Hey everyone,

  I am a 24 year old combat medic currently serving my second tour in Iraq. Right before I left I picked up a rust free 1962 Nova hardtop with a crate 350. It still has the poor 62 rear end is in need of a new interior. Money is coming easy over here but my plan is to build a street/strip car that I can take to Topeka and race on the weekends and still drive to work. My family is doing the work for me now while I'm away. The front end has been rebuilt including disc brakes. I'm looking for suggestions as far as engine build up and interior. Looking for a budget street rod here. Been reading the magazine for years, two of those in the desert. Any ideas, send them my way.  

i don't remember what issue it was, but car craft did a budget rear end swap (i think). it was either the whole rear end or it was upgrading the traction bars on a 70's buick. this piece of advice goes not just for the engine, but the entire car, keep an eye and an ear for the deals! i can't tell you how many parts ive got just b/c someone else didn't want them. as far as the engine goes, if it's still good, then just bore it .30 over, reuse the rods and crank, and buy a set of vortec heads and intake, and that'll let you have some fun. if you're looking to go all out, reference the june '06 issue, where they put a weiand 142 blower on a junkyard 350 (after freshening it up) and it put out 445hp at the flywheel. as far as the interior, try yearone (yearone.com) or original parts group (opg.com). ive never personally dealt with them, but ive seen alot of their work, and it's good. hope this'll help get the ball rolling, and come home safely!  

Thank you for your service to our country and good luck to you. I agree about the deals. Also check ebay since you have time before you start wrenching. Dont be so quick to overbore the engine though. My advice is to dianose it while running. Then check cylinder pressure etc. If it has good compression and and does not burn oil or make noises you could chance it. If you dont want to chance it then take it apart and inspect it yourself. If there is no ridge in the cylinder you could get away with bottle brush honing it. remember to label everything such as connecting rods so you can put them back in the same place.
once you have measured everything you can order a rebuild kit with any combo of oversize rings, undersize bearings, etc. for as low as $170 off the web. The kit can be upgraded to a performance cam for less then $200. vortec heads were a good cheap head until gm stopped producing them for production vehicles and the price shot up. you can still find them in the junkyard but make sure they are either cheap as *** so a rebuild will cost less then new heads or make sure they dont need a rebuild. If you buy new spring the extra cash for aluminum. or try and get those rebuilt dart heads from aerohead if they are still cheap.  

i heard you can get an s 10 rear to fit the nova i woulndt know i totally took my stock rear out of my 63 and put the heidts four link in with a moser 9" in it that was a good investment cause i now can run wider tires (although im running 235/60/15 m.t. drag radials) and its an adjustable four link so i can get a better bite quicker 60 ft times and blow the competition away

thanks for your service to our great country.  "if you dont stand behind our troops please feel free to stand in front of them"  

Hey everyone, been away for awhile, but no I'm back. I'm just writing so say that my 1962 Chevy II 400 has just got a new set of Crager S/S wheels and new front end rebuild. But seeing as am I'm still deployed, we're all dressed up with nowhere to go. Thanks for all your support, and thanks to all the tax payers for supporting my muscle car habit.  

Hey everyone, been away for awhile, but no I'm back. I'm just writing so say that my 1962 Chevy II 400 has just got a new set of Crager S/S wheels and new front end rebuild. But seeing as am I'm still deployed, we're all dressed up with nowhere to go. Thanks for all your support, and thanks to all the tax payers for supporting my muscle car habit.  

well, it's nice to see that someone has a good source of income to fund their muscle car habbit. i'm thinking about asking our overseers if we can use these forums to start a letter chain. everyone who reads this, please send one dollar to...