David H’s 1969 Nova

Built From The Ground Up

David H’s 1969 Nova

David’s 1969 Nova is a tribute to his father and the muscle car culture of the Chicago area.

His family used to own a speed shop in Chicago that he worked in as a teen. His family’s shop used to do machine work and supplied Nickey Chevy with performance parts for the “day 2” setups of the time.

One day while David was cruising home from a car show in southern California motioned to him while at a stoplight. He let David know that he loved the ’70 that David was driving, and that he owned a Nickey L78 engine. This peaked David’s interest and he asked if the man would pull off so that he could hear more about it.

Apparently, he has had the engine for the past 30 years just sitting in his garage and was willing to let David take a look at it. The engine castings checked out and David bought it on the spot. The L78 then went to a third generation restoration shop in Florida, where it was transplanted into this very 1969 Nova when it was still a roller!

“It’s the history of what it represents to my family, and the muscle car Era in Chicago.”

David H

This 1969 Nova is date correct including the Nickey L78, the M22 transmission, 3.55 posi rear end and many other aspects. It is set up in the same way a period Day 2 car would be, with drag bars, a Hurst super shifter, and headers.

Next up for David is a restoration of the numbers matching 1970 L78 Nova that was mentioned earlier.

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