Owner: Peter Burke        Words & photos: Clive Branson

I’m sure a lot of automobiles from the ‘60s and ‘70s that fell by the wayside would still be as popular now had people been able to modify cars with the technology and accessories available today. A perfect example is the Chevy Nova. This was an oppressively bleak car that was about as exciting as vanilla ice cream. I could imagine it suitable for the likes of suburbanites in South Florida – clad in plaid sports jackets, red pants that went up to the chest and white shoes.

Traditionally, the Nova had been stereotyped as a timid base-model with the performance equivalent to a Rose Bowl parade float. However, once Chevrolet introduced a big-block engine, the compact, two-door, duck-tailed hatchback was ideal as a streamlined muscle car. It developed a Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hyde persona: innocuous from the outside, but underneath the metal skin was Herculean power. But as the era of muscle gradually yielded to the age of conservation with the emergence of the oil crisis during the early- to mid-1970s (that has remained to this day and, as supposition has it, an artificial crisis derived by OPEC for universal omnipotence), the Nova retracted to its bland sedan image (1962-1979/1985-1988). That is, until I saw Peter Burke’s 1973 Chevy Nova Custom and all preconceived notions were immediately dispelled.

By the early 1970s, the 230 6-cylinder was replaced with a 250 6-cylinder. The 307 and 350 were still available, but they had lower compression ratios to make them compatible with the now standard unleaded gas; however, the big block engines were discontinued. Federal legislation had a stranglehold on vehicles – reducing emissions but enlarging bumpers that, ironically, extended the overall size and weight of a vehicle, contravening all logic by resulting in an increase in gas consumption. To go along with the bigger bumpers (capable of absorbing no more impact than from a watermelon), stylists gave the Nova a new honeycomb or ‘crosshatch’ grille with inserted parking lights. Fuel tank capacity increased to 21 gallons, requiring a redesigned trunk pan.

As I gaze at Peter’s car, it is hard to imagine that it is a Nova other than a slight resemblance of the outline. The full-rotisserie restoration has produced metal pabulum: a stunning display of sleekness the eye can seamlessly caress – there isn’t a line or curve that stumbles. Gone are the superfluous strips of chrome and heaviness.

“I never liked the extended bumpers the ’73 had, so I decided to convert the car to a ’70 style,” claims Peter. “The original idea was to just make it fairly stock but with full disk brakes and better suspension. Part way through the restoration, my wife and I agreed to add a few custom touches. We had this idea to make the car as minimalistic as possible.”

Except for the door handles, all the lighting accessories are flush with the skin of the car. The headlights are disguised behind a flip-up section for a more menacing look. As Peter confesses, this was the hardest part to restore. “This required handmade eyebrow and hood moldings, a handmade grille, and I had to create a sliding door mechanism to uncover the headlights when turned on.”

Custom, colour-coordinated side mirrors have replaced the original chrome ones. Other enhancements include a smooth firewall, narrowed rear end for a more aerodynamic line, trunk pull-down, tucked bumpers, hidden wipers and a cowl flapper. The cowl hood was modified to allow more air space for a 406 cubic inch small block to breathe. It is equipped with aluminum heads and a 750 Holley carburetor, humiliating the previous 350 two barrel carb with a single exhaust.

“With a pair of 20 inch 315 X 35s and 18s on the front, we had to mini-tub the car, but we left the leaf spring to keep the stock appearance,” explains Peter. “I have to be careful; the 450 bhp can truly deliver. Too much throttle and it can instantly smoke the tires like they are on hot coals. Nevertheless, it is a ton of fun to let it rip.”

It’s more than a show car. It’s a bad boy. Peter believes passion has always been in his blood, particularly for cars. He can’t remember not being obsessed with them and appreciates the work that goes into restoring them. “I have always tinkered with cars since I was a kid, even though I never worked in the automotive industry.”

Peter has rebuilt this car three times and each time he has pushed it up a notch. The satisfaction the car represents is about personal accomplishments. “It’s always super exciting when you start it up for the first time and take it for a spin.”

The custom interior looks like a centerfold from Architectural Digest – plush, subtle and comfortable – it couldn’t be more extreme from the ’73 model, ascending from the lower rungs of a bored afterthought. And the colour… The colour is like a slap in the face. It immediately seizes attention.

“The manufactured colour in 1973 was GM maroon. It’s now painted with a custom mixed candy-apple red, smothered with a gold base with five or six coats of Candy and seven or so coats of clear. The colour gets raves at every Show n’ Shine I attend. To my mind, it only makes sense. Why do all this other stuff and not have paint that pops?” After 3 years and 8 months, a dull sedan emerged as a piece of mobile art that looks illicit to touch.

“Everything we did on the car, we did as top quality so it could be driven and would last,” Peter emphasizes with pride. “But I can’t take all the credit. KARS by Jim McMurtry in Marathon, Ontario, did most of the work. A lot of the custom features were Jim’s inspiration. I did a lot of the body finishing and building a lot of the custom touches. The crew at KARS taught me a lot in the process and I was thrilled to be a big part of the restoration. Jim did the paint which, along with the grille, are two eye-poppers on this car.”

For Peter, the ultimate pleasure in owning such a car is to show it off. “I mean, why else would you do this level of work? So many people love the look, the memories it brings back to them.” For Peter, one of his proudest moments was bringing his two newborn daughters home from hospital in the car. “When I look at my daughters, I think the younger generation has started moving away from them (cars of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s) to cars they grew up with. And that’s great. That said, in doing this project over the last 3 ½ years, I was so surprised by how many people still love the muscle car era. In fact, though the car is destined to stay with the family, it is my grandkids lining up to make sure it goes to them in my will. As far as I’m concerned, I have no intention of giving up my car that soon. It’s just too much fun.”