restoman Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Clifford was a gearhead, born and raised. He wanted a big-block Corvette, but the paycheque just wouldn't allow it. When a buddy on the loading dock said his older brother just got a sweet deal on a screaming small-block Nova for under $3000, Cliff listened. First thing Saturday morning, with his pay stubs in hand, he dropped into the local Chevy dealer. He had to take the salesman with him, but the test drive was all Cliff needed. The salesman, however, needed a change of undergarments when they arrived back at the sales office. Hazards of the job, I guess...? Right off the lot, this beauty was Cliff's. L-79, four speed, 4.11 posi., SS option... in a sleeper-look light metallic paint. A couple weekends later, with the addition of some headers, a thorough going-through of the ignition and carburation, an in-depth reworking of the Muncie shift linkage, a set of traction bars and some narrow slicks, Cliffie was regularly knocking off mid 13 second run at the local strip. It wasn't the Corvette that he wanted. It was even better. ... And Roscoe the Springer loved the nightly blasts around the cruise circuit. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larman Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 I agree, good looking model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonhawk1066 Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Looks great, and that's a cool set-up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyD340 Posted April 9, 2022 Share Posted April 9, 2022 Great looking Nova! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransAmMike Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Well Cliff really scored big time on that deal😂😂. Cool Nova, nice build Mike!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charger74 Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcarfan27 Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Great build and even better story! But I need to know what happened. I want to hear more of the story. Did he keep the car for a long time or did he trade it in for a Chevelle a few years later? Did he become hooked on drag racing and go pro? Did the car get wrecked and get parted out through an ad in the PennySaver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisR Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOBLNG Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 That is a sweet looking Nova indeed!👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEFATTDAWG Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 love it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjim Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Good looking build and story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kah puts Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 That looks marvelous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted April 10, 2022 Share Posted April 10, 2022 Beautiful looking build of what had to be the sleeper of the year. I like how you kept very close to the showroom appearance. The store reminds me of someone, kind of a friend of a friend type deal. He bought just such a Nova in the Turquoise Mt. color of that year. Same drive line as your build, and it was very fast compared to most of the other factory muscle cars of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restoman Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 17 hours ago, Oldcarfan27 said: Great build and even better story! But I need to know what happened. I want to hear more of the story. Did he keep the car for a long time or did he trade it in for a Chevelle a few years later? Did he become hooked on drag racing and go pro? Did the car get wrecked and get parted out through an ad in the PennySaver? Well, I'd like to think that Cliff still has the Nova, and still runs it on nice weekends, accompanied by his grandson Billy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
restoman Posted April 10, 2022 Author Share Posted April 10, 2022 4 hours ago, espo said: Beautiful looking build of what had to be the sleeper of the year. I like how you kept very close to the showroom appearance. The store reminds me of someone, kind of a friend of a friend type deal. He bought just such a Nova in the Turquoise Mt. color of that year. Same drive line as your build, and it was very fast compared to most of the other factory muscle cars of the day. A guy I worked for around '85/'86 told me quite often that he had a 350 horse 327 in the late sixties. He dealt it on a new '70 W-30 4-4-2. As much as he loved the Olds power, he said he thought the L-79 would destroy it off the line. No small feat... the 455 ran through an awfulmatic and 4.10s. He still had the Olds when I worked for him, but it was something he never let me drive. I can't blame him... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYLIBUD Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Excellent job👍👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Looks Great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewetwo Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Very sharp looking. Like the color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattilacken Posted April 12, 2022 Share Posted April 12, 2022 Sweet build and nice setup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazlow Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 looks great and a good story to go with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zippi Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Great story and a great Nova to go with it. Nice job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer1984 Posted April 13, 2022 Share Posted April 13, 2022 Looks awesome, and great story to go with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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