Home Brewed

Some dream in Technicolor, some dream in stereo. Some dream of creating the perfect soufflé, others dream of roaring engines and tire smoke. Scott Giroux is definitely one of those people that want to build the car of their dreams, and he was instrumental in making his dream happen. Scott wanted a ’68-’72 Chevy Nova so bad he found one and sat on it for over 15 years.

He eventually debuted this beauty of a ’72 that you see here at a show in the city of Lake Isabella, CA and it just happened to take a Best of Show trophy on its first day out, so he must have done something right! And that win was extra special to him as he built the majority of this Nova himself, and when people doubted whether the Chevy would get back out on the road, he told them “Hold my beer.” His words, not ours.

Interior in a Box

His idea for the interior was to do a full TMI install but to make it look slightly stock-ish, so he went with a set of Pro-Series front seats in Sport-R pattern in black vinyl with black suede and white stitching, matching door and quarter panels, Sport-R center console, headliner, suede sun visors, 7-piece carpet kit, and package tray. Scott wanted the interior to be brand new but still appear as original as possible to the untrained eye, and it would only reveal itself the closer you got to it.

Low Rumble

Scott purchased the car with its small block 350 intact and still strong so he largely left the internals and rotating assembly alone. He bored it .060 to 355 and had it blueprinted, added an Edelbrock intake manifold and 1405 carburetor, dropped in some Keith Black Pistons, a billet front cover, he took the stock air cleaner housing and painted it to match the factory Pontiac Blue, then added a Pertronix ignition, Flowtech headers, Flowmaster Super 44 exhaust with X-pipe, with power routing through the stock TH350 transmission and stock rear end.

Cruising Speed Unlike most custom cars where the idea is to build a beautiful show queen that gets pampered through its whole life span, Scott had plans for his Nova that include lots of driving on street and posting up at local car shows so he wanted his ’72 to be on the fast side, with a workable suspension that was responsive when needed but was not uncomfortable to drive for long stretches. So he decided to install Hotchkis tubular A-arms and 1.5-inch drop springs in the front with some Hotchkis 3-inch drop springs in the rear and he was done.

Smooth as Glass

Since the eyeballs of admirers out on the street and at shows see the exterior first, Scott decided to have his good friend Jesse Villa at Phoenix Autobody in Ridgecrest, CA handle the exterior. He trusted his good friend and expert Bondo-slinger to treat his Chevy right. Scott chose this drinkable shade of PPG Blue Heaven paint to be laid down and he could not have made a better choice. Jesus completed the exterior transformation with a full treatment of OEM chrome, trim, and bumpers. In keeping with the DIY build esthetic, Scott did jump in and do all the wet sanding and paint buffing to get that Blue Heaven to look its best.

Donations Accepted

Now that the Chevy was looking its best, could treat the driver to a relaxing journey, and was at a nice ride height, Scott went ahead and ordered up a set of classy and era-appropriate 18-inch American Racing Torque Thrust wheels with Nankang Noble Sport tires in the front and a set of 20-inch American Racing Torque Thrust wheels with Nankang Noble Sport tires in the rear. He salvaged a set of four-piston calipers with 14-inch rotors from a C5 Corvette for the front and a 2002 Camaro donated the 12-inch set for the rear.

Scott has built other cars before including a 1974 Dodge Challenger, but this Nova was special. He pulled it out of a field almost two decades ago, poured his heart and soul into building it in his two-car garage, made sure everything was to his liking, and rolls it around proudly.