Sandy & Lynda Cordova's 1963 Chevy II Nova SS (from Volume 13, Issue 145) The desire for a hot rod was in Sandy Cordova at an early age, and he was only 13 when he began working after school to buy one. At age 15 he had enough money to buy a 1938 Chevy with a Corvette engine. Of course he couldn’t drive it until he turned 16, so Sandy sat there and stared at it for a year. He can’t believe he sold that car, but at the time he needed money to go to school in Montana....a long way from Miami, Florida. The years went by and along the way Sandy had a ‘73 Barracuda and then an Olds 442. Along came marriage and he had to think about more “serious” things. Then Sandy told us he got sidetracked into collecting different types of antiques. His love of music found him collecting old time tube stereos and vinyl records. He was happy, until the bug to get another hot rod hit him again. Sandy’s wife, Lynda, reminded him that two hobbies are expensive for two wallpaper hangers to afford, so he sold some stereo equipment and they began looking for a Chevy - their preference. They almost bought a Chevelle, but fell in love with a 1963 Nova in February of 2004. The old owner of the true ‘63 Nova SS didn’t know much about the car. He told Sandy it had a 283 cubic inch engine in it, and it turned out to be a 350 - but at least it was in fairly good shape. What used to be a stock 350 isn’t anymore thanks to WJ Spencer & Sons garage in Orlando, Florida. It now has an Edelbrock intake manifold, Edelbrock 600 cfm carb, Comp 260 hydraulic cam, MSD ignition, Hedman headers, Flowmaster exhaust system, and 350 Turbo automatic transmission. The interior looked good when they got the car, but was recently done to look original in light brown vinyl. The exterior was just OK when they started, but it looks great now thanks to Tazz Paint & Customizing of Minneola. The SS moldings were all left off for a less conservative look, and then it was painted a two tone teal with a red pinstripe for an accent. The Nova now has 17 inch Centerline wheels with 215/45 Kumho tires up front and 235/45’s in the rear. Sandy and Lynda love the Nova like it is, but still have a few plans. They would like to put in a 700R4 overdrive automatic, a Vintage Air system, and a nice stereo.....with tubes, of course. As with most enthusiasts their ride is a work in progress, but anyone that looks at it will certainly agree it is already a killer combo. CN