Kids today tend to cycle through their first car with reckless abandon, but Jeff Knox of Chapel Hill, tennessee, was the polar opposite. He's owned his pride and joy since he was 15, when he acquired it for a paltry $1,000. What we didn't know was that Jeff originally used to roam the streets of Southern California. And as all young drivers eventually learn at some point, Jeff willingly acknowledges the first time he discovered the art of smoky burnouts. "Burnouts are cool as hell at 16," says Jeff. "i'll never forget when my dad bought my first set of tires. Let's just say my friends and I burned through them in less than three months and he wasn't very happy about it."
Over the years, Jeff's nova has seen myriad combinations, including junkyard engines, transmissions, rollcages-you name it and this car's seen it. "i've traded, bought swap-meet parts, and rigged 'til I could rig no more. Every time I put it together, I would end up taking it apart again; I was never satisfied, knowing The car could always be better."
Fast-forward 18 years and some things have changed. These days, all burnouts are left for the track, and the nova is significantly faster. He even holds an nhra license to jockey his latest 598ci big-block rendition down the tarmac. Of course, we still had to ask what his latest iteration had led to, and Jeff says he considered going for a Pro touring type of build, but in the end, "I decided to run in the national muscle Car associations true Street class, which requires all cars to be street legal and insured, and they have to make three back-to-back passes after a police-escorted cruise. Not only that, but I wanted to build the baddest all-steel (minus the hood), Dot-tire'd, nitrous big-block nova on the planet, and I still wanted to pick up my boys from school or take my buddies on a really quick beer run."
Speaking of Jeff's buddies, he wants everyone to know the car would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of his friends, who helped out with everything from the paint and body to the wiring. Jeff's still looking for that elusive 7-second run, but until then, the 30-mile nmca true Street cruise he participated in has already certified him as a true 8-second street contender with back-to-back passes at Memphis motorsports Park. And true to his word, when we called Jeff for a follow-up, we could hear the big-block rumbling on his way to pick up his sons from school.
Powertrain
The 598ci big-block lurking under the hood, built by tyree Smith of ty-tech Performance, would look at home in a Pro Stock car, and while it hasn't been on the dyno, Jeff estimates nearly 1,000 hp on nuts alone.
Within the confines of the merlin block is a diesellike 15.7:1 compression locked In place with a motor- and mid-plate. The Brodix BB-2 xtra cnc m2 aluminum heads house 2.30/1.88-inch intake/ exhaust valves.
And with nearly 10 liters under the hood, any power adder would seem like throwing gasoline on a fire. A nitrous Pro-flow fogger is good for a 550hp shot and works in conjunction with a nitrous Pro-flow plate sandwiched under a 1,050-cfm Stage 3 Dominator from the Carb Shop for an added 250hp hit. The nitrous is judiciously applied by a two-stage controller discreetlywired into the glovebox.
Transferring the power is an andy mayes (of mayes Performance, eagleville, tennessee) 'glide with a Denbear Superglide case along with a transbrake and a 1.76 Low gear.