Mistaken Identity – How A Nova Parts Car Was Transformed into a Winning Drag-And-Drive Ride
It was just supposed to be a parts car, but it ended up being a lot more than Jeffrey Moll expected. Already owning a pair of Chevy Nova models, Jeffrey acquired the 4-door mainly for the clean front fenders.
“I have three 1966-1967 Chevrolet Nova models,” said Jeffrey. “One has been in body shop jail for probably ten years, while the second is a car that we will likely bring to a drag-and-drive in the future.”
That brings up the 1967 4-door model on these pages, which we’ve seen most recently on Death Week in 2023. “I originally bought the 4-door only for the fenders to use on the car in the body shop. But I got it, then discovered it was a 40,000-survivor car, and I couldn’t bring myself to dismantle it.”
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The 4-door would become the latest in a line of toys for Jeffrey, all starting with a 1966 Chevrolet Impala. “I started like most everyone else,” said Jeffrey. “Small town drag racing and street racing in high school, and then in 1992 I bought the Impala.”
That car has been through a bunch of configurations, including the now-defunct Hot Rod Pump Gas Drags and the 2017 edition of Hot Rod Drag Week, where he finished third in the Super Street Big Block Power Adder class.
Flash forward a few years, the Impala is on the sidelines, and the 4-door got its first use for Jeffrey as a daily driver. The first issue was the Nova having vapor lock troubles on the straight-six powerplant. “I told my wife I might as well do fuel injection and LS-swap it,” Jeffrey admitted.
That led to adding air conditioning, a few more upgrades, and Jeffrey’s daily is now a bit spunkier. “Then I said ‘it’ll be our back-up Drag Week car.’ I’ll have the Impala done, and the Nova is body shop will be done,” said Jeffrey. “But instead, the 4-door Nova has been the car I’ve taken every year. It’s become my favorite car. It’s not super-fast, but it’s fast enough.”
In 2023 alone, Jeffrey did Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Hot Rod Drag Week, and finally Death Week, the most recent of which resulted in the third-place finish. “Spending time with my son Tyler on the 2,000-mile drive was the most rewarding thing,” said Jeffrey. “The event was amazing, especially when you consider the tracks, the checkpoints and the drives were really cool too. We can’t wait for Sick Week 2024.”
A full feature on Jeffrey’s ride will be upcoming in the next print issue of Sick the Magazine.
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine and Jeffrey Moll.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com