It always seems that the outskirts of town is where all the cool stuff happens. Whether it's a haunted forest, the most jumpin' place to hang out, or a place to drag race, the edge of town has got it goin' on! For Buck Ridenour, the outskirts of town are just more than just city limits.
After sitting around the tube and local drag strips watching quarter-mile pass after quarter-mile pass, Buck decided he was tired of being sidelined. No more would he watch others baste in the glory of their automobiles, for he too would soon feel the warm and fuzzy feeling of driving his very own musclecar. Only problem was he needed to find one. Then it struck, an outskirts-of-town story. A friend of Buck's told him about a '67 Nova SS that was in decent shape sitting outside of town. Buck spared no time and hit the road in search of the Nova. Upon arrival Buck noticed the Nova was in great shape and untouched, perfect for what he wanted to do with it.
Ridenour decided if he was going to build a Chevrolet Nova, then he was going to build a Chevrolet Nova. Buck wanted the Nova to be the way Detroit intended it to be, 100-percent Chevy. The '67 utilizes all GM parts, except for a few performance and dress-up products. Buck wanted to make sure the doors, hood, trunk, suspension, engine, trans, and interior, basically everything was genuine Chevrolet. There would be no aftermarket goodies cluttering this '67.
The build started off by stripping the car down to bare bone. From there the car received all new rubber seals, bushing, shocks, and any other standard necessities. Then the small-block was taken Woody's Machine Shop and Tony Zeller to be completely revamped. Buck did however give in to aftermarket products when it came to rebuilding the engine. For example the 331 small-block sports an Edelbrock intake manifold and carburetor, Keith Black pistons, and an assortment of billet products from Billet Specialties. While the engine was out and about, Bobby McClure, Paul McMann, and Buck concentrated on working the body to perfection. When it was finished Bobby McClure sprayed the entire car in PPG Torch Red. The Nova was then carefully put back together and taken to Interiors by Eddie. Once again no aftermarket products were added to the interior. Instead the stock interior was recovered in black and white leather.
Everything was going great but there was still something missing. Although Buck and his team spent hours trying to make the Nova as detailed and immaculate as possible, the Nova wasn't capturing the image Buck was looking for. Finally he decided to add one more thing to the '67, even though it is aftermarket. A set of Billet Specialties Streamline wheels wrapped in BFGoodrich rubber was added to the car. The look was complete. Maybe now you'll start paying a little more attention to those outskirts of town stories, huh?