Chryslers at Grenfell

A few months ago I was travelling through Central West NSW and had stopped for the day in Cowra. Looking for something to do for the afternoon, I took the 60km drive to nearby Grenfell, which is semi-famous for the historic 1925 grain silos which are now adorned with beautiful painted artwork. I thought it would be awesome to get some pictures of my car parked in front of them.

It wasn’t until a few days later, when I was back home in Sydney looking at where I’d been on my trip that, I noticed Grenfell had a Chrysler car museum. I was kicking myself that I’d missed it.

This weekend just gone, I had an extra day off work and the family were busy on other endeavours so… I decided I’d drive back out there for the weekend and visit the museum.

It was worth the trip. This would have to be the largest Chrysler museum in the southern HEMI-sphere…

If you do visit the Chrysler Car Museum in Grenfell, you won't be disappointed. Entry is a modest $10 cash, and for that, Jeff, the museum’s owner will give you a guided tour. I was able to look over every single car in detail while Jeff explained to me what made every car unique or what the car brought to the Australian market at the time.

Back in my youth I was never a Chrysler fan. Our family were truly in the Blue Oval camp. It was an allegiance so deep that around 1978, when I was about seven, my father played an April Fools Day trick on us and told us we were off to the local dealer to trade the XB in on a Valiant. I cried.

Maturity sometimes brings wisdom, and it can also bring an appreciation for a wider gamut of motoring excellence, So I was much more open now to viewing what I once would have considered the competition. My past self probably would never have believed that my daily drive in my 50s would be a Volvo either. Ticking all the boxes for the stereotypical middle aged white guy…

The museum collection has Chrysler vehicles from the early 1930s right through to modern-day Dodge Challengers imported from the States. The bulk of the cars are from the 1960s and 1970s – which, of course, was the golden age of Chrysler in Australia.

The two cars from the ‘30s are in exquisite condition, inside and out. The two-tone brown one you could just imagine tearing around the streets of Chicago engine screaming trying to outrun the fuzz after a bank robbery.

There are two standout spectacular cars which would be worth visiting alone. Jeff’s own 1972 Vitamin C-coloured Six Pack Charger with its original 26,000 miles and 265 HEMI engine. This one has pride of place in the museum and is the first car you see when you walk inside and is in showroom condition.

The second is the 1970 E38 4 Barrel 245 Pacer which is signed in the engine bay by Leo Geoghegan himself. This car is also in fantastic condition.

There are plenty of other Valiants from the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s to get the nostalgia pumping. Do you remember metal sun visors over front windscreens? A few cars have these.

There is a lovely 1981 GLX Valiant with a 318 V8 fully optioned with factory air and even has Tartan fabric seats – definitely a thing back in the day. I did wonder if it also came with a factory bagpipe horn…

In Jeff’s collection is a beautiful light-blue ‘63 model AP5 Valiant, again in fantastic condition – and complete with Chrysler’s unique push-button automatic transmission. This car is right next to a 1966 Maple Gold VC Regal (with its more traditional column shift automatic).

Whilst touring the museum Jeff will talk you through the ownership provenance of the cars, some of the cosmetic changes to the cars over time and the reasons why the owners did them. You will also learn some of the many innovations Chrysler brought to the Australian market well before Holden and Ford did, such as the electronic ignition that’s on Jeff’s 1974 CJ Valiant.

One of the more unusual cars is the 1965 Plymouth Barracuda. This is a four-speed manual V8 with bucket seats. The rear of the car has a curved glass window which gives the car a fastback shape. Jeff must have been reading my mind as my first thought was you would be screwed if you managed to break that. Just as that thought passed, Jeff mentioned that you can still order a replacement from the Pittsburgh glass company.

Stepping back to modern times, Jeff has two lovely late-model Dodges imported from the States. One is a white 2014 6.4-litre Challenger with red stripes, fully converted to RHD and road registered. The other is a “Torred” coloured left hook 6.2-litre Supercharged Challenger. Interesting feature is how some of the air intakes are concealed in what first looks like an additional headlight.

Whenever I visit museums like this, I always think to myself: if I could drive one car off the lot, which one would I choose? The obvious answer would be either the 1970 Pacer or 72 Charger. However, I think I’d choose the one unique car I hadn’t yet mentioned. That’s an imported 1962, two-door Dodge GT Lancer with factory power steering, and still in left-hand-drive. The styling is similar to some of the early 60s Valiants, but I’ve never seen one of these before.

If after visiting the museum, if this Valiant fix hasn’t sated your desire for Chrysler history, head over to the National Racing museum in Bathurst, they have a couple of Chargers and Pacers on display too. I stopped there on my way home to Sydney – but don’t delay as they’re soon due to leave.

Click here for the pic gallery of the Chrysler Car Museum.