Words: Tommy Parry

Years ago, during Joe’s first job at an autobody shop, he developed a fondness for the ‘66 Nova. His boss had just finished restoring one and fitting it with an LS, and that combination of classic, flowing lines with a modern powerplant had him hooked.

Several years later, when he stumbled upon a rust-free California car, he pulled the trigger and started shaping it to match the machine in his mind’s image. Fortunately, this particular Nova isn’t anything special, such as an SS, which put his mind at ease. This way, he would be able to tweak and tinker without destroying a rarer version.

His father lent a hand with this ambitious project, and it brought the two closer together. “We work together great as a team and we both have our strengths. Lately, my Dad has been coming over Thursday nights for ‘shop night’ and Saturday mornings so we can get plenty of hours in,” Joe said. Considering Joe’s family obligations, he’d need some help in his limited available time to get the project done.

Fortunately, the car had little rust for something that’d sat for nearly 15 years, and he only had to address a few spots  - which wasn’t coincidental. Joe knows that a good base makes for a good project, something he’d learned over a decade of bodywork.

Knowing that buying the best possible product first saves headache and money in the long run, he turned to Total Cost Involved for some pretty parts. Using their Pro Touring kit at the front and their Torque Arm kit in the rear, he was looking forward to increased agility and stellar roadholding in all sorts of conditions.

He then contacted a local company to build a custom Ford 9” with with a Strange third member and 35-spline axles. That combination will hold an absurd amount of power, which is fortunate, since he’s looking to turbocharge a modern motor.

“I didn’t grow up working on carburetor engines, so a fuel injected motor was a must,” he said. A 4.8-liter LS from a truck, fed by a 78/75 turbocharger and attached to a 4L80E, amounts to a comforting, reliable package. After Joe took the pistons out and gapped the rings for boost, he upgraded the head with a cam, springs, trunion kit and hardened pushrods for 600 horsepower at the rear wheels. With that grunt flowing through a 4L80E with a Transgo shift kit and a Yank 3600 converter before meeting the pavement via 275/40/17 Nitto NT05 tires, he should have no problem surprising supercars at the stoplight.

Currently, he’s determining the right place to mount the intercooler; once he’s done with that, he’ll be planning paint. While it looks great with the patina it currently wears, a project this ambitious deserves a fresh coat.

It’ll be a great moment for the two once this father-son project is finished. “One of the things I would love to do is attend a Hot Rod power tour with my Dad," said Joe. "I think it would be a great trip and memory to have to go in a car that we built together.”

To keep tabs on Joe’s progress, you can view his build thread here.