This tough little 1966 Nova was the lucky recipient of a rotisserie restoration that involved all the nicest pro-touring components available and a down right nasty 383 stroker motor that can is now considered a caffeine substitute by doctors.
Warning: Leaf spring and antiquated steering box aficionados should not read this paragraph. The original front sub-frame was scrapped in favor of a Chris Alston rack-and-pinion front clip with polished A-arms, adjustable coil over shocks, and roll bars that link the top of the firewall to the front of the the unit providing gobs of additional rigidity. To finish off the rear of the car, a TCI 4-link with coil overs was used that provides awesome traction to the tires sans all the wheel hop.
The rear end in the Nova is no slouch with components exceeding 3k in the case and internal components alone. The 9" Ford has a nodular case with 3.70 TrueTrac gears, Moser 31 spline axels and a 28 spline pinion yoke. The transmission is a custom Keisler built TKO 600 with a low profile internally offset shifter, and a mini-billet shift tower. The 5th gear provides a .68 reduction and the smoothest low rev highway cruising available in a 5 speed manual hot rod box. All of this top notch gear is linked together via a custom balanced chromoly driver shaft. The bell housing is an 11" set up for the Keisler hydraulic system which controls the 26 spline performance clutch kit. With over $8,000 in drive train components, there is little doubt that this Chevy means business.
The four-wheel disc brakes are courtesy of Wilwood, as is the trick looking master cylinder. These binders certainly aren’t short on confidence and bring the Nova to a quick, and safe halt.
The balanced and blueprinted hydraulic roller engine is a snappy 383 CI, 400 HP beast with an Holley 750 CFM carburetor and Edelbrock Performer Intake. The motor uses Comp cams, SRP flat top pistons, Eagle rods, and an Eagle steel crank. Don’t forget all of those ARP fasteners either. The engine exhales through a set of hi-temp ceramic coated 1 3/4" headers with 3" collector and 2 1/2" exhaust. All of the fuel lines are high-end aero lines and the the car stays cool via the Be Cool radiator with duel electric fans.
In today’s market, it seams that with aftermarket wheels and front disc brakes everything suddenly becomes a legitimate Pro-Touring car but don’t be fooled – If you’re looking for a serious street machine with all of the right parts sold at just a fraction of the build cost, look no further as this Nova pleases in both looks and outright performance.
