COMING ATTRACTION Blown One Tonner

MY FAVOURITE PHOTO Paul Beck

Long before John Willard built his 6-second Pro-Mod Anglia, he cruised the streets in the blown, injected big block-powered Anglia Street Rod. I shot this one back in the days of slide film for an early issue of Extreme Magazine. Everything about this pic screams attitude!

Lightning

STRIKE

Every now and then, a car comes along that absolutely blows the minds of everyone. This twin-turbo Nascarpowered VC Valiant is that car…

I first saw this ultra-cool Valiant when I got sent a few pics online – about a week out from the Victorian Hot Rod Show in January where the car was going to be on show for the first time. Walking into the venue, I went searching for the car and was gob-smacked. It was even more impressive than I had expected from the pics. The style, execution and innovation thrown into the humble ’67 Valiant had me hooked. And I wasn’t the only one. The twin-turbo sedan drew a huge crowd all weekend at its prime position underneath the centre dome of the majestic Exhibition Building. The next stop for the car was an unveiling at the Chryslers on the Murray event where the die-hard Mopar guys were going to cast an envious eye of what was to be the 2019 Car of the Show. As the covers were removed from the car, the “oohs” and “aahs” coming from the surrounding crowd spoke volumes for what the fellow Chrysler enthusiasts were thinking. For Angelo and his family, it was justification for a build that consumed their lives.

But there’s so much more to this Valiant than just a master class in metal shaping and preparation.

Purchased in Melbourne as a stocker, Angelo had latched onto the car he had always wanted to own. With the car now in his possession, he put the plans into practise to transform the Valiant into the masterpiece it now is. It may not look it, but the original Valiant sheet-metal now features lots of modifications – some subtle, some not so. From the outside, the reshaped bonnet and cowl panel are blindingly obvious, as are the mini-tubs. The fuel filler has been relocated to the area between the boot lid and rear window and the lower section of the front guards have been extended to flow with the sill panels. In a complete turn-around to what we normally see, Angelo kept all of the badging and mouldings on the body as per the factory specs. Lifting the reworked bonnet reveals a fabricated recessed firewall and a removeable radiator support panel and new bonnet catch and pins. Inside, the metal work magic continues with a completely new floor and trans tunnel fitted, a six-point roll cage installed and a fabricated push-button start panel. Moving to the boot area and you see just how much work has been put into every section of the Valiant’s build. The inside of the boot area has been filled and smoothed with a 100-litre fuel cell filling the space between the enlarged wheel-tubs. The hinges were moved inwards and uses gas rams to help with the opening and closing operation. With the metal work completed, the lot got covered in a custom mix of Silver that suits the VC perfectly.

But there’s so much more to this Valiant than just a master class in metal shaping and preparation. Just like the body, the interior space is a mix of old and new, keeping some of the 1967 styling and complimenting it with enough custom additions to make it unique. Instead of removing the bench seat and bolting in some later model buckets, Angelo had the original front seat modified into buckets that now incorporates an arm rest and custom console to house the B&M shifter. The rear seat has been sculptured to work around the wheel tubs. The standard issue dash was kept in place, but has had subtle changes done – such as deleting the radio to make space for an array of switches and start button. Lots of AutoMeter dials have been added to the dash. The standard issue Steering wheel has been retained but now sits atop a Billetworks collapsible column. Under the dash sits a Wilwood brake pedal assembly complete with remote master cylinders and a Lokar accelerator pedal. To contrast the silver sheet metal, Angelo had the seats, door trims and other assorted pieces trimmed in Monte Carlo Nappa Blue leather, whilst the moulded headlining scored Alcantara suede. English Wilston carpet has been used under foot.

If you see it on show, take some time to check out the build quality and details. Like me, you’ll be impressed…

There’s no denying though, that the hero of this build is the engine – and what an engine! In the Mopar world, the Hemi big block is considered the be all and end all, but for Angelo, he wanted to go in a different direction with the VC. He latched onto a Nascar-spec R5P7 small block and to make it even more special, he added two Competition T3 turbo chargers. With 358ci of force-fed, hard-core Chrysler muscle on board, this Valiant goes harder than it looks – and that’s saying something when it looks as good as it does! The numbers are impressive – 746hp, 680ft-lb of torque at 6200rpm! All that on just six-pounds of boost! Using an Autronic ECU to control to engine after the MSD ignition system does its thing, the pumped small block not only makes plenty of power, but is reliable enough for Angelo and his family to cruise around Melbourne without a car in the world. Visually, it’s just as spectacular when that trick bonnet is lifted. All that power gets sent rearward via a purposebuilt 727 Torqueflite box that features super-tough internals and a 3000rpm TCI converter. Down the back sits a 9-inch diff located via a custom 4-link setup and features a 3.25-geared Trutrack centre and 35-spline billet axles. It’s obvious that Angelo spared no expense in making sure the driveline in his tough Valiant was going to go the distance no matter what he puts it through.

So now the VC is finished, running and registered, Angelo is all about enjoying what he has created.

Other underside updates include new rear rails and chassis connectors, torque boxes added which incorporates outer sill panels to inner rails as well as chrome-moly tubing that braces the front and rear rails. Finishing off the rolling chassis is a complete Rod-Tech independent front end. Keeping the whole lot rolling are 15x6 and 15x10-inch Street Pro II wheels. As you’d expect, a build of this magnitude is going bring with it some challenging times, and Angelo has had to experience plenty of troublesome times, but seeing how good the end product is, those problems are now just a distant memory. So now the VC is finished, running and registered, Angelo is all about enjoying what he has created. That means more show appearances, but more cruising the streets to different events held around the Melbourne area. If you see it on show, take some time to check out the build quality and details. Like me, you’ll be impressed…

With the metal work completed, the lot got covered in a custom mix of Silver that suits the VC perfectly.

THANKS TO Peter – PET Racing; Troy & Sean – Eliminator Rod & Custom; Leigh – Pro Street Development; Peter and the boys – Style Rod Panels; Ryan – Race Coatings; Neal – Romsey Auto Electrics; Emanuel – Trim Shop; Antonio -Autobarn Epping; Al – Wizard Hoses; Peter – Custom Towing; Nazir – TCI Torque Converters; Gerto – Gerto’s Metal Polishing; Greg Maskell and everyone else that has contributed to the build. A very big thank you to my brother John for all his hard work, time and effort and last but not least, my wife Kylie and my two boys…