Mods
350ci iron short block, 4 bolt main, bored .030 over
Engine quest iron racing heads, polished
Comp cams mutha thumpa cam
10.3 to 1 compression
Edelbrock aluminum intake and valve covers
800cfm carb
Hooker long tube headers
2 1/2 exhaust with X pipe
Aluminum radiator with dual electric fans
MSD ignition box/coil
American racing wire harness
Muncie M20 4-speed (rebuilt close ratio)
Custom driveshaft
Moser diff w/ Eaton posi, 355 gears
Dakota digital gauge & bezel
Grant steering wheel
Ididit tilt steering wheel
Heidts Mustang II front suspension
Caltracs bars
QA1 single adjustable shocks (rear)
4-wheel disc brakes
Engine quest iron racing heads, polished
Comp cams mutha thumpa cam
10.3 to 1 compression
Edelbrock aluminum intake and valve covers
800cfm carb
Hooker long tube headers
2 1/2 exhaust with X pipe
Aluminum radiator with dual electric fans
MSD ignition box/coil
American racing wire harness
Muncie M20 4-speed (rebuilt close ratio)
Custom driveshaft
Moser diff w/ Eaton posi, 355 gears
Dakota digital gauge & bezel
Grant steering wheel
Ididit tilt steering wheel
Heidts Mustang II front suspension
Caltracs bars
QA1 single adjustable shocks (rear)
4-wheel disc brakes
Build story
This car was a dream that started years before we had the car. My parents surprised me with the car as a gift. Here’s the story..
I was working at an event in the bay area in 2016, and my Dad was in Bakersfield with a buddy for some drag events. He calls me and says there’s a gentleman selling a 63 Nova. I should call him and talk to him. So I call the guy and we talk for about 45 minutes. At the end I ask him what he’s looking for price wise, and the guy says "if you can put down $200 as a deposit, I’ll hold the car for you till tomorrow." I wasn’t in town obviously, and I didn’t have a car to get to a bank to wire him any money. So, I ask my Dad if he and/or his buddy could help me out and I’ll pay them back asap. They both said they didn’t have the cash on them, so that was it. I called the gentleman back the next morning and he says "I sold it." I said thanks for your time, and moved on. I was a little bummed because the car ran and drove, and it was a killer deal compared what other people out there were asking those days.
A month later, I decided to go home and visit for a day because I had a couple days off. I’m walking around the front of the house and my parents are sort of "oddly" following me. I walk into the garage to grab a beverage from the fridge, and there was the Nova.. sitting on my Dads lift. They had ended up buying the car, and told the guy to tell me he had sold it so I wouldn’t suspect anything. It was a pretty cool surprise, one I definitely wasn’t expecting. And of course, both my parents had their phones on them to capture my reaction..
Since I lived 3 hours away, I would come home whenever I could to work on the car. The overall teardown/build took 2 1/2 years from first bolt to driving (actually towing) the car home. It was pretty cool to go through the process ( although frustrating at times..) and I never would’ve been able to finish the job without the help of my folks and another gentleman who lived in the area and worked on the car as well.
I was working at an event in the bay area in 2016, and my Dad was in Bakersfield with a buddy for some drag events. He calls me and says there’s a gentleman selling a 63 Nova. I should call him and talk to him. So I call the guy and we talk for about 45 minutes. At the end I ask him what he’s looking for price wise, and the guy says "if you can put down $200 as a deposit, I’ll hold the car for you till tomorrow." I wasn’t in town obviously, and I didn’t have a car to get to a bank to wire him any money. So, I ask my Dad if he and/or his buddy could help me out and I’ll pay them back asap. They both said they didn’t have the cash on them, so that was it. I called the gentleman back the next morning and he says "I sold it." I said thanks for your time, and moved on. I was a little bummed because the car ran and drove, and it was a killer deal compared what other people out there were asking those days.
A month later, I decided to go home and visit for a day because I had a couple days off. I’m walking around the front of the house and my parents are sort of "oddly" following me. I walk into the garage to grab a beverage from the fridge, and there was the Nova.. sitting on my Dads lift. They had ended up buying the car, and told the guy to tell me he had sold it so I wouldn’t suspect anything. It was a pretty cool surprise, one I definitely wasn’t expecting. And of course, both my parents had their phones on them to capture my reaction..
Since I lived 3 hours away, I would come home whenever I could to work on the car. The overall teardown/build took 2 1/2 years from first bolt to driving (actually towing) the car home. It was pretty cool to go through the process ( although frustrating at times..) and I never would’ve been able to finish the job without the help of my folks and another gentleman who lived in the area and worked on the car as well.