Upper Middle Petrol Head:

This Valiant Regal coupe - photographed on an early Spring day in Hobart's Salamanca Place - exhibits a rare combination of muscle and elegance in one stylish package.  Its closest Ford and GMH equivalents of the era are the Falcon hardtop and Holden Monaro coupe, respectively.  All three cars are equally fabulous.  However, the Falcon and Monaro are, arguably, a bit more edgy - aggressive, even - than the stretched Valiant.  That doesn't mean that Valiant fans had to forgo a bit of attitude, though ; anyone wanting that could always choose the shorter, more performance-orientated Charger coupe.   U M P H (uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au.) AlliPhone images  

  Tasmania's sunny North East Coast isn't a real bad place to be in April, and not only for its weather and stunning scenery!   This gorgeous CM Regal was one of several of the area's other attractions, along with a Valiant SV1 ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2023/04/random-333-circa-1962-valiant-sv1.html ) and a nifty Hillman Imp that, unfortunately, I wasn't able to photograph. It was in great nick , featuring really nice paint and chrome, as well as a glossy black vinyl roof - which, in concert with its rear Venetians - was bang-on for era. Mrs UMPH also spied a lovely Mk3 Cortina - possibly an up-spec XLE - that's piqued my interest and added yet another reason to revisit St Helens and its surrounds reasonably soon. Today’s car isn’t this site’s only range-topping Valiant; if you bung the word “Regal” into the search facility (top right hand side of the screen), you’ll soon find several examples, including another pristine CM and an earlier hardtop.

Full credit to the owner of this totally mint CL Valiant Regal !  It really, really is perfect; the duco, panels and chrome are unmarked, as is its parchment interior.  It'd be hard to imagine that any circa 1977 car could look as good as this one does, even when new.    Did you know that UMPH also features vehicles from all around Australia?  Recent examples include a lovely EH ute ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/08/random-321-eh-holden-ute.html ), an unmolested Datsun 240Z ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/08/from-south-east-queensland.html ) and the sporty younger brother of today's car, a CL Valiant Charger ( https://uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com/2022/07/random-319-chrysler-cl-charger.html ). So why not check them out?  Even better, consider following Upper Middle Petrol Head on Facebook ( @uppermiddlepetrolhead1)   or via their 'blogsite ( uppermiddlepetrolhead.blogspot.com.au ).   And please, please share with your friends!  UMP

There is no Classics by the Beach post for May.  A camping expedition, a thunder-storm and a very soggy mattress put paid to UMPH's blogging plans for this weekend.  However, he does offer the following random instead: This mighty Valiant Regal hardtop was spotted in the heart of Hobart's industrial centre of Derwent Park.  From the windscreen forward, it's pretty much standard 1970s Valiant, sharing the nose, guards and bonnet of its Ranger and Pacer variant siblings in sedan, wagon, ute, van and Charger coupe guises.  With a 360 cubic inch (5.9 litre) V8, this one's likely to be a pretty hairy beast to drive!  It also features a floor-change manual 'box, which could only add to the fun, but the extra length and weight out the rear would probably make it a little less forgiving than the shorter, sportier Charger. Elegant and unique bodywork from the doors rearward. Unlike the Charger, the Regal hardtop used the same tail-lights as found on

One of UMPH's mates - known thirty-odd years ago as Waxy - held a particular disdain for  summer surfies .  For readers unfamiliar with the term, summer surfies aren't hard-core enough  to surf during Tasmania's cooler months.   Topiaries on the edge of Oatland's Lake Dulverton. UMPH has never surfed - during summer, let alone winter - so he's clearly at least a rung lower than a summer surfie on Waxy's cred-o-meter.  The imputation has obviously affected him ; it occasionally leads him to a harden-the-xxxx-up moment, as occurred on a wet and blustery Sunday morning in mid-May when he almost didn't go to the Post Vintage Car Club's annual Picnic at Ross.  So that's how UMPH, Mrs UMPH, B-Rigid and the G-Man found themselves heading up the rain-slicked, wind-raked Midlands Highway, en route to Ross.  UMPH wasn't going to be accused of being a summer petrol head (even if it was an accusation levelled at himself, by himself and known