Taking it in for a service ended up in ownership
You could be forgiven for not having ridden in one of these. Chrysler’s Centura of the 1970s probably scores as one of the lesser-known Aussie chrome bumper models. It was intended to compete in the midweight territory populated by Ford Cortina and Holden Torana and tended to be overshadowed by the full-size Valiant range.
In a feature on the series, Cliff Chambers unwrapped the origin of the species: “1970s Australia was a land of changing tastes. We embraced pizza and KFC, our houses were getting bigger and being made from brick, our cars were smaller but with no less power.
It’s in beautiful shape and has become a trophy-winner
“Holden started the trend by slotting six-cylinder engines into the shell of an elongated Vauxhall Viva, followed by Ford with six-cylinder versions of the TC Series Cortina.
“That left Chrysler, the smallest of our country’s ‘Big Three,’ with the choice of designing a contender from scratch or finding an existing design to fill the gap. It found one in France.
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It’s had plenty of knocks and scrapes over the years, but you wouldn’t know it
“The Chrysler 180 was a mid-sized sedan intended at one point to be sold in Britain as a Humber and use V6 power. Via Chrysler’s ownership of Simca it ended up being built in France with four-cylinder engines, then shipped to Australia to be united with some of our straight six engines.”
We suspect most of the examples sold have ended up as scrap over the years, which makes spotting one as good as this something of an event.
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Owner Trevor Hardiesty runs a workshop in Moe, in Victoria’s Gippsland region, called Trevs Auto Care. And it’s through that business he first got to know the car.
“I’ve been servicing it since the 1990s and became friends with the sons of the old fella who owned it and had bought it new. He was getting to a point where he was handing in his licence. I asked if I could have first option on it, and he said ‘I want you to have it anyway’.”
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“Sadly I ended up buying it from the estate.” That was in 2001 when the car had just 111,000km on the odo and cost $400. Like a lot of cars of that era, at the time they were almost throw-away items.
“I was talking to a mate about old HQs – they were everywhere and we used to paddock bash them.”
“The Centura was dinged in the left-hand corner, fairly bad, and it had a few other dings in places. A mate and I fixed it up. It’s been resprayed piece by piece over the years.”
The Chrysler is a KC, running the 245ci (4.0lt) Hemi straight six with a three-speed Borg Warner 35 auto. Originally the French-derived KB series ran with a base 2.0lt four, though you could also specify the 3.5 or 4.0lt sixes.
“When I first got the car I wasn’t happy with the wheels that were on it, which were the originals, and these Allstars turned up second hand and just needed a polish. It was sheer coincidence that what’s on it now was in fact a period accessory you could buy through the dealers.
“It drives really well. It’s got all the power you need and it loves the hills – just eats them.”
Trevor has taken it to a host of shows and has come back with a fair haul of silverware, the most recent was a gong at Chryslers on the Murray.
Though he has other toys in the shed, you can tell he has a real affection for this one.
From Unique Cars #477, April 2023