Valiant Spotters Guide

In October 1975 the VK Valiant was released with few external changes from the previous VJ model. The Ranger now had an argent version of the VJ Charger grille, the Charger XL had a white version and the Charger 770 also had the argent grille. The VK Valiant Regal featured a "grille within a grille". Ranger sedan, Regal sedan and Charger all now shared the same tail-light treatment, using a horizontal layout with four chrome contours to keep air flow away and keep the lenses clean.

The VK Chargers were not called Chrysler Valiant Chargers any longer; the 'Valiant' was dropped to just leave Chrysler Charger.

The VK Regal also had blinker repeaters housed in a small chrome boxes which sat on top of both front guards. Another unusual option was the Fuel Pacer option from the Chrysler US parts bin which detected low engine vacuum – as under hard acceleration – and illuminated the driver side guardtop blinker repeater to indicate wasteful driving.

Inertia-reel seatbelts and slightly different heater controls were introduced on the VK, as well as a combination control stalk for the lights and wipers from the Mitsubishi Galant. The Ranger also got full-length door trims, and carpet was now standard.

VK six-cylinder series engines were the same as the VJ's, and all 245 Hemi-6s now had a two-barrel carburettor, the same as the 265 Hemis.

The V8s were mainly 318 cu in (5.2 L) units, though the 360 cu in (5.9 L) remained an option across the entire range. It was not very popular as the mid 1970s saw the trend towards smaller cars with smaller motors.

While the "three on the tree" column shift manual gearbox was still available, it was rarely specified (although still popular on Utes) and the three-speed floor change was now gone too. Buyers seeking floor-shift manual could choose the four-speed, which was available on all models but could only be had with a Hemi-6, not with a V8.

Late in the VK model run a limited edition Charger called the White Knight Special (option A50) was offered with a factory-fitted front air dam. The changes were mainly cosmetic with running gear being largely stock. There were 200 White Knight Specials made – 100 Arctic White and 100 Amarante Red. 120 were automatics and 80 were four-speeds.

20,555 VK Valiants were produced and production ceased in June 1976. This was because ADR 27A for exhaust emission control became effective on 1 July 1976, and all the car manufacturers used that date as the introduction of a new model to comply with the new standard.

The Chrysler by Chrysler was slightly altered by a facelift in October 1975 to become the CK series. Production ceased just one year later, in October 1976. The Chrysler by Chrysler was replaced by the Chrysler Regal SE, a prestige version of the CL Series Valiant.