Australian Muscle Car – July 01, 2019

O

wn a roadie you’d like to see in AMC’s expanded My Muscle Car section? Send us answers to the standard

questions listed above, along with three or four good JPG images no less than 1mb each. Also include a shot

of yourself with your car. Preference given to Aussie-built cars (or imported cars with an Australian connection) in

factory spec and contributions provided using punctuation! Email to [email protected]

Whatis it?

“Thecarstartedlifeasa NewZealandnew 1972

VHValiantCharger 770625 autobuiltbyTodd

Motorsin Porirua,NZ.ThecolourwasRusset

Bronze.It nowsportsa worked340ciDodgeV8

witha Torqueight 727 shift-kittedautotranswith

a LSDwithSteelieGears.”

Whendidyoubuyit?

“I purchasedit in 2017aftera longsearchfor

a goodclean,rustfreeCharger.I’dalmost

givenuponndingoneandthenthisonewas

describedto mebya fellowChargerownerat a

localCaffeine& Classicsmeet.I rangtheowner

whoexplainedthecarto meandI droveout

straightawayto lookat it.”

Whydidyoubuyit?

“WhenI wasat highschoolI workedat a

Chryslerdealershipafterschool.Everyday

at about4.30pm,theServiceManagerwould

sayto me“weneedto deliverthesecarsback

to theirowners”.EverydayI wouldnearlyget

myhandonthedoorhandleof a Chargerand

hewouldsayto me,‘No,youtakethatHillman

Hunter’.AfterleavingschoolI wentto workat

thesamedealershipfulltimeandthesamething

carriedonforabouta yearbeforeI nallygotto

drivea Charger.

“Asa teenagerI wasgettingheavilyinvolved

in motorsportandtheChargerswerewinning

NZlongdistanceraceswiththelikesof Jim

RichardsandLeoLeonard,amongothers.This

reinforcedmyadmirationfortheCharger.

“I haveowneda lotof highperformance

cars,includinganXU-1Torana, 1970 Z28Chev

CamaroandvariousHDTCommodoresfromVH

throughto VL,butI alwaysrememberedtherst

timeI drovea Charger.

“I currentlyowna numberof high

performanceBMWs– M2,M3CSLandAlpina

B5,butI stillhada hankeringforanother

Australianmusclecar,soa Chargerit hadto be.”

Whatdoyouknowaboutitshistory?

“Asmentionedearlier,it wassoldnewasa

1972 VHValiantCharger 770 625.Chargers,

particularlytheE38andE49serieswerevery

successfulin NewZealandmotorsport,far

moresothanin Australia.MyChargerwas

noexception.Earlyonin itslifeit wasused

fordragracing.The 265 wasn’tupto it, so

it gottransplantedwiththeworked 340 and

Torqueightandthenhada reasonablylong

historyasa dragracer.

“About 17 yearsago,thecarwasretiredfrom

dragracingandwasrebuilt,bothmechanically

andbodily.Duringitsrestorationit waspainted

metallicgreen(aMazdacolour!).Theseats

werereupholstered,newcarpetswereadded

andit emergedasa pristineAussiemusclecar.

“InmyownershipI haveaddedtheblackouts

andstripes,asit wasa bittoogreen,alongwith

thejellybean 14 x 8” wheelsto bringit back,to

myeyesat least,thecorrectlookfora Charger.”

Howdoesit go?

“I lovedrivingthecar.It obviouslyhasa tonof

grunt.TheTorqueight 727 is beautifullysmooth

andis a joyto usemanuallywiththeshiftkit.The

carhasKonishocksandnewsuspensionbushes

andhandlesextremelywellforanoldmusclecar.

It alsosoundsbeautifulwiththestainlesssteel

headersandthedualexhaustsystem.”

Anythingyou’dliketoadd?

“TheChargeris a keeper,asfarasI’m

concerned.OnethingI wouldliketo doandit

maybea retirementproject,is a fullpaneland

paintin ‘Limelight’.I believethisis oneof the

bestcoloursona ValiantCharger.

It’sa greatcruiserandI lovedrivingit and

goingto shows.It getsa lotof looksandpeople

arealwaystootingorgivingmethe‘thumbsup’

whenI’mout

driving.”

Gerry Hodges
Car: 1972 VHValiantCharger 770
Hometown:Whangaparaoa,NZ