Second Annual Chevy High Performance Street Machine Challenge - Top Tier!

Nick Licata

Kyle Tucker’s ’63 Nova doesn’t have the amount of real estate within the fenders to accommodate the same amount of rubber as their ’69 Camaro, but as is the case with all their cars, this too has endured extensive track time during it’s short life as a test vehicle for their Nova parts. The LS7’s tremendous amount of horsepower was especially noticeable in such a light car, so with the limited tire size in both front and rear, per Tucker’s suggestion, I launched the car in Second gear and kept it there throughout the course. With the car being a bit “more free” in the rear, I was able to just “touch” the throttle and square up the car once it gave off an inkling it wanted to push while coming out of a tight corner. Due to the smaller-width tires and insane amount of torque, this car demands respect upon acceleration and takes a bit of skill to drive. After my second lap around the course, I became more confident and was able to modulate the car during both acceleration and braking. The car did a great job at giving driver feedback and let me know precisely where the edge was should I have gotten greedy coming out of a corner. It’s never a good idea to end up facing the wrong direction in any car, especially when it’s not yours. I can only imagine how fun this car would be to get out on a larger autocross, or even a road course.

Fast Facts

Horsepower: 450

Engine: small-block 383ci

Suspension: Fatman X-member chassis; front, Fatman Stage III; rear, Fatman four-bar and Z-link

Brakes: front/rear, Wilwood six-piston with 13-inch rotors

Tires: Nitto NT05; front, P235/40R17; rear, P275/40R17

From The Driver seat

I have to thank Fatman Fabrications for bringing down their incredible ’57 Chevy. Due to weather conditions, they weren’t able to complete our event last year and were looking forward to this year’s challenge. Unfortunately, we had a situation with the head gaskets, preventing them from continuing on throughout the weekend. Still, the couple passes I had were solid and I’m glad I had the opportunity to try out their new Gear Vendor’s setup—this unit is trick. Rather than shifting into Fourth, I was able to hit the button on the knob at the top of Third and split the Third to Fourth gear, allowing us to gain a little more momentum on the big end. You can read all about the install on page 42. We’re looking to divulge a detailed autocross outing with the new combination in the months to come.