The Next Project came along when Robinson found this '64 Nova. His intention was to build a bracket car for his wife so that she could race with him. Unfortunately, within weeks of the purchase, wife became ex-wife. "The car was going to be a surprise for her," Robinson recalls. "So I ended up with an extra car and different plans for it. I built it to be a street car that was able to run fast at the race track. I wanted something that didn't have a hood scoop, had a full interior, and could run on pump gas-at least on the street.
"Make it look like nothing," he intones. "But underneath, it's something." He even went so far as to switch to a smaller ATI supercharger unit when a bigger lung wouldn't fit under the stock hood. Even the smaller unit required hours of work on the supercharger brackets so it would clear. Extreme measures in the name of stealth, to be sure, but Robinson looked after the little things, too. "Most people put their tach on the dash," he observes. "I rearranged the bracket so it sits low and can't be seen from outside the car. I wanted to make it look mellow. That's the reason I don't have racing wheels on it; the Torq-Thrusts give it a nice street look."
Robinson's Nova SS is resplendent with personal touches and custom work. Bob Vrbancic welded up the firewall and radiator support holes, which, along with the chassis, was painted with Por-15 by Robinson. The rear subframe, complete with mini-tubs, was fabbed by the owner. The shifter is mounted on a 2 1/2-inch riser block that also sets the Hurst lever at a slight angle toward the driver, making for a more natural shifting motion. When Robinson wanted the center gauge panel to slant toward the driver, he found angled trim rings at a boat shop, then fabbed a panel for them to rest in. And even for someone with Robinson's experience, there were challenges that had to be overcome, such as pulling off the factory front subframe. It was also the first car he'd wired. "It took a while," Robinson told us.
Of course, all that stealth business is for naught if there's nothing cookin' under the hood. The Nova's mill started off as a 634hp, naturally aspirated motor pushing 14.7:1 compression. When the decision was made to add 20 pounds of boost, Robinson had JE forge new pistons to bring the compression down to 8.3:1. He also recalled trying five different intake manifolds before he made his choice. There can also be no doubt that the resources of The Carb Shop were invaluable for making this blow-through supercharger system function properly. Robinson has yet to hit the track, but he has an idea of what to expect. "If I do the math," he told us, "A thousand horsepower in a 3,000-pound car should run 8.90, but you do lose some in practice." It's definitely not mellow or boring-in theory or in practice-as we'll attest.
Although he has yet to run his So Cal street sleeper in anger, Robinson has already gotten his share of satisfaction out of it. "Ninety percent of the fun is getting ideas and building the car," he muses. "There's a sense of accomplishment, then 'What do I do now?' after all those late nights building and pounding and sanding. It is fun to drive, though, and experience the response it gets." Then again, Robinson's already got a new project going. When he asked his 15-year-old daughter Sydney what kind of car she wants, Dad was delighted to hear "'69 Camaro convertible" and not "Honda Civic." He's already found a basket case to start with. It'll be a Pro Touring-style car, and Robinson is wondering how he'll build an engine for it with "only" 300 hp. On the other hand, we're betting the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, and if the kid has her way, this one will be another ride that packs far more than it shows off.