01/20/2026
It’s our first of the year. Keep reading to hear from our current Composites Co-lead, Matt!
“I got this thing as a rust bucket off Facebook marketplace. It’s a 71 Chevy Nova, kind of. It’s really a 71 Pontiac Ventura but the previous owner had already changed the back end so I changed the front to finish the clone.
My dad and I did patch panels, some replacement panels, and lots of massaging to shave some emblems/lights and get it looking pretty straight before painting it matte dark gray with gloss black accents. We redid the interior with stitched black leather, an aftermarket gauge cluster, race seats, newer speakers, headliner, and a carpet.
It came with a junkyard small block and turbo 350 that quickly got pulled. For the engine, we assembled a stroker 383. It has a forged Eagle rotating assembly with 5.7” I beam rods, 4 bolt mains, a hydraulic roller cam, AFR heads, a little Weiand 142 blower, a Holley 4 barrel double pumper carb, and a Holley tunable distributor with a boost reference for tuning ignition timing. For the transmission, we went with a built 700r4 with a manual valve body.
Other than that, we’ve added Caltracs, 3.73 gears, a geared positraction differential, tubular control arms, subframe connectors, QA1 sway bars, front disc brakes, exhaust cutouts, a line lock, and more.
It’s now registered and on the road and makes a fun street/strip car, but projects never end.”