The Chevrolet Nova is in some ways, the best choice of a muscle car to build a track-tackling machine. In general, they are smaller and lighter than nearly any other muscle car of the era, and as an added bonus, they feature the sharp and refined style shared by the larger Chevrolet classics like the Camaro and Chevelle. With their great looks and relative low weight, they make the perfect candidate for a race car.

Tim Boggs recognized this when he built his 1967 Nova street-machine. He races this beautiful car down the track and achieves some impressive times for a simply built car with a full interior. The car is able to easily run the upper 11-second range, and although it has gone through some significant changes since he bought it, it hasn’t been overdone.

Just a little bit different from today, this is what the car looked like when Tim bought it.

Tim chased this car for three years before he was finally able to buy it. “It took a while until and I finally got the opportunity to purchase it when we came together on a price on it,” he explained. “It had a V8 in it, but it had the wrong oil pan so we had to change that.” It was back in June of 1999, when he bought it, and he’s been driving it and working on it ever since.

When he acquired the Nova, it was stock inside and out, but since his purchase in 1999, he has added the cowl-induction hood and painted it a sleek, white hue. “It’s the first car I’ve ever painted myself…,” Tim explained. An impressive feat considering how nice it looks. “…and it’s the last car I’ll ever paint,” he continued. It’s and understandable statement, saying that he wouldn’t want to paint another one. It’s a lot of work to paint a car, and this one turned out so nice, sometimes you just want to quit when you’re ahead! “It’s been painted since 2005,” he said.

The drivetrain has been beefed up, but is not over the top. The Nova features a 388 cubic-inch small-block engine with what Tim calls “a small flat-tappet camshaft” and a set of World Products 200cc heads. The transmission is a Turbo 350 automatic, and the rearend is a 9-inch with 4.30 gearing. Helping the car hook are a pair of 255 /60-15 Mickey Thomson drag radials on the back.

The addition of the 9-inch rearend came after he kept blowing up the little 10 incher that it came with.

The interior on the car is still completely stock, and not only that, it’s all original except the reupholstered seats. The door panels, headliner, and even dash pad are factory installed from 1967. The biggest change that has been made to the interior is the addition of the roll cage for safety and compliance with track rules.

“It’s just a good driving, fun, old car,” Tim explained. Any Nova is a fun car, a Nova with a 388-cubic-incher under the hood has to be a little more than just fun. This awesome build is one of our favorite Nova builds for sure. It’s simple, looks nice, and is clearly an impressive performer.