Rock On: Chevy Nova Sleeper Is Deceptively Fast

We, like so many others, love a good sleeper car and this Chevy Nova definitely qualifies. After all, not only does it have the worn patina and the rear SS badge is falling off, the vanity plate reads “ITSSLOW.” They might as well slap a “student driver” sticker on the bumper.

Watch a sleeper Ford F-150 get blown in a not good way.

Just like judging a book by its cover, thinking this Nova is in fact slow just because it looks like a crappy rust bucket will mean you’ll lose your pink slip if you try racing it. Rocking out under the hood is a supercharged LSA, you know the same mill used in the Camaro ZL1 and Cadillac CTS-V.

The owner originally wanted to buy the unrestored, numbers-matching Nova because of its unblemished original state. But he said another buyer beat him to it. That person got into the middle of a messy restoration and abandoned the project, selling off just the body without the subframe, powertrain, and a lot of other vital pieces.

Instead of crying about it, this guy decided to use the Nova and build a restomod sleeper. Just cruising around town, the weathered and battered body isn’t going to attract all that much attention, but he gets to enjoy some serious performance.

Bolted up to the LSA is a T56 Magnum transmission feeding a Ford 9-inch rear. The subframe was donated by a ’69 Camaro. As for the suspension, it’s completely RideTech with a four-link rear, plus Wilwood brakes with 6-pistons in front and 4 in the rear.

What’s cool is this guy didn’t drop some insane amount building this Nova. He said he set a cap for himself of $50,000 and that was it. To a lot of people that sounds expensive, but many of these builds we profile cost well into the six digits, some beyond.  

This is a simple car built to go fast without looking like it can. Check out the video, it’s a lot of fun.

Images via Autotopia LA/YouTube