I know Russell Kelly. I rode in his stealth Nova one afternoon. Scared the livin' crap out of me. Like a thunderclap on a cloudless day, cuz. Russell Kelly laughed.
I was doing a story on his friend Mike Landi's 1,200hp blown Rat '55 right there in Burbank, Russell's neighborhood. Landi knew I was interested in turning up some subtle, bloody fast street cars. He mentioned this to Russell and that maybe he should drop by with his '64. When I suggested this car during a monthly planning session, the idea was harpooned with "Kelly's car was in Car Craft already." End of subject. Four years later, the car's still here, but it's not the same car as the one I was in. It's all cherry now: new paint, presentable, a bright and innocent werewolf bitch of a car.
The impression that this box made on me is in my bones to this day. Russell showed me that it would do a low 9, right there on Victory Boulevard. "It might get a little weird," he said. "The way it's weighted doesn't account for you being in the passenger seat. Going into High gear, it's gonna start crabbin' left. I'll counter it, though. Just hang on." Yeah, it crabbed like somebody bet a bundle. Russell sawed the wheel a little and straightened us out as we flashed by one of Burbank's finest traveling just a little bit slower in the opposite direction. Russell didn't lift. I ducked my head.
Russell has a yen for early Novas. Had three of 'em before this one. But he didn't have a partner. "I purchased this car 10 years ago. It was pristine. It hurt to do what little I did to it. I wanted a not-in-your-face street driver, so I kept rim offset to a minimum. A 10-inch tire is a must, but I couldn't get a 30-inch-tall one in there with just a mini-tub job, so I made new tubs as small as possible for clearance and notched the rear section of the frame as well. "These unibody cars are inherently weak and need frame connectors and a properly installed 'cage to keep the body panels from buckling. Those many hours spent with my then-6-year-old son paid off. We ran the car for many years. Then we decided to make it presentable." The other half of "we" is the now-16-year-old Ryan, the Nova's new shoe. "Engine building is something I do as a hobby only," says Russell. "It works out great now with my son doing the driving. As far as the car is concerned, we both have our own jobs and responsibilities. He's managed a 9.45 at 140 using the foot brake and only High gear, and he can't get enough of it!"
Russell hangs with the Road Peasants, mostly for the "nonclub" atmosphere but often for the help and chiding of others. One of the Road Peasants even put that slick paint job on his car.
As remarkable as the exterior might be, we know the real reason this car shines isn't because of the paint. It's because it weighs like a peanut and because Russell's put together a very strong engine here. It's big. It might be considered radical. The 440-inch tall-deck small-block works a monster camshaft, a slam-bam compression ratio, and big-valve heads to make it honk.
I remember a gold-colored so-so-looking Nova. I got interested when Russell told me the engine in it was a 417 (when it only ran low 9s). Something like that. Next thing I knew, I was trying to act nonchalant as hell. But it wasn't working. Russell was trying to scalp me. The closest thing I can compare it with is a motorcycle and the way the wind pulls at your face. Only it isn't your face, it's your consciousness.