Converting tyres into smoke is one of the most exciting and dynamic parts of our sport – the sound and fury of a well-executed burnout will never fail to get your blood pumping. Frank Zammit knows that thrill well, and having won titles in the kickboxing world and scored the top gongs at Street Machine Summernats and Meguiar’s MotorEx, he’s now looking to take that winning spirit into the burnout arena.

First published in the September 2026 issue of Street Machine

Frank has already dabbled a bit in the rubber-shredding caper with his Capri (SM, May ’24) and Datsun ute, but now he intends to go big. “I want to get into the Pro Burnout Series,” he declares. “We’ll see how I go, but I love the pressure. I’m an ex-kickboxer. I love the walking into the ring, the pressure of competition – there’s only you and the opposition. The burnout scene gives me that same feeling, but the difference is I don’t get punched in the head!”

Frank has taken home a haul of trophies with his ENDLESS XW ute (SM, Apr ’25), including Top Judged Elite at both Summernats 37 and 38, but after debuting his new 2017 Ford Mustang build at this year’s MotorEx, he’s decided that this late-model pony car will be his weapon of choice for his headfirst dive into the burnout scene.

“The XW was an Elite car, but I wanted to do a new, modern car [for burnouts] – something where if I hit it into a wall, I can get new quarter panels,” he explains. “That’s why I picked something modern, plus I love the look of it.”

Now, a late-model Mustang might sound like an expensive choice for a burnout car, but Frank saved a lot of bucks up front by buying a written-off example.

“I bought it from a wrecking yard for $3000,” he says. “Someone hit a gutter, hit the gearbox, and the airbag went off, so there was nothing wrong with the car.

“It was completely stripped. The only thing it had in it was the windows. It had one door and some of the dashboard, and the cluster was gone.”

After it had sat at Frank’s place for a while, he decided to get the car ready for MotorEx 2026, which at the time was only seven months away. So, the shell was shipped off to Sydney’s ProFlo Performance for the tubs and rollcage. Meanwhile, the team at Westend Performance were hard at work fashioning a blown Windsor combo, which was initially intended for a different car.

“That motor was in the build at Westend for more than a year; it was waiting for parts, and I was going to put it in my old Capri,” Frank explains. But once he had the modern Mustang in his shed, he decided it would make a better home for the in-progress combo. 

Even at first glance, you can tell this is no junkyard motor slapped together with a blower on top; this combo is top-tier stuff. We’re talking dry sump oiling, and 400 cubes of Dart-block Windsor filled with a Callies Magnum crank and Ultra rods, and a set of Diamond pistons. The whole lot has been topped with a set of Higgins billet heads and intake, with a BDS 8/71 blower and a billet ProFlo Performance injector hat as the crowning jewel on top. Whew! 

If this mill was a video game character, it would be maxed-out in the power, strength and stamina departments, but the fuel economy would be zero – this beast needs methanol, and plenty of it. There’s injector nozzles above and below the blower and an Enderle mechanical pump feeding the fire. It’s as low-tech as it comes on the fuel side of the equation, but that’s only half the story. On the ignition side, the boys have set up eight coils on the firewall to fire the spark at precisely the right times, and they’re all controlled by a FuelTech FT600, which also doubles as a datalogger and digital dash.

How much power is it good for? “They reckon it should make over 1000 to the wheels – around 1400hp at the flywheel,” Frank reckons.

In the meantime, the team at ProFlo were cutting the rear end out of the Mustang shell for a massive pair of tubs to house those enormous 24x15in Schott billets tucked up under the rear quarters. Naturally, Frank won’t be doing burnouts on the humungous 405/25R24 Pirelli tyres, which cost over $2200 each, but they sure do look good when the Mustang is standing still. While the guys were under the rear end, they also fitted a custom four-link set-up and a sheet-metal nine-inch with a full-spool 3.0:1 centre for plenty of wheelspeed.

The back seat has been given the flick – you’d have to be a contortionist to crawl back there past the fixed buckets and rollcage anyway – and the rear area has been tinned out with some fabulously neat metalwork. ProFlo also braced the rear of the enlarged wheel tubs with round tubing to minimise the risk of slapping treads tearing up things up – it’s these little details that matter. The team added another little detail that could help as well: “They made the rear lip of the tub really sharp,” Frank says. “If it flaps the tyre, then hopefully the lip cuts it. We’ve got to see how it goes when we do the first burnout, I guess.”

With MotorEx fast approaching, the boys embarked on a last-minute push to get the car down to Melbourne for the big show, which meant finding any panels they could to complete the car, and getting a paintless dent-removal guy to rectify any dings. Then they shipped the modified shell off to Justin Borg in Londonderry to get the whole thing coated in Satin Black before the big event. Then it was back to Paul and crew at ProFlo for a high-intensity two-week thrash for final assembly and the finishing details before the car was unveiled at MotorEx 2026.

In the big hall at the Melbourne Showgrounds, the black-on-black Muzzy instantly struck a chord with spectators with its in-the-weeds stance, steamroller rear tyres and that impressive tower of unadulterated horsepower protruding through the bonnet. Frank’s Mustang definitely wowed crowds with its wild and aggressive styling; it doesn’t matter how old you are, that ‘Hot Wheels’ look appeals to all kids, big and small.

Unfortunately, the rush to get it all done for its unveiling has left a couple of bits unfinished, such as the wiring.

“It’s not actually running right now,” Frank admits. But he’s aiming to have the ’Stang up and running by the time you read this, before taking it to Alice Springs for Red CentreNATS in early September and CandyNats at Queensland Raceway in October.

But those will be just test runs before the main event. Frank has his eyes set on making a splash at the big show in Canberra – Street Machine Summernats! “I got into the Friday burnouts,” he says. “Summernats will be pretty full-on, especially with a car like this. It looks different. It’s got the stance. I’ve got the car now; I’ve just got to get the talent to do it. There’s some crazy guys at that level of burnouts.”

FRANK ZAMMIT
2017 FORD MUSTANG

THANKS
ProFlo Performance; Westend Performance; TWC Motorsports; Ontrak Auto Electrical; Justin Borg