Cameron McNabb’s stunning 1970 Mk1 Ford Capri is the latest belter to roll out of the ProFlo Performance workshop. A triple threat built for show, street and race duties, it sports a mechanically injected Chev, big rear meats, and a stance that’ll make grown men weep.

First published in the April 2023 issue of Street Machine

Cam is the founder of the Norty Boyz clothing brand, making street wear for car lovers, and it’s been going gangbusters. He’s been a car nut since he could walk, so cars like this Capri give him the means to express his love for tough metal. “My mum was the first woman to win a burnout award at Summernats; there’s a photo of me up on stage with her as a two-year-old in my dacks!” he laughs. “I’ve been going to Summernats my whole life, so I’ve been into cars since I can remember.”

The Capri is Cam’s first car built to this standard, and it’s more than he ever dreamed of. Initially he was building it just for silly times and skids, but somewhere along the line he got bitten by the skinny-tyre bug. “At the start, I just wanted to make it a bit of a Powercruise and burnout machine,” he says. “But not long after the boys started on it, I got interested in radial racing, so we ended up building the car for that instead.”

We spoke to Sam Caruana from ProFlo about the build of the NORTY Capri and learned that there isn’t a nut or bolt on it that these blokes haven’t touched. “Everything other than the paint and trim we did in-house, and we even project-managed those as well,” says Sam. “Also, the rear end wasn’t done very well initially, so we back-halved it and sorted out a new four-link set-up.” This obviously plays a big role in how the Capri manages to sit so nicely on the 275 radials. ProFlo also sorted the rollcage and front suspension and gave the small-block Chev that Cameron supplied a birthday.

“I’m a Holden guy and I’ve always had Chevs in my Holdens, so I wanted the same for the Capri,” says Cam. The Capri had a Bowtie between the rails when he got it, so treason had already been committed.

The small-block it has now is a 370-cuber using a Callies Magnum crank, Carrillo rods and forged pistons. The heads are CNC-machined Brodix 11 units, whose valves are worked by a Crower mechanical roller cam. Atop it all is a Littlefield 8/71 blower sucking through a JBR carbon hat. “I wanted the mechanical injection from the start, and then it’s got the FuelTech FT600 controlling the ignition,” explains Cam.

To keep the mill fed with methanol, it uses a belt-driven Enderle mechanical pump, while a Peterson dry sump ensures oil pressure is always primo. On the engine dyno, the combo made an easy 1150hp on low boost and sucking methanol, but both Sam and Cam say there’s room for more. “It’ll do 1300hp,” Cam says. “We’re throwing some more boost at it soon with a different pulley.”

Completing the rest of the driveline is a Powerglide transmission with a TCE converter, while the nine-inch uses 3.7:1 gearing.

“Many car owners would tour the show route after the ‘Nats. Cam headed straight to the strip”

Being a man of style, Cam already had a vision for what colour the Capri was going to wear. “Originally I was just going to wrap it when I thought it was going to be a thrasher, but when the build escalated, I had to paint it something nice,” he says.

What he chose is a deep yet vibrant DNA Candy Wine, sprayed on by C&J Custom Paint. “It was a colour I saw on a Harley a while back and I’d always wanted to paint a car in it,” he says.

The car took a bit over two years to complete and was unveiled on the biggest stage of them all – the elite hall at Street Machine Summernats 35. “That was a big moment; I was bloody nervous, but it was awesome to tick off that bucket-list item,” Cam says.

The Capri cut a mean figure in the hall, but don’t be fooled, this car is by no means just a show pony. While many car owners would tour the show route for a good 12 months after the ’Nats, Cam said nuts to that and took the Capri straight to the strip. “We did Kenda at Sydney only a month after Summernats, and that’s when I really got hooked on the radial stuff,” he laughs. “It went a 5.4 on the eighth-mile on the first pass. After a few more goes, our best was a 5.2@133mph.”

Not long after that, Cam had the Capri back at Sydney for the Street Outlaws vs Australia no-prep meeting. The radials were switched for a pair of slicks, and even with no timing boards (as per Street Outlaws norm), Cam knew the car was a rocket. “The race I had against [Shawn Ellington’s] Murder Nova would definitely be the quickest it’s ever gone, and with some more power it should go a 4.80-4.90 next time out,” he says.

He intends to run the full Kenda series and will line up for some quarter-mile action later this year, where sevens will be on the agenda.

“The car turned out better than I could’ve dreamed, and I can’t thank Paul and all his ProFlo crew enough for their support throughout the whole build,” Cam says.

Next up for Cam is an LH Torana that’s currently in the works, and he promises us the Capri will get some street time in between races. “We’ll take it for a little blat here and there; it is regoed after all,” he laughs.

CAMERON McNABB
1970 FORD CAPRI

THANKS
Paul Sant and the team at ProFlo Performance; Ontrak Auto Electrical; Raw Hide Interiors; C&J Custom Paint; Pro Tilt Towing; Moses McNabb; Brodie Ward; Brody Davies; Chuck Sant; my son Dusty.