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The Charger caused a very big impact on the Australian car market and it soon came to the attention of the Police. Some VH models were tested and adopted by various police units.
It was with the VJ model that specially built Chargers were made for police duty. These cars had K codes as did the sedan and wagon models built for police use. Initially in NSW unmarked cars were used by the STP (Special Traffic Patrol). These were VJ 265 4 speed manuals, standard Chargers, VJ-M-29. The important police pack code was K10. The other option codes were:
B51 Power Brake Booster (Disc Only).
C63 Reclining Bucket Seats - XL style.
D20 4 Speed Manual Gearbox.
D52 Sure Grip Limited Slip Differential 2.92:1.
E33 265 'Hemi' 2BBL engine. Numerous modifications were made for police service. The Pacer/RT split exhaust manifold gave extra urge. Internally the engine featured some E49 specification parts including crank, 'con' rods, bearings and baffled sump.
G15 Laminated Windscreen-Tinted Gradated.
J65 Sports Style Instrument Panel with tachometer but with black finish rather that the 'machine turned' finish used on ther VJ's.
S35 Police High Performance Suspension Package - 160lb rear springs, 0.87" diameter torsion bars, sway bar and heavy-duty shock absorbers borrowed from the VH track pack.
T15 E70HR14 Radian Tyres (Goodyear Grand Rally).
W23 Styled Road Wheels.
There were other modifications, part of the K10 option if you like:
Fast ration 16:1 steering. The same as fitted to VH A84 track pack Chargers. The steering was set up with positive caster.
3 spoke steering wheel.
High performance brake package - deletion of front disc dust shields, revised brake pads with a higher resistance to fade, larger .0875" rear wheel brake cylinders, harder rear brake linings with a higher resistance to fade and a proportioning valve.
Hazard warning lights.
Speed windscreen wiper blades.
Front and rear mudflaps.
Mesh exterior sun visor.
Driving lamps.
A police speedo-mounted on the console.
This set the pattern for Police Chargers to come. Base model cars with some important brake and handling upgrades to compliment the already well performed Charger. Emission regulations led to the deletion of the split exhaust manifold in January 1974 and at the same time the 3 spoke steering wheel was deleted due to production shortages. Revised, shorter ratios were fitted to the 4 speed gearbox-3.32/2.00/1.43/1.00. Later the 4 speed manual gave way to the 3 speed automatic - the K12. However is was not the Borg Warner unit fitted to other Valiants but rather the very much stronger Torqueflite 727. Suspension was revised on the automatic cars with the addition of the rear sway bar (S37).This also coincided with the new Highway Patrol marked cars for NSW.
Before leaving the VJ's special mention should be made of the 340 sedans. I know they are not Chargers but I believe they are so unique they should be mentioned. It is believed that 2 special order 340 sedans were built. One of these vehicles was special order 990 on 20-6-1973. These were base model Ranger sedans, VJ-M-41, built for the NSW Police Department. Like the Chargers they featured the fast ratio steering, heavy duty suspension, high performance brake package, special wiper blades and a 35 gallon fuel tank (reworked to have only one filler pipe). Obviously the NSW police wanted to keep hot pursuits going till they got their man!
The VK (K13) saw a major change under the bonnet with the 360 cubic inch V8 supplanting the 'Hemi' 6. Some K12 specification VK's were made before the V8 took over propulsion duties. Please note that the 360 cubic inch 2 barrel LA V8's (E57) employed a Holley 2 barrel carburettor not a Carter. If only we had been offered E58 4 barrel 360's we would have been blessed with Carter (Thermoquad) carburetted engines. Unfortunately the 360 was discontinued on 30-6-1976. From here on the 318 would power Police Chargers. This was the milder low compression emissioned 318, which also featured a different camshaft to meet emission regulations. As the base model VK Charger was the XL, that is what the VK Police Chargers were.
The CL Chargers were only produced in 770 trim. Except for the K16 Police Chargers!. They were XL's. It was during the CL's that Electronic Lean Burn 318's were introduced. I have read that the 318 ELB is supposed to have a different camshaft to the non-ELB engine. However I can find no evidence of this.
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