My 1976 Chrysler Centura 4.0L 4 Speed is by far my most memorable past car. Purchased in 1978 with 40,000 km from Booths Chrysler in Gosford it was my first performance car replacing a 1973 Marina (‘Horace Morris’). The Centura was stable up to 160 km/h (4,000 rpm, 4th gear) and would go further, but by then there wasn't enough power to overcome the drag at 180 km/h. It could cruise all day at 120 – 140 km/h though I was always looking for the fifth gear! The direct rack & pinion steering was made even heavier with the fitment of 195/70R14 tyres however, I found that increasing the front tyres to 30 psi and dropping the rear tyres to 24 psi lightened up the steering and set the car to be more neutral with lift-off power oversteer available to counter any front-end scrub. Balancing out the pace and acceleration the brakes (ventilated disc front from the Valiant, finned rear drums) were very good as the rear brakes were modulated via a pressure control valve actuated by the RHS upper control arm. The mechanical linkage from the arm to the valve could be adjusted and I soon found the sweet spot with no rear wheel lock-up delivering strong four-wheel fade free retardation. Only issue I had was water leaks which defied head under the dash, torch and a mate with the hose outside. Eventually I removed the carpet and underlay and drilled drainage holes which allowed the water to exit. However, with a straight-through muffler and no sound insulation from the floor I reckon the noise within the car is the cause of my tinnitus today. A broken windscreen near Walcha solved the water ingress with a new laminated windscreen and seal and so soon as I was home the carpet and underlay returned and I could turn down the stereo. ‘Cedric Centura’ proved to be reliable and strong through to 1984 when an expanding family required ‘Terry Tarago’ to take its place. RIP Cedric.