Paul Summers 1969 Chevy Nova with a LS7 427 Lives to Fight Another Day
- 21 Jul 2016
50 Years ago, if you had boasted to your friends about buying a brand new Chevy Nova, they might have laughed at you, and shrugged you off while getting into their Camaro, Charger, or Mustang. Well, as the great Bob Dylan once said, "the times, they are a changin'." And so they have. These days, the Chevy Nova, also called the Chevy II, is one of the most sought after cars for restoration projects. The Nova dates all the way back to 1962 - the year of the Tiger - and with a 327ci motor and 4-speed manual transmission option, the Nova was no kitten.
Currently the most sought after Chevy Novas are the 68-74 models, bearing the classic "muscle car" look. These came with a multitude of engine options, ranging from a 153ci 2.5L inline-four, all the way to a 402ci 6.6L V8, and almost anything in between. It also had a variety of available transmissions, with the 2-speed Powerglide and 4-speed Borg-Warner T-10 manual as an option. Some Novas even came off the assembly line with disc brakes, to stop all the power behind them. A popular option was the 4-barrel 300 hp 5.7L setup with a three-speed Turbo Hydra-matic 350 (THM350)
Paul Summers, of Claremont, California, had a similar idea in mind when he bought his 1969 Chevy Nova, although the 350ci motor wasn't going to cut it for him. He sought the definitive power of the Chevy LS7. "I bought the car in 2013," Paul says, "my goal was to have a street car that ran high 9s on the strip." He got what he wished for - a robust Nova that had power, style, and a beautiful paintjob done by Gage Motorsports in Arlington, Washington. Paul moved to Southern California in 2014 and began to show interest in the wealth of car shows that SoCal has to offer. He began to show off the enhancing qualities of the car, like the black and red Kirkey race seats and the Art Morrison cage with G-Forge 5-point seat belts. The aforementioned LS7 features L92 heads, Doug's headers, and a Flowmaster exhaust to let the LS7 roar. It's also fitted with Aluminum Champion wheels wrapped in Mickey-Thompson tires contributing to the smooth look and feel of this car. Paul's drivetrain consists of an Inland Empire Driveline driveshaft and a Mark Williams 4.11 ring and pinion. The Nova is also equipped with a Santuff 4-Link coilover suspension setup, to make sure the handling is excellent.
Needless to say, Paul definitely has a great taste in highly customized cars and enthusiasts at the many car shows he attended agreed. He was prosperous in winning multiple trophies including 25 best-of-show awards amongst numerous car shows in Southern California. Paul also won the Super Chevy Editor's Pick award at the 2016 Grand National Roadster Show and took home a trophy from the Street Machine Muscle Car Nationals. Trophies were great, however something was missing, his need for speed. He started taking his car to the local drag strips and proceeded to run low 10s at around 120 mph. One day, he was able to make a 10.20 pass at 128 MPH but the rear end concluded his session quickly when it gave out, thus pretzeling the driveshaft, and cracking the transmission case in the process. He replaced the rear-end with a Mark Williams 40-Spline and had the transmission rebuilt. While the car was indisposed, Paul decided to take off the stock front-end and replace it with an all new tube chassis chromoly front end. He is now ready to hit the track again, and test out his new and better than before 1969 Chevy Nova. The car is now running high 9's and Paul couldn't be happier. He doesn't have any issue pushing his T-400 Transmission to the limit in the name of a little speed addiction. You better believe that Paul drives the car on the streets too. If you ever pull up next to a black and white Nova with a massive cowl induction hood, let him be, you don't want to get your feelings hurt.
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