I
'M AMAZED by the creativity still thriving in
our scene. Some of the cornerstone models
in street machining have been receiving the
modifiers’ touch for damn near 70 years –
you’d think everything that could be done has
already been done – yet we are still blessed
with the passion and individuality that sets some
builds apart from the rest.
Take Scott Moreland's S-Series Valiant, for
example. When was the last time you saw a
first-series Valiant with tubs, Convo Pros and
big rubber? Or painted bright red for that
matter? I don’t think I’ve seen these mods on
many early-girl Vals and definitely not all on the
same car. They may be common fare for the
Torana, Monaro, Falcon or even the AP-onwards
Valiants, but apply these to an R or an S and
you’re an innovator.
Sure, there have been a handful of R- and
S-Series Vals hotted up over the years, but most
tread the familiar restored path, or tentatively
embrace widened stockies or mag wheels
wrapped in whitewalls complemented by nice
paint. Ride height is often determined by the
owner’s age; either dragging their arses as
neat cruisers, or jacked up restorer-fashion with
reflector-clad mudflaps, a bonnet swan and
those funny little aerials down on the guards
that help you park.The last ones I recall that really took detailing
and a tough street attitude to the next level was
the green HLK340 S of Tony Dimitrious, or
closer to home, Roy Alati’s blue No Par Mopar
S that we featured back in SM, Jan/Feb ’97 – 20
years ago!
But I digress. One look at the pics of Scott’s
S and you know he’s onto a winning combo.
The stance and colour, along with the wheel
choice and fresh chrome, beautifully highlight
this model’s curvaceous body styling. But this
individual look was kicked off more than three
decades ago by Scott’s late dad, Ken – better
known as ‘Nutsy’ to those that matter – who was
given the S by a family friend, Rob, as a means
to transport the kids around.
“First things first,” Scott begins. “Dad was
called Nutsy because he worked at the Geelong
peanut factory as a kid and the name stuck;
those number plates were a Christmas present
from Mum and us kids back in the day.”
The plates were to celebrate Ken finishing a
rebuild on the S that saw it hit the streets in a
fresh coat of Monza Red paint and wearing a
set of Skoglund mags, while the factory Slant-
six was replaced with a 318ci V8 and 727 auto.
“Back in those days I was an apprentice panel
beater at Eliminator Body Shop in Geelong and
they did a great job for Dad,” Scott explains.“He pieced it back together with help from his
brothers Denis and Dave, along with plenty of
VB; it wasn’t long before his cool car was done
and he was rapt. We were all as proud as punch.”
Sadly the enjoyment didn’t last long; Ken was
killed in a car crash on Easter Saturday, 1992.
“He was our idol, and still is,” Scott says. “We
couldn’t bring ourselves to sell the car so it sat
in the shed for the next eight years. My brother
Roscoe wanted to use it as his wedding car,
so we decided to revive it. The paint was still
good but the colour-coded bumpers and wipers
weren’t so cool anymore, and neither were the
Skogs. So on went the six- and eight-inch Convo
Pros along with a narrowed diff and mini-tubs to
stuff some big rubber under the back, while the
bumpers were painted satin silver, which was all
the rage at that time.”
With Ken’s original 318 still in play, the red
S ended up as wedding transport for all three
brothers before Scott decided he wanted to up
the ante on the ‘go’ side. He began talking with
Ray Perrett from Don Witham Cylinder Head
Service in Geelong and the pair decided to
build a stout 360. Ray assembled a balanced
bottom end using the factory crank and rods
topped with forged 10:1 pistons, with the short
motor finished by way of a Comp solid cam and
baffled sump. Edelbrock Performer alloy heads