VH-VJ CHARGER E55
WHAT WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE A BATHURST WEAPON ULTIMATELY MORPHED INTO A FINE AND DESIRABLE GRAND TOURER
The 340 cubic-inch Charger E55 that joined the VH range in October 1972 was not the car that Chrysler Australia intended it to be.
It looked about as bland as any car in the Charger line-up, with hardly a stripe and no bonnet black-out panels to be seen. There were none of the air-scoops that had characterised ‘E Prefix’ cars nor an under-bumper air-dam as might have been expected of a car that, political interference aside, would have been hooting down Conrod Straight at 270km/h.
The 5.6-litre engine as fitted to road-going cars provided very adequate performance for a model which, in less politically-correct times, would have been described as a ‘businessman’s express’. But if we believe recent admissions that contradict decades of ambivalent denial, there absolutely were plans for Chrysler to field a 340-engined V8 Charger for the endurance races that would bring the 1972 Series Production schedule to a close.
As every student of local motor-sport history knows, interference from nervous politicians at State and Federal levels saw pressure brought to bear on manufacturers and cars that would have become icons of the performance car world turned to dust.
E55s scheduled to race would have used four-speed manual transmissions but all of the cars that reached public hands were three-speed automatics. The wheels were different too; ROH alloys with chunky radials intended to keep the ‘770SE’ Charger securely in touch with the road at its projected 205km/h top speed. Inside the ‘SE’ version was all the normal 770 gear plus distinctive dash inserts made from machine-turned metal and two-tone upholstery.
Disc front brakes and ER70 radial tyres were mandatory but if you wanted a radio that would cost extra. The E55 was priced at $4850, against the $4175 being charged at the time for a 5.2-litre 770.
The shape of the Charger’s seats didn’t change, nor did the poor relationship between seat, wheel and pedals for shorter drivers. Rear vision using the interior mirror only was appalling and a left-hand door mirror essential for safe lane changing. The rear seat offered discomfort on anything but the briefest journeys and anyone back there on hot days would suffocate unless the windows are fully down.
The standard brakes need to viewed in a similar light to the Charger’s suspension. Performance and longevity are dependent primarily on the conditions under which they are being used and the demands of the driver. Under most circumstances, the disc front/drum rear setup works just fine with minimal pedal pressure. Get the brakes hot and wheels – usually at the front – will start to lock. However, when the front discs are cold or it’s raining, rear wheel lockup can be a problem.
Limited availability of engines put an end to the E55 well before the VJ range was ready for replacement. Numbers published in several places confirm that just 336 E55 Chargers were built with the last of them sold during late 1973.