A VA L IANT AT T EMP T
SOME REGAL WORK BEING CARRIED OUT
Sally and Simon Pope have a bit of a soft spot for their ‘Val’, as you would expect after 10 years and many kilometres of happy cruising. They even used it as their wedding car.
It wasn’t rough to look at when the decision was made to rebuild it, but many hours of hard graft over the past four years have transformed the car. With just the glass, carpets, headlining, and a few other items left to complete it, their 1972 Chrysler Valiant Regal is beginning to show its gleaming potential.
Stripping the car to bare metal revealed a lot of rust, meaning new inner and outer sills — which were just some of the extensive areas needing work. Bodyline Panel and Paint of Gore completed most of the panel work, along with the final shot of impressive dark metallic blue.
“I bought the Regal about 10 years ago off my flatmate in Invercargill, and we drove it everywhere,” Simon says. “It was originally running a 265-cubic-inch [4343cc] Chrysler Hemi motor and auto trans.”
Not quite original
With signs of much-needed work being required, he made the decision to totally rebuild the Valiant and also upgrade it a little, the Gore tractor technician doing much of the mechanical work himself.
“I also had a lot of help from friends over the four years of rebuilding it. It was thanks to a mate, Travis Bastiaansen, who drove the project and encouraged me to finish it.”
The suspension and brakes were rebuilt, including the addition of rack-and-pinion steering to further enhance the driveability. The electrics were rewired and a Ford nineinch differential was fitted for reliability, along with period Trident 14x8in alloy wheels in keeping with the ’ 70s look.
The tidy engine bay is now a snug fit for a 410-cubic-inch (6719cc) V8 stroker engine, based on Chrysler’s 360-cubic-inch (5899cc) motor and fitted to one of Chrysler’s reliable and plentiful 727 Torqueflite automatics.
“The motor is a crate motor out of the States. I couldn’t have built a motor for what I paid for it. It runs about 500hp [373kw] and goes very well,” Simon tells us.
With the aim being to keep the embossed features of the original Regal seats, a local, Richard Kirby, has done an impressive job recovering the black interior.
Young son Harrison, aged three, is already keen to get behind the wheel of Dad’s racer, and, with just a few more items to complete, along with registration and inspection, the car should be on the road in a matter of weeks.
“I always wanted this model of Valiant, and I’m very pleased with the way it has turned out. I’m looking forward to using it a lot,” Simon says.
The result is a striking but still stock-looking sedan, while the colour sets off the Chrysler’s low, flowing looks.
“Glass will be standard. I decided that tinted glass would be too much, and I like it the way it is,” he says.