Holden Commodore VK

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Holden Commodore VK


Holden Commodore

Holden Commodore VK

1984 - 1986
Country:
Australia
Engine:
6 cyl. & V8
Capacity:
3.3 & 3.3EFI L6; 5.0 V8
Power:
na
Transmission:
4/5 spd. man; 3 speed Trimatic
Top Speed:
na
Number Built:
135,705
Collectability:
0 star
Holden Commodore VK
Reviewed by Unique Cars and Parts
Our Rating: 3

Introduction



The VK Commodore represented the first major change to the Commodore since the release of the VB in 1978., but it didn't arrive until March 1984 - probably about 12 months later than it should have been launched - but it did have a number of big changes to try to make it more competitive with the Falcon.

The most noticeable difference was in the body. The cabin now had its glass area extended further to the rear in 'six-window' fashion (three windows on each side of the car). The styling at the front and rear was bolder than before and the dash area was completely redesigned. The latter wasn't a success as many owners considered that the VH's dash was more attractive and easier to read, but the more masculine lines of the VK's exterior met with almost universal approval.

Again, in keeping with the bolder image of the car, the smaller versions of each engine were dropped. That meant the 2.85-litre six and the 4.2-litre V8 were no more. The 5-speed manual became optional with the 3.3 engine. That engine could be had with fuel injection for greater efficiency. The automatic was still of rather ancient 3-speed design. Model names were changed - yet again - with the introduction of the VK.

The Commodore SL remained the same, but the SL/X became the Commodore Berlina and the SL/E became the Holden Calais (not Commodore Calais, even though the Calais shared all its important components with the Commodore). An even more powerful turbocharged version became optional a few months later.

Behind the Nissan six was either a 5-speed manual gearbox, or a sophisticated 4-speed automatic. Also missing from under the bonnet with the release of the VL was the Holden V8 engine; unlike the Holden six it was just resting and would be revived in October 1986 with a sophisticated fuel-injection system for greater power with no real loss in fuel economy.

Sporting an all new and more aggressive look than the previous models, the additional side windows helped make the VK look longer, and by reworking the rubber seals the GMH engineers were able to give the VK a squarer, more prominent look.

The pick of the VK range was always the SS or Calais (V8 equipped) models. Interestingly, the L31 5.0 litre V8 was replaced by the LV2 4.9 litre midway through the life of the VK in June 1985. Designed to help the Commodore in Group A racing, the new motor was considerably lighter (shedding 75kg) although most still refer to it as a 5.0 litre. V8 engined cars also had the advantage of being equipped with a much better braking system, including 4 wheel discs and increased brake booster capacity.

The VK also had success at Mount Panorama, winning in 1984 (Peter Brock/Larry Perkins) and 1986 (Allan Grice/Graeme Bailey), only missing out in 1985 due to rule changes to the Jaguar XJS of Armin Hahne and John Goss. Did anyone notice that the 1.9 litre 4 and 2.85 litre 6's were dropped from the Commodore lineup? Not really.
1985 VK Calais

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Also see:


Commodore VK Specifications
Calais VK Brochure
Commodore VK Brochure
Commodore VK V8 SS and SS Group 3 Brochure
HDT Special Vehicles Brock VK
Reader Reviews page 1 of 1
Click here to add your review
Mick
Posted Recently
Vk commodore was tbh a terrible car.. a ford laser tx3 could beat a 5.0 calais, the six cylinder was ancient, holden didn't do any development work at all, the instrumentation was a mess, the quality poor, brick winning a car race was all about money,lol...the next model VL used nissan engine & box, the v8 wasn't any better,at least until vn, & was very outdated even then, a stock 4.0 falcon six would kick it! HAHAHAHA
Chris
Posted Recently
Is there any way possible you're able to use this number to match vehicle it's the little tag on the front of the grill below the bonnet is 8k19AFL197422k
Joe d
Posted Recently
In my opinion overall, good points, v8 engine, won motorsport races, holden tried innovating a bit with calais dash, fuel injecting 202, provided jobs for aussie and kiwis to manufacture the engines, bodys and assemble cars, big spacious car with comfy seats, hold value, easy to work on, rear wheel drive, bad points, mediocre interior panels and instruments, ugly bumper style, 4 cyl in nz cars which made it less economical than a 202. All in all it was a good product produced by Australia considering the size of industry it had and met demand at the time.
Joe d
Posted Recently
In my opinion overall, good points, v8 engine, won motorsport races, holden tried innovating a bit with calais dash, fuel injecting 202, provided jobs for aussie and kiwis to manufacture the engines, bodys and assemble cars, big spacious car with comfy seats, hold value, easy to work on, rear wheel drive, bad points, mediocre interior panels and instruments, ugly bumper style, 4 cyl in nz cars which made it less economical than a 202. All in all it was a good product produced by Australia considering the size of industry it had and met demand at the time.
Gus
Posted Recently
I remember seeing a vk Commodore trying to handle a horse float, it was going along at about 60 kmh & it was swaying all over the place & was obviously struggling, there was a big line of cars qued up behind the thing, seriously granny in her 120y would have done better!
Barry
Posted Recently
The VK Commodore was a POPS car. (Piece Of Plastic Sh1t) with its over-abundance of plastic everywhere outside and an absurd Mickey Mouse square speedo and 'Econogauge' and possibly the worst night-time dash illumination ever seen on any Australian car since the mid 60s. Oh and don't forget the useless black motor. The geriatric 161-179-186-202 line were never anything near even good engine, just basic and reliable for the average uninspiring Aussie and the black engine being the worst 202 ever released due to the high amount of bad castings which led to many of them having overheating problems. Holden's EST (Electronic Spark Timing was a pathetic attempt at an engine management system which never worked very well and laughable compared to Chrysler's ELB (Electronic Lean Burn) which had been around over 10 years from the USA and Australia ! And which actually worked incredibly well. Really, the only commendable things about the VK Commodore and previous Commodores, was the reliability of the mechanicals in non-EFI form (so basic, nothing much to go wrong) and the excellent rack and pinion steering especially with the power rack option.
Len l
Posted Recently
I decided to put a augmented motor into a vk, sort of like an experiment to show holden that their mainstream 6 cylinder engines were a joke, & their imminent downfall was their saviour, with nissan bailing them out, thus acquiring the nissan rb engine & trans...holden were too broke & too stupid to design & develop a new 6 for unkeaded fuel...unlike ford, which for years were well ahead in the design & development game!
John
Posted Recently
Get behind the wheel?,no thanks!
Reece
Posted Recently
Geez these cars were rubbish, much like the camira, forget the million dollar bathurst hdt's they are hand built full of special aftermarket parts,a stock 5.0 would blow up after a couple of laps trying to pull 5500. The consumer types were hideously bad!
Darren
Posted Recently
The 5.0 was a boat anchor, mid 7 sec to 100kmh...
Brian
Posted Recently
Nigel...what?🤔
David
Posted Recently
Uncle brought brand new vk calais from curnows, poky little holden agent in mallala,sa,.it had a major engine issue from new. Found out later they used to drive the cars from Elizabeth factory...& thrashed the guts outta them!. It was a v8 that was found to have damaged rings & scored bores😲
Nigel
Posted Recently
I installed a cortina 1200 motor & gearbox to a vk sl...it was finally a fast, gran turismo type supercar!
John Dickson
Posted Recently
Someone needs to proof read the info in here, it has some from the VL (turbo charged), mistakenly written in
;)
 
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