It's difficult to fathom these days, but there was a time when car guys did indeed call the shots in Detroit. For irrefutable evidence, look no further than the '68-72 Nova. A quintessential sleeper, the Nova was basically Chevy's compact ho-hum granny mobile stuffed with one of the baddest motors GM had to offer that year, the 396 big-block. Think Chevy Cobalt LS with a factory LS3 option, converted to rear-wheel drive, and you get the idea. As dementedly functional and entertaining as the car's unassuming styling was during sordid stoplight engagements, the Nova looked so understated that it still appealed to the dentures-and-oxygen-tank crowd. While it was certainly a fine-looking automobile, a '69 RS/SS Camaro or '67 Corvette coupe it wasn't. To make matters worse, street racers quickly pulled a Scooter Libby on the Nova's true identity. The end result was a car that still looked like a sleeper, but no longer enjoyed the benefits of a sleeper.
Well aware that the car's cover was blown long ago, Air Ride saw no need to prolong the sleeper motif when designing its '70 Nova, which will be given away at next year's Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus. To amp up its aesthetics, Air Ride infused the Nova with a vibe that's part vintage Trans Am racer, and part Pro Touring. One of the most prominent and unique visual elements are the heat extractors grafted into the fenders. "The Nova originally had a cosmetic vent installed in the fender from the factory, and we were just trying to modernize it," explains Bret Voelkel of Air Ride. "Real road race cars use vents like this for engine bay exhaust and brake ducting. Many of the newer European cars have some type of fender vent as well."
The position of the factory vent in relation to the fender and wheelwell means that Air Ride's modernized unit is strictly a cosmetic piece. However, when something looks this good and is so tastefully executed, it's hard to care. Nonetheless, depending on the vehicle, Air Ride's design can easily be adapted to functionally move air through the engine bay or wheelwell and simultaneously win a bunch of style points. If you're game or know a fabricator who is, here's a step-by-step outline of how they went together.
While the vent on Supernova...
While the vent on Supernova is simply an aesthetic embellishment, it can easily be adapted into a functional heat extractor on cars that have more sheetmetal between the back of the wheelwell and the firewall. Anyone have a road race Chevelle?
Before any work began on Supernova,...
Before any work began on Supernova, Scott Payton of Air Ride whipped up a rendering that was part Pro Touring and part vintage Trans Am racer. A key element in executing the road race vibe is a slick set of fender vents, and Kurt Blackgrove of Precision Coachworks was commissioned to turn them from ink into steel.
Compared to more flamboyant...
Compared to more flamboyant muscle cars of the day, part of the '68-72 Nova's appeal was its understated looks. An original 307-powered granny sled, the factory vents on Air Ride's '70 Nova are so inconspicuous that they're hardly even noticeable. The first step in prepping the fender for metalwork was removing the chrome strip of trim.
The factory vent was attached...
The factory vent was attached to the fender with five bolts. After unbolting the fender and resting it on the stand, the nuts on the back side of the fender were removed. A plug was then welded into each bolt hole and ground flat with an air grinder. Next, Kurt finalized the exact location of the vent by mocking up its outline with masking tape.
Despite their impressive finished...
Despite their impressive finished appearance, the vent frames started life as two pieces of 16-gauge aluminum. Kurt drew and cut the original design out of poster board, then traced it onto aluminum flatstock. To achieve a three-dimensional look, the vent incorporates both an outer bezel, which measures roughly a half inch wide, and a tapered inner ring.
Getting the contours of the...
Getting the contours of the inner ring to line up with the outer bezel took several hours of bending the ring around a pipe. With the tweaking and shaping complete, the two pieces were TIG welded together along with four mounting tabs that attach the entire assembly to the fender itself. Although this step requires as much patience as it does time, it can all be accomplished with simple hand tools such as shears, drills, files, and sandpaper. The only specialty items required are a TIG welder and a talented craftsman.
In order to cleanly recess...
In order to cleanly recess the vents into the fenders, Kurt cut out a hole in the fenders using a cutoff wheel after first sanding off the paint. Excess material intentionally retained on each side of the hole was then bent back 90 degrees using a set of pliers. The resulting lips and mounting tabs provide firm support for the vents. When working with original 73,000-mile sheetmetal, precise measurements and cuts are of the utmost importance.
Before moving on to fabricating...
Before moving on to fabricating the vent screen, the bezel was mocked in position one last time to ensure that it followed the contours of the fender perfectly. By now, the bezel appears as if it was CNC-milled from a single ingot of aluminum. To achieve this look, Kurt prefers using a file to smooth down the welds instead of a grinder, as it removes material more quickly and is easier to handle in tight spaces.
After a slight tweak to the...
After a slight tweak to the fender opening, the mounting tabs on the vent bezel and fender are mocked up one final time, and will be riveted together from the backside once the vent screen is attached. Due to the angle at which the tabs are positioned, they are not visible from the other side of the fender.
Accounting for much of the...
Accounting for much of the vent's racy vibe is a custom 18-gauge mesh screen. The "porosity" is measured by the number of openings per square inch a certain style mesh has, which in this case is 12. Kurt traced the outline of the bezel, then slowly whittled away at the perimeter with shears until reaching the perfect size. Next, the screen was bent into shape with pliers.
The mesh was glued to the...
The mesh was glued to the vent bezel with a 3M metal bonding agent that works much like epoxy. To achieve such a smooth finish on the bezel, Kurt sanded the aluminum down starting with 80-grit paper, eventually working down to 320-grit. The final touch was polishing up the metal surface with a Scotchbrite pad.
Since the vent fits flush...
Since the vent fits flush with the fender, the area of the cowl directly behind it must be recessed by one inch for proper clearance. The fender was first mocked into place. Then Kurt marked the hole and cut the cowl using a small air saw and a die grinder. After cutting a piece of steel the same size as the hole in the cowl, it was MIG welded to a one-inch lip to complete the recess.
Clearly, the vent is more...
Clearly, the vent is more aesthetic than functional. Kurt says that this area of the cowl is a high-pressure area, and opening it up would result in a constant and unwelcome breeze into the footwells of the air-conditioned Supernova.
At the risk of sounding clich,...
At the risk of sounding clich, the final product of nearly 20 hours of labor is a work of art. And that's just for one vent. Even though it doesn't vent any important mechanical bits of the car, when it looks this good, who cares?