Pro Touring 4th Generation Nova
 

All,

Long time reader, first time poster, and a new member, all bundled into one. I think I have a project in the cooker that meets the "pro touring" definition, so I wanted to join the forum and put my ride up for public inspection.

The car is a 1977 Nova that I've been tinkering with off and on for the past 16 years. Like a lot of cars, it's gone through several different "versions" and has had some different personalities. Started out as a street driven hot rod, took on a drag car look for a while, was turned into a "show car" for a bit and was shown extensively for two or three years, and then back to a street driven hot rod, although a pretty nicely detailed street car.

About a year ago I started thinking through the process of taking the street driven process to the next step and go "pro touring" with the car. Mainly I wanted to really dig into the suspension, wheels, and brakes of the car and see where that took me. As most of you know, it didn't take long to get in over my head. . .

Anyway some quick details on the car. It's about 70% finished as of now. I have already installed narrowed tubular a-arms up front with adjustable coil overs. The rear suspension is a Hot Rods to Hell truckarm setup that hangs a narrowed 8.5" ten bolt rear. Gears are 3.42s with posi. Brakes are Baer - 13s up front and 12s in the back. Those are due in this week (I hope).

I'm keeping the vintage smallblock that I've used for years in the car. It's strong and reliable if not spectacular, putting out just north of 400 horsepower. It's standard hot-rod fare, but it's easy to work on and tune, so that's what I like. I've also installed a Tremec T56 six speed behind the engine with the hope of bringing those highway RPMs down a bit. This car's all driver, and will only go on a trailer if I break it.

Wheels are Coys, 18X8 up front and 20X10 in the back with 245 and 285 Nitto tires, respectively.

I paint my own cars so the paint and body work is going to be a labor of love. The car was a bare steel job back in 1995 and I've taken pretty good care of it, so the next paint job is going to have a good foundation. Color and scheme is a closely guarded secret, but needless to say the purple and white will be gone by the end of the summer.

I know these cars still haven't quite caught on at the national level, but I think this generation of Novas is not too far away from popularity or at least credibility. With a little elbow grease and imagination, you can make a pretty sweet ride out of them. All in all, a pretty good foundation for a pro touring car.

I look forward to your input and thoughts on the project, and will be leaning on many of you for advice as I push forward.

Jason

Welcome aboard, Jason. :cheers:

Welcome. Sounds like a great project. Agree that these cars will start gaining popularity in the near future. Keep posting pics of the project.

I agree that the 4th gen Novas and their counterpart the Buick Skylark will take off soon. Yours is a perfect example of the potential. That 20x10 looks right at home on that. Now lose the purple and it'll be bitchin !
Welcome.

Looks great reminds me of the 78 ss my dad had when i was a kid.You do sound like me a car is never finished is it lol.

i also had a 76 several years ago. loved the car but was not able to do what i wanted due to not much extra money floating around back then. sold it but now regret it. i tried to buy it back from the current owner but he would not sell it.

i love it when people build pro touring cars from somthing alittle different... love your car.. id have to agree on the paist though... its not entirely in my taste.. bot thats whats so great about this hobby, its uniquely yours to express what you like with... :thumbsup: wellcome

Oh ya! I have a major soft spot for those. My parents bought a 77 Nova Rally new in 77 that became my first car that I drove and tweaked for years.

You have a major foundation going on underneath! Keep up the good work!

Yeah the last rwd nova is a odd car but being odd can be good the front sub frame is the 87-81 camaro one wonder if the rear frame is the same too or not.Only problem with it finding parts is probably a pain nothing remade yet everything you gotta find used or make but its worth it in the end.

Don't forget the Olds Omega and the Cadillac Seville!


Sweet ride you're going to have there.... Keep the pics coming!

Shiny Side Up!
Bill