RIDING LARGE
April 4, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
COLOSSAL COLUMBUS
Colorful street rods and street machines filled the huge Columbus Fairgrounds, with an estimated 8,000 cars in attendance. This panorama shows just a small section of the event, and the building in the background is where the swap meet was held.
Cooler Runnin’
All summer you’ve dreamed of passing all those boats that have blown by you since June. Now that time has come. You plunk down a large stack of greenbacks for a nasty supercharger and wrench all weekend bolting it in. Now comes the moment of truth. As you tear down the lake, all eyes are on the gauges, and the oil pressure is heading south too quickly. What could be wrong? You let off the throttle for a bit and all the vital signs return to normal.
We’ve ran into this exact scenario before. We installed an R-Tech Supercooler on the ProCharged Dorr’s Marine Engine 502cid motor in our Baja 250ES. The install was a huge success with a whopping 9mph increase in top speed. The boat worked well, but what we weren’t expecting was the huge increase in oil temperature from the gain in horsepower. If we had stayed on the throttle for a good 5,000-plus-rpm run, the oil temperature would have shot for the moon and oil pressure would have dropped to an uncomfortable level, forcing us to back out—what fun is that?
JET-AWESOME
We’ve seen lots of cool, stout VWs over the years, but only a few awesome Jettas have made us do a double- and triple-take, which is just what happened when we first caught a glimpse of Todd Sollar’s awesome wide-body Jetta. Our mindset went from “damn” to “wow” about that quickly.
Spotlighter
The Alien
This ’67 Nova Is Back in Black
When firefighter Joe Chavez of Irving, Texas, was a senior in high school, he grew up in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, and drove a ’66 Chevrolet Nova. “I had a lot of fun with that car. I called it the “Alien,” and everybody in town knew whose car it was,” Chavez says. Unfortunately, when Chavez relocated to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area in 1985, he couldn’t afford to take his prized Nova along with him. As the years went by, he found himself regretting the decision more and more.
Author
Bob McClurg
Story and Photography
The Search Begins
“In 1990, the hunt was officially on. My wife, Michelle (who also owns a ’67 Nova of her own), and I made numerous road trips to Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Louisiana and back home to New Mexico before I found what I was looking for,” Chavez says. Ironically, Chavez found his dream car in—of all places—Santa Rosa, New Mexico! “After purchasing a ’67 Nova SS fix-’er-upper in my hometown, I took the car over to Bozo’s Garage, where my half-brother Ernie Ortega works on street rods, to have some work done on it,” he says.
Bodywork and Paint Restoration
Once at Bozo’s, Ortega and owner Bozo Cordova replaced the ’67’s rear quarter panels and a small section of the Nova’s floor pan. They also hammered out all of the dents and repainted the ’67 black. “I also had them install a 400cid GM small block out of a wrecked Monte Carlo. Once I got the car back to Texas, I cleaned up the factory black vinyl interior, replacing the items which needed replacing. I then installed a set of 15-inch Cragar S/S wheels, just like I had in high school, and got the windows tinted. Finally, I had a presentable Nova, and started entering the car in car shows,” Chavez says.
Rear Suspension and Driveline Specs
As for technical information, the SS features a 3.73:1-geared GM 10-bolt live rear axle riding on a pair of mono-leaf Nova rear springs, Energy Suspension polyurethane suspension bushings, Air Lift airbags and Monroe shocks by Rick’s Independent Car Kare, located in Irving, Texas.
Front Suspension and Wheels
The front suspension on the ’67 was also completely rebuilt back to stock by the folks at Rick’s and features a pair of 2-inch dropped Easy Street front spindles, Energy Suspension polyurethane suspension bushings, Air Lift airbags and Monroe shocks. The aforementioned wheels and tires on the “Alien” measure 17×7 inches in front and 20×8 inches on the rear, and they roll on a set of P215/45xR17-inch front and P255/35×20-inch rear Federal radial rubber.
Engine Rebuild and Performance Upgrades
Chavez has since rebuilt the 400cid small block, and the engine now features a set of 0.030-inch overbore Speed Pro forged aluminum pistons, Crane cam and kit, a pair of GM double-hump cylinder heads with Crane Cams valvetrain hardware and Mickey Thompson valve covers, Holley Street Dominator intake and 650cfm Edelbrock 4-bbl carburetor, and a chromeplated twin-snorkel Nova SS air cleaner. The ignition is the factory GM HEI unit while the exhaust comes from Hedman Hedders and Flowmaster. Backing all of this up is the factory original Muncie four-speed transmission using a Hays clutch and pressure plate activated by a Hurst linkage.
Final Touches and Show Car Status
“In 2003, I decided to completely repaint the Nova. After looking around, I finally settled on painters Kirk and Jason Tyre. Kirk and Jason did a fine job spraying the Nova in DuPont Raven Black,” he says.
Awards and Recognition
Other upgrades include Chevrolet Bow Tie halogen headlights and Year One exterior trim. Chavez’s ’67 has won 100 car show trophies and awards at events like the Super Chevy Show, the Dallas Autorama and the Ft. Worth Rod & Custom Car Show. Needless to say, the “Alien” is back!
