1973 VALIANT CHARGER E48
CHRYSLER’S E48 SOMETIMES GETS OVERLOOKED BUT IT’S ONE OF THE TRUE GREATS
For the Charger nut, an E48 stands ver y high on the list of desirable cars. The ultimate is arguably the E49 race-inspired six (though some of us lean towards the V8 E55), with the E48 running a ver y close second.
What’s an E48? “An E48 is the road-going version of the E49 intended for Bathurst,” explains owner Brian Boschetti. The spec is in fact ver y similar to the homologation car: 4.3litre (265ci) straight si x hemi engine (pushrod, of course), triple Weber dual-throat carburettors (famously set up for the factor y with a test mule sent to Italy), extractors, four-speed Borg Warner transmission and a heav y-duty limited slip diff.
Where this and the E49 diverge is in the tuning. The E49 ran a different cam and ran an extra 600 revs at peak power – 210kW @ 5000rpm versus 225kW @ 5600rpm. Torque figures were almost identical, though the E48 was tuned to produce its best at lower revs : 431Nm @3700
versus 433 @4100. And t he result in t he rea l world? A good Charger si x was more than competitive with the equiva lent V8 from Ford or Holden in a straight line drag.
The 1973 variant is particularly t hin on t he ground for t wo reasons: t hey only sold in tiny numbers and, if people go to build a replica, t hey head straight for t he E49. The best info we can get suggests there were just 122 VJ Chargers optioned as E48s, plus 16 each for the XL and 770 variants. So t he chances of you tripping over another parked beside you, any where outside a Mopar show, are slim. That’s particula rly t he case wit h t his colour. “Chr ysler ca lled t he colour Super Blue and in E48s t his is one of nine in t hose colours,” says Brian.
He and partner Ev ie bought the car from Adelaide in 2005. “We brought it home here (rura l Victoria) and have done ver y litt le to it. It’s been a magic car.
“When we bought the car it had a good strong engine in there, but it wasn’t the matching numbers engine. He had the right one in the shed and it came with the car. Origina lly I was going to bring it home and whip the engine out – but t his is such a good strong engine t hat I haven’t got around to it.” They’ve kept t he original block.
“It’s awesome to drive,” says Bria n, “it’s t he brute force t hey had back in t he day and it sounds like a decent car. The 265 was quicker t han a GT in a straight line but it didn’t have t he legs on t he big race tracks.”