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Alan and Joyce purchased the Nova new in Oklahoma City, looking for some better gas mileage during the 1973 oil crises. Originally
the Nova had a 250 cubic inch 6 cylinder and a three speed manual transmission. Alan has kept the numbers matching original
engine. The Nova was retired when the engine developed a knock and the car sat for a number years in the garage.
Alan decided that the Nova would be his retirement project and that he would do most of the work himself.
After many years Alan overhauled the original 6 cylinder and put the Nova back into service. The performance of the 6 cylinder
was anemic at best even with an overhaul. So, Alan decided to replace the 6 cylinder with a Chevrolet small block 350 cubic
inch V8 engine. The engine was purchased out of 1974 Chevy to keep the car looking somewhat original.
The engine was bored .030 over and the crank went back with standard bearings. The cam was replaced with a Performance Comp
Cam and roller rockers. The original heads needed a lot of work, so AIan decided to replace them with a set of aluminum performance
heads. He also added an Edlebrock carburetor and aluminum intake. A set of ceramic coated headers with a performance Chevy
HEI distributor completed the engine.
The interior is almost completely original,
only the front seat has been redone due to normal wear and tear.
Alan decided to keep the original 3 speed transmission with the original floor shift and the original rear-end.
Alan replaced the original wheels with a set of American Racing Mags and Goodyear P205/65R15 tires. A set of power disc brakes
were added to replace the original front drum brakes.
You will notice the front and rear tags are unique. The front tag is the original tag and the rear tag has vanity plate "74
NOVA".
The Nova's body needed work, which Alan did all himself. The original blue color was brought back to better than new by Toby
Ramsey at Ramsey's Body Shop of Stillwater.
The exhaust exits through 2.5 pipes with Magna Flow mufflers which tells you it's not stock. The clutch and flywheel were
replaced with 11 inch heavy duty and a Hi-Torque Gear Reduction Starter to turn it over.
This little Chevrolet Nova will get anyone "In the Mood" to do a little cruising!
The Cimarron Starlite Cruisers sincerely thank Alan and Joyce Drew for sharing their eye catching 1974 Chevrolet Nova as our
Great Oklahoma Classic for November 2016!
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