REGAL SPLENDOUR
THIRD TIME’S A CHARM FOR PEP MINUTOLO WITH THE LATEST BUILD OF HIS TUBBED AND TUNNEL-RAMMED VC VALIANT REGAL
A 606hp, 414ci Chysler small-block powers this tidy VC Val cruiser
THE Snowball Effect. It’s the phenomenon responsible for the majority of rides gracing these pages – including Pep Minutolo’s VC Valiant Regal. “I built the entire car all because I lost my cool when I was taking the engine out,” Adelaide-based Pep says. “I was pissed off when I pulled the hurt motor and I damaged the paint in the engine bay. I shut the bonnet and walked away, but realised the damage when I went to fit the new engine.”
Yep, one heated moment sparked the third build for Pep’s tidy VC, a ride that’s been with him for the past 19 years. Having said that, a VC wasn’t his first pick.
“I was going to buy my cousin’s HX Monaro with a hot 308,” Pep says. “My brother dobbed me into Mum, who told my aunty, so it became the typical Italian family politics and I couldn’t buy it.
“But my mate had this VC, so I bought it instead. Back then it had a 318 and was untubbed, running Center Lines, and the interior had a red velour insert. As a 17-year-old, I thought it was awesome!”
Over the decades, Pep has progressively twiddled and tweaked the VC – as any good street machine enthusiast with spare cash would. “The first build was more or less as I bought it; the second I added a 360ci Chrysler, tubbed it, and it ran nitrous for a while too,” Pep says.
Yet the third time is always a charm, and once Pep started, he just couldn’t stop. “I saw the paint damage and thought I’d fix that; then I saw a few other marks, and then it became a full respray,” he says.
The Valiant copped a thorough going-over; the engine bay was smoothed, the fuel filler was shaved and a fibreglass reverse-cowl scoop was added. Next, the body was doused in striking Glasurit Rouge Lucifer with a finish so silky and deep you could bathe in it. Now that the Regal looked the goods, everything else copped a makeover to match.
The offending donk has been replaced with 414 cubes of Chrysler small-block goodness, topped with a Weiand tunnel ram sporting twin Holley HP 750cfm carbs. Built by the Bergamin Brothers, it’s equipped with Edelbrock Performer heads operated by a healthy Crane F268 bumpstick, while below are Wiseco forged pistons dancing off Scat rods and crank. It’s a strong package that’s good for a proven 606hp at the flywheel and 596ft-lb of torque.
The toughness continues on down the line with a
I BUILT THE ENTIRE CAR ALL BECAUSE I LOST MY COOL WHEN I PULLED THE HURT MOTOR AND DAMAGED THE PAINT IN THE ENGINE BAY
Torqueflite 727 trans packing a full-manual, reverse-pattern valvebody and a 4800rpm converter. Rearward, the neddies get to the bitumen thanks to a bulletproof Mark Williams nineinch floater rear end with a Strange nodular carrier, full spool, perky 4.56:1 gears and tough 35-spline axles.
It’s not all straight-line upgrades though; the VC can equally hold its own through the chicanes thanks to beefed-up torsion bars and sway-bar at the pointy end, reset rear leaves at the back and Koni adjustable shocks all around.
For extra stopping power, Pep has bolted Wilwood discs and calipers to all four corners, then finished them off with Adelaide hubcaps – aka 15-inch Center Line Auto Drags.
Inside also scored a freshen-up, with new black vinyl covering the seats and door cards. Pep skilfully refurbished the VC V8 tiller before adding Mopar-badged Auto Meter gauges to the dash and a modified B&M Stealth Pro Ratchet shifter. But for Pep, the cherries on top are the child harness anchor points.
“Five years ago, when my wife Lauren was pregnant the first time, I went straight out and bought anchor points for baby seats. People would freak out at seeing a baby seat in the back of a tubbed car back then,” he shrugs.
And Pep has peace of mind while out cruising with the fam knowing the VC is up to spec. “The VC was defected three years ago, so I got it engineered through Sot at MVE,” Pep says. “Now we get out in the car as much as we can. It’s a family car; we have two boys and they are car-mad. Everyone always stares, as it’s a different car with the big scoop and tubs.”
Scratching up that engine bay worked out just fine, eh Pep?