1974 Nova

It was March of 1978.  My friend Greg Kontos had a bitchin', black, 1974 Nova.  I loved that car.  So, when Dad gave me the thumbs up to go looking for my own car, I decided I needed a '74 Nova.  

The Seattle Times classifieds on March 12, 1978 listed a yellow '74 Nova at Lakeside Pontiac-GMC.  The dealership was located n Bellevue, Washington.  I had to see it.  I hopped into my Pop's Dodge Dart and raced up there to see it.  One look, and I bit.  The test drive set the hook!  Dad came up, along with my brother Mark.  Dad co-signed, Mark drove the Dart home.  Several years of $96 a month payments, with interest and finance charges totaling around $4000, awaited me as I drove her home. 

I was happy with the car as she sat for about 4 years.  Then, I decided it was time for a modification or two 

I always like the look of a big block nestled between the fender wells.  I liked the power too!  So, an LS1, 390 horse 427 became available out of a '69 Caprice wagon.  I bought it.  Here's what I put in it:

-11.25 to 1 TRW Forged Pistons

-Steel Crank

-Windage tray

-Hi Volume Oil Pump

-Crane Commander Solid Lifter Cam (600 In/620Ex Lift)

-Closed Chamber, Rectangular Port Heads (casting number 3919840, dated late '67, I believe)

-Edelbrock Scorpion Intake

-Holley 750 Double pumper w/mechanical secondaries

-Recurved single point distributor w/MSD 6T ignition amplification box

-Hooker 2 1/8 Headers

-Custom Made Port Injected Nitrous System

-Trunk Mounted Battery

My brother Mark fried the turbo 350 one day, so I picked up a turbo 400.  Here's the tricks that are done to it:

-Reverse Manual Valve Body

-3000 Stall Converter

-Hurst Quarter Stick Shifter

The stock 10 bolt surely would not be up to the pounding the 427 would dish out.  Dan Cragle had a 1968 SS Camaro he was de-tuning.  He was giving the car to his sister as a graduation present.  So, we made a deal on the Camaro's 12 bolt rear end.  He had just gone through it with new 4:10 gears and a freshly rebuilt Posi unit.  Under the Nova it went! 

After all the shoehorning it took to get the 427 into the Nova, the paint took a beating.  Plus, the 1974 Chevrolet pale yellow never thrilled me too much anyway.  I liked the AMC Big Bad Blue a friend had painted his truck, so had it painted that color.  Soon after the paint job, I decided the car would look better with the nose from an earlier Nova.  I found a '72 being parted, so I picked up all the front end stuff and installed it in place of the stock '74 equipment.  You may remember that 1974 had lots of rules and regulations regarding the front and rear bumpers being able to withstand a minor front (or rear) collision without damage.  The stock 1974 bumpers and sub structures are extremely heavy therefore.  By replacing the stock stuff with the lighter '72 parts, I took all the weight off the front end that was initially added when I put the 427 in.  Thus, I didn't have to change the front suspension springs.

This all was completed in late 1987.  Had a blast street racing the car.  Went to the first Super Chevy Sunday held at Seattle International Raceway (now Pacific Raceway) in 1988.  Raced the Nova in the street tire class.  In trials, ran a best of 11.61 at 120.  I got yelled at for not having a roll bar.  Was told I needed to keep it at or above 12 seconds if I intended to run without a bar.  So, I dialed in at 12 even.  Made it to the 1/4 finals, where I raced a Biscayne that had a dial in of 16.98.  That means the Biscayne started almost a full 5 seconds before me.  I got over anxious and broke out with an 11.98.

  I lived in an apartment at the time, and there was no garage, just a car port.  There was a cold snap that winter, and I didn't think too much about the Nova, as I never drove it in the rain.  I think it got down to 7 degrees for at least 4 or 5 days in a row.  When things thawed, I went to have a look at the Nova.   As I walked up to it, I noticed a freeze plug lying underneath it.  I HAD FORGOTTEN TO PUT ANTI-FREEZE IN THE ENGINE!  The damage was considerable.  Basically, the block was junk.  At that point, I had lost a bit of interest in the Nova, and basically shuffled her around from one storage place to another, minus engine, for the next 7 years.  In 1996, I bought a place with a nice, big garage.  Dug out all the stuff from the 427 that was still good.  Picked up a standard bore 454 block, and rebuilt the engine exactly as it had been.  With a couple of changes.  Here are those changes:

-Full 3" Dual Exhaust With Flowmaster Mufflers

-Had the Holley 750 modified by Jet Performance.  One of the best mods I've done to the car!

-Installed J-Bolt Traction Bars.

-Added an MSD Rev Limiter to the 6T box

-Installed an in dash CD player

I have no plans to race the car.  It's just fun to take out on a nice day.  But, with the additional goodies I've done to  it, I hope to get it to the track at least once.  I ran the 11.60 on what was then the best street/strip tire you could buy, Mickey Thompson Stickie Mickey's.  I gotta think that, with something like a BF Goodrich Drag T/A, coupled with the J-Bolt traction bars, that I MIGHT be able to sneak into the 10's!

One day I hope to show my son, born in February of 2003, what horse power is all about!