Nearly two decades ago Tracy Teipen cruised the local strip with his buddies every Friday and Saturday night. For Tracy, those days are gone, but the memories of eight cylinders powering highly polished street machines are still very much alive. Over the years this Chevy true believer has restored several first generation Camaros and a couple Chevy IIs.
Tracy’s latest creation started out as a project that he gave to a friend. When the Nova’s new owner took the car home, his wife refused to allow the hulk to sit in the yard so Tracy ended up with the car back in his possession. Tracy is an automotive detailer by trade so the little things count when he builds a car. His perfectionism required the car to be completely disassembled and redone using only top-quality restoration pieces. The first priority on the project list demanded the entire undercarriage be stripped and painted. In Tracy’s opinion, a car should look as good on the inside as it does on the outside, so after rebuilding the suspension, the entire interior received a new stock appearance.
Once he finished the exterior, the time came to make some driveline decisions. As a cruiser, the Chevy II didn’t need gobs of horsepower and torque so Tracy gave the 283 a mild performance buildup. The stock block was machined and fitted with 10:1 compression Keith Black hypereutectic pistons, a machined stock steel crankshaft, a mild Comp Cam grind, and reworked 1.94/ 1.72-inch stainless steel valves in the stock cylinder heads. Up top sets a Performer RPM intake manifold fed by a 650-cfm Speed Demon carburetor. Next, the Powerglide transmission received a rebuild and a new 3,500-stall converter. To keep the engine at low cruising speeds, Tracy reused the stock 3.08 geared 10-bolt. Finishing the project off is a set of 17-inch American Torq Thrust II wheels covered in BFG rubber.
Most all of the work, including painting and bodywork, is a product of Tracy’s labor performed in his own garage. But even after spending countless hours of labor to achieve the perfect look, Tracy isn’t afraid to drive his ride down the boulevard on a Saturday night. It’s all part of owning a SuperNova.