Last week’s Carnage episode ended with Scotty making another unpleasant find in the V8 VE Valiant ute project.

While reassembling the front end, he spotted a hole at the end of the supposedly rust-free ute’s left-hand sill. With a hole already visible, there was bound to be more cancer lurking beneath the front guards.

Taking the guards off involved yanking the grille, bumper and headlights – a simple task, but one that chewed up even more precious time. With the guards removed, Scotty was face-to-face with a disintegrated right-hand sill and a left-hand one not far behind. Like many classic cars, Valiants of this era suffer from easily blocked drainage holes, leading to a build-up of dirt, water and gunk inside the sill. Left to sit for five decades, it’s a perfect formula for nasty rust damage.

Fixing it up necessitated even more high-tech CAD (Cardboard-Aided Design) by Scotty, followed by some astute fab work on new sill and chassis sections. With the new sections seam-welded in and tidied up, he’s hoping it was the last of the ute’s tinworm.

With the ute still engineless less than two weeks until Mopar Sunday, Scotty’s attendance plans are well and truly sunk. Victoria’s border with NSW has also slammed shut since this episode was filmed, meaning our host would be stuck with a two-week quarantine period. Though it could’ve been a perfect excuse for Scotty to rest on his laurels and put the ute aside, he’s pressing on with getting it ship-shape.

There’s more Valiant Carnage in the pipeline, so stay tuned to see the ute come together with a tough V8 driveline!