Where Valiants take charge

Marc McGowan
OFFICER mechanic Dave Rogers loves all cars but has a particular soft spot for Valiants.
He has owned 10 of them in his 24 years and bought his first at the age of 17 – a ‘74 Valiant Coupe Charger.
“It was a pile of rust when I bought it,” Dave said. “I liked the shape of it and I wanted to be a bit different.”
It has been a lot of work for Dave, who has only managed to get it on the road in the last six months.
It hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for the model, though, and he recently added a Valiant ute to his collection.
His latest addition means he owns three Valiants at the moment. He would own more had he not been forced to sell some of the others due to space constraints at home.
His passion for tinkering with cars came from his father, who works on cars himself in his spare time.
He learned to drive in his father’s Holden Kingswood. “I love classic cars; just their shape and character,” he said.
Dave’s attachment to the classics has him yearning for a new occupation. He currently works for Holden but he is becoming disenchanted with working only on newer models.
“Ideally I’d like to deal with restored cars; all my work with Holden is new cars,” he said.
“I’d love to work at a place that deals with restoring. Just buy them cheap and then resell them on.”
It is an area he wants to move into in the next few years and he is unsure whether he will own his own business or just work for someone else.
“I’ll have to have a look around,” he said.