This 1967 Gasser-Style Nova Oozes Old-School Hot Rodding
Top Cat: Tom Collins’ wicked 1967 Chevy Nova SS relives the past0:00 / 0:00
Gasser is a term in the dictionary of hot rodding that evokes pure adrenaline. There’s nothing quite like watching these radical cars launching from the lights with the scent of burnt rubber and nitro hanging heavy in the air. For Tom Collins of Montross, Virginia, growing up in Dublin, Maryland, near Cecil County Dragway definitely made an impression on him, starting with his first visit as a youngster back in 1969. It was there he first experienced the wild nature of gassers, Fuel Altereds, and A/FX cars running for the win.
For Tom, it was a way of life, surrounded by close friends who idolized the local street racing culture amplified by an endless supply of rodding magazines thanks to his older cousins Vinny and Frank. Tom and lifelong friend Kenny ran go-karts and mini bikes on the family farm followed by driving old cars through the fields long before getting a license. By the time Tom legally hit the streets he was wheeling a hopped-up ’68 Chevelle. There’s always that one car in the neighborhood that makes a long-lasting impression and for Tom it was a 1941 Willys gasser he saw running at Cecil County Dragway.
As the years passed, Tom became owner of Northern Neck Chevrolet in Montross and continued to own a number of aggressive street cars. The memories of gassers running at the dragstrip, however, still haunted him. Having always been a fan of early Chevy II Novas he made a decision to start the search for a perfect gasser candidate. A local friend revealed a mothballed ’67 SS that was a former drag car, dormant since the ’70s. The car was stripped of its interior and driveline and sitting on a set of Center Line wheels. It was the perfect base to get started with so a deal was made.
Having seen a number of wicked gassers built by B’z Rods in Beach Park, Illinois, Tom set up a meeting with shop owner Brian Bell. They shared many of the same ideas in building a nasty street gasser so the car was dropped off to let the team start. The entire car was disassembled and sent off for mediablasting to reveal its past. What came back proved the car had been thrashed hard over the years, but was salvageable.
To create a base ready to handle plenty of abuse, the original framerails were replaced with a custom frame created from 2x3-inch steel complete with custom crossmembers TIG-welded directly to the body shell.
An NHRA-certified eight-point rollcage was installed for added stiffness. The floor and trunk pans were also replaced. Out back you’ll find a narrowed and braced Strange Engineering 9-inch rear filled with 4.11 gears turning 31-spline axles complete with a Detroit Truetrac locker assembled by Chassis Service of Waukegan, Illinois. It’s suspended in place by a set of B’z custom 54-inch ladder bars matched to their exclusive four-way track locator accented by a pair of Strange Engineering adjustable coilover shocks.
