TRAX of Australia 1:24 1973 Valiant Charger VJ 770

Let’s do some word association. I say “Charger.” You say “Dodge”—right? Wrong. No, not Plymouth. Not Chrysler either. Give up? Well, if you read the title of this review, you’d have said “Valiant.” In the Land Down Under, Chrysler Australia divvied up its line into three marques: Chrysler (luxury), Valiant (mid-priced), and Dodge (utes and U. S. Plymouth conversions). Chargers had earned some fame on the racetrack, when Leo Geoghegan campaigned at the Bathurst 500 (Australia’s Indy 500) in a 1972 R/T E49 Charger with a hi-po version of the straight six, aspirated by three Italian side-draft carbs. Going up against Holden and Ford V-8s, he held the lead for much of the race. Geoghegan probably would have taken the checkered flag had he not had to hit the pits later in the race due to his engine misfiring. Because he push-started the car out in the pits to get it running, he was given a full one-minute penalty. Coming that late, his hopes for first were dashed and he finished fourth.

Aussie cars tend to be smaller than their American counterparts. I’d say it was because of the higher price of gas, but they tended to shoehorn some honkin’ engines under the bonnets. The Aussies seem to be as in love with their muscle cars as Americans are. Owners of the 1973 VJ 770 took a piece of Charger’s racing heritage to the roads back home. The ’73 VJ 770 was sporty, with compact, pleasing lines and the trusty Chrysler hemi-head, straight six as its powerplant—a descendent of the six that did so well at Bathurst. And you thought Hemi only meant V-8.

The TRAX image of this charger is another good one. 1:24-scale images, called “Superscale” in Australia, aren’t as big there as they are here. Like Britain and Europe, 1:43-scale images are king-of-the hill. TRAX hasn’t issued a lot of 1:24ths, tending to do a lot of repaints of existing dies. So, when a new one comes along, it’s worth getting, especially since they’re all LEs.

TRAX is a half-step behind the technology we’ve experienced here of late but they nevertheless manage to provide some nice “goodies.” The Sunfire Yellow with tan interior is a nice color combination, but if it doesn’t float your boat you’ll probably see other color combinations soon. Old modeling technology: dogleg hinges on the doors. But all seams are can’t-get-a-knife-edge-in tight. In fact, the use and care instructions suggest opening the hood by inserting a toothpick from underneath to push it up. For the trunk lid, I found a round toothpick point applied to one corner was needed to open it when the handy FM model tool failed. Other than the headlights, there are no other plastic lenses. The parking and taillights are painted. Though you won’t find any of the photo-etched metal script, a la DM, the tampo appliqué work is nicely done, even when it’s used to simulate rocker panel moldings. New modeling technology: operating suspensions, tilting seatbacks, opening glovebox, and roll-down windows (Though they only go about halfway down, it’s still cool to work the tiny winder-handle.). Under-hood detailing is up to snuff and there’s a spare in the trunk, though the trunk’s as bare as a parson’s cupboard—no liner or patterned paint, just flat black. The detailing carries through on the undercarriage as well. All in all, it’s a fine looking, well executed image from our friends in the Southern Hemisphere. I've grown fond of the look of Australian cars. Though many are made by American manufacturers, with branches located there, they hew to a different styling credo and size template. If you get one and put it next to an image of a similar American marque, you’ll see what I mean. Or, you could go down to your local Pontiac dealer and look at the new GTO, since it’s based on Australia’s Holden platform.

While Holden and Falcon were cramming hefty V-8s under the bonnet, Valiant stayed with its 265 cid, hemi-head, straight six. Bad move, you say? Not really. The Valiant R/T E49 Charger was acknowledged as the fastest accelerating car of its day. It made 300 bhp and could run the ¼-mile in 14.2 seconds. Tweaked, it could run in the 12s! It also had enough beans to go the distance on the racetrack as well. Not bad for a six. Think Hudson in the ‘50s.

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