World’s fastest street car drives to the strip then pulls off a 6.95 ET @ 209mph

With 10-second time slips and plenty of road driving under its belt, Graham Metcalf’s Nova is one special piece of machinery.

During the cold, bleak winter of 1980, New Yorker Bill Pedus decided to buy himself a new car. But what? He wanted a tough, angry street car that he could race at local drag strips like Maple Grove, Englishtown, Long Island and Atco Dragway. After an exhaustive search, Bill came across a beautiful 1969 Chevy Nova SS in completely original condition. It was jet black, muscular, packing a factory 396ci motor and four-speed box. This was the car for Bill.

Over the next 26 long years, Bill tirelessly campaigned the angry Nova, during which period it saw many different builds and an estimated 1500 runs down the various strips of New York State.

Come the winter of 2008, Bill decided to rebuild the Nova one last time. This final incarnation would be its toughest by far, and was the guise in which it eventually left his hands.
After 26 years and a 10.50 ET, the beautiful Nova was listed on racingjunk.com, the virtual car yard of high-octane dreams.

Special Order

At this point in the story, we swing half way across the world to a little Pacific country named New Zealand. Graeme Metcalfe and his partner, Joanna Janssen, are sitting in their Hamilton home, trawling through American sites looking for the perfect car, just as they’d done every other day for the past eight months.

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1965 Chevy Corvette vs 1970 Chevy Nova part 2

1964 Chevy Corvette vs 1970 Chevy Nova part 1

Fresh off the boat, this tubbed and blown Nova is set to cause a stir on New Zealand roads

If you want a street-legal weapon that turns heads so quickly it snaps necks (not literally, I don’t think that’s allowed), you could either spend a small fortune modifying your freshly imported V8 donor of choice right here in good old New Zealand, or you could go to a chap named Karl (great name by the way) Chamberlin, who might just have what you are looking for. Karl is ‘da man’ when it comes to importing metal muscle. And cars too, apparently.

On a recent trip to the land of burgers, buxom babes and beer guts, Mr Chamberlin brought back with him four retro rockets, including the tubbed Nova you’re reading about now. I have to say, this is one of my favourite cars among those I’ve had the pleasure of writing about so far. It’s a mighty mound of monster muscle. Although in this case, its bark may just be a little worse than its bite.

Don’t get me wrong, this car is by no means under-powered or granny-like, but you have to admit, when gazing upon a blower large enough to suck in Hamilton and the tubbed ass end stuffed to the brim with rubber, you’d be kind of expecting a little more than 480 equines (I think that’s Latin for horses, it’s the same as 358 new-fangled kilowatts), right? Well, the yank who built this tank wanted something rather common in the V8 world these days: reliability. What he was after was a car that would look the business, carry the family and still have just enough power to kill nearby sleeping farm animals. “Fit the family? It’s tubbed!” I hear you say. Well yes, apparently it’s all the rage these days to fit a modified rear seat that follows the contours of the back tyres. Okay, you wouldn’t want to go on long trips for fear of coming out 5—inches shorter (yes, I know that’s impossible ” just go with it) but at least you could fit someone (or perhaps your favourite pet monkey) in the back if need be. It also looks a heck of a lot neater than welded arcs of ugly metal sheeting. In fact, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking it was indeed the standard trim.

Big and Shiny

Not so standard looking is the beast that lies under the hood. At the heart of it all is a two-bolt main Chevy 350ci donk with a few extras thrown in for sh*ts ’n’ giggles, such as a mighty Weiand 6/71 supercharger with twin 750 d/p Holleys, Federal Mogul forged pistons, a back end breathing system made up of Edelbrock coated shorty headers and Flowmaster mufflers, Chet Herbert lifters and a hydraulic cam and a Holley fuel pump grunty enough to power a nuclear sub ” but it wouldn’t work very well as I’m pretty sure nuclear subs don’t run on petrol¦

The list of under-hood gadgets is longer than a lanky gorilla’s arm. Let’s just say it’s one nice piece of balanced and engineered punch.

The cabin, however, is much more understated. The interior is strewn with retro slate grey fabric and carpets ” no leather here. The upholsterer did a great job of keeping the classic, stock look — apart from one minor detail. Actually, a major detail. The front seats. Gone are the low-back buckets that enhance the Nova’s high window-line and low-slung roof, and in come a couple of brown sh*tters straight from an ’80s Civic. Okay, they may not actually be Civic seats but who cares? They’re about as pretty as your mum’s friend Rhonda, the one with the flappy-sack bingo arms and warts on her nose who always made you call her aunty. Oh well, at least these seats don’t pinch your cheeks.

Not Quite Right

When quizzed about the odd choice of rump-resting equipment, Karl uttered, “I think they must’ve been an afterthought.” We forgive you Karl, but only because you have a cool name. And also because you didn’t actually build the car. So shame on you, Dave Rodriguez of Lancaster, California! Shame on you!

