Bill takes pride in the fact that he bought this Nova on Uncle Sam’s dime, a $300 government stipend got him this 1963 Nova to enjoy back in 2003.
This 1963 Nova has been steadily worked on bit by bit since then whenever Bill determined it needed something replaced or upgraded. Over the years, it’s had a quarter panel replaced, as well as had the stock front suspension rebuilt with poly bushings and upgraded to a 5 lug setup.
The engine has been swapped to a 327 small block unit, paired to a stage 2 700R4 transmission with 3.73 gears in the rear, with a built 5.3 LS swap on the way. The supporting mods for this build include a TCI front end as well as a mini-tubbed 4 link rear end. The 700R4 transmission also has a Hughes 3000 RPM stall converter.
“I bought the car with the government’s money and have built most of it originally myself.”
Bill
An unfortunate incident at the track in 2016 left the 1963 Nova wrecked and insurance totaled out the car, but Bill bought it back and had the body and paint work redone to his specs.
Bill has a built 5.3 LS motor ready to be swapped in place of the 1963 Nova’s current 327 small block in due time. It was been built in preparation for a super charger, which will be installed in short order.
Aside from performance, Bill’s had the upholstery redone recently. The outside was rattle-can black primer for a little while, but he upgraded to a real paint job back in 2012 at the same time he chose to add the 4 link rear end and mini tubs. It’s since been redone after the crash in 2016, but he had it repainted the same way as it was beforehand.