Under the hood, the engine...
Under the hood, the engine shroud, radiator core support, and inner fenders are all custom-fabricated pieces. In order to feed cool air to the motor without resorting to a cowl-induction hood, custom vents were built where the stock hood hinges would normally attach. Twin snorkels route air from the vents up along the inner fender, behind the radiator, and into the throttle body.
While much of the Nova’s sheetmetal was tweaked simply for the sake of aesthetics, a good chunk of fabrication was dedicated to custom pieces that not only look trick, but are functional as well. The low-slung custom rocker panels wrap into a one-off front splitter. A large center opening feeds air to the radiator, while smaller side vents route air to the brakes. The bumpers were also narrowed and fit closer to the body, a touch that seems so ordinary in comparison. There’s a double-layered bumper in the back to match the front, but it isn’t merely an exercise in aesthetics. Attached to it is a center diffuser tray that smooths out airflow beneath the car, and a pair of vents behind each wheel. “The goal here was to tie all the elements in the rear of the car together,” Phil says. “We first tried attaching flat pieces to the bottom of the car, but it looked too smooth so we decided to integrate a speared center diffuser and stepped side vents into the pan assembly. Much of the shape of the pan was determined by the lower valence and rear bumper. The pan also conceals the fuel pump and filters as well as the rearend vent, without restricting airflow to those components.”
Under the hood, the engine...
Under the hood, the engine shroud, radiator core support, and inner fenders are all custom-fabricated pieces. In order to feed cool air to the motor without resorting to a cowl-induction hood, custom vents were built where the stock hood hinges would normally attach. Twin snorkels route air from the vents up along the inner fender, behind the radiator, and into the throttle body.
Almost lost in the melee of custom metalwork are engine, driveline, and chassis hardware that are just as impressive as the rest of the overall vehicle package. Serving as a solid foundation is a custom Roadster Shop full-frame chassis. While the company does offer a production Chevy II chassis, this one has been tweaked specifically for the Innovator Nova. In order to stuff massive 10-inch-wide wheels up front and 12 inchers in the back, the framerails have been moved several inches inward. Likewise, the rails have also been kicked upward so that the side-outlet exhaust, which runs inside passages in the frame, doesn’t hang too low. Up front, the frame supports Roadster Shop twin A-arms, C6 Corvette aluminum spindles, Afco coilovers, and a splined Speedway sway bar. In the rear is a three-link suspension arranged much like that of a late-model Mustang, in addition to two extra transverse-mounted links attached to the rearend pumpkin in a Watt’s layout. This allows for nearly infinite adjustment of the instant center and roll center. The custom seven-spoke wheels—measuring 18x10 and 20x12 in the front and rear, respectively—are Roadster Shop one-offs, and they’re covered in Michelin Pilot Sport rubber. Baer 14-inch rotors and six-piston calipers at each corner provide the negative g’s.
Under the hood, the engine...
Under the hood, the engine shroud, radiator core support, and inner fenders are all custom-fabricated pieces. In order to feed cool air to the motor without resorting to a cowl-induction hood, custom vents were built where the stock hood hinges would normally attach. Twin snorkels route air from the vents up along the inner fender, behind the radiator, and into the throttle body.
Scooting the Nova down the road with a big wallop is a 454ci Mast Motorsports LS-series small-block. Based on a GM Performance Parts LSX block, it boasts a forged Callies rotating assembly, Mast LS7 cylinder heads, and a custom hydraulic roller cam. The behemoth small-block is good for 700 hp and 611 lb-ft of torque. Backing it up are a Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission and a custom Roadster Shop 9-inch rearend. Exhaust exits through custom 1.875-inch long-tube headers, Borla mufflers, and dual 3-inch side pipes that dump right in front of the rear tires.
When the dust settled at the 2011 Goodguys Nationals in Columbus this July, Innovator was crowned Street Machine of the Year. As truly astonishing as the Nova’s custom sheetmetal may be, what’s even more shocking is watching the Roadster Shop crew beat on it through the autocross. Its lap time of 35.30 seconds was fastest out of all the SMOY finalists, and was even good enough for a 17th Place overall finish out of a field of 63 cars. That’s not too shabby at all for a car that had yet to see the cones before the Goodguys event.