Valiant owners always seem to be in it for the long haul. They’ve often had their car for decades – in many cases, it was their first car – and with that long-term history comes some absolutely ripping yarns. Anthony and Renee Van Kalken have clearly extensively modified their VJ Charger, but that’s only half the story, as the tale of Anthony’s journey with this car is a cracker, and it all started back in 1992.

First published in the June 2026 issue of Street Machine

Already the proud owner of an LE Monaro, Anthony wanted something with a bit more poke. Even with a 308, highway gears and all the luxury trimmings meant the LE was built more for comfort than speed, so Anthony went on the hunt for something that could actually turn the tyres. Growing up in the Gippsland area of Victoria, he knew of a pretty hot Charger with a nitrous-fed 265 Hemi. “My brother had a friend, Tony, whose brother owned the Charger and was living in Melbourne,” he begins. “He led the police on a high-speed chase through the city, but they caught him and locked him up in jail.”

As Tony’s brother was going to be in the care of the State for a fair while, he said Tony could borrow the Charger in the meantime, but about a year later, he decided to sell the car. That’s where Anthony enters the picture. “I drove my Monaro up there to have a look at it and go for a test drive. Back then, it had the aluminium rollcage, SAAS seats and Koni suspension, which was pretty flash for the day,” he recalls. “I took it for a drive, did some hell skids, and then bought it off him for $4000.”

Within a couple of years, Anthony’s family moved up to Hervey Bay in Queensland, and with them went the LE and the Charger. Anthony began making improvements to the VJ, keeping the Hot Mustard colour but adding a Chrysler by Chrysler front bumper and grille, a set of Convo Pros to replace the slot mags, and a little blower off a Toyota to add some boost. This kept him occupied for the best part of 20 years, until about 2018, when, on a whim, he decided to buy a supercharged 1956 354 Chrysler Hemi off the internet to give the Charger a real kick up the backside.

The old-school Hemi came as a complete package and was punched out 30thou for a total of 361ci. It’s filled with a stock steel crank, steel H-beam rods, JE custom blower pistons and a Crane hydraulic-roller cam. The Blower Shop 8/71 supercharger is topped with a couple of 750cfm Quick Fuel carbs, and was run up on the dyno at Russell Jones Specialised Engines, where it made a stout 630hp with just 12psi of boost.

Buying the Hemi wasn’t a completely reckless decision for Anthony – even if he’d made it after several refreshing ales – because it came from Big Al’s Toy Box, a reputable builder out of the USA. “When it arrived, we put it in the car and I went, ‘Well, that’s not going to fit,’ so we just started cutting everything up,” he says.

His initial plan was to leave the VJ as it was but tidy up the bodywork and make a custom bonnet to cover the blower, as well as give it a respray for a fresh look. This is where things went a little pear-shaped, with Anthony ending up throwing a whole lot of money down the toilet. After not being impressed with the results from the initial workshop, he had David Bennett from Rust ’n’ Kustom take to the bodywork with a grinder, which revealed a whole lot of filler and some poor repairs.

“David was only brought in just to do the bonnet, but he just said to me, ‘Why don’t we just cut it up and go custom?’ I just said, ‘Screw it, why not?’ David is an awesome fabricator and has the ability to make magic out of steel,” says Anthony.

Dave made a bunch of changes to the body, some of which are quite subtle, but that bonnet scoop is obviously not one those. While it might not be to everyone’s taste, it was born out of necessity to meet rego requirements, because Anthony didn’t see the point in building a car like this and not being able to drive it.

“We didn’t want to go with a reverse-cowl, because you can’t see around corners,” Anthony explains. “As you know, Hemis are called Elephants, and if you look at the scoop front-on, it actually looks like an elephant’s head.” That was more of a coincidence than a conscious design decision, as the scoop was fabricated to sit as tight to the motor as possible and meet all the legal requirements.

One of the coolest body mods on the Charger is the front-end treatment. The Chrysler by Chrysler grille is normally framed by a chrome surround, and Anthony initially tried to blend that into the body, but it didn’t quite look right. Instead, he ended up simply moulding the bumper ends into the fenders, and David then created a new bumper and front spoiler entirely out of steel. The grille is also completely custom-made, featuring a laser-cut, honeycomb-pattern insert.

The rear end also copped a bunch of custom work, with the bumper moulded into the body and a rear diffuser fabricated to house the exhaust outlets and a third brake light.

There are other touches that might not be so obvious, such as the relocated twin fuel fillers, Kindig-It Design door handles, shaved door and boot locks, shaved trim, and custom headlight bezels, but they all add to the modernised styling of this classic Aussie muscle car.

Given the Charger’s new look, the old Hot Mustard paint really wasn’t going to, well, cut the mustard. Fortunately, Anthony knew exactly what colour he wanted instead. “I knew I wanted to paint it Tungsten Grey from the first time I saw the colour back in 2012,” he says. “The bonnet, top of the guards and doors, the flutes, and the rear panel between the tail-lights are grey, while the rest of the car is Bullet Silver. Adrian Wren painted the Pull Me Over Red pinstripe using only his expertise and keen eye for detail.”

To finish it off, the interior has been modernised with a full custom retrim by Monkey Boyz Auto Trimming featuring 2022 AMG Mercedes front seats, a Dakota Digital dash, custom console and a reshaped rear seat. There’s also a six-point rollcage with removable door bars for good measure.

While you would expect a car with this many modifications to have been screwed together in some big-time workshop, that wasn’t the case. “This Charger was pretty much built in my shed over seven years by me, my wife Renee, my son Nathan and Dave,” says Anthony. Proof that, with a lot of hard work and getting the right people on board, you can achieve pretty much anything.

ANTHONY & RENEE VAN KALKEN
1974 VJ VALIANT CHARGER

THANKS
David Bennett at Rust ’n’ Kustom; Terry Hall at Total Fabrication Brisbane; Jeff Peters at Monkey Boyz Auto Trimming; Adrian Wren for his help and expertise with paint; Les at Phat Pipes for the exhaust and headers; Isaac at Spit Shine Detailing; Locke at Homan Prototyping for the 3D-printed parts; Nathan Webster for working late into the night or all day on the weekends to ensure his step-dad’s dream was fulfilled; Ashley Van Kalken; David Challen; my family and friends.