In the last few weeks, I've had an opportunity to get the Nova out. Like any new build, there are always a few bugs to work out. I assumed this would be the case, so there is no surprise on my end.
When Wayne and I consummated our deal, we were in the dead of winter. Wayne was kind enough to change the coolant over to an antifreeze blend. Given the time of year, Wayne was not allowed the luxury of time and environment to get the cooling system bled out properly. Wayne did warn me these siamese bore blocks can be a bit tricky to get the air bled out of them properly. There was an issue where the temp would be just fine, then take off......to only come back down to 180, and repeat. Wayne and I had a nice conversation to which he gave me a few tips. I have made some significant improvements in this regard, but I still feel there is room for improvement. I also played around with some timing adjustments, and that showed some gains as well. As many of you know, a combination like this is far from a plug and play.
The brakes are awesome in the car and can back up the performance of the car (more on that later). The pedal pressure is a bit firm. I feel I can improve on that and have a different bore master cylinder. The front suspension combination is firm and holds the road wonderfully. Wayne was quick to point out he wanted as much caster as reasonably possible given the "purpose" of the Nova. Wayne had done the alignment in his shop. I've got to say........this is impressive. I will get the Nova in front of a good local alignment guy to dial that in a bit more.
So the last question that everyone seems to ask.........how's that thing run?
Well......in short.......it's F'n silly. The engine's idle is somewhat docile (if you want to call 1100 rpm docile) and has good manners in a driving scenario. The experience Wayne has in these types of builds is blatantly evident. Between the carb, the converter, and the gearing......the car just works. Mash the loud pedal.......you best be paying attention. If I "whack" the tires hard, they get nice and sticky. Then it's game on. The rear suspension works although the motor can still overpower the "hook". A perfect street car
As I had mentioned in a previous post, the fit, finish, and eye for detail on the car can only be appreciated in person. If you spent just an hour looking around the car by yourself, I think many of you could see and appreciate what I see.
This is not an easy car to build. Even more difficult yet to get the project to execute as planned. Wayne has built a killer car here. Furthermore, he was a gentleman to deal with, and the end product was everything he made it out to be.
So, what's next you may ask? I'll share this. Once I am comfortable with the car and happy with all of the little details, I foresee a next stage. Backing up a little bit, one of the questions I asked Wayne when making our deal on the Nova, "if you kept the car, what would you do?" Without hesitation, he said "a stick". (Great minds think alike).
As I write this, a mutual friend of Bill Wente and myself reached out a couple of days ago. One of his friends (Brian's friend) has a brand new M23 from Midwest Muncie (here in Wisconsin) that he is not going to use. These transmissions can handle 800hp on a sticky tire. In order to package everything the way I'd want to, this will be far more than cutting a hole in the floor for the shifter. I would want to keep the bench seat, yet place the shifter as close to me as possible. That would require some surgery on the seat. Then, a stick with this kind of power can hurt a car that is not properly reinforced. The body on this car, the panel fit, and the way it drives is to die for. I have to research my options before moving forward.
My parting comment is this. Jake Dykstra........you are not the only one dealing with project creep
As my last side note in this post....I think Dave Dykstra found the secret cam grind that's in the 565
