Alon Vella’s 468-cube PRO369 Mk1 Capri ready for Drag Challenge

Al Vella has long been one of the top aspirated radial racers in the country, but his latest Capri build suggests his greatest successes are yet to come

Share
Photographers: Ben Hosking

Alon Vella’s dark green PRO369 Mk1 Capri is one of the most successful Drag Challenge cars of all time. He’s won the Radial Aspirated class more times than we can count on both hands, as well as a suite of Top 10 Overall finishes where he’s bested several of the boosted brigade. So, when you’ve got such a successful package, how do you go one better?

First published in the November 2024 issue of Street Machine

This shiny new Mk1 Capri is Al’s answer to that question. A fresh build, it’s already shown smashing pace. “It’s gone 8.20 seconds so far, and it should go 8.00 with this engine,” Al says. “The goal is to get into the sevens aspirated; that’s always been the dream.”

When this Capri came into Al’s life in 2015, it had already been built as a drag car, albeit poorly. “Whoever built it should’ve been shot!” he laughs. “The rollcage wasn’t welded to the bases properly, and pipe that was meant to be chrome-moly wasn’t. In hindsight, I should’ve just started with another car.”

The shoddily built Ford did come with a blown combo, and Al’s original plan was to build it to run in Supercharged Outlaws. As you can see, though, the Capri is now blower-free, as it’s currently running the 468ci small-block Clevor from PRO369. “We do have plans for a bigger motor, but with a short turnaround for Drag Challenge, this is what we’re doing for now,” Al says.

We’ve documented the 1018hp, BG Engines-built goliath before (Street Machine Outlaws 2020, and Mill of the Month, SM, Dec ’17), so here’s a quick refresher. It runs a Windsor bottom end housing a Callies rotating assembly and a custom-grind BG Engines solid-roller cam. Above that are Cleveland-based SC1 heads, a massive sheet-metal intake and a pair of RayJE EFI Killer carburettors. With a redline just shy of 9000rpm, it’s one hell of a package. “It is highly strung, but I’ve gotta give full credit to Damian Baker from BG Engines – he knows how to make it live not just on the track, but for all those road miles you guys put us through on DC,” Al says.

The gearbox is a fully renovated C4 with a mammoth 7500rpm stall converter, and the nine-inch diff boasts 40-spline axles and a super-short 4.33:1 gearing ratio.

At this point, you may be wondering how this new Capri is going to eclipse Al’s old car with the same running gear. The answer is weight-shedding – Al has shaved pounds off this build in every area he could manage.

“It has the carbonfibre rear tubs, doors, front guards and bootlid, but surprisingly, it’s actually not as light as we thought,” says Al. “I was pretty disappointed with the final weight of it, given all the trouble we went to!” He wouldn’t tell us the exact figure, but he did say it was still several hundred pounds lighter than PRO369.

The chassis and suspension were sorted by Somoracz Race Cars, while Image Vehicle Manufacturing smashed out the panel and paint just before Christmas. “I don’t know how they did it, but they turned it around in eight weeks!” Al says.

The next five or so months were spent piecing the new car together after hours, with Al wrapping it up in August this year. The 8.20@165mph best it’s run since then is already 0.12 seconds better than PRO369’s PB of 8.32@161mph, and Al fully expects to run into 8.00-second territory with this combo.

“We’ll be gunning for that from Day One of Drag Challenge ’24!” he says. “If we can stay in that 8.1 area and 5.20 for the eighth-mile tracks, we should be good for another Top 10 finish.”

Although the Capri is wearing big 315 rear meats in these pics, all the testing to this point has been on 275s to meet the Radial Aspirated class rules at DC. “The 315 is where we’ll eventually end up; it’s just part of the progression of going this quick,” Al says. “I’m really excited to see where we can push this new car. Damo and I do have some plans for what engine we want to put in it long-term, but you’ll just have to wait and see for that one.”

ALON VELLA
1970 FORD Mk1 CAPRI

Paint:PPG Gunmetal Grey
ENGINE
Brand:468ci Ford Clevor V8
Induction:Pro Billet
Carbs:RayJE EFI Killer
Heads:SC1
Camshaft:BG Engines solid-roller
Conrods:Callies
Pistons:Ross Racing
Crank:Callies
Oil pump:SCW five-stage
Fuel system:Aeromotive pump
Cooling:PWR radiator
Exhaust:Custom headers, 3in system
Ignition:ICE
TRANSMISSION
Gearbox:Shift Right C4
Converter:NRC, 7400rpm
Diff:9in, 40-spline axles, 4.33:1 gears
SUSPENSION & BRAKES
Front:Hypercoil coil-overs
Rear:Four-link, Hypercoil springs, AFCO shocks
Brakes:Wilwood discs (f & r)
Master cylinder:Wilwood
WHEELS & TYRES
Rims:Weld; 15×4 (f), 15×14 (r)
Rubber:Nexen 165/65R15 (f), Mickey Thompson 315/60R15 (r)

THANKS
My wife Linda; Hayley and Reagan Vella; Damian Baker, Mick Green and the crew at BG Engines; JB at Somoracz Race Cars; Steve at Shift Right; Michael Ellard and the team at Image Vehicle Manufacturing; Ricky’s Drive Shafts; Dom Pelle and Paul; SM Parsons Fabrications; Justin Moore at ProWire Performance; Nathan Ghosn; Andrew Natoli; James Barnes.

Comments