Top Fan Ride of February: Vincent's 1969 Chevy Nova SS

(Image/Vincent Ingegneri)

Vincent Ingegneri built this Nova with his two sons, Cody and Anthony, as a tribute to his third son, the eldest, who passed away in an auto accident several years ago.

The Nova started out as a basket case—someone else’s stalled project. Undaunted, Vincent and his sons tore the car apart, finding more and more issues along the way.

Since the car needed serious fabrication and repairs anyway, the decision was made to go all-out and transform the Nova into the tire-shredding Pro Street monster you see here.

“We first fabricated a full box chassis, four-link rear, and 16-point cage as a base,” Vincent says. “We then replaced or fabricated every piece of steel inside and outside on this car except for the roof, doors and trunk lid.”

The custom bodywork was extensive—holes were filled, lines were smoothed, and the car received significant modifications to accept the custom rear axle and massive wheels.

The Nova came with a small block, which was summarily yanked in favor of a fire-breathing Chevy 454 big block, stroked to 496 cubic inches. It’s got the goods too: Weiand Tunnel Ram intake, MSD ignition, Milodon gear drive, Scat crank, Comp Cams roller rockers, March Performance accessory drive, and ARP hardware.

The horsepower is funneled through a race-prepped 4L80 automatic transmission with billet shafts, hardened gears, manual valve body, and 3,200 rpm stall converter. Out back is a custom 9-inch rear end with Moser Axles. Suspension is handled by QA1 adjustable coil-over shocks.

Inside you’ll find Kirkey Seats and Auto Meter gauges.

Vincent says this build wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work, sacrifice, and vision of his sons.

The Ingegneri family drives the Nova too—its completely street legal.

“This is what can be accomplished with the right vision, time and parts,” says Vincent.

We couldn’t agree more. Congratulations Vincent, your 1969 Chevy Nova SS is our Top Fan Ride of February!