A CLASS ABOVE
What’s a better way to power your VC Valiant than a NASCAR engine? A twinturbo NASCAR engine!
THE 358CI EX-NASCAR MILL CAN HAPPILY RUN ON 95-OCTANE E10 BUT STILL PUMP OUT NEAR 750 HORSES ON 6PSI
ABIT over 10 years ago, Angelo Furfaro bought himself a 273ci, V8-powered ’67 Valiant as an occasional cruiser. It was a real survivor, as Angelo says: “It was mint – very little rust, and all the hard stuff like glass and moulds were all pretty good.”
At the same time, Angelo was also getting around in a stout ’63 Nova that he’d revamped after purchasing it off Gavin Dowling (SM, Sep ’14) minus the driveline.
“My wife Kylie and my boys Sebastian and Daniel loved the Nova,” Angelo says. “We cruised everywhere in it: to the drags, street meets, Sunday morning coffee runs – everywhere!”
But Angelo had an itch to build something on a whole other level. He was inspired by cars like Anthony Trevaskis’s AGRO64, Peter Fitzpatrick’s FC, XBOSS, and Gary
Myers’s various toys – and he chose his neat VC as his canvas. “I’ve always loved the shape of the VC, especially the squared-off rear quarters with its three sergeant stripes,” he says.
Rather than kick the build off by taking a fully functional, driving car and blowing it into a thousand pieces spread between here and Timbuktu, Angelo started planning instead. “I was determined it wouldn’t become one of those unloved, unfinished projects for sale because the owner has had enough of it,” he says. “I also didn’t want the build to get put on the back-burner while waiting for parts. I spent three years doing tons of research, as well as collecting everything I needed. I had parts everywhere – in my garage, in my shed, under my bed, even in our walk-in robe!”
Another departure from the norm is the lack of build horror stories. Angelo is adamant