1971 Chevrolet Nova

I can make the car available for viewing in Scottsdale during auction week for SERIOUS parties.1971 Chevy Nova Pro-Touring/Restomod  Mulsanne Blue with Black interiorHere is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire one of the nicest Novas around. With collector car financing more available then ever, you can jump right in and turn the key vs enduring the headache of a long-term project. Don't let the all-stock appearing body and trim fool you, there's a lot going on under this pretty face. There is so much involved in a build like this that it's pretty much certain I'm going to leave out some details but I'll do my best. Let me tell you about this blue beauty: We started with a rust-free El Paso, TX Nova. This car has never left the area, to this day, and this part of the country is known for having among the driest cars in America. Once the base vehicle was acquired, we proceeded with procuring the parts to make this a fun driver with modern practicality and performance. As you'll see in the partial parts list below, you will see this was not a “budget” build. To ensure the car would be completed to a high standard, I visited and spoke with several shops in the Southwest and surrounding states. Ultimately, we kept local when we selected Street Toys in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico which is 1/4 mile from the nearest US-Mexico border crossing in El Paso, TX. For more info on this shop, visit their website http://www.streettoysmx.com Jesse Rodriguez and his crew have many renowned builds under its belt including the Mura Brothers Willys Pickup and Tom McMullen's Dodge A100 among many others. To begin the build, the Nova was stripped down to bare metal. It was accident and rust free, so bodywork was minimal. PPG materials were used to ensure proper prep and finish in the original Mulsanne Blue color code. It's safe to say no Nova ever left the factory at this level of finish. To help insulate and prevent corrosion, the interior and floors were sprayed with Raptor liner. In the engine bay the firewall was shaved and smoothed as well as many holes filled and a custom cold air intake box was fabricated.All exterior trim was either restored/polished or replaced with high quality reproduction items. New bumpers were sourced as well to replace the weathered and beat up originals. The goal was to leave the body looking as it was delivered in 1971. Okay, maybe a bit better. A Detroit Speed mini-tub kit was added to replace the rear wheelwells to allow clearance for the 315 tires.The wheels are CCW K57  3-piece in a polished finish. Sizes are 18x9.5 front and 18x11 rear. This style has since been discontinued so you won't see another Nova with them. Tires are Falken Azenis RT615K+ size 275/35R18 front and 315/30R18 rear. Powering this little beast is an LS3 from a low-mileage 2012 Camaro. “While we were in there” we upgraded the cam with a Tick Performance Stage 2 cam and stronger valvesprings and retainers. We also added a ported intake manifold and Hooker headers with a cold air intake keeping intake temps down. All this is controlled by an OEM ECU that was custom tuned by Joe Pena of Peak Performance in El Paso, TX. LS brackets were used to relocate the accessories for clearance but still keep the 2012 Camaro serpentine setup using reliable OEM parts. This is backed up by a TR6060 6-speed that has been upgraded with a 600hp rated clutch, Hurst shifter and remote cooler. To keep it cool we used a high performance aluminum radiator and electric fans.A TanksInc EFI fuel tank fed to -6an lines and OEM fuel pressure regulator keep the LS3 properly fed with premium octane. Completing the drivetrain are a Driveshaft Shop aluminum driveshaft connected to an SW Race Cars 9-inch rear end. A Detroit Truetrac is used to put the power down. Slowing it all down is a set of Baer brakes front and rear. It's a 13” Pro Plus 6-piston kit in front with a 13” SS4 kit in the rear. The master cylinder bore was specced to ensure a good pedal feel with not much effort. You would never know it was non-boosted setup unless somebody told you. The suspension consists of a full Ridetech tubular and 4-link conversion with single adjustable coilovers. The Ridetech TruTurn kit along with mild tubbing allows the fitment of the 275 tires in front. An AGR 12.7:1 steering box powered by a Turnone pump provides responsive turning action. Detroit Speed subframe connectors were welded in to stiffen the body. The rear Ridetech 4-link cradle was welded vs bolten in for added security/stiffening. For additional body stiffness, a roll cage was also fabricated and tucked in as much as possible to be minimally intrusive. We wanted the interior to keep the same vintage circa '71 vibe but using nicer materials that I'm used to in my modern luxury and exotic cars, so the interior was re-trimmed using black Nappa leather with a contrasting blue stitching and perforated blue leather accents. An Alcantara headliner was added and the dash was also stitched in leather to further elevate the experience. We also added a leather-wrapped and stitched center console (with cupholders) and relocated the e-brake from the foot pedal area to this console. Rather than throw in an aftermarket steering wheel the original steering wheel was restored and wrapped in leather with contrasting stitching as well.Custom carpet was used on the floors and in the trunk. The interior and trunk were completely covered in Dynamat on top of the Raptor Liner to add an additional layer of comfort with the solid feel of a modern car and lower noise floor in the cabin. Dakota Digital analog VHX gauges were used to keep tabs on the vitals and speed readings. To keep the passengers cool in our West Texas heat, a Vintage Air setup was added. American Autowire harness and fuse block was used to keep current flowing to the electrical items. While the cammed LS3 provides an intoxicating soundtrack, it's nice to crank up some tunes in town or on the highway. The audio system is controlled by a Retro Autosound knob radio with an Audio Control line driver to ensure a clean signal. The speakers include as set of Focal 6.5” mids and tweeters in the kick panels, vintage JBL 6x9's (with a GM badge on the grill to look “factory”) on the rear deck and a 4th order bandpass box with DD Audio 1508 subwoofers for that extra kick. Powering this is a pair of 600 and 1500 watt Sundown amps on the mids/highs and bass, respectively. A trunk mounted/relocated high cca AGM battery keeps the electrical powered up. This is a next-level build and not many Novas get built to this standard. The quality of the fab and bodywork is as good as it gets as you can see in the pics. Factor in the high-end labor of a quality shop at $100-120/hr and you will not come close to duplicating this car for the Buy-it-now price. Here's a list of the major components (I'm surely leaving some stuff out) - LS3- Tick Stage 2 Cam - Hooker headers- Ported intake manifold - TR6060 transmissionoHurst ShifteroUpgraded Clutch - Driveshaft Shop custom driveshaft for TR6060flange/9-inch yoke - SW Race Cars 9" rear end with True Trac and Baer Brakes - ProPlus 13” front , - SS4+ rear oe-brake fully functional with console mounted lever - EFI fuel system: efi fuel tank, sending unit, lines, fittings, etc. - Complete Custom Wheel K57 3-piece wheels 18x9.5 fr, 18x11 rr - Falken Azenis RT615K tires (Less than 500 miles) size 275/35/18 fr, 315/30/18 rr - Ridetech suspension: All tubular front components with Truturn front steering setup, 4-link rear, adjustable coilovers - Dakota Digital VHX gauges - American Auto Wire full wiring harness - PSI Conversions engine engine controller kitoVintage Air a/c - Detroit speed mini-tub, subframe connectors, bushings oFull leather interior in original pattern with blue accents and stitching- Suede/Alcantara headliner - Carpeted trunk- Audio system: Classic Autosound head unit, Audio control line driver, Sundown Amps, Focal components, JBL 6x9, DD Audio subwoofersoRaptor Liner undercoating on belly and interior- Dynamat throughout interior and trunk- Custom Roll cage (shaped to be minimally intrusive) Below are some pics of the build process, etc.:

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