Pro street cars whip people of all walks of life into a frenzy. Born in the 1980s from an outlaw mindset to build race cars wearing road tags, the boundary-pushing shenanigans of the early pro street scene inevitably led to engineering restrictions as the powers that be attempted to keep a lid on things.

But, just like the fascination for motorcycle clubs or chaotic rock stars, Joe and Jolene Public are still drawn to the illicit side of car culture today. And when someone builds a pro street rig out of an Aussie muscle car as iconic as an HK Monaro, it tends to make punters go full test pattern.

Leigh Vella’s ’68 HK GTS is not one for the chalk-mark aficionados and rivet-counters, and it’s all the more awesome for that. Powered by a thunderous 632-cube big-block Chev and sitting slammed over a set of big ’n’ little Center Line Auto Drags, this Monaro’s weathered Silver Mink body and well-loved Goya Red interior point to a no-mess, no-fuss, righteously tough street car. And it is built to be driven.

“A mate, Matt Bone, had started it, and I got it from him as a rolling shell with a four-link,” Leigh explains. “It’s still got a factory chassis, but it has extra rails in it, plus the firewall, floors, and a lot more. It was done at Lionel West’s shop, West Fabrication, and he’s the man I have to thank for making the car drive this good. It cost so much and took five years to build because it was done properly; it passed the beam and torsion test with flying colours, as well as doing every other test known to man, just to get the plate for the firewall.”

A big reason so much tinwork was required can be found under the HK’s bonnet. Swinging a gargantuan six-hundred-and-thirty-two cubic inches, or 10.35 litres in the new money, this tall-deck GM big-block monster makes 1003hp – no turbo, supercharger or nitrous required.

“Matt had the engine built by James Melmoth at Melway Competition Engines,” Leigh says. “It can get a bit wild, but it drives perfectly, just like a VT Commodore. People are blown away at how good it is at 100km/h.”

Inside the Gen IV fatty lives a rod and crank combo from Scat, abetted by 11.7:1 small-dome RaceTec pistons and a custom solid-roller bumpstick made by Crane to MCE specs. Up top, alloy AFR heads wear Isky Tool Room springs and Comp steel stud-mount rockers and girdle, while an Edelbrock single-plane intake manifold is crowned by a DC Carb four-barrel Dominator. An MSD 6AL box and dizzy supplies the lightning.

A Dominator torque converter, Reid bellhousing and Powerglide wearing an SFI case cop the hurt from the four-digit torque figures pumped out by the saucy big-block, while a sheet-metal nine-inch from Pro9 turns that spin into twist.

One of WILDHK’s party tricks is looking like it was dragged out of an abandoned Footscray garage, given a light Swiffer to knock the dust off and then registered. But it’s actually been carefully painted to look like this.

“I wanted that classic 80s look, which is why we went for the Center Line wheels,” says Leigh. “But what a lot of people don’t realise is that the whole car has been painted, except for a bit of the roof. It spent 14 hours in a booth, and Brad and Justin from BCC did an insane job to make it look untouched, while the engine bay and boot are show-quality.”

While some may cry about him chopping up an HK Monaro, Leigh – and those closest to him – couldn’t care less. “I’ve done 10,000km in it since November, because I drive it twice a week. It’s got air conditioning and power steering, so it’s great on the road,” he enthuses. “My kids love jumping in it, so we even put anchor points in the back for their seats. Even if I get home and it’s late, they’re out the front wanting to help me put it in the shed.”

When the rig you take for Sunday ice creams is this cool, it’s no wonder cruising is a family sport.

Underneath in detail:

1. Up front, the standard wobbly HK front end has been consigned to the bin in favour of an independent set-up by West Fabrication, including coil-overs and rack-and-pinion steering to remove the vague steering box.

2. With WILDHK’s nose chockers with 10.3L of grunt-making big-block, the air conditioning condenser had to be relocated under the boot floor where the factory fuel tank had lived. Those steamroller meats also required the 4in exhaust pipes to enter the mufflers from the side instead of the end.

3. WILDHK’s stock leaf-sprung rear end got the chop in favour of AFCO coil-over struts, swinging a parallel four-link with a track bar – a popular lateral locating device these days, especially on big-tyre cars where real estate is too tight for a Panhard rod or Watt’s link.

LEIGH VELLA
1968 HOLDEN HK MONARO

THANKS
Lionel West; Brad Simpson and Justin at BCC; Darcy at Wired Automotive.