Two-Door Chrysler Regal

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32209, 30 January 1970, Page 11

Two-Door Chrysler Regal

The new Chrysler Valiant Regal 770 hardtop la one of the best cars yet produced by an Australian manufacturer, and it Is likely to make a lot of friends. It combines a big, smooth V 8 engine, and the performance this connotes, with one of the best automatic transmissions available anywhere, good road manners, and a high standard of finish and equipment The Regal 770 has two wide, semi-frameless doors, and the rear side-windows wind down into the panels, in the usual pillarless hardtop fashion. The car’s interior finish and trim is of a very high standard, and the two reclining front seats have neat adjustable headrests.

The seat-backs lock upright—a separate mechanism to the reclining gear—and a small catch has to be released before the backs can be tipped forward to allow easy entry into the rear seats* ’ Both front seats have a generous amount of rearward adjustment, and with the front seat right back for a tall driver there is reasonable leg-room in the rear compartment, the restriction being on the rear passenger’s insteps, under the front seat, rathef than on kneeroom. Seat comfort is good, lateral location only average. Headroom is reasonable in the front and adequate in the rear—persons in the 6ft and over bracket might find their heads fairly close to the roof. There is a neat console between the two front seats. It contains a useful cubby hole with a side-hinged padded and trimmed lid, an ashtray with a chromed sliding lid and the transmission selector. The doors are well trimmed, the dash is neat and well padded, and the whole interior of the car is attractive and above average. TOO MUCH CHROME The one criticism that can be made of the interior concerns the excessive amount of bright metal. Sunlight can reflect annoyingly off the chromed lid of the con-sole-mounted ashtray, the instrument panel has a wide chromed surround, as does the heater-slide panel, and to make things worse the large knobs for the wiperswashers and the lights are also chromed. The spokes of the very comfortable leather-rimmed steering wheel, in contrast, are matt-finish, and cause no problem. There is a large glovebox on the front passenger’s side of the dash, with a vanity mirror inside its lid. The heater slides and the rather sharp and ugly switch for the quiet twospeed fan are mounted in the centre of the dash, above a large, drawer-type ashtray. The instrument panel carries warning lights for ignition and the handbrake, a clearly-marked speedometer and total odometer —but no trip meter—gauges for oil, temperature, and amps, and the wiper and lights knobs. The pull-out handbrake is mounted under the edge of the dash on the right side of the steering column, and is almost impossible to reach when wearing a seat belt. It is the one control in the Regal which is badly positioned. The three-point seat belts have their top mounting on the lower edge of the roof panel, and the belts can be unsnapped from this mounting after swinging aside a small plastic cover. There are two huge coldair vents under the dash on the Valiant—a boon in really hot weather. The electric screen-washer has a good output, and the twospeed wipers clear a good area of screen. As with other Australian cars, there is no headlight flasher—considering how long they have been standard equipment on the cars of other countries, it is about time Australia’s three manufacturers caught up. Visibility is good, and it is possible to see the rear extremities of the car when reversing. The rather oddshaped concave rear window never suffers from re-

flections, and gives a particularly good view to the rear through the large, dipping rear-vision mirror. There is also a door mirror.

The Valiant’s boot is really huge, and the spare is under the mat on the boot floor. Under the. bonnet all the usual service points are very accessible.

The Regal’s driving position is generally good, but the “jam-tin” collapsible steering column moves the wheel too far from the dash and too close to the driver, so he has to sit further away than would otherwise be necessary. A similar type of column is used in some Fords, and it causes the . same problem in those cars.

The Regal 770 is well above average in its general road performance. The ride is good and welldamped, the handling is good, the acceleration is excellent, and the car is quiet. The test car had the 770 trim pack, power steering and a limited slip differential, making the total price $5308, including the attractive vinyl roof. The steering had about 3.5 turns lock to lock, and while naturally very light, was totally lacking in feel. For this reason keen drivers might prefer the unassisted system. LITTLE NOISE The big 230 b.h.p. V 8 runs with a typical pleasant V 8 burble, but its noise is most restrained. The Regal’s levels of wind-noise and road-noise are quite low without being exceptional, but the level of mechanical noise is particularly low—marred on the test car by screeching from the powersteering system whenever the car was on full lock. Apart from this, the test car was definitely a mucn quieter car than average. The performance, as one would expect, is particularly good, and there are very few cars indeed which could beat the Regal 770 hardtop away from the lights. The tyres will even squeak for a couple of seconds during “half power” take-off on seal. The Regal treats hills with complete scorn, and there is ample power for quick overtaking on the open road. The car can cruise quietly and comfortably at speed, with plenty still in reserve for any emergency. The three-speed Torqueflite transmission is still one of the best—if not the best —in the world. The central floor lever in the Regal has a push button which must

be depressed when selecting reverse, park, second hold or first hold, but all other changes can be made just by moving the lever. The changes are almost unnoticeable, even on full acceleration, when the boxselects second at 40 m.p.b. and top at about 75 m.p.h. The set-up is so good that there is nothing at all to be gained by using the selector, except to lock in a low gear for engine braking or heavy work. The engine is smooth as well as quiet, and it puts out quite sufficient torque to require considerable caution when driving on shingle*or on a wet surface. This is where the excellent limited slip differential comes in, and with an engine of this power prospective purchasers might be well advised to regard the optional differential as a must.

BRAKES The brakes on the test car were adequate for the performance, but the front discs smoked heavily after hard use, and the feel of the pedal also suggested harder pads might be a good idea. The rear brakes did not seem to suffer. During a panic stop from 50 m.p.h. the car showed a slight tendency to slew—it would almost certainly be better with passengers or luggage in the back.

The handbrake was well below standard, and took considerably more than 100 ft to stop the car in a 20 m.p.h. downhill stop. It would only just hold the car on a slope, but one would hope it would be much better after some adjustment The Regal’s handling is good, and safe, once one gets used to the feeling that the steering-wheel is not connected to anything in particular. Basically the car has quite a noticeable understeer, which one can change to neutral or a gentle oversteer by the application of power: in other words, a nice balance. Ignoring any power oversteer, cornering-force oversteer, when it does occur, comes in fairly quickly but is easily controllable. All in all, the Regal 770 is a practical, attractive, well-finished and comfortable “gentleman’s hot-rod,” if the term may be excused. Competing manufacturers had better sit up and take notice. TECHNICAL Engine: VB. 5.3 litres, overhead valves, 230 b.h.p. at 4400 r.p.m.. 340 lb ft torque at 2400 r.p.m., bore 3.911 n, stroke 3.31 in, compression ratio 9.2 to 1. high-performance cam-

shaft and exhaust system. (Sixcylinder engine also available.) Transmission: Torqueflite torque converter with manual over-ride on first and second, floor-mounted selector, three ratios plus reverse. Threenpeed manual column change also available. Brakes: Power-assisted, discs on front wheels, handbrake operating on rear drums. Disc brakes optional on sixcylinder cars. Tandem master cylinder. Suspension: Front, independent by torsion bars; rear, seml-elllptic leaf springs. Dimensions: Length 199.82 in; width 8».7ln; height 53.5 in; weight 30701 b. (Test car made available by Cooper-Henderson Motors. Ltd.)