A BEAST BENEATH

Isn’t it interesting that, as car fanatics, we can all remember the moment that a certain car or vehicle made a big enough impact that it formed a burning desire to own one? For Steve Phillips, the love of Mopars started because of not just one but two such moments. The first in 1976 when he bought an American Hot Rod magazine that had a line-up of Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars, and the second when he was watching a late-night movie called Vanishing Point. He instantly loved that white Dodge Challenger and can clearly remember thinking, I’ve gotta have some of that. Fast forward 40-plus years and Steve still has that Hot Rod magazine and, more important, now owns a 1970 Valiant hardtop coupe, as well as a cool 1970 Dodge Challenger.

The Valiant build began in 1982 when Steve was only 21, when he bought a 392 Hemi engine while working overseas. A year later, on his return to