There was no shortage of Chevy Novas at this year’s Sick Week, and while we included Cole Sammartino’s Nova because of its impactful styling and performance, we just kept gravitating towards Jeff Moll’s 1967 Chevy Nova for its sedate appearance and immense performance capability.
Moll originally bought the Deuce five years ago for parts, as it was a 30,000-mile survivor car, but he came to the conclusion that it was just too nice and decided to make it his backup Drag Week car. According to Moll, it has become his favorite drag-and-drive car because of the creature comforts he built into it.
Despite its low mileage, the Nova’s original single-stage Fawn exterior was resprayed at one point, and its steel wheels and hubcabs do a great job of distracting you from thinking about the Nova’s possible on-track performance.
Lurking underneath the flat, stock hood are 454 cubic inches of LSX muscle that gets a steroid injection of power from a ProCharger F1A-94 supercharger. With Holley EFI managing the 15 psi of boosted air and mixing it with the Ignite E90 fuel, the supercharged small-block combination turned out 900 horsepower to the rear wheels through the Turbo 400/Gear Vendors transmission setup and Ford 9-inch rearend.
Supporting the highly capable LS engine is a Church Boys bolt-on front end that updates the suspension and steering, and Moll relies on Calvert Racing products to keeps things controlled in the leaf-spring-based rear suspension.
Though Moll has run a best 1/4-mile time of 9.03 at 150 mph, it’s capable of much more, but he chooses not to turn it up. That said, the Missouri resident needed to keep it safe and legal on the track and the Race Parts Direct proprietor was able to get famed race car builder Larry Jeffers Race Cars to build a custom roll cage in the four-door sedan with extra underfloor reinforcements to keep the back seat clear for passengers.
Moll has been dragging and driving since Hot Rod’s Pump Gas Drags back in 2003, and while he has charged into the 8-second zone with his Chevy Impala for much of that time, he’s more recently found that his Vintage Air HVAC system, power steering, and 9.0-second timeslips are much more appealing.
Competing in the Super Street category at Sick Week 2024, Moll and his Chevy Nova averaged 9.34 over the five days of competition.
