WEEKEND WARRIOR

PACKING AN ANGRY INJECTED HEMI SIX, THIS VG SEDAN IS EQUAL PARTS SHOW CAR AND STREET-AND-STRIP FIGHTER - AS PROVEN ON DRAG CHALLENGE WEEKEND 2022

- JACK HOULIHAN

IT TAKES all types to populate Street Machine Drag Challenge, from big block-powered, leaf-sprung drag missiles to boosted late-model sedans and chrome bumper oddities. And if you're Mopar fanatic Phillip Hortis, you turn up in a gorgeous Hemi six-powered VG Valiant. Not only was Phil's Val the only Mopar to participate in Drag Challenge Weekend 2022, but it did so with near-unmatched style.

Phil has been chipping away at a '68 Dodge Charger since 2006, but the Mount Waverley Mopar nut couldn't say no to this VG when it popped up for sale in 2018. "The Charger has been a nightmare, as it's totally custom and requires a lot of work," Phil explains. With numerous setbacks and completion timeframes stretching out by the month, he set his eyes on finding a car he could enjoy in the meantime. "I found a relatively clean VG in Mount Martha owned by a teenage girl whose father had passed it down to her," Phil says. "She wanted a more modern car with all the bells and whistles, and I wanted a VG, so the timing worked out well and I purchased the Val."

The sedan was cruised as a stocker for a few months, before the performance bug got to Phil once again. "I couldn't ignore the potential of the car anymore," he laughs. "I put the Dodge on hold for 18 months while Luke [Kinsmore, of Luke's Custom Fabrications] and Peter Haravitsidis got to work on the VG. They smashed out quality work in record time, and a year-and-a-half later, I was enjoying the overhauled VG on the Melbourne streets."

This rapid turnaround was helped along by the VG being in good shape to start with. "It was very original and in great condition for its age, with minimal rust," Phil says. "We pulled it completely down, blasted it, and did a complete nut-and-bolt restoration."