Scotty has been thrashing hard on his dad’s VE Valiant ute, hoping to get it ready for a trip to Mopar Sunday in two weeks’ time at Willowbank Raceway. Unfortunately, NSW border closures have scuppered those plans, but Scotty’s come too far to give up on the old girl now, and is determined to get the ute ship-shape by the end of the month.

Last time you saw the ute, Scotty was fixing a tinworm-ridden chassis rail – a common issue with Aussie Valiants. With new metal now welded in, it was time to start putting the front end back in place.

First on the agenda were bump-stop mounts for the freshly repaired rail, using a handy home-made template.

With a couple of big galvanised washers to space the now-thicker chassis rail against the K-frame, the rail went back in the ute. It’s situations like this that our hoist and HAFCO foot jack really come in handy, making installation a breeze.

After spending hours rifling through in his own garage for his Valiant ball joint tool, Scotty eventually found it sitting pretty – back at Carnage HQ! The old units then came out after some convincing from a hefty breaker bar, and in went fresh replacements. The steering knuckles, brake hardware and stub axles followed, in readiness for the steering box and linkages. It’s not a true Carnage workshop episode without the big shifter coming out to play, so keep an eye out for it!

As is often the case with classic metal, the ute is a ‘one step forward, two steps back’ proposition. This time around, Scotty was ambushed by some previously unknown rust as the steering went back in.

As you can see, there’s still plenty of work to be done, so look out for more resto action in the next Valiant ute video soon!