Chrysler Valiant VG Hearse
G'Day
I thought I would share with you a rare A-Body Mopar from our Chrysler collection.
Over the years, my brother and myself had heard many rumours about a Dodge Dart 1967-1969 (Valiant here in Australia) 2 Door Station Wagon being built as a concept vehicle for Chrysler Australia. We always thought the idea of it was ludicrous as there was never any documented proof. I spoke to a lot of engineers who worked at Chrylser Australia and they all assured me that no such vehicle was built, however, a designer from Chrysler Australia's design team advised that such a vehicle was "drawn up", but never went into production. The Designer advised that all parts for the "2 Door Station Wagon" could have been borrowed from other models, so it was a reasonably simple task for the factory to start producing them - with a minimal amount of extra tooling being needed.
He also advised me that his design looked "Sh*t Hot" on paper and the designs were eventually sold (given?) to a Coach Builder - with none being built! He was wrong..........
In 2004, I saw an advert in a local Club Magazine which read "CHRYSLER VALIANT VG HEARSE - FOR TENDER". Being into unusual Mopars, I called the Seller immediately. The Seller turned out to be a Funeral Director about 3,000 Miles away and I quizzed him about the Hearse.
Unfortunately, The Funeral Director knew more about "stiffs" than cars and after a 30 minute phone call, the only thing I knew about the vehicle was it that it was Automatic, painted White and that it was a "Child's Hearse" (which I thought was morbid). And if I was interested in the Vehicle then I had to "Tender" for the Vehicle. I must admit, I wasn't interested in the vehicle because I thought it was just a regular Valiant Station Wagon, but I felt guilty for wasting the Funeral Director's time, so I agreed for some photos to be sent via Email.
About two weeks after speaking to the Funeral Director I received the Email.
When I opened the attachments I couldn't believe my eyes.
It was THE "DODGE DART (VALIANT) 2 DOOR STATION WAGON". It was the EXACT same description that the ex-Chrysler Australia Designer told me all about nearly 10 years prior. Both my brother and myself were in total shock. We knew that we MUST have this Vehicle.
Because the ONLY way to purchase this vehicle was to Tender for it, it made the purchasing of it really hard. The Funeral Director simply refused to sell it by any other means, no matter what dollar figure I threw up. My brother and I weren't going to let the vehicle slip by, so we ended up Tendering for a price, that we felt confident that we would have blown away our opposition "Tenderers". Obviously, it wasn't cheap, but nevertheless we won it.
Just a quick rundown on the vehicle:
- The Coach Builder who bought the plans from Chrysler Australia only made three vehicles to be used as a "Children's Hearse".
- All the Body Panels (apart from the tailgate) were used from other Chrysler models and were directly ordered from the Factory.
- 1967-1969 Dodge Dart Body (from windscreen to tail lights)
- The Roof is directly taken from a conventional Aussie 4 Door Station Wagon
- The "C" Pillar is directly taken from an Aussie Chrylser Valiant Sedan's "C" Pillar
- Rear window is from an Aussie Chrysler VIP Valiant Sedan
- The Condition of the Vehicle is really impressive (a lot better than what we expected) and gets a lot of attention amonst Mopar People..
Hope you like pics.. Adam in Australia
