Chrysler Australia always took its go-fast Valiants down a different path to the Ford and GM-H muscle machinery of the time. This endeared them to a fiercely loyal fanbase whose passion for Mother Mopar still burns bright today.

First published in the September 2025 issue of Street Machine

South Australia’s Aidan Karaivanoff is one such devotee, and his stunning VH Charger represents a two-decade journey from a neglected, forlorn wreck to an award-winning, 707hp stunner. And it’s all thanks to a poster.

“I bought this VH 770 for $4000 off my friend Ricky in 2005 during my final year of high school,” Aidan recalls. “It was paddock-spec: a half-black, half-white rust bucket with holes riddled through the floorpan. I put three months’ rego on it and took it out driving a fair few times with friends, and I loved it, even in the state it was in.” Aidan’s initial plan was merely to treat the car to a quick rebuild, until a poster Ricky gave him of a slammed R/T Charger fired his imagination. “I took the poster not knowing how much it would inspire me, but that became the basis of the build,” says Aidan. “The recipe for this car was simple: a tough Charger sitting right with big wheels and a pro street driveline. It’s not a hard recipe with these cars, as the great bodylines speak for themselves.”

While it didn’t seem like an onerous build, challenges abound when working on old cars, and Aidan soon found himself in deeper than his youthful exuberance was able to climb out of. “I got the car and tore it down straight away with my friends, and had it sand-blasted. But it wasn’t really happening how I wanted it to, because I was trying to learn the art and apply it at the same time,” Aidan says. “It sat in the corner unfinished for a long time, until I was more established and earning a bit better money. Once I got professionals on the case, it really started to come to life.”

To satisfy Aidan’s quest for a righteous stance, CDS Engineering stretched the rear tubs and moved the leaf springs inwards to liberate space. A set of Calvert split mono-leaf springs, Viking shocks, and CalTracs traction bars replace the factory hardware and provide space for the 10-inch-wide meats.

The car then went to Daniel Bodjo of Chariot Fabrication to help set the Charger up for its new pro street-powered life. This included the custom engine bay tinwork, exhaust system and a raft of fabrication work to keep everything concealed under the dash and guards.

“Daniel brought the car together because he did so much work on it in every single aspect,” Aidan says. “He was the mastermind behind all the custom fabrication work both structurally and mechanically and did it to the highest level.”

While the cutting discs were out, Aidan had Sot Kavuki at Speed Garage chop the stock torsion beam front end. It’s been replaced with a custom IFS set-up designed and built by Speed Garage, with a Commodore steering rack to help it point and shoot far sharper than VH Chargers ever used to.

While the Charger began life as a ’73 VH 770, Aidan wanted it to carry the vibe of the go-fast ’72 R/T model, and specifically, the fearsome E49 Bathurst homologation special. However, while the most hardcore Aussie R/T Charger wore a 265ci Hemi six, Aidan’s is replete with one of Mother Mopar’s baddest donks: a supercharged 6.2-litre Hellcat Hemi.

“When Chrysler dropped the 707hp Hellcat V8 as a crate motor in 2017, it was a no-brainer for me; I loved the benefits of a modern engine wrapped in old-school style, and it snowballed from there,” says Aidan. “At the start of the build, it was going to be a 360ci stroker small-block, but we ran the numbers on that, and it was going to cost Hellcat money anyway, so it made all the sense to go Hellcat.”

Given its 700-plus horsepower out of the box, the Hellcat 6.2 remains largely stock, save for an intake from the 840hp Dodge Demon variant, a Forced Inductions Interchiller, and a custom exhaust to suit the VH’s tight engine bay. It sends the belt-fed ponies through a McLeod clutch into a Tremec six-speed manual, and then down to a Competition Engineering nine-inch packing Moser 35-spline axles, Truetrac LSD, Strange Engineering centre, and 4.11:1 gears.

“I think the manual mates perfectly to the motor, and I figured it would be a lot of fun,” Aidan says. “I’m not a diehard drag racer chasing times, so if I take it on the track, it’ll be for fun.”

It may have been built for fun, but the quality of the work is undeniable. On debut at Meguiar’s MotorEx 2025, Aidan’s Charger, replete with its retina-bashing PPG ‘Vitamin A’ duco took out Best Paint in the Street Elite judging.

“Travis Flaherty, Rob and Jarrod at Warehouse 27, did the panel and paintwork,” says Aidan. “When Travis mentioned we should do MotorEx, I was a bit nervous, but it was the best thing for it. It started with a conversation at my brother-in-law’s buck’s party that he should paint my car, and it all rolled on from there.

“To see it finally unveiled at MotorEx was such a proud moment for me, and it made the sacrifices worth it. To have so many people there supporting me in that moment was super special.”

Even after the nearly 20 years of his Charger build, it sounds like Aidan’s Mopar passion hasn’t faded one bit.

AIDAN KARAIVANOFF
1973 VALIANT VH CHARGER 770

THANKS
My wife Samantha; my children Evie and Ari; my mum and dad for giving up their shed; my faithful wingman Evan McGuinness; Daniel Bodjo at Chariot Fabrication; Travis and the Warehouse 27 team; Karl Butler at Next Level Auto Electrical; Matthew and Daniel at Quality Motor Trimmers; Paul Norris at Elko Performance; John Consalvo at Glassbead Technology; Sot Kavuki at Speed Garage; CDS Engineering; Don Morena Polishing; DC Anodising; Aaron at Outlaw Speed Shop; Kym McGuinness at Auto Detective; Joe Esposito at PPG; Jason Redshaw.