Stepping back a bit, literally, we get to the boot. Those of you who are not blind, which is probably all of you reading this magazine, will notice the large box complete with neatly trimmed carpet. No, it’s nothing rude, I was just praising the upholsterer for doing a good job in a spot that is often overlooked. The large box is an RCI 73-litre fuel cell and the carpet is, well, carpet. It’s by no means overdone. There are no glowing neons, building-sized amplifiers, LCD monitors or gravel-voiced rap stars here, just a simple, tidy place to keep a bunch of flammable liquid and a good old lead-acid battery.

After slurping up all the go-juice from its ass end, snorting it through its open throat and spitting it back out the rear in the form of gas, the Nova needs some way to get those 480 rippling stallions to the turf. Cue Mr Nine-inch 4.11 Limited Slip Differential. He is helped along by Mr and Mrs AW Racecars Coil-over Shocks front and rear and cousins Woosung Rubber up front and M/T Sportsman at the hind end. The rubber is lovingly wrapped around a shiny set of Weld Pro Stars. Of course this is all well and good, but it would be for naught if it wasn’t for the TH350 shift-kitted transmission and his close, personal friend, B&M Mega-Shifter.

Together this varied bunch of distant relatives combine to make the Nova hit the ground running and not stop, even when there are things unknown to the everyday American ” strange occurrences known as corners. According to Karl and despite the 3.5—inch front tyres, the car turns surprisingly well.

All in all, while not a glistening show-stopper, this 1972 Nova is a great all-rounder. It’s been built for everyday use so it’s as reliable as a Swiss watch. It also has more than enough grunt (just ask Karl about his accidental drift across six lanes of traffic while in the States) and it’s more than capable of romping down the quarter at a great rate of knots while carrying the kids in the back seat. Which is what makes this car so darned neat ” apart from going fast around corners, it does it all and looks damned fine doing it.

Karl Chamberlin – Owner Profile

Age: 39
Occupation: Importer
Previously owned Cars: ’70 LC GTR, ’74 LH SLR replica, ’75 LH 406 Chev, ’72 HQ, ’67 Chev Biscayne, ’74 Chev Statesman, ’78 Statesman, ’92 VP SS Commodore, ’94 VR SS Commodore, ’70 Nova, ’66 Impala
Dream car: Coming soon
Build time: Approx four years by previous owner
Length of ownership: 10 weeks
KARL thanks: www.topspeedautomotive.co.nz

1972 Chevy Nova – Specifcations

Engine: 350ci (5735cc) two-bolt Chevy, decked and squared, torque-plate bored +30, GM steel crank, fully balanced, late-model EFI heads, Elgin roller rockers, Elgin pushrods, Cloyes True-roller timing set, Chet Herbert hydraulic cam .450/.475 lift, Chet Herbert lifters, Durabond cam bearings, Michigan mains and big end bearings, Felpro gasket set, Federal Mogul forged pistons, Federal Mogul chromoly rings, Melling H/V oil pump and drive, Weiand 6/71 supercharger, twin 750 d/p Holleys, Edelbrock coated shorty headers, 2.5-inch twin system with balance pipe and Flowmaster mufflers, MSD pro-billet distributor, blaster coil, Top Gun 8mm leads
Driveline: Shift kitted TH350, B&M megashifter, Derale trans cooler
Suspension: Elgin V8 coils, two-inch drop spindles at front, mono-leaf springs, AW Racecars coil-over shocks at rear
Brakes: Factory
Wheels/Tyres: Weld Pro Stars 15×15 with M/T Sportsman 31×18.5-15 rubber rear, 15×3.5 with Woosung 165R15 tyres front
Exterior: Custom pearl white
Interior: Custom retro cloth, stained front seats from a Japper, Auto Meter gauges, Grant steering wheel
Performance: Approx 480hp (358kW)

Story: Karl Burnett Photos: Adam Croy

At the Muscle Car Masters 2009 from Eastern Creek, Central Muscle Cars show the Aussies how to put on a show, but it all ends with carnage and some damaged machinery. The 3 main classes are Group NC (1965-1972), Group C (from 1973-1984) and Group A (1985-1992) – all genuine racecars from those eras, driven by Jim Richards, John Bowe, Glenn Seton and other Aussie legends. There are plenty of pristine muscle cars to drool over – Holden Commodore, HQ and Torana, Ford Falcon and Mustang, AMC Javelin, Chevy Nova.

At the Muscle Car Masters 2009 from Eastern Creek, Central Muscle Cars show the Aussies how to put on a show, but it all ends with carnage and some damaged machinery. The 3 main classes are Group NC (1965-1972), Group C (from 1973-1984) and Group A (1985-1992) – all genuine racecars from those eras, driven by Jim Richards, John Bowe, Glenn Seton and other Aussie legends. There are plenty of pristine muscle cars to drool over – Holden Commodore, HQ and Torana, Ford Falcon and Mustang, AMC Javelin, Chevy Nova.

Track testing the ’69 Chevy Nova – slaloms, braking tests and more