BACKYARD Blitz

JASON BEHAN BUILDS YET ANOTHER SUPER-COOL VALIANT FOR RADIAL RACING AND CRUISING THIS TIME A TURBO LS-POWERED VG UTE 

-  BORIS VISKOVIC

IF YOU'RE a bit of a Mopar tragic, you might remember a bloke by the name of Jason Behan. We featured his stunning VG Valiant coupe, MINTVAL, in bare metal in the July 2016 issue, before unveiling the completed ride in SM, Nov '19. The pro touring masterpiece was an incredibly detailed build stuffed full of big-block Mopar goodness fed through a 1050cfm Dominator carb.

Well, Jason is clearly a Mopar maniac himself, as he's come back for more with another stunning VG this time a ute that he's dubbed. MINTVAL 2.0. In some respects, it's a much simpler build than his previous ride, yet in others, it's far more complex.

"The ute's come up nice and it doesn't owe me that much," Jason says. "We spent money where we needed to, like the Paul Rogers transmission, Circle D converter and 35-spline axles the stuff that will kill you if it goes wrong.

"I built the car from a bare shell in the backyard, with a lot of help from Craig Walters," Jason continues. "He'd come out on Saturdays and weld it all up, and then Callum Conway who painted Daryl O'Sullivan's ABADHK blew the paint over it."