Slowly but surely, our Nova is shedding its old skin and evolving into a true performer. It's taken some time-and lots of hard work-and without a doubt it's been a steep learning curve. We've gone through and replaced all the necessary items that were either beginning to show wear or wouldn't be able to handle the extreme situations we had planned: all the basics, such as shocks, coil springs, leaf springs, bushings, and ball joints. At the very least we can get the car through an event safely.
With the majority of the front line covered, we set out for our first competition on a set of 15-inch Vintage Wheels Works and a mostly stock suspension, aside from a pair of drop spindles. How well did the Nova do? Let's just say we weren't setting any records. Rather, we found ourselves hanging on for dear life at every turn. The first driving session was exhilarating, but we learned pretty quickly that the Nova needed more than just a nice set of wheels. In the turns the Nova pushed badly, we turned the wheel but the chassis didn't respond; it kept going straight. Another issue we found was that the factory steering box was extremely sloppy and downright unresponsive.
Our experiences with the car have left us excited for more, and we always look forward to jumping back in for more seat time. The good news is every component we've added since that first outing has improved the Nova, making it much more fun to drive. Of course we're always planning ahead to make sure each addition will complement the components previously installed. There's nothing worse than spending your hard-earned money only to find you've set yourself up for more work to get your chassis set up correctly.
We left nothing to chance and sourced our suspension exclusively through Classic Performance Products (CPP). Throughout our Nova's evolution, we knew CPP offered complete package deals, and it only made sense to showcase everything from the basic bolt-ons to where we are today. More importantly, this eliminated the possibility of mismatching the suspension components and ensured a perfect fit every time.
Now that you have a better idea of what we've been up to, it's time to showcase the modifications we felt were most beneficial during our introduction to autocrossing.
Quick Notes
What We Did
Added select components and transformed our Average Joe Nova into a competitive prizefighter
Bottom Line
Muscle cars can turn
First Drive
As drivers, we had minimal experience on an autocross course. Our initial runs were more or less to gain familiarity with the track. As the weekend progressed, we did manage to run a bit quicker. At the time, our drop spindles, CPP front/rear sway bars, KYB shocks, and the wheel and tire combo were keeping the Nova at bay through the turns. For tires, we ran a set of Goodyear P215/60/R15 fronts with P225/60/R15 rears. The wheels were V40 15x7/15x8 front/rear from Vintage Wheel Works. Carrying too much speed would cause the car to skip its nose and push the front, scrubbing speed. We also learned that the factory steering wheel and bench seat would have to be replaced, as well as the factory gas pedal, which broke. The skinny and narrow steering wheel made it hard to grasp during hard turns, and the bench seat would simply not support the driver.
Suspension
Revamping the entire suspension underneath any vehicle is a huge undertaking. Knowing this, we wanted something out of the box that would bolt right in with minimal hassle, which is why we decided to go with a complete Classic Performance Products suspension. Everything is readily available as off-the-shelf pieces specifically tailored to fit '68-74 Novas. We immediately swapped out the factory upper and lower arms, steering box, coil springs, and front/rear shocks.
| THE HIGHS |
Finally stretched the Nova's legs. |
| THE LOWS |
No suspension adjustability. Front end pushed hard. Borrowing a helmet is no fun. |
| THE VERDICT |
Nova is fun to drive but needs more adjustability, better seats, and a proper steering wheel. Helmets may or may not be required to race, depending on the venue. Read the requirements before entering any event. |