USA and AUSTRALIAN ,NEW ZEALAND DARTS
In Australia what you call Darts were known as Valiant Hardtops. They were manufactured here between 1969 and 1971 in two model ranges, VF's from 1969 till April 1970 then VG's through till April 1971. They were sold in a number of versions from base models to Regals to Regal 770's,. There was also a sports version (the Pacer) available in the VG range.
In VF's the engines available were 1 bbl 225 slant 6, 2bbl 160HP slant 6 and 318 2 bbl V8. The Hemi six engine replaced the slant 6 in the VG model range with the base engine being a 245 1 bbl, the next engine up was a 2 bbl 245 hemi 6 and again the 318 V8 2bbl. The Pacer had a higher performance version of the 2 bbl 245 Hemi.
From the fire wall back all the sheet metal was imported from the US and is identical to your '69 Dart. Things get a bit different from the firewall forward, obviously the firewall is a new pressing to cater for right hand drive. Forward of the K frome the chassis rails are 2 inches longer to allow extra room for the Hemi 6. The steering box is mounted on the r/h chassis rail instead of the K frame as the A body offset drive drain didn't allow enough room for mounting a steering box on the r/h side of the k frame.
Here're some photos of 3 of my hardtops ...
This one is a Pacer Hardtop that is nearing the end of its restoration. It is a particularly rare variant as it is the only survivor of 3 Track Pack E31 engined Pacers ever built.
This one is also a VG Pacer Hardtop, however it now runs a 370 cube 500++ hp small block :-D
And finally this one is called a "Sterling Moss Special" and was a limited edition model released to promote the introduction of the Hemi engine range
I added the Magnums, they weren't available in Australia
I hope that helps you a bit, I'm sure that others can post pictures of completed vehicles and of the VF models which had a completely different grill treatment and round headlights.
Cheers,
Mike
In Australia what you call Darts were known as Valiant Hardtops. They were manufactured here between 1969 and 1971 in two model ranges, VF's from 1969 till April 1970 then VG's through till April 1971. They were sold in a number of versions from base models to Regals to Regal 770's,. There was also a sports version (the Pacer) available in the VG range.
In VF's the engines available were 1 bbl 225 slant 6, 2bbl 160HP slant 6 and 318 2 bbl V8. The Hemi six engine replaced the slant 6 in the VG model range with the base engine being a 245 1 bbl, the next engine up was a 2 bbl 245 hemi 6 and again the 318 V8 2bbl. The Pacer had a higher performance version of the 2 bbl 245 Hemi.
From the fire wall back all the sheet metal was imported from the US and is identical to your '69 Dart. Things get a bit different from the firewall forward, obviously the firewall is a new pressing to cater for right hand drive. Forward of the K frome the chassis rails are 2 inches longer to allow extra room for the Hemi 6. The steering box is mounted on the r/h chassis rail instead of the K frame as the A body offset drive drain didn't allow enough room for mounting a steering box on the r/h side of the k frame.
Here're some photos of 3 of my hardtops ...
This one is a Pacer Hardtop that is nearing the end of its restoration. It is a particularly rare variant as it is the only survivor of 3 Track Pack E31 engined Pacers ever built.
This one is also a VG Pacer Hardtop, however it now runs a 370 cube 500++ hp small block :-D
And finally this one is called a "Sterling Moss Special" and was a limited edition model released to promote the introduction of the Hemi engine range
I added the Magnums, they weren't available in Australia
I hope that helps you a bit, I'm sure that others can post pictures of completed vehicles and of the VF models which had a completely different grill treatment and round headlights.
Cheers,
Mike
