Ron's  '63 Nova Pro Street
 
 
 
All of us members who go to the club meetings have enjoyed watching the construction of this Nova. The first time that I remember seeing it, the giant tires were just sitting under the car with no axle to bolt them on to. It was hard to even imagine it as a finished car. But every meeting something new had been done to it. Finally now we get to see the finished car, an extremely impressive pro street Nova. 
 
 

The car now has a tube frame built by Ron, using a kit supplied by Art Morrison. This is not a simple process, the kit is really just a bunch of raw material, needing the hands of an expert to create a car out of it. For example, the kit was not intended to be used with the engine mounted in the stock location, but that’s the way Ron wanted it, and with a lot of work, that’s where it is. Ron built X bars into the rear, and the cage is certified by the NHRA. The rear end is a 9 inch Ford with 4.56:1 gearing. This is attached to the Cragar 15” X 14” wheels with Mickey Thompson sportsman pro tires, 29” X 18.5” The engine is a big block Chevy displacing 468 Cubic inches, with 10.5:1 compression. There is an Ultradyne cam with .630 lift, and 288 degrees duration, and Chevrolet aluminum cylinder heads. The exhaust is handled with 2 1/8” tube headers, custom made for the car by Ron. The induction is two 750 CFM Holleys sitting on an Edelbrock tunnel ram intake manifold. Fuel is supplied by a carb shop fuel pump, and Barry Grant regulator. The fuel comes from a Jazz fuel cell, mounted between the Alston wheel tubs. Lubrication is taken care of with a Steph’s oil pump and oil pan. The ignition is by MSD. A turbo 400 transmission is used, with a manual valve body and a 5000 rpm stall torque converter. The body was painted Pearl red metallic by Tri City body shop, located next door to Ron’s shop. 
 

 

Well, that’s the technical specs of the car, but what is missing so far is what the car is like just to be around. I was standing in the shop after one of our meetings when Ron fired the car up to move it, and romped on the throttle a little bit in the parking lot. I almost jumped right out of my socks. Lots of sound and controlled fury, it was awe inspiring. 

 
Ron wishes to thank his brother Dave McLeod for doing the electrical work on the car, and also his father Rick McLeod for being the one who taught Ron how to weld. Thanks also go out to Don Chemello, who helped tune the car, resulting in a quarter mile run of 10.97 seconds, at a trap speed of 120 miles per hour. 
 

The last part of this story is to mention that Ron operates his own repair shop. ASAP automotive, in Fremont California. You all should have concluded by now that Ron knows his way around an automobile, having constructed this one pretty much from scratch. Ron seems to have always had a high performance Chevy in the shop when I have been there, but you can take your regular transportation to him as well.