Chryslers by the Bay highlight – C1965 AP6 Valiant Regal Safari wagon

For its 26th annual edition, the Chryslers by the Bay show ‘n’ shine in Geelong once again welcomed all members of the Mopar family, from Chrysler and Dodge to Plymouth, Imperial and DeSoto, as well as Jeep, AMC and Chrysler’s European and British in-laws.

Despite temperatures in the high 30s, around 100 cars made the journey to Geelong Baptist College in Lovely Banks for this year’s show ‘n’ shine, which was held a day after a cruise around the Bellarine Peninsula.

Being a Chrysler show, Valiants are always well represented at Chryslers by the Bay and this year was no exception. Utes and wagons are less prodigious than the sedans and Chargers, though, which was part of the reason why this C1965 Regal Safari stood out. 

As an AP6 Valiant, the car shown here was part of a range that launched in March, 1965, with 43,344 built before it was replaced by the VC series in March, 1966. Styling was an evolution on what had been seen on the AP5, while running gear was much the same, including the 225ci ‘Slant Six’ as the standard engine, plus a choice of three-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmissions. The latter was standard on the Valiant ‘Regal’ model that also offered better quality trim and more standard features than the base Valiant.

Sedan and wagon body styles carried over from the AP5, but the AP6 was the first Valiant to also be available as a ute. Plugging a gap in Chrysler Australia’s range that had been left after the AP3 Wayfarer was discontinued in late 1961, the AP6 ute revived the Wayfarer name and was available with a manual or automatic transmission.

Another Valiant first with the AP6 series was the option of a V8 engine. The 180hp output from this 273ci unit was lower than the 220hp produced by the 313ci V8 that had powered the old Chrysler Royal, but the new engine was smaller, lighter and easier to build. Sedans so equipped were simply called the ‘Valiant V8’, while wagons added the Safari suffix.

A quirk of AP6 wagon styling is that the rear end treatment changed during production. Early AP6 wagons featured horizontal tail lights and a bumper that flowed into convex panels in the rear quarters. This had been taken from the 1965-model Plymouth Valiants in the US. When Plymouth styling changed for the 1966 model year, so too did the Aussie Valiants, adopting vertical tail lights in late-1965/early-1966. Curiously, Chrysler Australia didn’t retain the ‘humps’ in the lower rear quarters, instead introducing their own tooling for this section of the Valiant wagon body.

The wagon pictured is from the earlier period in AP6 production, as identified by its horizontal tail lights and rear bumper/body treatment. Being a Regal, it has the broad strip of bright metal side trim and bonnet mascot that identified this higher grade, and would have had full-width wheel trims when new, too, but now wears jellybean-style mags.

Inside, Regal-specific features like the two-tone steering wheel and fold-down armrests for the bench seats remain, but the seats and door cards have been retrimmed in a two-tone blue and white to complement the exterior.

Other subtle changes from stock that are evident in this AP6 wagon include aftermarket gauges and a retro-look radio with what appears to be MP3 capability. The venetians in the rear and the roof rack are from the aftermarket, too. A thruster surfboard strapped to the rack is complemented with a surfer figurine on the dash.

Despite its subtle modifications, the drivetrain for this car appears to be the stock 225 six and Torqueflite auto, but whether the internals of each have been tweaked is unknown.

One of many Valiants on show at this year’s Chryslers by the Bay, this example looked cool and appeared to be a very good ‘driver spec’ car, with neat paint and trim. An AP6 ute, with evidence of several attendances at the annual Deni Ute Muster, had made the journey to Geelong for the show ‘n’ shine, too.

For JUST CARS’ report from the 2024 Chryslers by the Bay, click HERE.