Network
The classic American muscle car is a dying breed. Sure, there are people – including ourselves – that have taken on the project of restoring, maintaining and building classic muscle cars, but the growing number of cars found abandoned, sitting in junkyards, and rotting away past recognition are reaching levels we never imagined. That’s why stories of true muscle car survivors, like the Nova we caught word of from the Sturgis Journal, are so incredible.
Recently the Sturgis Journal ran a story about a 427 Dana ‘68 RS/SS Camaro owned by Gary Keye, a car with a 427ci. swap done by DANA Chevrolet in the late 60s. DANA Chevrolet was the first company to drop a 427cui engine into the newly released Camaro model in an attempt to make the car more powerful. The second performance company to modify Chevy Camaros with a 427 was Yenko Chevrolet.
In response to this article, the Sturgis Journal heard from Bill Bratko. As the owner of a modified ‘65 Nova, Bratko knows what it’s like to love a muscle car thoroughly.
The Nova has been in Bratko’s family since it was bought new 47 years ago. It was bought with a mild six-cylinder engine and an automatic transmission for his sister to take to school. After she got married, the car was passed down to Bratko and the modifications began.
The car is now equipped with a 355ci. featuring a 12.5:1 compression ratio and dual quad carburetors. Bratko also swapped out the automatic transmission in his Nova for a four-speed manual and equipped the rear end with potent 4.88 gears. Although its been modified, the car maintains its original blue paint color.
It is apparent that Bratko and his family have a passion for muscle cars to keep such a neat car in the family for almost 50 years. It is nice to see that muscle car enthusiasts still exist out there to the caliber of this family.
