Ute: 1958 Chrysler Wayfarer
Even on Australian roads, the Wayfarer was a pretty rare sight. Production commenced in 1958. It ended in 1960, but some of the final examples didn’t find homes until 1961. During that 3-year production run, a mere 1,205 Wayfarers rolled out of Chrysler’s factory. For our American readers, there is probably something vaguely familiar about the styling, and this is because there is more than a little borrowed and reworked 1955 Plymouth P25 sheet-metal that you can see, especially around the doors and front fenders. Some restyling was performed by Chrysler Australia, and the sedan version was sold as the Chrysler Royal. The ute morphed from that, but due to budgetary restraints, as much of the original Chrysler America tooling as possible was used. The result was a distinctive vehicle, and from my perspective, it sort of sits somewhere between the Plymouth and British vehicles such as the Ford Zephyr in appearance. The owner states that when he undertook to restore the Wayfarer, he came to the conclusion that Australians don’t use salt on the roads Down Under (correct) because there was virtually no rust to repair. The vehicle has been stripped to bare metal, one small patch was welded in to address the single rust spot, and a fresh coat of Yellow and White paint was applied. The bed features a combination of the original, painted steel, interspersed with strips of timber. The exterior trim and chrome is all in beautiful condition, as is the glass. Two of the harder trim items to locate today are the original rear bumper and the hubcaps. The bumper ends were quite prone to damage, but the rear bumper on this Wayfarer, complete with an original stainless steel center section, looks close to perfect. The same is true of the hubcaps. Those that weren’t damaged by curb strike would tend to shake loose on some of Australia’s rougher rural roads (Fact: Australia has, on average, the roughest rural roads on the planet). This Wayfarer retains all four of its original hubcaps, and they are all in great condition.
