MAC, You should see this Nova!
It's a 1970-ish, beige, white vinyl top, bech seat, column shift.
Not a gauge visible anywhere! Not even a tach. He has a tiny LED hooked into his MSD that comes on as a shift light. It's mounted real low, and I didn't even notice it until he pointed it out to me.
His other gauges are mounted inside his glove box.
This is a TRUE sleeper car. If you saw it in a parking lot, you'd expect to see grandma bringing groceries to it. You can't tell it has any mods (until he fires it up) You can't hide the sound of a 10 second SBC no matter how much money you spend on mufflers.
It runs 10.0's on street tires!
The passenger door used to try to pop open when he launched because of the body twist.
They did finally weld some frame connectors under the car to stiffen it, but you can't see them unless you're looking for them.
He didn't want to put a floor shifter in it because that would blow the whole "sleeper thing".
And you're right. It doesn't hook. It takes skill to race a 10 second street car. You're not going to be consistent at the track because traction is going to vary every run.
But thats not what his car is all about. He only gets to run it at each track a couple times until they realize how quick it is and he doesn't have a cage.
He has his own track and gets to play with the Nova on his own time. Plus he used to be big into the street racing scene. And this car would win you money on the street! Because who's going to guess it's so quick? The Nova is his street toy. He also has a "race car" for actual drag racing. (7 second BBC Cavalier)
His son has a 9 second "Pro street" truck. Mid 90's chevy stepside.
He built this BBC to drop the Nova into the 9's. He's rich. This was pocket change for him.
I paid cash for this engine on a Sunday. He was heading out for a 30 day cruise on his yatch the next day and planned to use my cash as "spending money" when he stopped at different islands.
I know..... crazy story huh? But thats my story, and I'm sticking to it! :p
I'm not real good friends with the guy. I'm pretty good friends with one of his sons though. I used to do alot of business with him. I went to their shop to pick up a 383 stroker, and asked why this BBC was sitting in the corner. He told me the story, asked if I'd rather have that one instead of the 383. Of course I said YES!, but I probably couldn't afford it. He offered it to me for $4,800...
... and the rest is history.
