No-Frills 1966 Chevy Nova Hauls on the Street and Strip
A guy named Cherniak goes hard-core on a budgetIn a nutshell, this is what happened with Todd Cherniak’s Nova. “My neighbor Glen Dixon put a one-piece floorpan in it. My wife, Stephanie, helped me put the motor and the rearend in. Car runs on pump gas. I drive it to work a lot. We love to take the kids cruising in it.” More on the cruising part later.
Todd’s a working man, someone who knew he’d have to go it mainly on his own but also knowing he’d have the support of those close beside him, as well as his accumulated expertise. He began his trip into history when he was 16 and hungry, put a toe in the doorway and flexed the ropes by working at automotive shops where he experienced every dirty facet of the automobile.
As for the Nova: “I’ve wanted one since high school. I knew the guy who owned it previously. We’d gone to car shows together. Then he passed. When I was at the funeral, I was talking with his brother who said that he knew how much I liked the car and asked if I wanted to buy it. I did and I sold my motorcycle to get it.”
By Todd’s estimation, the Nova was only in fair shape but still it was a driver. So in the beginning that’s what he did. He put up with the ossification and with the slow death evident in the sketchy floorpan and a few other places. But the body was in remarkably good condition and had been painted Marina Blue by some unknown spray wizard. With the threat of paint jail and all the other things associated with it eliminated, Todd channeled all his funds and energy into the mechanical stuff.
He knew that most aspects of the build would require a budget. There would be no chassis swap, high-dollar suspension system, giant brakes, or monster wheels because this wasn’t to be a Pro Touring suggestion or anything like it. He wanted to accelerate in a straight line so his money was marked for a drivetrain enhancement.
He sent the 400 small-block to Coil Racing where a clean-up poke with the boring bar increased displacement by 9 cubic inches. Then came the 11.0:1 pistons and forged rods fitted to the original cast-iron crankshaft. The engine would be naturally aspirated and without a nitrous oxide power-adder in between. Profiler 23-degree cylinder heads, FiTech electronic fuel injection on an Edelbrock plate, Erson solid roller camshaft, and a free-flowing exhaust system blowing through Flowmaster 40s comprise the pie … and Todd made sure to lend a hand in the assembly process.
