We all know the risks involved with buying a car sight unseen. One is that we’ll pay too much for something that’s been oversold in the wording and had its flaws obscured in the photographs. Another is that we’ll lose our faith in humanity.

First published in the December 2024 issue of Street Machine

Colin McQuinn knew the risks too, but this 1969 VF Valiant hardtop was gently calling his name from across the internet.

“I always loved the shape of the VF coupe; I’m more someone who loves the shape of a car over a brand,” Colin says. “This is one of those shapes I always loved. And the fact my dad brought one home when they were new when I was a kid helps – even if Mum did make him return it straight away!”

Colin, who lives in the Mornington Peninsula region of Victoria, found this example advertised online, listed by a cagey seller from Western Australia.

“I purchased it as a ‘90 per cent finished project’ from WA,” he says. “It looked good in the pictures on the computer, but when it showed up, I knew I’d been taken for a ride. It was as rough as anything you would ever see, and that was from 200 metres away!”

The smart thing to do would’ve been to cut and run, but Colin chose to save the hardtop. “Being pig-headed and not one to admit I had stuffed up, we got it around to Exotic Kustoms for evaluation,” he says.

The Val was torn down to a bare shell and blasted, which revealed the true extent of the salvage job required. Shawn Potter and his crew at Exotic Kustoms rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Given that things like Coke cans had been used in previous repairs, not much of the original car was kept.

“Every panel was replaced, new quarters, half the roof, and new floors from front to back,” Colin says.
The plan for a basic tidy-up soon morphed into extensive custom bodywork. Shawn at Exotic Kustoms nipped and tucked the VF’s body, giving it a modern look while still retaining the original 60s core shape.

“Obviously, the bumpers are deleted, but we also extended the sills, flared the wheelarches, deleted a lot of the chrome trim and the door handles, and did some more subtle mods,” says Shawn. “We also tubbed it to the rails for those 12-inch-wide wheels.”

The car would soon be subjected to a coat of shiny PPG silver, but before that, it was given the treatment at Elko Performance. The experts on Aussie Mopars, the Elko crew took care of all the underpinnings, like the rack-and-pinion steering conversion, as well as the engine installation and final assembly. They also subjected the VF to the kind of extensive engineering processes required to ensure it would be fully road legal.

Brad McKenzie from Elko says plans for the VF were fluid, with Colin changing his mind a few times throughout the build, although the engine choice was never in doubt.

“In terms of putting a Gen III into these cars, it’s something we’ve done about 10 times now,” Brad explains. “We do a 50/50 split between resto work and more custom stuff like this car, but the engine is one of the more special parts.”

That engine isn’t just any Gen III Mopar. It’s one of just 200 426 Hemi crate motors pieced together by Prefix Performance in the US. The company has a long-running history with Mopar engine development, so it’s a bit like getting an LSA that’s been rebuilt by Walkinshaw.

“Paul Norris from Elko got onto these engines when they were announced, but this is the only other one in the country besides his own,” Colin says. “It’s a special engine, and it’s perfect for what I wanted for this car.”

Running the rare Mopar donk is a Haltech Elite 2500 ECU. While it hasn’t been dynoed in this car, Prefix sold the crate motor as a 615hp, 520lb-ft package, and Colin reckons that feels about right. “It cruises really nice, and damn, it looks good in that engine bay!” he says.

Stick your head inside the hardtop and you’re greeted by the sight and smell of red leather, which adorns most major surfaces. The interior fit-out was concocted by Glenn Shannon, with the front chairs nicked from a BA XR6 Falcon. The red interior was conceptualised and completed before the paintwork, which left Colin with just three exterior colours to pick from.

“He originally wanted to go burgundy, but I thought that’d be a bit much with the red interior,” says Shawn. “So, I said only black, white and silver work with red. He didn’t want a black car, and white is a bit plain, so he got me to make him a nice silver.”

After a lengthy build process, the VF was unveiled at Chryslers on the Murray earlier this year. “I’d never been, but we took it there to show off the work of the lads at Elko, who are big supporters of the event,” says Colin. “I was staggered when I took home the Best In Show with it.”

The car went on to nab Top Custom at Meguiar’s MotorEx in Melbourne a few months later, confirming its credentials as a stunner. “I didn’t expect that, but it just goes to show what a top job Exotic Kustoms and Elko did with it,” Colin says.

As for future plans, you’re more likely to see the VF cruising around the streets on the Mornington Peninsula than back in a show hall. “I built it to drive it, so that’s what we’ll do,” says Colin. “I’ve got another car in the build, so I’ll enjoy this one while I wait.”

COLIN McQUINN
1969 VF VALIANT HARDTOP

THANKS
Brad, Jarred and Paul at Elko Performance; Shawn and the crew at Exotic Kustoms; everyone else who helped out along the way.