John Philippou has owned his VB Commodore SL/E for nearly two decades and built it from the ground up and mostly in his own shed. Here’s his story.

First published in the May 2025 issue of Street Machine

“I’ve had this 1979 VB SL/E for around 18 to 20 years. I bought it to put all my good parts in after I crashed my first early Commodore at Calder Park doing burnouts.

“It sat around for a little bit, then I spent seven to eight years building it, all of which I did in my shed.

“I tubbed it myself, which included notched rails to fit the 28×12 tyres on the 10in-wide wheels. The diff is a 9in from Geelong Differentials, and the tub kit and arms are from McDonald Brothers Racing.

“The engine is a 355ci stroker using a block from a VR Senator and cast VN heads, and I assembled it with my good mate from Flowcraft Race Engines. It uses an Edelbrock manifold, APD Dominator carby, and 11:1 compression.

“It made just under 600hp on the dyno, so it’s a fair bit of fun when you give it a punch!

“Another good mate of mine trimmed the interior, and my cousin and I did the bodywork and sprayed it in the original Firethorn Red in his boss’s paint booth.

“It’s been completed for around two years now, and I’ve been loving cruising it around with the family, especially my son James.

“I’ve taken it to a bunch of shows, including MotorEx, and it usually comes away with some kind of award, which is awesome for a car we built ourselves at home.”