Bob’s 1970 Nova has been a father/son project since he was 16 years old to the present, 32 years later.
They had gone to his father’s friend’s place to check out one of his cars a few days before Bob’s 16th birthday. This 1970 Nova was just a shell without an engine or transmission, but Bob saw the potential in it.
His father has been a lifelong hot rod & muscle car lover/owner, so Bob had grown up well acquainted with the hobby. He already had an engine and color scheme in the back of his mind. A few days later on his actual birthday, Bob’s father surprised him with the Nova shell.
“My car has always been a father/son project. from the time I was 16, to today at 48. My father has always been there to help me build whatever newest modification I’m working on.”
Over the years, the 1970 Nova has had several different engines in the bay, but the current setup is Bob’s favorite so far. It has an 840 hp (pump gas) 565 big block that he and his father built together. It is a Merlin block with Callies magnum crank and rods, Wiseco forged pistons, Comp Cams nitrous camshaft, Profiler aluminum heads, an Edelbrock intake, Pro Systems 1250 CFM nitrous carburetor, and an Induction Solutions Sledgehammer nitrous system to top it off.
This all flows through Lemons 2-1/4 inch headers which feed into a 4 inch exhaust system with Spin Tech mufflers out the rear. Gears are selected via a custom TH400 built by Bob’s good friend Tim. He modified the TH400 with aluminum drums, hardened input and output shafts, manual valve body, and a billet trans brake.
Other than the fiberglass hood, Bob’s 1970 Nova is unique because it retains all GM sheet metal. Being a Texas car, it didn’t have much rust when it came into their possession and at the time they were able to replace the bumpers and one of the fenders from GM replacements at a local Chevy dealership.
“The car performs well at the track running 8.60’s at 155mph in the quarter mile, but bringing it home and cleaning it up to go cruising that night with friends is the best.” -Bob
Bob intends to get out with the Nova more this year, simply to enjoy cruising and racing with his friends.
