Thread: 1972 Chrysler Charger R/T E49

The Charger R/T E49 was the last of the breed-the pentastar brand's final Bathurst special.To celerbrate what is,arguably the greatest locally built muscle car,we take a look at a very impressive list of reasons to love the mighty Charger.And personally it's a car i have always had massive respect for and always wanted to own.The below article comes from AMC.

That Engine.
In Australia in the 1970's the big three engaged in a battle of the engines with Holden spending millions on developing the 253 and 308ci V8s for the family motorist and Chrysler taking the more traditional path by spending millions on introducing their so-called 'Hemi' in-line six cylinder engine.For Australian motorist the advent of the Chrysler six was like manna from heaven because it was a truly modern engine in concept where the Holden and Ford sixes were products of a earlier decade and had been progressively expanded in capacity and power as time went on.By 1970 the Holden red six was old and tired but was made to carry on for another ten years until it was dreadfully beyond it's use by date.The Chrysler engine was superior in every way.By adding triple Weber 45DCOE carburettors it not only took Chrysler way outside the square but also contributed to the engine producing more than 1bhp per cubic inch-a feat considered the holy grail of engine development at the time.
In fact,the E49 version of the engine produced 302bhp at 5600rpm and 320ft-lbs at 4100rpm.Under consideration was a further development that had a '49 Plus' camshaft that would have added another 20bhp to the output. Additionally,the D engine block was designed from the start to be expanded to 300-ci but that avenue was never followed through.
Additional niceties in the E49 engine included a baffled sump,tuned length exhaust headers,shot-peened crankshaft and conrods and a twin-plate clutch.Chrysler said at the time it was the most powerful six in the world and they were most likely correct.

Acceleration.
WHEELS magazine road tested a Hemi Orange E49 and recorded the time of 6.1 seconds for the 0-60mph sprint and an amazing 14.1 seconds for the 0-100mph.WHEELS also recorded a maximum speed of 131mph.All this made the E49 the fastest accelerating muscle car in Australia,faster even than the mighty GT-HO Phase III.The XY 'HO' took 6.5 seconds to 60mph and 15.5 to 100mph.
Put modern rubber on an E49 today and the times can be improved even further.Try as much as GM-Holden and Ford did,it was not until the arrival in 2002 of the BA Falcon XR6 turbo that the E49 lost it's crown.In other words,it took 35 years and a turbocharged engine with modern mega-power computing capabilities on board to beat it.The XR6 Turbo had at it's disposal 320bhp at 5250rpm and accelerated from 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds-it beat the E49 by a blink of the eye!
It simply underlined the enormity of the achievement by those dedicated souls at the Lonsdale engine plant all those years ago.

King Kong Chrysler.
The E49 was the pinnacle of Chrysler's achievements down under.While the engine was not strictly a Hemi insofar as the combustion chamber was not a true hemisphere(like those on the fabled 426-cid Hemi V8s of the 1960s) the E49 had far and away the best power-to-weight ratio of any Chrysler product and it was certainly superior to the Falcon GTs 351,the Monaro GTS 327 and GTS 350.

Racing Fans.
When Chrysler began to seriously race the Pacer sedan and then the Charger coupes they provided the foil between Holden and Ford fanatics who followed touring car racing around Australia.A third group-the Chrysler fans-appeared on the scene and had as much to crow about as the others.Well,for a short time at least.
The late Howard Marsden,competition manager at Ford at the time,said prior to the 1972 Bathurst race,"The only car i feared was the Charger-given the extra power and the noted drivers we had to be on our game."

Lighter Weight.
The D engine was a comparatively light unit that used the latest thin wall casting techniques for the cylinder block and head which made it lighter by about 40lb (18kg) than the old RG slant six engine and up to 300lb (136kg) lighter than Ford's 351ci and 350ci V8 engines.

Engine Note.
The E49 engine had a unique sound for an Australian six.It sounded almost like an Italian engine such was the baritone bark from it's exhaust when taken high into it's rev range on the road.On the race track with a straight out exhaust exiting in front of the left rear wheel it sounded awesome and made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up as it thundered past.No other Australian engine could emanate that sound.

ROH Alloy Wheels.
The E49 Charger came as standard with the famous ROH forged alloy road wheels 7x14 inch shod with ER70 14 high performance tyres.These wheels and tyres were an integral part of the Track Pack-which was a mandatory option with E49-and really set of the style of the Charger.

