John Edwards wrote:

Centura engines were put in at the Chrysler plant in Tonsley Park. They were available as 2.0 litres (four cylinder) or the 245 (six). They were built to compete against the Holden Torana (GM). I don't believe that they had a lot of success, but lot of teenage hoons like them nowdays.

This is an ugly duckling of a car. The factory also experimented with 318 powered prototypes (a few of my friends have done this V8 conversion), but the body lacked the rigidity to cope with the torque.

Centuras were available with a 4 speed gearbox, and a Borg Warner rear end. Locally, a Ford limited slip centre can be added to make up for the factory's inadequacies. Also, some Centuras can be found with Plymouth hubcaps! a make which has not been marketed here since who knows when. I don't know if the factory supplied these or some dealer. The people I have seen with them have no idea.

The Valiants and Chargers had torsion bar front ends, and leafsprung rears, but the Centura had coil springs all round. The centura had the code KB as the model type, I'm not yet sure if there were KAs or KCs.

Heath Wogan wrote:

The Centura was available in the KB and KC models. The KB was available in a GL model while the KC was available as a GL or GLX model. Differences between the KB and KC were velour seats (available in the KC) and a collapsable steering column (as in the Valiants) was only available in the KC series. I believe rear demisters were also only available in the KC's but I'm not 100 percent sure.

I have owned three KB Centuras and found them all to be extremely reliable. My first was a 4 cyl, 4 spd which I later replaced with a 245 and 3spd. My present Centura is a 265 with a Toyota 5spd.

The Centuras are extremely light in the rear and suffer in the handling department a little. But it is possible to achieve decent handling. The major attraction is the straight-line performance. With a relatively stock motor it is possible to achieve quarter mile times in the 15 second bracket. I have heard of a street-legal Centura which achieved 11.1 second quarter mile times at Oran Park near Sydney.

The 2.0 litre motor was an overhead cam, alloy-head crossflow with a two barrel Weber. The 2.0 litre version was available as a basic setup or as a sports model which included a sports exhaust system: 4-into-2-into-1. The K-frame supporting the 4 cylinder differed to the frame supporting the six at the forward control arm mounting. The six had the mounting integrated with the K-frame while the mount was merely suspended from the chasis in the four cylinder models. The four cylinder models also lacked the vented disc brakes of the sixes and I believe some had a 4-stud wheel pattern as opposed to the sixes 5-stud pattern.

The carburetion on my 4 cyl was a 2-barrel Weber which had a water controlled choke. They also had a thermatic fan.

My 4-cylinder started off on the production line as a six and was therefore equipped with all the six cylinder components (including the K-frame). With the six suspension my four cylinder model handled exceptionally well around corners. Parts are hard to get for the motors but I heard of a guy who had the 2.0 litre taken to a 2.8 litre with Chevy pistons, which improved performance to the extent that it was challenging many V8s.

I think the fours were only available with a 4-speed or automatic gearbox. Chrysler's styled rims were an option on the Centura.

Darren Ponton, of the City of Perth, wrote that most Centura bodies were left on the docks for years, delaying its introduction. Immediately prior to the Centura arriving in Australia, the French conducted nuclear tests in the South Pacific, and the Australian Waterside Workers Union introduced bans on handling French products. The newly elected Labour Government were sympathetic (or didn't want to upset them) so the bodies were left on the wharves until 1974 when the tests stopped (for a while). As result of all that "sea air" many Centuras started rusting before they were built!

Chrysler Centura pictures

I own a KC Centura with a 245 high compression engine and a stock auto. It's a GLX with all the trimmings, but like all old girl, has a little rust and could use some tlc. I have other scans of her on my home page under the car page. My ex-girlfriend's 265 CL Panelvan is featured on the main page too. It's a drifter mock up, and went as hard as a rocket! Kasey has XC Fairmont (Falcon) Hubcaps on her though. They look great on the model, so I keep them on. Other than that she's pretty original down to the cloth seats and the badge on the bonnet.

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