DEATH PROOF | 1969 Chevrolet Nova
Words & Photography Flash Blesst
'Grindhouse — A term used to describe a movie that sacrifices the traditional film-making concepts in favour of sex, gore, nudity, violence and other shocking themes.'
Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Death Proof’ is a rip-roaring slasher flick where the killer pursues his victims with a car rather than a knife, while Robert Rodriguez’s ‘Planet Terror’ shows us a view of the world in the midst of a zombie outbreak. The films are joined together by clever faux trailers that recall the '50s exploitation drive-in classics.
Kurt Russell stars in Death Proof as a completely deranged stunt man with a very special “death proof” stunt car. In the first part of the movie, ‘Stuntman Mike’, (Russell) stalks three women to a bar, but ends up offering to take a drunken lady, Pam, home. None of the four women would make it home thanks to his dark, demented mind and one beefed up Chevy Nova.
The 1969 Nova that you see here arrived in Italy as a Death Proof replica. Matte black paint with white skull and bolts and the angry duck as a hood ornament were all features added. Very cool, but overall the car was in really bad shape.
"THIS NOVA IS A BADASS DRESSED IN A TAILORED SUIT."
Giovanni, the owner, decided to start the restoration from the heart of the Chevy, replacing the old and tired 307 with a 350 Small Block matched to a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 3-speed automatic transmission with shortened final gear ratio). A Holley 750 CFM carburetor pumps air and gasoline inside the cylinders, pushing out 300 horsepower. Nothing out of this world, but quite funny when the red lights turn green.
Gemelli Racing workshop did a perfect job with the mechanicals, but then it was time to refresh the looks of the Nova. Carrozzeria Trieste started with a complete sanding of the body, followed by a great amount of metal work and finally painted the body in Jaguar's Pearl Gray Metallic. Fender flares and all the (once) chromed parts are now flat black.
15” American Racing wheels in gloss black finish are just blistering and the 255/60 rear tyres looks totally arrogant from behind. This is also due to the uplifted rear shocks, providing an even more aggressive stance. It may have lost a bit of the classical Death Proof rudeness, but this Nova is still a badass dressed in a tailored suit.
