Big-Block–Powered 1972 Nova Dragstrip Street Machine
Phil Stoll’s case for street and strip
Phil Stoll told us a story we’ve listened to many times. About where he came from. “I guess this stuff’s in my blood. As a teen, my father worked for a high-performance shop and had a 1966 Nova race car. There were lots of cars? Yeah, he had more than 250 of them over the years. When I was one, my parents took me to the track … and the track seems to have stayed with me.
“I love cars, but I’m actually a motorcycle drag racer at heart. I started racing cars at 16 and a couple of years later went up on two wheels. I’m a world champion, too, in 1998. With all that said, cars are what I love most and enjoy and the people that are involved are my family.” There’s a YouTube video demonstration of him on the bike from a few years back; he runs a straight and true 7.05 at 205, the upshifts are quick, solid, and thump like a Lenco.
Phil stalked this car for a long while. “I always loved the Nova because that’s what my dad had.” It was about 80 percent done, and luckily to his taste. His vision was fairly simple: keeping it as stock looking as possible … with a little bit of muscle underneath. Phil and buddy Chris Walters began the work in 2004.
Though you could have fooled us, the Nova isn’t a hard-core racer. It doesn’t mind being on the street, either. He got aligned with Rick’s Race Craft for the chassiswork and problems so related. To foster public relations, he sat down to lunch a few times with Fast Times street car legend Chuck Samuel and the guys at AES Racing. Meanwhile, he would be trying to keep the budget in place, deciding against more than he really needed. He didn’t have an ego thing about how cool the equipment was or wasn’t; he made the basics work.
The chassis was one of those places. There’s really nothing to it at all. Rick’s notched the frame for tire clearance and while they were back there put up the mini-tubs. Phil decided to work the original leaf spring suspension with golden oldie Lakewood-like slapper bars, Koni 90/10 shock absorbers, and that’s it. To promote weight transfer to the slick rear tires, he put up another pair of 90/10s and Race Craft suspension limiters complete. Spindles are original. He upgraded to brakes that would fit beneath a 15-inch rim. In front, Wilwood 11-inch discs managed by two-piston calipers; Phil repeated the drill at the back end. Brake booster, steering column, and steering box are original.
When civilians hear tires squealing or, heaven forbid, see smoke churning, they tend to tighten up and get the willies, but they usually hang around to watch what happens because it’s not natural. That’s why Phil’s got those 10-wides and makes smoke pour off them like it was natural.
