The DeSoto Rebel and Valiant Rebel
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The DeSoto Rebel (Mike Sealey)
The DeSoto Rebel was basically a rebadged Dodge Lancer sold only in South Africa.
There was apparently a period where Chrysler and Rambler sold cars under the "Rebel" name in South Africa at the same time. South Africa also appears to be the only offshore market to the best of my knowledge to get the Marlin, which was sold there under the Rambler name for 1967 only. One of the articles Brendan sent refers to a carjacking involving what was probably the only Marlin in South Africa at the time, which was taken on a demonstration ride and taken from the salesman at gunpoint! The thief was apprehended when he ran out of petrol, the Marlin no worse for wear other than a bullet hole in the rear...
Other Chrysler products differed for the South African market as well. Most notable was the "Chrysler 383", which in '69 and '70 at least was a rebadged Dodge Monaco. The Hillman Hunter/Sunbeam Arrow was offered as a pickup (called a "bakkie" in ZA) under the name Dodge Husky. And, in a perhaps unknowing sign of the future, the Hillman Avenger/Plymouth Cricket was built in ZA using a ZA-built Peugeot engine to satisfy local content regs. Interestingly enough, this article referred to the car thought as a Hillman Avenger, but the accompanying picture showed an Avenger with a "Dodge" nameplate attached...
Valiant Rebel (Stephen Makai)
I live in Adelaide South Australia and back in 1984 I spotted what appeared to be a shiny black 1973/74 Chrysler VJ Valiant Sedan (Australian production) in a car yard. Upon closer inspection I noticed the "Rebel" badges on the car and to my surprise a 225 six under the bonnet as most of the local cars had a 245 or 265 hemi motor The trim was also quite different as well as the taillights. The saleman explained to me the car was a South African assembled import and had recently been traded on a new Ford Falcon. The owner had been transferred to Australia by his employer. I always remember the asking price $1495. The car was in really good order but as I had a similar car I passed on the car.
About 10 years later I saw the same car looking rough in a car park and spoke to the current owner. He claimed he had the car for 6 years and was going to drive it into the ground!!! He had no idea that the car was South African built and rather rare to Australia but I gave him my number and said if he would like to sell let me know. He called me a year or so later saying he wanted $2000 (when you could buy a similar Australian built car for $500 so I passed again. Out of curiosity I called him a while later and he said he sold it to an Auto Wrecker. I then spoke to the wrecker who said they sold the motor, transmission and few minor parts and crushed the rest!!! A sad end to a rather rare car in Australia!!!!
PS. The local Valiants R series were not sold here till January 1962 though assembly started in 1961.
Mike Sealey added:
I have a DeSoto Rebel ad dated 1961, and am told the Valiant and Lancer appeared at the same time... ...as for Valiant-badged Lancers, these may have existed, not ready to say they didn't anyway, but I have a pic from the August '62 issue of the South African magazine "Auto Parade" of what we in the US would call a '62 Valiant and another of a '62 Lancer. Australians would recognize this '62 Valiant as an S-series. I do know Chrysler Canada built a Lancer for export markets, interesting since they didn't sell a Lancer in Canada. Canadian Chrysler expert Bill Watson tells me this car had a '61/R-type Valiant tail, unlike the domestic Lancer, but without the fake spare tire trunk lid.
More DeSoto Rebel details (Mike Sealey)
This ad is described as having been taken from a South African DeSoto brochure. It was reprinted in the latest issue of "DeSoto Adventures", the National DeSoto Club publication.
NDC members Bob Terpak and J. Francis Wernath should be credited for separately sending copies of the original bruchure. Apparently the Rebel was marketed in ZA from '61-'63.
The pics show a car that looks very little different from the '61 Dodge Lancer it was based on. There is a 3/4 right rear view from about 20 feet above the car, and the "DeSoto" script at the right rear of the trunk lid can be made out if you know what you are looking for, but had I not earlier seen photos that showed the rear of a Rebel I wouldn't have known where to look for this. The earlier pics showed what is apparently a Rebel-specific emblem in the middle of the trunk lid, but unfortunately never from an angle where I could make out any detail. It looks like it may have been the DeSoto Diplomat version of the trunk lid handle used on the '56 Plymouth, but I could be wrong about that. The earlier pics also showed a small rectangular badge under the left rear taillight assembly saying "BY CHRYSLER". These two features are not visible in this catalog art. The driver's door (right front on a ZA car) is open, and shows a '61 Valiant instrument cluster, accelerator, brake & clutch pedals, and a front seat that looks like it might be better appointed than on this generation of North American A-bodies.
There is also an illustration of a shield-like emblem that looks like it goes where the Lancer shield goes on the hood. This is too dim to make out any detail for sure, but it looks like it might be the Lancer shield without the Lancer name, although it may be something else. The car I saw pics of had the Lancer shield *with* the Lancer name. There was enough indication of prior collision damage on that car that I can't be sure if it accurately represents the breed.
The remaining photos show a 3/4 left frontal view looking up at the car from a prone position and a straight-on grille shot from what looks like a kneeling position. The DeSoto script from the trunk lid appears on the right side of the grille in these shots, although unlike its angled attachment on the trunk lid the script is mounted in a straight line. This script was not used on any DeSotos sold in North America. I'm guessing it was used initially on an earlier Diplomat. I've seen catalog art of a '59 Diplomat trunk lid that looked as if it may have had this script in place of the usual Plymouth script. There is also the slim possibility that this script was made specifically for this car, as was the "Rebel" script that appears on the front doors in more or less the same location as "Lancer" block letters ('61) or script ('62) would have gone on the original car. (This is definitely not the same script AMC used on '57-'60 Rambler Rebels!) These pics also show the running lights mounted above and between the headlights on each side as apparently required by South African law. The French used what looked to be an identical system as seen in Phillipe Courant's Dodge Kingsway pictures. Finally, the pics show a false license plate reading "1961", and the optional Lancer front bumper guards. There is no notation of these bumper guards being available at extra cost, and they may have been standard in the South African market, or possibly only standard on Rebels.
The ad's text includes:
- The new Rebel DeSoto Compact...
- Rebel has the clean, swift looks of the greyhound.
- Rebel's Economy Slant-Six engine develops 101 h.p. ... power to cruise easily at 80 m.p.h. ... power to top 95 m.p.h.
- Full six-seater comfort plus Chrysler's famous Torsion-Aire suspension for a smooth, safe ride.
- Average petrol consumption depends how you drive... but you can get close to 30 miles from a gallon with Rebel under ideal conditions. (Remember, that's an Imperial gallon... MS)
For more information, visit Chrysler's South African Web site!
