There’s just no getting away from the popularity of those early model Commodores.

From their cheap second hand price to the distinctive shape that many prefer as compared to the latest ‘plastic fantastics’, VBs, VCs and VKs are still doing the business.

Yet we doubt very much that there are too many VKs in the country quite like Mark Pannacchione’s ‘84 model, which started life as a WA Police Department pursuit car but has been turned into an 11-second blinder.

But don’t get the impression that Mark’s VK is just another one of those ‘all go and no show’ deals - this VK is as straight as a die and the preparation work that has been applied to the panel work by John Riccardi is extensive, to say the least.

Starting with the finer details
Apart from the usual rust removal and full bare metal strip down, this Aussie legend has had its chassis rails welded and all the factory seams in the engine bay have been completely smoothed out.

In fact, that engine bay is immaculate and, thanks to a mate, all the wiring has been hidden too. Actually, as we’ll see throughout this story, Mark had a lot of mates help out with his VK project.

Back to the exterior and if you saw the other side of the car, you might be wondering where the fuel filler cap has gone. The answer is that it has been removed from its stock location on the rear right quarter panel.

A 56 litre custom fuel tank resides in the boot, but the panel work performed to remove that original cap is totally unnoticeable. Just another example of that man Riccardi’s skill.

The colour that was eventually laid onto the metalwork is known simply as an acrylic ‘silver cocktail’.

Into the cabin now, where VK SS front seats have been combined with VH SS rear seats and a long list of extras.

Most noticeable is the four-point half roll cage, obtained from Offroad Equipment in Perth, but polished up by Mark and a few more of those mates.

Mark also added that extra piece that runs the full width of the car behind the front seats, and then there are the door trims, designed by Mark but cut out by Sheet Metal Fabricators.

Other interior features include the obligatory monster tacho, a couple of extra centre console gauges, RPM harnes’ and sundry re-trimming by Universal Upholstery.

When 308 is just not enough
At the heart of the matter is a 355ci stroker with nearly 400 ponies at the rear wheels.

Various stages of engine build have been under the bonnet in the 10 or so years that Mark has owned his VK, but the latest incarnation is certainly producing the goods.

Possibly even by the time you read this, its so-far-best of a  flat 11.00 @ 122mph will have been further improved upon, and so too the 360 horsepower which has already been recorded at the back wheels.

While Mark sourced most of the engine components himself, the engine was built by good mate Aaron, who operates a business called A.D.S Engine Reconditioners.

The original 308 cubes have been increased to 355 thanks to a Harrop stroker crank, and there’s plenty of other good gear in this motor including X conrods and forged JE 12 : 1 pistons.

Ported and flowed Dave Bennett Dash Five heads sit on top of it all and these carry a very impressive array of parts - Federal Mogul race valves, Yella terra 5040 rockers and Performance Race Equipment springs , with Comp Cams pushrods and TRW solid lifters.

Valve timing ultimately comes down to a race specification custom ground solid Crow cam, driven by a Crow double chain.

Induction is achieved through an 850 Demon Race carbie (the all new Gold Claw replacement), mounted atop a port matched Strip Master intake manifold.

Fuel, meanwhile, is pumped from that custom tank in the boot by a Magna Flow 300 gallon / hour pump. ½" stainless lines under the car transfer the fuel backwards and forwards, with a Magna Flow 2-port regulator in the engine bay feeding the liquid to that Demon carb.

The waste gases are then expelled by totally gorgeous 1 7/8" HPC extractors, hand made by Barry Struthers - a local expert who did the job privately for Mark.

3" collectors then receive the waste, before it enters into a twin polished stainless steel 3" system fabricated by Mark (and more of those mates!).The exhaust system dumps before the diff’ and ends with Genie Tornado mufflers.

And back into the engine bay for a moment, a full MSD ignition system ensures that everything works in perfect harmony.

Getting the grunt to the ground
A tough engine needs a tough driveline, and a Turbo 350 with a fully manual valve body and 5,000 rpm hi stall is a good place to start.

The tailshaft is a two-piece custom arrangement which feeds into a shortened Ford 9" diff no less, carrying 4.33 ratio gears, a full spool and spinning 31 spline axles.

Mark has had the 9" diff’ for a while and bought it modified specifically for the VK direct from Queensland.

The mumbo is finally laid down through 15" X 7" Weld Pro Star rims wearing Mickey Thompson 255s.

That’s a fairly fat tyre size for the rear of a VK and it’s only due to the shortie 9" diff’ that 255s can be fitted. The front rims are 15 X 5" and wear 185 Mickeys.

Good handling for this VK comes down to Pedders components on all four corners, ably supported by Nolythane bushes.

Thanks to its origins as an ex West Oz police pursuit car, this VK came standard with slightly up spec PBR brake callipers front and rear.

To these Mark has added 270mm DBA cross drilled discs front and rear, further enhancing the car’s stopping ability quite significantly.

Enough! Not quite…
Having come this far, you might think that Mark would have finished with his VK, but that’s not the case.

There’s some more engine tuning to be performed, plenty of burnout contests to enter and hopefully regular 10-second quarters.

That the car will always look terrific goes without saying and all those mates will be hanging around too, ready to spring into action with a spanner, cloth, or more specialist tools.

In fact, Mark would like to say a huge thanks to mates like Ashley and Russell from Surmans Automotives, Aaron from ADS, John Riccardi and all ‘The Lost Boys’ from Freo’ way, without whose help none of this would have happened.

Nuts`n’Bolts - 1984 VK Commodore