mod@tech

Chevy Nova history runs in my family. After all, a modified 1968 Nova was the car my dad drove in the late 1970s when he was first getting to know my mom. Decades later, I’ve even gone so far as to have a friend customize a scale-model replica of my dad’s former car as a holiday gift for him.

I’ve been tempted to buy the real thing, and this example is pretty compelling:

Featured on AutoHunter is this 1972 Chevrolet Nova SS 2-Door. The car is being sold by a private party in Littlerock, California, and the auction will end Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 12 p.m. PDT.

Most notably, according to the VIN, the car is a true Super Sport. But there’s a lot more to the car than just its trim tag conveys. The body was reportedly stripped to bare metal and refinished in Pewter Grey with a holographic micro-flake. Exterior features include chrome brightwork, LED lighting and 15-inch Cragar SS wheels shod in BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires.

The interior received its share of attention, too. The seats were reupholstered in black vinyl, and the carpeting, sun visors, weatherstripping and sound system were replaced. The cabin received sound-deadening insulation throughout, and the instrument cluster is particularly cool: It’s a clean, modernized all-digital setup with readouts for speed, rpm, voltage, coolant temperature and fuel level.

The Nova (or “Chevy II” in its earliest days) was a compact car that first launched in 1962. It was marketed as a “not too big, not too small” car. For model year 1972 Chevrolet acknowledged (even promoted) the fact that the car was essentially a carry-over from the prior year, minus some improvements to the emission-control system and minor trim changes. Chevrolet managed to sell about 350,000 Novas that year, and the platform lasted a couple more years before a significant rework.

Power for this silver bullet comes from a built 383ci small-block V8 mated to a rebuilt three-speed Turbo Hydra-matic 350 automatic transmission. According to the listing, the block was machined by Blair’s Speed Shop in Pasadena, California. Performance upgrades abound, and equipment includes an Edelbrock 640cfm four-barrel carburetor, Icon pistons, a Comp Cams hydraulic roller cam, AFR heads, MSD ignition and a JEGS electronic distributor. Wilwood disc brakes have been added for safe, confident stopping ability to offset all those go-fast parts.

All-in, the car is a well-thought-out machine with the exterior, interior and mechanical necessities for a proper muscle car. It’s a Super Sport that has been made even sportier. My dad would get a kick out of it, no doubt!

The auction for this 1972 Chevrolet Nova SS 2-Door ends Tuesday, April 22, 2025, at 12 p.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

It’s spring, which means it’s time for the Easter Jeep Safari and a new array of custom builds by Jeep and Jeep Performance Parts. Ford is also getting in on the off-road action in Moab, Utah by showing off its two Bronco Off-Roadeo project vehicles.

The teams behind the builds, known as the Bronco Off-Roadeo: Arches Edition and Bronco Off-Roadeo: Cliffhanger Project Vehicle, drew inspiration from their surroundings, such as the Arches National Park and the Cliffhanger trail. Both one-offs are covered with a matte protective film that mimics the color of Moab’s red rock formations. According to Ford, “The combination of the metallic shade and matte finish create brilliant flares of color in sunlight.”

Moab’s stone arches led to the Code Orange accents on the wheels’ beadlock rings, trail sights, and roof rails. The interior graphics represent the petroglyphs of Newspaper Rock and Horseshoe Canyon.

Bronco Off-Roadeo: Arches Edition
Based on the four-door Bronco Badlands, the Arches Edition is Ford’s vision of an “ultimate all-around option for taking you and four friends around Moab’s grueling trails.” To help it do that, Ford equipped it with a ReadyLift SST two-inch lift kit and 37-inch BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KDR2 tires wrapped around 17-inch beadlock-capable Method wheels.

The power-folding soft top allows everyone to see more of the beauty of the outdoors; a Rigid light bar illuminates the road ahead at night. If the going gets a little too tough, the Arches Edition has a Ford Performance Parts by Warn winch up front.

Bronco Off-Roadeo: Cliffhanger Project Vehicle
The idea behind the Cliffhanger was more specific: create a two-door Bronco for slow, technical off-roading. That requires ground clearance and grip, which explains the 18-inch beadlock-capable Method wheels with 40-inch BFGoodrich Baja T/A Evo 3.0S tires. Fox Live Valve shocks help control the footwork all that rubber does. Ford Performance Parts tube doors and a Bucking Bronco bimini top let people wheeling in the Cliffhanger see even more of the trails they’re on.

