You don't stumble upon a vintage-restoring couple every day, and those who break the Internet never really get their hands dirty like this Winnipeg duo. Danielle Lester and Dan Malcolmson of DD Speed Shop recently started working on a 1971 Chevy Nova SS, rotting away in a shipping container.
The 1971 Nova SS is an iconic model in Chevrolet's history. The carmaker introduced the nameplate in 1962 as a top trim level for the Chevy II Compact. It was the smallest of muscle cars developed by Detroit.
After a failed attempt to take out the Volkswagen Beetle with the Corvair, the Chevy II came in to tackle Ford's high rolling 1960 Falcon. The SS (Super Sports) came with high-performance suspension, tires, more power, upgrades, and add-ons.
The couple initially worked on this 1971 Chevy Nova SS for 5 to 6 years ago and successfully ran it. It's been sitting in a storage container ever since, yearning for some tender loving care. They never got attached to it for some reason but have recently decided to take it home for a rebuild that suits their style.
The Nova is a tight squeeze considering its position in a shipping container. After a few tweaks here and there and what felt like the most prolonged cranking attempt - the Nova SS roars to life.
Dan backs it out of the container for their first view in 5 years. It runs fine and even manages to do a mini-drift (it's heavily snowing in Winnipeg).
The Nova SS has a small block 350 with a Muncie 4-speed and a 12-bolt rear end. According to Dan, it cruises fine on the highway, but it's not fast. His vision for this classic is to transform it into a street freak this summer.
Dan wants to transform its body into a mix between Sean Boswell's 1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo in The Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift and an old Crusher Camaro with blowers.
His vision is to turn this car hoodless. Swap the current motor for a big block with a Tunnel Ram, and finally install some giant rear tires. We will keep tabs on this Winnipeg couple to see how this build turns out in the summer.
Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life. Full profile
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