RED HOT & BLUE
Street Machine Australia|July 2024
A REBORN PROGM8 SHOOTS FOR THE TITLE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST SHOW-AND-GO COMMODORE
JACK HOULIHAN
RED HOT & BLUE

WITH shitloads of detail and a stove-hot 355 from Flowcraft Race Engines, Frank Darmanin's first incarnation of PROGM8 was more car than most of us will ever have in our sheds. Debuting in 2007, the VH SL/E became a staple of the show car circuit.

"I drove it a bit, but I didn't get to race on a slick with the old engine," Frank recounts. "Then I had a little mishap, so I tore it down and started again!" It takes proper 'nads to pull apart such an epic car to essentially start from scratch, but the result is one of the most beautifully finished Commodores we've ever seen.

The PPG BMW Blue Pearl finish has always been key to PROGM8's identity, so Frank's good mate and uber-talented painter Elvis Barbieri, the man behind Showcars Melbourne, was called upon to lay down a fresh coat. As Frank explains, he wasn't about to change things up just for the sake of it - in fact, he's leaned further into the vibe by colour-matching the upsized 22x8 and 22x12 Simmons FR wheels. "I definitely wasn't changing the colour," he says. "I think it became pretty popular because of the colour - a lot of people know it! It's striking, and it's been influential."

But the respray and big wheels are barely digging a nail into the flow-coated surface, because PROGM8 has been totally reborn underneath, thanks in no small part to Frank Vella at New Image Panel & Paint Restorations. A custom flat floor looks right at home around the John Lang chassis and tubs, sharing space with a tubular front end and parallel four-link, which holds a monstrous Pro9 sheet-metal diff. It's all coated in PPG blue, of course, which took Elvis 13 hours of paint-booth work to apply.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM STREET MACHINE AUSTRALIAView all
ROYAL CARRIAGE
Street Machine Australia

ROYAL CARRIAGE

BENNY ROYAL TOOK A FAMILY HEIRLOOM TOYOTA CORONA, SHOVED A 1JZ IN IT AND HEADED OFF FOR FIVE DAYS OF DRAG-AND-DRIVE

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
DEBUT TOUR
Street Machine Australia

DEBUT TOUR

WITH A SCREAMING HOLDEN SIX, DEAN TROUNSON'S HOME-COOKED HR STEERS WITH THE BEST OF 'EM

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
FULLY FRANKED
Street Machine Australia

FULLY FRANKED

A SNEAKY 670 HORSES OF FRANK MARCHESE POWER MAKES ROB GORGIEVSKI'S CONCOURS XW A PROPER TREAT

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
NOMADIC LIFESTYLE
Street Machine Australia

NOMADIC LIFESTYLE

DON'T BE FOOLED BY ITS DEMURE APPEARANCE THIS '57 CHEVY NOMAD IS A RAUNCHY RESTOMOD PACKING MODERN MUMBO

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
PERFECT 10 '!!!!
Street Machine Australia

PERFECT 10 '!!!!

THE SYDNEY HOT ROD & CUSTOM AUTO EXPO TURNS 10

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2024
VAN WILDER
Street Machine Australia

VAN WILDER

PETER MARRIOTT BUILT THIS TOUGH, 350 CHEV-POWERED HK PANEL VAN IN TRIBUTE TO THE LONG-LOST HT VAN OF HIS YOUTH

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
EXPRESS DELIVERY
Street Machine Australia

EXPRESS DELIVERY

IF YOU'VE ever been to the Bright Rod Run (and you damn well should've), odds are you've seen Joel Beatson lapping in an early Falcon.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
RED HOT & BLUE
Street Machine Australia

RED HOT & BLUE

A REBORN PROGM8 SHOOTS FOR THE TITLE OF AUSTRALIA'S BEST SHOW-AND-GO COMMODORE

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2024
PEOPLE LIKE US
Street Machine Australia

PEOPLE LIKE US

WHEN Michael Gonzalez isn't busy making eight-second passes in CHOCTOP, his street-driven, LSA-fed VC Commodore, or cruising one of the many other cars in his collection, he can be found managing Springmount Raceway, home to Far North Queensland's biggest horsepower hoedown, Northern Nats (see p. 48 for full feature).

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024
DRIVING INNOVATION
Street Machine Australia

DRIVING INNOVATION

EVER WISH YOU COULD HAVE A BRAND-NEW VERSION OF AN ICONIC 1970s AUSSIE MUSCLE CAR, FULL OF THE LATEST TECH? DRIVE SOUTH IS WORKING TO MAKE THAT A REALITY

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2024