If you’re in Moab already or plan on going out there very soon, you can see the Bronco Off-Roadeo: Arches Edition and Cliffhanger Project Vehicle at the Bronco Stampede all this week. In the meantime, let us know what you think of these customs in the Comments section below.

Currently open for bids on AutoHunter is this 1969 Ford Cobra Hardtop. Based on the Fairlane, the Cobra was created to battle with the Plymouth Road Runner, so it had few standard frills. However, Ford’s trump card was a 428 Cobra Jet, an engine that simply outclassed the 383 Mopar—the strategy being that, for a few dollars more, you’d have a faster car of at least equal value. Plus, the Cobra was available as both a Hardtop and SportsRoof fastback, the latter something that no other manufacturer offered in its class. This Black Jade 1969 Cobra Hardtop features a black vinyl and cloth interior and comes with a Deluxe Marti Report and Canadian registration.

Ford only built 3,786 Cobra Hardtops in 1969, and many were painted in Black Jade. Can you blame ‘em? It’s a gorgeous green that shifts its shade depending on the light. Other features include hood pins, a chrome driver-side remote mirror, and several badges proclaiming the model and engine size. A set of 14-inch steel wheels with Ford “poverty caps” are wrapped in 225/70 BFGoodrich Radial T/As, though if you look at the Marti Report, this car is one of the very few to be equipped with radials when new.

The vinyl and cloth split front bench seat features head restraints, which were mandated into law on January 1, 1969. A rare feature is air conditioning, which was somewhat incongruent with the modus operandi of the Cobra, but it was available as an option. Other features include power steering, a column-mounted automatic shifter, and a factory AM radio with a glovebox-installed Jensen stereo update featuring FM, CD, auxiliary, and SiriusXM capabilities.

The instrument panel consists of a 120-mph speedometer and gauges for the temperature and fuel, plus a clock. The odometer shows 29,567 miles, though the title reads mileage-exempt.

The Cobra was only available with two versions of the 428 Cobra Jet: standard Q-code without ram air and R-code with the air induction system. This one is a Q-code, adding to its Q-ship (pun intended) status. Only 667 Q-code/automatic Cobra Hardtops were built for 1969.

A Ford nine-inch rear axle houses 3.00 gears. Power front disc brakes help put a stop to this Cobra. A dual exhaust system carries spent fuel to the rear.

While Plymouth produced over 80K Road Runners, Ford produced only 14,885 Cobras between two body styles and two Cobra Jet engines. Its relative rarity and superior powertrain make this 1969 Ford Cobra Hardtop a fine choice for your garage. Plus, your tired body would really appreciate the air conditioning, no? Be quick, as bidding for this Blue Oval muscle car ends on Monday, April 21, 2025, at 11:15 a.m. (PDT).

Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery

To you Boomers out there: Yeah, I know, you and no one else ever called high-performance cars “muscle cars.” You called ‘em “super cars” or some other thing, and you know because by golly, you were alive back in the day!

Except that perception has not aged very well over time.

Aside from the age-old argument over which model was the first muscle car, the public started to call high-performance cars “muscle cars” as early as 1965. Is there an earlier example? Perhaps, but I haven’t found it.

What I have found are articles and ads from several newspapers from around the country that use the term “muscle car.” Glance at the Santa Cruz Sentinel dated 1965 (June 27^th and August 1^st) in which the writer references “muscle cars” out of Detroit.

The same was repeated in the January 30, 1966, edition. In a November 19, 1967, article evaluating a GS 400, the headline reads, “Buick Civilizes its ‘Muscle Car’.”

Two days later, the Portsmouth Herald contained an ad from a dealership advertising “muscle cars.” This was followed on June 14, 1967, by a similar yet different ad. This paper also happened to feature a dealer ad in the June 5, 1965, issue that makes the earliest “muscle cars” reference I’ve found.

