In NHRA Stock and Super Stock circles the name Scardelli is well-known and synonymous with Ford. Ray Scardelli has been competing in the two classes for over three decades with his stick-shift 1964 1/2 Mustang and his Ford Probe. Joining him at the track and racing alongside him is Ray’s son, Nick Scardelli, who campaigns the family’s Scardelli Racing name on his 1985 Mercury Capri RS in Stock Stock competition.

Nick’s ’85 Capri looks as good as ever with its custom paint and lettering.

Those not familiar with the Fox body platform may mistake Nick’s car for a Mustang at first glance. However, upon taking a closer look you can see that there are a number of differences, including the grill, headlights, bumpers, and the “bubble back” rear glass hatch that was only found on the Capri. If you find yourself among the Mercury faithful, you better know the details and differences.  YouTuber REVan Evan Smith caught up with the Scardelli father and son duo to get insightful look into the build of Nick’s ’85 Capri Super Stocker

To start, the eye-catching paint scheme looks fantastic for being 15 years old. Nick has raced this car for over a decade and the original paint laid down by Circus Custom Paint has held up beautifully. The colors, design, and Scardelli Racing lettering fit the car, and make it appear like it was transported straight from the mid-’80s to today. The gray interior with dark red accents looks right at home in the Capri, and adds to the overall ’80s look of the car. As part of the class rules, Nick’s Capri must run an engine from the same manufacturer as the car. His father, Ray, has a reputation for building high-performance small-block Ford engines for the family’s Stock and Super Stock class race cars.

Nick’s Capri is running a 1968 Mercury Cougar engine combination that is 302 cubic inches. In Super Stock, there are many restrictions on what you can do to the engine. For instance, the stock stroke and connecting rod length must be retained although you can use aftermarket components approved by the NHRA. Additionally, this engine must use the factory carburetor, or one of the few approved aftermarket carburetors. Per the rules, Nick’s engine uses AFR aluminum cylinder heads approved by NHRA that retain the factory valve diameter specs. An Edelbrock intake manifold has a Quick Fuel carburetor on top of it to feed the engine a steady supply of fuel during wheels-up launches.

Competitive Stock and Super Stock racers put thousands of hours into the engine program. They modify and tweak cylinder head airflow performance, camshaft designs, and other details within the rules to gain an advantage. The engine combination in Nick’s Capri is refined and dialed in thanks to Ray’s experience and knowledge. According to Ray, the little 302 cubic-inch SBF makes approximately 560 horsepower and turns 8,600 RPM.

The Mercury Cougar 302 cubic-inch SBF engine was rated at 230 horsepower from the factory. Ray has this little engine making more than double the factory-rated power naturally aspirated.

The rest of the Capri is built with proven components that are reliable. The suspension consists of Santhuff struts in the front and AFCO coilovers in the rear. The rearend is a Strange Engineering Ford 9-inch unit with ladder bars. The car’s best pass ever is a 9.92 second at 133 mph and it consistently runs 1.3 second 60-foot times.

Under the rear of the Capri you will find a typical setup consisting of a 9-inch rearend, coilovers, ladder bars , and wheelie bars.

Ray has built Nick a super-nice race car and the Scardelli Racing duo enjoy working together at the race track bringing together Ray’s experience with Nick’s willingness to learn. “I haven’t won a national event yet,” Nick says. “But hopefully one of these days we’ll put it in the winner’s circle and that will be a really special moment for us.”