With its body-coloured bumpers, razor-sharp panels, pastel trim and contrasting purple engine bay detailing, Grant Jones’s VG Val was a tough and uber-tidy example of a stunning late 90 street machine.

Grant recently passed away at the age of 50 and his family reached out to us to bring the story on his VG out of the archives and online:

“We recently lost a stalwart of the Aussie car scene. Grant had a new Valiant build in the works that would have been even better than the VG! Granto’s love for cars was only surpassed by his love for his wife, their daughters and their furboy Bentley.

“We want to complete the history file for his beloved car and give his family a beautiful reminder of where his journey with this hardtop truly began.”

Our condolences go out to Grant’s family and friends.

The article below was first published in the June 1998 issue of Street Machine.

The French have a word for it – Vive la différence.

Well, three words actually. Anyway, the drift is that in a world rife with sameness and conformity, difference can bring its own reward because it separates imaginative individuals from the woolly flock.

It was la difference that led Grant Jones to tackle a Valiant project. Not for him street machining’s easybeats – the usual Holdens and Falcons and Toranas and stuff. They’re like belly buttons; everybody has one.

There are of course, plenty of very good reasons for the abiding popularity of Monaros, GTS, SLRs and such, but none won Grant’s heart and mind. Nope, even before he turned teenager, young G. Jones was bitten and smitten by the Valiant virus. The bug lay dormant for several years, but by the time Grant got his learner’s permit he had the fever bad. For one rash moment he considered putting his effort into an FB Holden ute that was out in the shed. But in a lucid flash he saw the ute for what it was and could be – and knew that wasn’t the direction he wanted to travel.

No, the car for him had to be a Valiant. Not just any Valium either, but an early ’70s Hardtop. It made an impression on young Grant, that car did. In his eyes the Valiant Hardtop had a more American look to it than the purely local Vals, and it was, well, something different. Just because the stocker’s style concentrated on cool more than muscle didn’t mean it couldn’t hold its own in the street stakes, especially with what Grant had in mind.

But first there was the matter of actually getting a Hardtop. After checking a few that were either too rough or too costly, he lucked on to a 1970 VG Regal with just two priors and owned since 1978 by the second, a little old lady who didn’t drive far. But she’d let her three dogs have the run of the cabin, so there was hair everywhere and the steering wheel had been chewed senseless. By the mutts, we assume.

In its time the Hardtop had taken a fair bit of weather and, at some stage, had copped a heavy hit on the offside front corner. There was some tin worm too, but aftermarket rust proofing had held the corrosion to the sills, the cowl and behind the compliance plate. The big surprise came when Grant first polished the paint which he thought was light grey. The buff and cutting compound revealed the paint, dulled by oxidation, to be as crispy white as the head on your next beer.

In fact, Grant had to admit that after the VG got the big all-over shower, suck and shine it looked pretty good for its age. Not nearly good enough, though!

The real job started with stripping the body to the bare shell, straightening the right-hand front rail, replacing the rusted panels, and filling the trim clip holes. Grant counted himself lucky that some time and effort were saved because this car didn’t have the vinyl Regal roof, nor the 770-style stainless trim strips and sill trims clipped along the side panels.

There was no way the two-door tintop Valiant was going to stay mechanically stock. So another car – a scrappy VE Valiant – was bought for its 318ci Fireball V8 engine, autobox, crossmember and lots of other stuff before being consigned to Valiant Valhalla.

From there the project got increasingly serious. Grant admits he had to resist the temptation to get in way too deep.

“Faced with opportunities, some guys just go out of control, you know,” he says. “I still regret not having gone the extra yard for a new full firewall and for not using dropped stub axles. But at the time, with what I knew, or didn’t know and with what I could afford, this was the way it went.”

Went bloody well, we’d say. That’s supported by the several trophies and awards the Hardtop has scored already – and for its drivability. From its garage near Newcastle, NSW, the car has twice been to Canberra as well as several trips to Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and elsewhere. Easy cruising is assured with the husky 318 hardly more than amblin’ along. Built by Roberts Bros Racing, the 318 runs a 650 Holley on a Street Eliminator manifold and plenty of good gear inside. Yella Terra, Crow, Isky – match the brand to the bits. The polished crank carries stock rods and pistons, lubed by a high volume pump drawing from a baffled sump. Accel ignition fires the 100-octane avgas which, when done, is exhausted via Pacemaker headers and a dual system with 2½-inch Turbo mufflers.

Getting the grunt to where it does most good, the shift-kitted Chrysler Torqueflite trans is motivated by a 3500rpm Dominator converter. At the other end of the tailshaft, the Val’s Borg Warner axle carries ex-Nissan Skyline 3.9:1 gears and a limited slip centre.

Anchors are stock rear drums and front brakes are ex-CL Valiant ventilated discs and callipers. The unusual pre-’71 Chrysler PCD (stud pattern) was changed to the more common Falcon PCD to let the Hardtop accept the desired Cragar Astra Star wheels. The 15×8 rears carry 235/50 Kelly rubber while the 15×7 fronts carry 205/50 boots.

The steering and front suspension remain stock, but the reset rear leaves have gained an extra leaf. Riding an inch lower than standard, both ends are damped by Monroes.

The refurbished body came together very nicely, thank you. The de-chromed, welded and smoothed bumpers were sprayed the same blue acrylic as the shell. Better buckets from the later 770 model had their bolsters beefed for extra support before being trimmed in grey velour with blue inserts along with the sculptured door panels. A Formuling woodrim wheel tops the steering column and the instruments are dominated by tacho, oil and water gauges from Auto Meter. Messrs Blaupunkt, Coustic and Oz Audio offer plenty of help in the aural entertainment department.

After four years’ hard slog, the Hardtop is almost exactly the car Grant wanted. Besides being a crowd-stopper, it’s also a very feasible daily driver.

What is it the French say, again? Oh yeah. Vive la Valiant!