When it comes to making a car stand out, it doesn’t necessarily need a lot of height to stand head and shoulders above all the other cars on the show field. That’s exactly the case with Jeff Sposito’s post-equipped ’66 Nova. There’s a lot of great stuff in, on, and under the body panels of this super-cruiser, but what pulled us in at the recent Goodguys event in Pleasanton, was the stance.

There’s more to making a car sit “just right” than just installing shorter springs and shocks. There was a lot of work that went on behind the scenes to put this car together. That work was performed by the talented crew at Bill Hall Body and Frame in Portland, Oregon, and the car was built to be used as a rolling business card for the shop. The seven-year build time will attest to the intense amount of work that went in to making the mods functional, yet as low-key as the car’s ride height itself.

The tried and true factory drivetrain was replaced with a 1996 Corvette’s LT4 engine and 4L60E transmission to gain better control over the engine’s fuel usage and gear selection, and is aided by a Street & Performance tune in the ECM. The engine has been warmed-over, and there’s no denying there’s more going on under the hood of this Nova than the engine ever enjoyed in its Corvette days. In fact, having this engine extracted from a Corvette partly allowed its creators to achieve that super stance.

Anyone that has ever tried to slide a better-breathing intake or super-sized carburetor under the hood of a Corvette, knows that their unforgiving hood line can put the damper on many modifications. But, it can actually give you more options when transplanting into a different car, as was the case here. The Corvette engine (and of course the Nova’s semi-generous under-hood area), allowed the drivetrain to be raised 3 inches.

The floor did need some additional clearance added for the transmission, as a raised engine and lowered body are bound to meet somewhere! The result is greatly improved oil pan clearance, and by artfully plumbing a complete stainless steel exhaust system from oval tubing, they were able to gain even more ground (pun intended). The final result is a speed-bump-friendly cruiser that looks great, and when you hear the exhaust, it’s from the sweet notes coming out the back, not what it just scraped on its way through.

To fill those correctly-positioned wheel openings, a set of vintage 15-inch American Racing mags were widened to fit more generous treads under the car. Likewise, the trunk was mini-tubbed to allow for the improvement. Outside, the body panels have been massaged and slathered with a custom mix of Gunmetal Grey paint, and both brushed and high-gloss chrome trim bits.

The work was completed in 2014, and once the car served its purpose, it was moved on to its next owner, Jeff Sposito. While at the Goodguys event, Jeff and his Nova secured the Top Chevy Muscle award.

There’s something special about a car that successfully mixes original cues with later modifications. Jeff even explains that one day, he wants to contact the technicians at Bob Hall to find out exactly how many modifications they did to the car, “The more you look, the more you see!” Thankfully, when something looks as good as Jeff’s Nova, it takes very little effort to continue staring.