T
HIS modern, European-influenced vision
of a VH Valiant Charger may well be
one of the most well-thought-out street
machines ever built in this country. It
might not be the most visually modified
or have Ridler Award-winning detail,
but in terms of being built with a very clear
set of design objectives – and meeting them- few cars come close. A major factor in that
achievement is how long Mario Ciarrocchi has
had to formulate the ideas in his head – after all,
he’s owned the car since 1986.
“My father and I bought the car when I was 17
years of age,” Mario explains. “Thirty years later,
he mentioned that he knew that I had an interest
in cars and that he’d bought the car to keep me
occupied and out of trouble.”
With the help of a good mate, after about two-
and-a-half years Mario got the car back on the
street with fresh paint, a 265 filled with forged
Chevy pistons and triple Dellorto carbs. For the
next 10 years or so Mario drove it regularly; then,
as his career developed and he started getting
company cars, the Charger got tucked away in
the garage and sat there for the next 15 years.
Building a family and a successful business
took priority, but the Charger was never far from
Mario’s mind, and as his business grew, so did
his ideas for what the Charger could become.
Being a successful business owner brought
more benefits than just being in a stable financial
situation, too: “You have to be pretty organised,
so I used those skills to build the car,” Mario says.
“I don’t mean I physically built the car – I don’t
have the time and I don’t have the skill set – but
I planned everything and did a lot of research,
which took me about two years.”
All that time doing research led him to a
couple of key people who were instrumental in
creating the car. The first was Ben Hermance of
Hermance Design in the US. “I liked what Ben
did because he would get an old car and tweak
it and tuck it, but the original design of the car
would still be there,” Mario says. “I really liked
it, so I just rang him and asked if he would be
interested.”
With the designer locked in, the next piece
of the puzzle was to find who could carry out
the work and make Mario’s vision come to
life. It wasn’t long before Mario homed in on
Justin Hills from Hills & Co Customs. “A friend
of mine had a Mustang built by Justin and he
introduced us at MotorEx 2013,” Mario explains.
“Because he does high-end restorations on a
lot of European stuff, I thought this guy would
understand exactly where I was coming from.
I explained to Justin what my ideas were for
the build and in October of 2013 the car was
transported to Taree.”
Before the Val was loaded up, there was one
last thing Mario wanted to do on the car himself:
“I said to Justin: ‘Let me take the engine and
gearbox out; I just want to do it one more time,
just for the hell of it.’” From that point on, the
car was built entirely at Hills & Co Customs,
with external help brought in when needed. For
six years they worked away on the car without
sharing a single thing on social media. That’s a
rare thing these days, but it made the Charger’s
impact all the more astounding when it wasBUILDING A FAMILY AND A SUCCESSFUL
BUSINESS TOOK PRIORITY, BUT THE CHARGER
WAS NEVER FAR FROM MARIO’S MIND
The TCI six-speed
auto can be
controlled by the
shifter, or at the
press of a button it
can be switched over
to paddle shift<
The rear end is a masterful blend
of old and new that is directly
inspired by the Ferrari 599. The
fuel cap is also a modern version
of the original that’s been
recessed for a cleaner look<