When she was in her late teens, Anneke Schelfhorst nabbed herself a VF Valiant, instigating a deep love for old-school chrome-bumper rides. At 21, she swapped the VF for a 351-powered ZD Fairlane to travel Australia, but now she’s hopped back in the Mopar camp with a fresh pair of Vals – a 1964 AP5 and a 1978 CL.

First published in the August 2024 issue of Street Machine

Your ZD Fairlane expedition sounds massive.

It was! Back in 1997, my boyfriend and I drove around most of Australia for five months in my ZD. We even worked for a month at an NT roadhouse to save up for fuel. The car really didn’t like the heat up north, so we took the thermostat out.

Later, the wheel bearings went, stranding us in Mount Isa for a week. And while we almost lost the brakes heading down a big hill in Nowra, we made it home, and sold the car a month later for only $1000. The ZD was great – it made me love old cars.

More recently, you’ve got yourself a pair of Vals. Tell us about the AP5.

I’d begun looking at Valiants to buy, and I saw this 1964 AP5 at the 2019 Chryslers on the Murray. A South Australian couple had driven it there, so I figured it must be a reliable driver. It was a bit worn, but with no rust and a straight body, which was a big plus.

Currently, it runs a 225ci slant-six with a lumpy cam that sounds like a V8, though it doesn’t go like one! I like the three-on-the-tree manual – no one can steal it! I’ve since gone over the car, freshening up the drum brakes, radiator and clutch, as well as retrimming the red interior.

I believe it has had something of a blessed past?

Yeah, I found out that it was a special-order priest’s car – hence the rare black paint with red trim combo, and why it’s in pretty good condition. In fact, it’s still wearing the now-faded, 60-year-old factory paint.

Any further upgrades on the horizon?

Steve Issa, who is a Valiant guru, has been helping me and will soon add a mild 318ci with a shift-kitted column auto. We plan to have it ready for the 2025 Chryslers on the Murray, although I will miss the manual.

Eventually, I will give it a home respray, too; that way I’ll learn the process, and I don’t want a big-dollar paintjob to be precious about. Then I’ll have to replace the rusty bumpers – currently they match the faded paint!

And what about your 1978 CL?

I bought the CL in 2021 as a project car, though it’s in pretty good and driveable condition. It runs a 265ci Hemi engine with a 350 Holley, mild cam and extractors, and the factory trans and diff, plus air conditioning.

I reckon the satin-black paint looks pretty tough! So far, I’ve done little improvements as time allows; it’s been good learning about the later-model Valiant, which is way more high-tech than the AP5, although I’m thinking of selling the CL to concentrate on the AP5’s V8 conversion.

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