All the Drag Radial Nova Updates we’ve made over the years…
During 2007 the Nova pretty much sat on the jackstands. After last years big wheelie that killed the oil pan, and in turn ate a rod bearing in the ol' 505 it was time to step up to a new engine. Out came the 505 and I started the build on a bigger, badder bullet.
The foundation of the new engine is the new Dart Race Series block which was custom ordered in 10.2 deck height, 4.600 bore. The block was ordered in November 2006 but Dart botched the order and sent a block with the wrong bore size. It took 3 months to get that straightened out and the correct block to the machine shop. In a nutshell, that delay componded problems getting the heads, pistons, etc. in delaying the engine build and I didn't finish it until October 2007.
While I was working on the engine, I also worked at getting some more weight out of the car. The Centerline convo-pros were sold and I got a set of Bogart Bolted R/T's which added a bit more bling to ol' Blue.
You know how you change one thing, and a dozen more problems crop up? I found out when we finally got the car out to go test in late October that the new 15x12 rims caused the tire to rub enough that it was upsetting the car. It did run a 9.44 on the motor loading and unloading due to the tire problem, but when we tried to spray it I smoked the 2nd gear clutches in the TH400 again. Soooo back to the drawing board...
The 400 came out and was replaced with a Neal Racing Transmissions Pro Glide which helped get a bunch of weight out of the car. The shifter was modified with new gates for the 2 speed, and the rear end came out to be narrowed again. Since I had ran out of room to clear the 28x10.5W tires on a 12" rim, I deceided it was time to both narrow the rear end and redo the mini tubs. So to conclude 2007, the Nova was up on the jack stands once again...