photos: Dave Bonaskiewich
A ’72 Nova Finds a Long-Term Home with an Old Street Racer
Muscle cars have traditionally been destined for the quarter-mile; be it at the drag strip or the stop light drags. They looked great, sounded amazing and if you could get them to hook — would slingshot down a straightaway just about as quickly as you’d want them to go!
Although they retailed for roughly the same price during their heyday and shortly thereafter on the secondhand market, some of the more rare and desirable examples have exploded in value to the point that most of their original demographics can’t even afford them anymore.
However, there are a few examples out there that the “common man” can still climb behind the wheel of. If you need further proof, then look no further than the ’68-72 Nova. Typically categorized with the Chevelles, Camaros and other Chevy muscle cars of that era, they’ve still managed to be priced low enough to be within reach of the average enthusiast, or in this case, the reformed street racer.
Peter DePaiva is one such gear head who has owned this particular Nova for a number of years, who picked it up to fill a void that was left by a ’79 Z-28 that Peter had owned during his younger days, as well as one or two other previous steeds.
Under hood, isn’t the A-typcacl big-block or small-block you would normally find in a Nova of this vintage, but instead, it’s motivated by a 2002 LS-based 5.3L powerplant, albeit, with a .020 overbore for a full 328 cubic-inches of displacement. This increase in engine capacity is credited to a set of SRP overbore pistons and a stock crankshaft. The slugs and the crank are connected, courtesy of eight Eagle 6.125-inch long H-beam connecting rods.
With the bottom-end rock solid, the top-end compliments the rest of the engine build with a pair of un-ported 243 LS casting cylinder heads, assembled by the crew at National Cylinder Head Exchange and stuffed with stock 2-inch intake and 1.55-inch exhaust valves. Stock rocker arms also sit in their intended location with a pump gas compatible 10.5:1 compression ratio.
A boost-friendly Lil’ John’s Motorsports camshaft is positioned squarely in the center of the block, that works in-sync with the 16-psi. of boost that the Precision turbocharger provides — but more on that later! Sitting in between the aforementioned heads, is a stock LS2 intake manifold, paired with a F.A.S.T. 92mm throttle body and a K&N air filter help the engine to inhale oxygen much easier. A 3-bar MAF sensor helps monitor the air induction system as well.
For an usual engine swap, it’s pretty surprising that the the only real modifications to the lubricating system, is a Chevrolet Performance LS Swap Muscle Car oil pan. Electronically speaking, the 328 is pretty standard, with OEM 
coil packs and wires, with NGK BR7EF plugs being the only modification to spark control.
The boosted 5.3L drinks fuel through an Aeromotive fuel tank, which includes a built-in fuel Aeromotive Eliminator pump that sends the high-octane fuel to the Aeromotive regulator — that’s dialed-in at 53-psi. and 127-lb/hr injectors.
These fuel system upgrades are much needed; as the Nova not only includes the PTE snail that we’ve mentioned earlier, but a NOS nitrous wet system that Peter is currently installing as we type this. With the spray activated, we’d think Peter would greatly improve on his 603 hp/641-lb ft at the rear tires, per his latest dyno sheet.
But again, we’re getting ahead of ourselves, as the exhaust is just part of the recipe. Starting at the engine, a set of 5.3L LS4 Impala SS front-wheel drive exhaust manifolds are the first step in expelling the spent fumes, with one mounted “up and forward” and the other mounted “down and forward.”
Both manifolds meet underneath the car, and lead out through a 4-inch downpipes, minus mufflers. Given the fact that the turbo acts like a form of “muffler” in and of itself, we’d be willing to bet that the old Nova isn’t quite as loud as you’d think
Which is probably a good thing, because an overly-loud vehicle never did anyone any favors on the street; both in terms of attracting unwanted attention from Johnny Law, and in regards to earning challenges from Tom, Dick and Harry with any kind of car not worth mentioning… looking for a race from Peter when 9-times-out-of-10, it just isn’t worth his time.
Now, finally, that turbo. It’s a PTE 8847 with a T4 flange, a Precision 50mm blow-off valve and a 46mm wastegate. Oddly, it isn’t paired with any kind intercooler to speak of, with 2-inch hot-side tubing, and 3-into-3.5-inch cold size tubing.
The boosted LS is backed by a tried-and-true TH400, housing a PTC 9.5-inch converter with a 3800-stall speed (perfect for getting the car into boost quicker!), infused with a Hipster transbrake valve body and deep-sump pan that’s shifted with a B&M Quick Silver shifter. The transmission sends power to the 12-bolt rearend (stuffed with a GM posi differential and 3.55 gears) through a 3.5-inch steel driveshaft that is housed by a Summit Racing loop. A set of Summit axles also live in the rearend, and a TA Performance rearend cover/girdle houses the internals.
Of course, what good is all of this mouth-wardering hardware if you can’t even plant the car to the pavement? Exactly. So Peter upgraded the underpinnings with Moroso drag springs matched with Lakewood 90/10 shocks in the front, and QA1 single-adjustable shocks live out back. Landrum multi-leaf springs help the QA1s keep the tires to the pavement.
Speaking of, Weld Racing Drag Stars sit at all four corners, wrapped in Mickey Thompson Sportsmans up front and Drag Radials out back provide a matching set of rollers, that not only look perfect on the Nova but provide all of the functionality that Peter needs from his classic GM X-body.
Functionality is the name of the game in the cockpit, too, with information being provided by AutoMeter water temp, tachometer and oil pressure gauges, as well as a TurboSmart boost controller and AEM wideband. Five-point harnesses and a 10-point roll cage keep Peter safe.
With the power to weight working in unison, as well as the traction aides, Peter has seen a best time of 9.97 at 134 mph in the quarter-mile. When that spray bottle goes on, we’re fairly confident that it’ll go quite a bit quicker than that. Only time will tell, but we think that this reformed street racer will live out its “retirement years” blasting down the drag strip for years to come.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of AutoCentric Media, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles; GM, Ford, Dodge, imports, trucks — you name it! When he isn’t clacking away on his keyboard, he’s building, tuning, driving or testing his current crop of personal projects!