The Yanks'Reaction.
When you mention the name Charger to most American muscle car fans they automatically think of the Dodge Charger.A few Valiant Chargers(including two E49s) have been bought and taken back to the USA and Canada where they have participated in club drag races and been displayed at shows all over the country.
At US Mopar shows the Aussie Chargers cause jaw dropping astonishment with regards to the styling and what is under the 'hood'.On the drag strip,one E49 has regularly beaten more fancied V8 powered rivals,comfortably running under 14 seconds through the quarter mile.And when the hood is opened and they count only six spark plug leads and see the trio of Weber DCOE carburettors they simply stare in disbelief.

Going To Italy.
Management made two crucial decisions in the early days of the Chargers development; specifying Weber carburettors,and going to the expense of shipping a Valiant Pacer and a prototype engine to the Italian city of Bologna where the Weber head office was located.There with the assistance of two specialists,the exact specification and tune of the 45DCOE carburettors was sorted so that the engine could be docile around town or a race track screamer.It was a brilliant move on Chrysler's part.

Last Homologated Aussie Supercar.
The landscape changed forever with the publication of Sydney's SUN HERALD newspaper in mid 1972,which contained banner headlines about the 160mph supercars.Ford dropped its plans for their GT-HO Phase IV,as did Holden for its V8 XU-1,leaving Chrysler's 1972 challenger as the last of the homologated Aussie supercars.

Best Handling.
Combine the Charger E49's short wheelbase,wide track and adjustable suspension with the lightweight engine and you have Australia's best balanced performance car from that period.Once set up,there is nothing quite like a Sunday morning blast over your favourite winding road for the driving experience of your life.
In a group test in MOTOR magazine(April 1997) racing legends Peter Brock and Allan Moffat both drove an E49 Charger for the first time and afterwards Brock commented,"The handling is something of a revelation after the HO;the Charger is quite nimble in comparison.In fact,its much better than the VN Group A Commodore.There's a nice neutral balance to it,particularly in fast corners where it just hangs on and feels completely secure."

That Styling.
Where the Holden Monaro was a roof job on the HK and HQ Kingswood bodies the Charger shared only the front panels with its donor VH sedan.From the A-pillar back the Charger was unique and all the better for it-the VH sedan was something of a styling dud in so many ways as the Charger was not.The sweep of the roof back to those minimalist sail panels either side of the slightly recessed and almost flat rear window and then on down to the cute duck's tail was just brilliant and unique to Charger.

Built Tough.
When Chrysler released the R series Valiant in January 1962 it was basically a clone of its US sibling apart from a few relatively minor touches needed in Australia.Unlike the frail XK Ford Falcon that fell apart under local conditions,the Valiant had been properly and completely engineered from the beginning and was able to withstand the harsh Australian conditions without fear.That solid construction continued right through the Valiant years and was evident in the way in which the Charger withstood punishment of hours of racing.

Economical Vs V8.
Compared with the enormously heavy V8s under the bonnets of the Falcon GT,the E49 version of the 265-ci engine was more powerful(but slightly less torquey) but significantly lighter and was far more economical in its consumption of fuel.At racing speeds the V8s would have been returning 5 or 6 miles per gallon where the Chrysler six would giving up to 10mpg.In road touring the E49 was also a far less thirsty car to own and drive with figures of 14-18mpg.
Interestingly,in Chivas's epic drive in the 1972 Bathurst race he went the 500-mile distance with only one pitstop.

One thing i have never understood is way the Charger is never mentioned in the same way as Manoro's or GTs when it was a bloody brilliant car,and they look awesome too.

Disco Man, you have hit the nail on the head: absolutely awesome and underrated motor car. It's underrated, even with the great reputation it's had since 1972. I don't have many regrets in life, but one is me not going to snaffle an E49 in Toowoomba in the eighties for a little over $4000 (the fact that my net worth at the time was about a tenth of that should not have stopped me).

I knew a fellow in the eighties who had worked at Austral Chrysler in Townsville, and had done his trade with Chrysler years before. When the subject of the E49 came up, he used to get all misty-eyed. I remember very clearly his words "F*ckin' vicious motor car!". It was not a criticism. He said that the E49 was unbelieveably taut and well-balanced, tight in its handling and just crackling and raring to go. Properly set up, it was probably without peer amongst vehicles of its type.

I also rmember the Valiant-bagging in the eighties... I was a teenager, Valiant-mad, and used to think "But this car was so good!! A mate who worked for Ford, who was initially ignorant of the E49's capabilities, and then after some time rather resentful of its inconvenient existence, did end up acknowledging that it could knock a HO for six. He owned a HO.

I know this is rather an old thread, but I had to add my tuppence-worth.

I have seen a few E49s in my life, never actually touched one(!), but I still have a rather tidy Charger of my own - so I can't really complain.

Jhn