Darren Koziol
Car: VJ Valiant hardtop Hometown: Salisbury, SA
What is it?
“What we have here is a rough-cut 1973 VJ Valiant hardtop, with a 265ci six-cylinder engine.”
When did you buy it?
“I bought it around 1996 or 1997. It looks pretty much the same now as when I purchased it!”
Why did you buy it?
“I always wanted a Valiant hardtop. My Dad always had Valiants, I was brought up with them being the family car. We had a VE, a VJ ex-taxi and a CL ex-cop car, among others. I wish I had them now. Chargers are great, but I love the long sleek hardtops better. This one came along and, rough as it was, I saw it, I wanted it and I bought it.”
What do you know its history?
“The previous owner and his mates had a lot of fun with it. I remember talking to him when looking at the car and years later, after the 2015 All Chrysler Day in Adelaide, he found me via my photos of the car (and my comics) on Facebook. It had been a reluctant sale for him because his Mum had enough of it being stored at her place, she made him sell it. I saw the advert, rang the guy and went for a look. I remember going to pick it up with my Dad – he drove me there in his Valiant stationwagon and I drove home in the VJ hardtop... and it felt so good. It felt like I had won the lottery.”
How does it go?
“It’s rough, it clunks and rattles, yet it’s very reliable. It starts every time and isn’t too bad on fuel. A lot of the time when I go for a drive and stop to buy petrol or whatever, you would be amazed how many people come up and ask if it is for sale? The answer is always the same: NO!!!”
Anything you’d like to add?
“I run DARK OZ, producing Australian anthology comic books [ ED: See
Muscle Maniac section this issue], featuring over 100 local artists, and I frequently include the car in the comics with lots of different artists bringing it to life! In the latest two issues of Retro Sci-Fi Tales, in one story the car has a supercharger and outruns a collapsing Space Elevator in the Aussie outback. In another story the car is modified into a hover car with no wheels. I’ve added a lot of history to the car since I bought it, taking it to the Adelaide Zombie Walk, to the Mad Max event in Silverton in 2015 and visiting actual locations where Mad Max 2 was filmed. I’ve produced the world’s first ever Mad Max fan magazine called Silver City and you’ll spot the car in there too. I take it to various shows and markets around Adelaide and it has become symbolic of the comics of DARK OZ. I let fans sit in the car while holding a replica rifle, with Carlos the skeleton sitting in the passenger seat beside them, while a zombie torso hangs from the car. So that should explain why the car is called Zombie Hunter. Can I plug www.darkoz.com.au?