In a March 4, 1966, article in the Big Spring Daily Herald, it was said that “if these kids with their muscle-cars had a place they could legally engine contests against a clock (not against other cars), so that the fastest time recorded in a quarter mile wins the brass ring, they would tend to hold down the speeding on public streets.”

Same state, different paper: The July 26, 1967, issue of the San Antonio Express featured a Dodge ad touting “The Muscle Car” and showing a Coronet R/T with a 440 Magnum.

After seeing these articles and ads, it should be more than clear that “muscle car” was part of our vernacular in their heyday.

Which color do you envision when you hear the name “Ferrari“? It’s extremely likely you picture red because a red Ferrari has been a go-to status symbol for decades. Our Pick of the Day, a 1995 Ferrari 456 GT posted on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in New York, shows that Prancing Horses can look great in other colors, too.

After Ferrari stopped production of the angular 412 2+2 in 1989, three years would pass until the storied brand introduced another front-engine 2+2. Instead of evolving the 412’s wedge shape, Ferrari went further back in its history and drew inspiration from a much more iconic model: the 365 GTB/4, aka “Daytona.” As Ferrari puts it, the influence on the 456’s largely aluminum bodywork is visible in “the long bonnet, featuring retractable headlight pods, running into a set back cabin. Also inspired by the ‘Daytona’ was the design treatment of the rear of the cabin envelope and tail.” The end result is a tasteful, subtle (as subtle as a V12 Ferrari can be, at least) GT that pays tribute to one of its ancestors without aping its design.

For the 456’s engine, Ferrari started fresh, leaving behind the old flat-12 used in the Berlinetta Boxer, Testarossa, and their descendants. The F116 B 5.5-liter V12‘s two banks of cylinders were set at a 65-degree angle and equipped with track-friendly dry-sump lubrication. Ferrari rated the new V12 at 442 horsepower (although many outlets show 436) and 406 lb-ft of torque. The 456 GT’s gearbox was new as well, making the 456 the first Ferrari road car with an all-synchromesh six-speed transaxle. Together, the engine and transmission were able to bring the 456 to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds and a top speed north of 186 mph.

In the 1990s, there were much flashier Ferraris, such as the F355 and F50. By comparison, the 456 is understated, which adds to its appeal. It’s a different kind of Ferrari, for those whose style is “stealth wealth”—especially in this particular 456’s Canna Di Fucile finish.

With its rich tan leather, the four-seat cabin is the perfect complement to the low-key paint. Power front seats, adjustable dampers, a self-leveling rear suspension, and air conditioning will enable the future driver of this modern classic to rack up hundreds of miles at a clip in total comfort. He or she will also have peace of mind knowing this 56K-mile 456 underwent a $14,000 service at Ferrari of Seattle in 2023 that included new suspension bushings. In addition to service records, it also comes with its original manuals and some tools. You can be that future driver of this 1995 Ferrari 456 GT for $94,500.

Click here to view this Pick of the Day on ClassicCars.com

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Ryan Brutt being a member of the Moparts.com forum and shoot up into automotive fame. He has a penchant for hunting down decrepit muscle cars, showing us pics and videos, and eliciting oohs and aahs. Now, Ryan has hit the big time as Chicago’s very own WGN-TV has done a profile on the barn find sleuth who profiles old cars.

Truth be told, Ryan has already hit the big time as a contributor to Hot Rod, author of two books, and the most popular display at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals. Thanks to the “network effect,” car owners have gone from being suspicious of this would-be interloper to welcoming him with open arms because Ryan is honest, keeps his word, and doesn’t disclose private information. In fact, Ryan was recruited to document what may be the ultimate barn find because . . . well, because he’s the Auto Archaeologist!

Lesson learned: follow your passions, be kind, and the universe will open up for you.

Ryan’s adventures could be random sightings from the roads, inquiries about possible cars in barns, or an invite from a hoarder or owner of a specialized salvage yard—it runs the gamut. Looking at Ryan’s output, you’ll notice with amazement that there are a lot of very rare cars that people have sitting on dirt.

In other words, they’re still out there!

If you’re interested in following Ryan on social media, click here for his Facebook feed, here for his Instagram feed, and here for Auto Archaeology on YouTube.

Here’s to Ryan for a job well done!