When buying a used vehicle, you don’t always know what you are getting until after you put a few miles on it. When working on vintage cars, it is even more of a gamble. Joe Mangano ended up on the right side of the deal with his 1967 Chevy II Nova SS in this week’s Reader’s Hardcore Project.

Joe purchased the car through eBay. At the time, he was living in McKinney, Texas, and drove to El Reno, Oklahoma, to check out the car. “After a short but spooky test drive, money changed hands,” explained Joe. The steering was severly loose, and he had to figure out why.

During tear down, Joe spent the time he needed to make sure everything was done right.

After having the car delivered to his home in Texas, he installed a new Church Boys Racing rack-and-pinion conversion. This initial repair gave Joe a serious case of the “Since I am’s…” In other words, he discovered the grille, radiator support, and brake plumbing all needed to be replaced. You know how it goes; and since he was going to replace the brakelines, he figured he might as well update the brakes to a stronger 11-inch diameter disc-brake system. Rearend work extended into new Moser C-Clip axle shafts, new bearings, and an aluminum differential cover.

A GM 11-inch disc brake upgrade was added to the front and rear of the car.

Joe knew at this point he was in it for the long haul, so pennies were saved and the parts collection grew. The original 400 cubic-inch engine was replaced with an ATK-built 357 cubic-inch small-block pumping out 415 horsepower and 439 llb-ft.t of torque. The truck transmission behind the original engine was also replaced with a 700R4, using a B&M Racing shifter and a 2,000 rpm-stall torque converter.

The new ATK small-block delivers 415 horsepower and 439 lb-ft. of torque.

Joe and his family ended up moving to Twin Falls, Idaho, which put a temporary pause on the project. After getting the new house set up, the car got some attention again. The previously installed tubular front suspension components were swapped out for Church Boys Racing parts, and the rear leaf springs were tossed in favor of a four-link – also from Church Boys.

With the help of Jeff Trammell at Advanced Suspension Design, the four-link was dialed-in with the help of Viking double-adjustable shocks.

The project is still progressing, and next up on the list is the interior. Joe plans to restore the seats by using a black vinyl with a red stripe. A Dakota Digital dash and RetroSound head unit are being transplanted as well.

Mid-way through the body prep for the new coats of paint.

During every step of the project, Joe has carefully selected the optimum components and spent the time needed to do the job right – cleaning, painting, and/or detailing everything as he goes. His goal is to have the interior finished sometime in early 2017. We’re sure the end result will be fantastic.

Does Joe’s project inspire you to work on your own car? Let us know in the comments below, and if you have a project of your own, share it with us! Send us an email, and yours could be the next Chevy project featured in our Reader’s Hardcore Projects.