1964 Chevy Nova SS - 1,000hp Street Beast Nova SS
03-04-2007, 01:19 AM
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1964 Chevy Nova SS - 1,000hp Street Beast Nova SS
"I wanted to make it look mellow," says Randy Robinson of his '64 Nova SS. Nice try, Randy. A casual observer might see a nice Nova, painted retina-busting yellow and rolling on old-school Torq-Thrusts, with little chrome, no hood scoop-not even an SS emblem in sight. Of course, that's all an old street racer like Robinson wants most people to see; not the fat Mickeys out back, not the rollcage, harnesses, or gauges, and certainly not the 1,000hp supercharged small-block residing underhood. And while the act might hold while this SS is at rest, all bets are off once it's fired up. This Nova's dead-serious intent is announced for blocks around in a cacophony of rumpity cam, bellowing exhaust note, and heart-quickening super-charger whine. Black streaks and broken pavement during "test" runs further attest that mellow is strictly for appearance's sake. Robinson got his hot-rodding start at an early age, growing up during the '70s in West Covina, California, where his neighbors were none other than Bob and George Vrbancic, now proprietors of The Carb Shop and Vrbancic Bros. Racing. Robinson developed "a big-brother type of thing" with them. The brothers were then campaigning a 10-second '62 Corvette bracket car, complete with Hillborn injection and a straight front axle. Seven-year-old Randy would ride his bike to where the brothers were working and help, handing them tools and cleaning up.
The brothers helped Robinson with his first race car when he was 16, a '70 Camaro. "It was a 10-second sort-of-a-street car," he recalls. "I drove it to school, but it had Bob and George's hand-me-down race parts, such as a 468ci big-block race motor and a Turbo 400 with a trans brake." Robinson raced the car at (now defunct) Orange County Raceway, but also at various So Cal street-racing venues, where he learned the gamesmanship that still influences his car-building philosophy.
Robinson then left for the University of Nevada, Reno, where he majored in business, and became a CPA. He landed a job with the now-defunct Super Shops, a gig he held for nearly 12 years. Although he was working for a speed shop and kept building cars, Robinson admits that he hated spending his time indoors wearing a suit and tie. Proving that you can go home again, he reunited with his childhood mentors, the Vrbancic Bros., and now spends his time building hi-po engines and carburetors. Summing up the career change he made a decade ago, Robinson says, "I'm getting paid to do my hobby." Building hot street cars that also take care of business at the track is Randy's forte. His creations include a parade of Camaros: a '71, a '72 454 SS, and '73 Z28; a '66 Chevelle also came into the mix at some point. Like they often do, projects came and projects went, but two themes remained constant: "If it didn't run 10 seconds or quicker, it was boring," Robinson affirmed. "But I've gotta be able to drive it," he continued. "Especially to the track." The pinnacle was his '70 RS Camaro, which tore the quarter in 10.60 at 128 mph.
The Next Project came along when Robinson found this '64 Nova. His intention was to build a bracket car for his wife so that she could race with him. Unfortunately, within weeks of the purchase, wife became ex-wife. "The car was going to be a surprise for her," Robinson recalls. "So I ended up with an extra car and different plans for it. I built it to be a street car that was able to run fast at the race track. I wanted something that didn't have a hood scoop, had a full interior, and could run on pump gas-at least on the street.
"Make it look like nothing," he intones. "But underneath, it's something." He even went so far as to switch to a smaller ATI supercharger unit when a bigger lung wouldn't fit under the stock hood. Even the smaller unit required hours of work on the supercharger brackets so it would clear. Extreme measures in the name of stealth, to be sure, but Robinson looked after the little things, too. "Most people put their tach on the dash," he observes. "I rearranged the bracket so it sits low and can't be seen from outside the car. I wanted to make it look mellow. That's the reason I don't have racing wheels on it; the Torq-Thrusts give it a nice street look."
Robinson's Nova SS is resplendent with personal touches and custom work. Bob Vrbancic welded up the firewall and radiator support holes, which, along with the chassis, was painted with Por-15 by Robinson. The rear subframe, complete with mini-tubs, was fabbed by the owner. The shifter is mounted on a 2 1/2-inch riser block that also sets the Hurst lever at a slight angle toward the driver, making for a more natural shifting motion. When Robinson wanted the center gauge panel to slant toward the driver, he found angled trim rings at a boat shop, then fabbed a panel for them to rest in. And even for someone with Robinson's experience, there were challenges that had to be overcome, such as pulling off the factory front subframe. It was also the first car he'd wired. "It took a while," Robinson told us.
Of course, all that stealth business is for naught if there's nothing cookin' under the hood. The Nova's mill started off as a 634hp, naturally aspirated motor pushing 14.7:1 compression. When the decision was made to add 20 pounds of boost, Robinson had JE forge new pistons to bring the compression down to 8.3:1. He also recalled trying five different intake manifolds before he made his choice. There can also be no doubt that the resources of The Carb Shop were invaluable for making this blow-through supercharger system function properly. Robinson has yet to hit the track, but he has an idea of what to expect. "If I do the math," he told us, "A thousand horsepower in a 3,000-pound car should run 8.90, but you do lose some in practice." It's definitely not mellow or boring-in theory or in practice-as we'll attest.
