While many 20-somethings these days are driving around in compact SUVs (barf), 22-year-old Riley Matekovic said nuts to that and built himself this 500rwhp, LS-swapped VH Commodore.

First published in the August 2024 issue of Street Machine

Riley found the VH as a tidy, basic SL in Port Macquarie around five years ago. “I got it for a steal at $6000 and dailied it for around three months,” he says. “But I got sick of getting left behind on cruises, so we pulled it apart at a mate’s house and started the build.”

The first thing to go was the 202 six, to be replaced by a spicy aspo LS. “My mate Brodie Ward with the PUMPEN VL [SM, Mar ’24] had a similar LS combo in his that went hard, so I took inspiration from that with my new engine.”

Brodie is a fabricator at ProFlo Performance, so it made sense for Riley to get his engine done there. Owner and engine builder Paul Sant took an L98 and stroked it to 403 cubes with a Lunati crank and rods. “He said we had to machine it anyway, and the cost of going stroker at that point wasn’t much different, so we did,” Riley explains.

Finishing the bottom end are a set of JE pistons and a ProFlo-spec hydraulic camshaft. The factory heads copped a mild port job, and sitting atop them is a Higgins high-rise manifold and a Holley 950 XP carb.

“I love the look of the high-rise, and I wanted to do something a bit different and keep it old-school. Same goes for the carby on the V8 – it’s how these cars were back in the day,” says Riley. “I also took a bit of inspiration from Dean Gianginis’s VK as well.”

Though it doesn’t quite reach the 9000rpm of Dean G’s spicy Calais (SM, Jan ’24), the 7400rpm that Riley’s L98 can sing to is still more than enough to make clouds. “It’ll fry up at 80km/h easily; rear tyres don’t last long, that’s for sure!” he laughs.

LS coils sort the ignition, controlled by a FuelTech FT550 that also doubles as a digital dashboard inside the cockpit. Fuel is just your typical pump 98 for easy street cruising.

While ProFlo did the engine and sorted the Turbo 400 combo for the VH, Riley and his mates did the bulk of the work on the car after hours. “I did all the smoothing in the engine bay, learning how to weld as I went,” he says. “My mate Bryce McCabe repainted it in the original colour, and we finished it in March this year.”

The BorgWarner rear end uses 3.7:1 gearing and Moser axles. Rear meats are 235s squeezed under the factory tubs, with a set of Weld Magnum wheels under all four corners.

Since the car’s completion, Riley has been sure to wring every dollar’s worth of use out of it. “I take it out every chance I get; every weekend – even in the rain!” he says. “I love using it, and I drive the wheels off it when I do.”

Along with street duties, the VH has also made an appearance at the track, which may lead to a slippery slope for Riley. “It ran a 10.3@132mph, so now I’m tempted to ’cage it, do tubs and try to go quicker,” he says. “I’d also love to go blown and injected at some stage, but that’s a big expense, and we only just finished it!”

RILEY MATEKOVIC
1983 HOLDEN VH COMMODORE

THANKS
Paul and the crew at ProFlo Performance; Craig Ward; Bryce McCabe; Mark at Ontrak Auto Electrical; Darren at Advanced Custom Trim; JLacy Automotive Detailing; all the boys that helped; my family and my partner Marhlei.