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The primary information source was a magazine sent by Robert Pascale: Hey Charger! (edited by John Wright). Information was added later by others.
Chrysler brought out the sporty Pacer in 1969. Powered by a high-performance slant six, it featured a beefed up suspension, floor-mounted four-speed, snarly exhaust, and built-in tachometer. The slant six put out about 170-180 hp, and the quarter mile was about 17.8 seconds, quite good for the time.
Tim Ireland wrote:
The VF Pacer was only available as a 4 door sedan and with a 3 speed manual floor shift. The VG Pacer (1970) was the first model to offer a Pacer 2 door coupe (as pictured at the top of the Valiants down under page).
The VG Pacer sedans were available as the standard Pacer (245 Hemi, 185 hp with 2 bbl), E31 Pacer (High Performance 250 version of the 245, with a 2 bbl carb, about 195 hp)and the E34 Pacer (Even higher ouput version of the 250 E31 engine with a 4 bbl carb, wilder camshaft, etc, around 235 hp).
All these were fitted with 3 speed floor shift manual gearboxes as Chrysler Australia's policy was to use locally produced components... and there wasn't a suitable local 4 speed available at that time! The VG Pacer coupe was not available with either the E31 or E34 engine options.
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The Pacer got new power in 1970. Its new, Australian engine used hemispherical ("hemi") heads in a 245 cubic inch in-line six, a two-barrel carburetor, and a higher lift cam. The Pacer, with a four-barrel carb, could do the quarter mile in under 16 seconds.
A 1972 VH Pacer Sedan, with a manual 265 two barrel, originally sold for $3235. The engine ran 218 hp (163 kW) @ 4800 rpm, 273 lb-ft (370 Nm) @ 3000 rpm. Top speed 112mph (179km/h), 0-60 mph 7.6sec, standing quarter 15.9 sec, weighing in at 3120lb (1415kg). (Stats courtesy Craig Cummerfield)
The next year, the VH models came out. The VH Pacer had a higher performance 265, and it set a record for being the fastest mass-produced four-door sedan with a six cylinder engine produced in Australia (the record was indisputed until 1988). The relatively inexpensive Pacer's 265 had 218 hp and 273 lb-ft, leading to a 15.9 second quarter mile, 8 second 0-100 km/h, and top speed of 185 km/h (with a three-speed).
Visit the Chargers of New Zealand page to get further insights and information on the Valiant Charger and its admirable racing record.
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