Tech Notes
What: '67 Chevy II Nova wagon
Owners: Erich and Mary Rose Monteith
Hometown: Newbury Park, California, about 55 miles north of Los Angeles and a quick drive to the beach.
Engine: The Chevrolet ZZ4 350 crate engine was in the Nova when Erich and Mary Rose bought the car. The GM Performance Parts version has a 10:1 compression ratio in a cast-iron four-bolt-main block that mounts aluminum 58cc heads and runs a forged-steel crank. The valves are 1.94 inches on the intake and 1.5 inches on the exhaust, and the cam is a hydraulic roller with 0.475-inch lift on the intake and 0.510-inch on the exhaust. Erich added a Performance Products Air Gap intake manifold and a Demon 650-cfm carburetor that was bench-flowed at C&J Engineering in Whittier, California. The carb is fed by a Holley fuel pump, and the fire comes from a Davis Unified Ignition distributor and module. The exhaust is vented through custom headers to 2.5-inch tubing and Allied Mean Streak mufflers. Cooling comes from a Be Cool radiator fed by a Perma-Cool fan, and the battery is housed in a CCP battery box fixed to the undercarriage ahead of the reconditioned fuel tank.
Drivetrain: The small-block is mated to a Buick Grand National TH200-4R automatic transmission that Erich scored from a friend. The stout overdrive tranny turns the stock driveshaft and a 3.73 Eaton limited-slip rearend.
Chassis: Erich got the front Mustang II setup from Total Cost Involved Engineering in Ontario, California. He installed the IFS himself, including the 2-inch-drop spindles with coil springs, KYB shocks, and rack-and-pinion steering. The rear de-arched leaf springs work in concert with Edelbrock shocks, a Hellwig antisway bar, and subframe connectors. Continental Negotiator tires are fitted to American Racing 17x7 Torq-Thrust II wheels at all four corners. A set of 10.75-inch discs came with the TCI frontend, and Erich installed an 11-inch drum setup from Master Power Brake that he calls the poor man's disc brakes.
Body/Paint: The wagon's paint is a '92 Jaguar color called Alpine Metallic Green, but it looks particularly good parked near the beach, where the sea complements the sheetmetal. When Erich bought the car, the body had already been stripped and filled, leaving only a couple of emblems from the original trim.
Interior: As with most vintage Novas we've seen, the interior in the Monteith wagon is a nice blend of stock and tasteful aftermarket parts. The carpet is from Mercedes Benz, and the headliner is tan felt, but the door panels and seats have been redone in stock-appearing materials. A Flaming River tilt column carries a Grant wheel, and an underdash panel beneath the stereo is fitted with Auto Meter oil, water, and volt gauges. A second panel under the left side of the dash houses a transmission temperature gauge. The 380-watt sound system consists of a Kenwood head unit and a JL Audio amplifier that drives Focal front and Eclipse rear speakers along with a JL Audio 10-inch subwoofer in a custom enclosure.
Performance: The car has never been on the dragstrip, but Erich had it dyno'd at The Dyno Store in Chatsworth, California, where it recorded honest rear-wheel numbers of 300 hp and 380 lb-ft.