Although he has yet to run his So Cal street sleeper in anger, Robinson has already gotten his share of satisfaction out of it. "Ninety percent of the fun is getting ideas and building the car," he muses. "There's a sense of accomplishment, then 'What do I do now?' after all those late nights building and pounding and sanding. It is fun to drive, though, and experience the response it gets." Then again, Robinson's already got a new project going. When he asked his 15-year-old daughter Sydney what kind of car she wants, Dad was delighted to hear "'69 Camaro convertible" and not "Honda Civic." He's already found a basket case to start with. It'll be a Pro Touring-style car, and Robinson is wondering how he'll build an engine for it with "only" 300 hp. On the other hand, we're betting the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, and if the kid has her way, this one will be another ride that packs far more than it shows off.
The brothers helped Robinson with his first race car when he was 16, a '70 Camaro. "It was a 10-second sort-of-a-street car," he recalls. "I drove it to school, but it had Bob and George's hand-me-down race parts, such as a 468ci big-block race motor and a Turbo 400 with a trans brake." Robinson raced the car at (now defunct) Orange County Raceway, but also at various So Cal street-racing venues, where he learned the gamesmanship that still influences his car-building philosophy.
Robinson then left for the University of Nevada, Reno, where he majored in business, and became a CPA. He landed a job with the now-defunct Super Shops, a gig he held for nearly 12 years. Although he was working for a speed shop and kept building cars, Robinson admits that he hated spending his time indoors wearing a suit and tie. Proving that you can go home again, he reunited with his childhood mentors, the Vrbancic Bros., and now spends his time building hi-po engines and carburetors. Summing up the career change he made a decade ago, Robinson says, "I'm getting paid to do my hobby." Building hot street cars that also take care of business at the track is Randy's forte. His creations include a parade of Camaros: a '71, a '72 454 SS, and '73 Z28; a '66 Chevelle also came into the mix at some point. Like they often do, projects came and projects went, but two themes remained constant: "If it didn't run 10 seconds or quicker, it was boring," Robinson affirmed. "But I've gotta be able to drive it," he continued. "Especially to the track." The pinnacle was his '70 RS Camaro, which tore the quarter in 10.60 at 128 mph.
The Next Project came along when Robinson found this '64 Nova. His intention was to build a bracket car for his wife so that she could race with him. Unfortunately, within weeks of the purchase, wife became ex-wife. "The car was going to be a surprise for her," Robinson recalls. "So I ended up with an extra car and different plans for it. I built it to be a street car that was able to run fast at the race track. I wanted something that didn't have a hood scoop, had a full interior, and could run on pump gas-at least on the street.
"Make it look like nothing," he intones. "But underneath, it's something." He even went so far as to switch to a smaller ATI supercharger unit when a bigger lung wouldn't fit under the stock hood. Even the smaller unit required hours of work on the supercharger brackets so it would clear. Extreme measures in the name of stealth, to be sure, but Robinson looked after the little things, too. "Most people put their tach on the dash," he observes. "I rearranged the bracket so it sits low and can't be seen from outside the car. I wanted to make it look mellow. That's the reason I don't have racing wheels on it; the Torq-Thrusts give it a nice street look."
Robinson's Nova SS is resplendent with personal touches and custom work. Bob Vrbancic welded up the firewall and radiator support holes, which, along with the chassis, was painted with Por-15 by Robinson. The rear subframe, complete with mini-tubs, was fabbed by the owner. The shifter is mounted on a 2 1/2-inch riser block that also sets the Hurst lever at a slight angle toward the driver, making for a more natural shifting motion. When Robinson wanted the center gauge panel to slant toward the driver, he found angled trim rings at a boat shop, then fabbed a panel for them to rest in. And even for someone with Robinson's experience, there were challenges that had to be overcome, such as pulling off the factory front subframe. It was also the first car he'd wired. "It took a while," Robinson told us.
Of course, all that stealth business is for naught if there's nothing cookin' under the hood. The Nova's mill started off as a 634hp, naturally aspirated motor pushing 14.7:1 compression. When the decision was made to add 20 pounds of boost, Robinson had JE forge new pistons to bring the compression down to 8.3:1. He also recalled trying five different intake manifolds before he made his choice. There can also be no doubt that the resources of The Carb Shop were invaluable for making this blow-through supercharger system function properly. Robinson has yet to hit the track, but he has an idea of what to expect. "If I do the math," he told us, "A thousand horsepower in a 3,000-pound car should run 8.90, but you do lose some in practice." It's definitely not mellow or boring-in theory or in practice-as we'll attest.
Although he has yet to run his So Cal street sleeper in anger, Robinson has already gotten his share of satisfaction out of it. "Ninety percent of the fun is getting ideas and building the car," he muses. "There's a sense of accomplishment, then 'What do I do now?' after all those late nights building and pounding and sanding. It is fun to drive, though, and experience the response it gets." Then again, Robinson's already got a new project going. When he asked his 15-year-old daughter Sydney what kind of car she wants, Dad was delighted to hear "'69 Camaro convertible" and not "Honda Civic." He's already found a basket case to start with. It'll be a Pro Touring-style car, and Robinson is wondering how he'll build an engine for it with "only" 300 hp. On the other hand, we're betting the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree, and if the kid has her way, this one will be another ride that packs far more than it shows off.
01-06-2008, 08:35 PM
#7
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This is a very nice car, saw it at small (burger run) car show in Upland Ca about a year ago.
Randy is a pretty mellow (pun intended) kind of guy, spoke with him a bit there.
He said the car has gone 8.80s et at the 1/4 mile in Fontana, California speedway.
This car is as clean as it looks in the story
and hauls a$$ too.
---Bill.
Randy is a pretty mellow (pun intended) kind of guy, spoke with him a bit there.
He said the car has gone 8.80s et at the 1/4 mile in Fontana, California speedway.
This car is as clean as it looks in the story
and hauls a$$ too.---Bill.
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