The Chrysler Centura is a midsize car which was produced by Chrysler Australia between 1975 and 1978. It was based on Chrysler Europe's Chrysler 180 model, but was also available with larger Australian-made Hemi Six engines. 19,770 Centuras were built.
Development
Engineers from Chrysler Australia and Simca considered modifying the body of a Chrysler 180 sedan and shortening the drive train so they could place the Australian 6-cylinder Hemi engines further back in the body but instead decided to lengthen the nose, as Chrysler Australia apparently felt this created a more aggressive and better-looking car. It also meant fewer changes were needed to "Australianise" the car, making it economical to assemble. Additional, largely cosmetic changes included a new grill, headlights, bonnet and rear panel and taillights.
A brake proportioning valve was fitted to all Centuras from factory to compensate for weight transfer during braking. When the car "nose-dived" under heavy braking, a mechanical link connected to the proportioning valve reduced the brake pressure on the rear wheels, to prevent them from locking up and causing the back of the car to slide around. This was typical of many European cars of the time but uncommon in Australian cars.
Chrysler also experimented with fitting a 5.2-litre (318 ci) American-made V8 but decided that the body lacked the rigidity to cope with the larger engine; the V8 version never went into production.
KB Centura
The KB Centuras sold and assembled in Australia not only had a 1981 cc version of the four-cylinder Simca engine but were also available with Australian-made 6-cylinder pushrod 3523/4014 cc hemi engines and BorgWarner 3-speed automatic and 3- or 4-speed manual gearboxes. The four offered 122 hp (SAE), the sixes 142/167 hp (SAE) respectively. The KB series was sold in XL and GL trims, the latter having more equipment as standard. All KB Centuras had a tachometer and a clock, low fuel light (rare for 1975), rear bumper overriders, console (no storage) and optional vinyl roofs. There were no rear demister fitted, although a Smiths unit was fitted by some dealers. The KB model's European pedigree was obvious, with instrumentation in the opposite order and steering column controls on opposite sides. All KB Centuras came equipped with a tachometer as standard (whereas later KC cars only gained a tachometer through special order- as part of the Sports Pack option package) Interior flow ventilation was improved compared to the larger Valiant models, as the Centura had two face-level ventilation outlets. Although the A55 6 cylinder Centura Sports Package was fitted to some vehicles ( included body stripes, styled wheels, woodgrain instrument cluster and Boca Raton cloth trim), it was common to see dealer fitted options including the styled road wheel option, and stencilled side stripes and bonnet black outs. The sixes also came with larger brakes (60 mm ventilated front discs and 25.4 mm rear finned drums) and a tandem brake reservoir. The six-cylinder Hemi cars used a 5-stud wheel bolt pattern, and the early four-cylinder cars used a 4-stud wheel bolt pattern and only featured solid unventilated brake discs. Later four-cylinder cars shared the same brakes and stud pattern as the sixes, and thus the same wheels. All Centura models were factory fitted with rack-and-pinion steering, however there was no power steering option. Steering could be extremely heavy, so correct tyre fitment and pressures were a must. Factory / dealer fitted air, with the unit located below the heater controls was available but seldom optioned.
Problems
No Centura models were fitted with starter motor relays, which instead put the cranking load onto the ignition switch internal terminals when cranking, which reduced the ignition switch life in some cars. Traction in wet weather proved to be poor, with some cars only having an open differential, relatively large six-cylinder Hemi engine and very light weight over the rear wheels.
The importation of the bodies from France into Australia was complicated in 1973 by industrial action, with dockside unions protesting against French Pacific island nuclear testing. The union bans lasted 2 years. There was a myth that many early KB bodies spent months on wharfs exposed to salt air, creating corrosion problems later in these cars' lives. This was not the case. The main problem this caused was to delay the car's initial release onto the market.