Awarded a Rare Spares Real Street Award at this year’s MotorEx, Paula’s 1973 Valiant Charger XL certainly caught the attention of the Rare Spares team.
Purchased approximately ten years ago, Paula tells the story of what drove her to select the 1973 Valiant as her next ride.
“I have a 74 model TA22 Celica which I bought around 17 years ago and still have today. It is so much fun to drive, but I wanted a car with ‘some balls’. I saw [the Valiant Charger XL] advertised and picked it up the next day. I later found out the guy who sold it to me was a past drag racer… kind of explains a bit! But I really love the rear of these Valiants, that duck tail is on point.”
Paula contends that the Valiant is an ongoing project, “it has ‘the good stuff’ under the bonnet and cosmetically I have given it the tuff look, but I always have new ideas to maybe change bits to keep it fresh. Stay tuned!”
When prompted on the Valiant’s eye catching magenta, Paula shares the story of how the colour came to be. “I just love the colour! It was originally white, but I wanted to make it pop. The colour was matched to a Kmart bright pink iddy bitty bin. True story!”
“I resprayed it and added satin black features with a specifically molded reverse cowl and Street Pro Wheels to finish it off. It looks tough, it sounds tough, and it always gets a thumbs up and the “hey charger” from the generation mimicking the tv commercial from the 70’s. I love it!”
However, the Valiant is not just pleasing to the eye. As a Genuine VJ XL model (of which 3323 were built), it has been decoded and dated to the 16th November 1973. It was then on sold on the 29th of November the same year by dealer no.V101 (on Collins street in Melbourne). With a center Armrest and 13 transistor radio optioned.
