'67 Nova
Home Build
This is not the only love in Britt Smart's life, but one of the newest. Britt and his wife, Kathy, were both products of the baby boom, landing them in a generation of really cool cars. Britt has been tinkering ever since he could remember, and has built a number of cars including a '73 Camaro that was featured in our third annual photo contest issue. They are both drawn to GMs-Chevys in particular. Britt says: "I build my cars the way I envision them, and do as much of the work as possible myself. It seems like every time I have someone else do the work, I'm not pleased with it. I can't write the fat checks to have a pro shop build something for me." Instead of sending unfamiliar tasks out, he is willing to try anything once. The way he sees it, the worst that can happen is he's back to where he started with some time lost.
Britt would check out the local car shows to get ideas for his next project. A trip out to Reno's Hot August Nights inspired Britt and Kathy to see what was listed on Craigslist the morning they returned. Kathy is just as enthusiastic about building cars as Britt, so she gave him the go-ahead to buy the '67 Nova they both liked.
The previous owner told them a sob story about how his son was restoring it but has to sell it before he moves away to college and that it was the car of his dreams. Turned out this guy was a known Nova flipper and threw new carpet over rusted floors, glued in a trunk pan, and tried to mask the badly worked body with Bondo.
Once the problems were fixed, Britt could see his street/strip car, with the emphasis on the strip part. He wants something timeless, not a part of the current trend. He wants something he would have checked out at a local drive-in back in the day.
By The Numbers
1967 Nova
Britt and Kathy Smart • Puyallup, WA
| ENGINE |
| Type: |
355-inch small-block Chevy |
| Block: |
four-bolt main |
| Oiling: |
Melling high-volume pump |
| Rotating assembly: |
forged crank, |
|
10.5:1 pistons, factory rods |
| Cylinder heads: |
Chevrolet 461 heads |
|
with 2.02 and 1.60 valves |
| Camshaft: |
Clay Smith solid |
| Valvetrain: |
Manley valves, COMP springs, |
|
Crane roller rockers |
| Induction: |
Weiand dual-quad tunnel-ram |
|
with two 600-cfm Holley carbs |
| Ignition: |
MSD 6AL |
| Cooling: |
Be Cool radiator |
| Fuel system: |
Holley high-volume |
|
mechanical fuel pump |
| Exhaust: |
Hooker Super Competition headers |
|
with 2.5-inch exhaust |
| and Flowmaster mufflers |
| Fasteners: |
ARP |
| DRIVETRAIN |
| Transmission/shifter: |
TH350 with |
|
Hughes shift kit and |
| Hurst V-Matic shifter |
| Driveshaft: |
factory |
| Rear axle: |
Ford 8.8-inch |
|
with posi and 3.73 gears |
| CHASSIS |
| Front suspension: |
factory |
| Rear suspension: |
Competition Engineering |
|
subframe connectors and rear framerails, |
| and CalTrac traction bars |
| Brakes: |
factory GM disc front, Ford disc rear |
| BODY/PAINT |
| Body: |
all original |
| Paint: |
TBD |
| WHEELS/TIRES |
| Wheels: |
15x4 Cragar SS front, |
|
15x8.5 Centerline Auto Drag rear |
| Tires: |
TBD |