Mike’s wife got a second dog. He got this Nova as a retirement present.

To say that Mike was excited about what he saw as the cover was pulled back would be a terrible understatement
Mike’s wife had a ’72 Nova of the same color, Mullsane Blue Metallic, which was sort of the inspiration for this one. Mike wanted an old school period correct car that could have come straight out of the 70s.
Part of that period look is a set of Keystone Klassics. These things were everywhere back in the day and they really set the tone for the rest of the car today.
Another common mod in the 70s was a fiberglass hood with a cowl induction scoop. Lighter weight for sure and MCR made it work with factory hood hinges as dealing with four hood pins is definitely not Mint.
You’ll not see it this photo and in fact you probably wouldn’t notice it in person either unless you look real close but there is a clear film applied to the leading edge of the hood and also the rockers and lower door sections to minimize chips from road debris. Mike is going to drive this thing and removing some of the concerns about possible road damage makes the ride even more Mint.
One of the down sides to GM X-bodies is that they use leaf springs in the rear. This makes it more difficult to set the proper stance into the car. To solve that, aftermarket suspension was utilized with a 4-link coilover in the rear. The Nova still looks period but now it sits down over the tires like it should.
The interior is also period except that the gauges are mounted in the dash. The seats are custom to provide long range cruising comfort. The B&M ratchet shifter was supplied by Mike. The rear package shelf even has a pair of 6×9 speakers mounted in it.
The Grant wheel came in with the car and is certainly fits into the overall look. Note that this was not an original A/C car so the metal shop modified the dash to accept factory A/C vents.
This is where Mike really went total old school. The engine powering the Nova is an 11-1 compression 383 stroker small block Chevy, that makes 415 horsepower and 425-foot pounds of torque still retaining an old school Holley 670 Street Avenger carb with vacuum secondaries. The trans is a turbo 350 that ends with a 9-inch Moser rear housing a 3.50 gear set. Mike elected to forego both power steering and power brakes though he did go with a disc brake upgrade all the way around. Also note the Mallory coil. The aftermarket A/C is the only creature comfort option on the car.
If you think that Mike and his son were happy here, you should have seen them after they went for a couple short rides.

Sources

Cragar Wheelshttps://www.cragarwheel.com/
B&Mhttps://www.holley.com/brands/b_and_m/
Grant Steering Wheelshttp://www.grantproducts.com/
Vintage Airhttps://www.vintageair.com/
Holleyhttps://www.holley.com/
Mallory Ignitionhttps://www.holley.com/brands/mallory/
Muscle Car Restorations, Inc.https://www.musclecarrestorations.com

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