The Edelbrock Group annually hosts a Spring and Fall cruise-in at its Olive Branch, Mississippi headquarters. These gatherings unite the local car community in a spirit of camaraderie and shared passion. While it’s not a traditional ‘car show’ with classes and awards, this year, we introduced a ‘Staff Pick’ award, chosen by EG employees, to honor two exceptional vehicles. The first pick was this 1968 Chevy II Nova owned by Justin Hawkins from Selmer, Tennessee. The car is a stunner on its own, but the story behind it solidified it as one of our picks.
Nova Love
Have you ever fallen so deeply in love with a car that you just HAVE to have it? Justin did, and he made it happen 20 years after first seeing it. His Dad, Keith Hawkins’ first car, was a Nova, and Justin followed in his footsteps, loving that venerable Chevy nameplate. However, one Nova in particular really hooked him in 2004. He just couldn’t shake it; he had to have it. Justin remembers it like it was yesterday.
“When I was 14, my Dad took me to Memphis Motorsports Park to see the first Hot Rod/COMP Cams Pump Gas Drags,” he recalls. “There was this baby blue Nova that made the quickest pass of the event — 9.08 @ 152mph. Then, Hot Rod magazine featured it in its November 2004 issue. It was my favorite Nova through the years.”
The Build
John Cunningham was a former NHRA Comp Eliminator record holder who got bored in retirement and decided to try the Pump Gas Drags. He built the Nova in 2001. Even then, it was what we’d call “a survivor” today.
The Nova wore its original Grotto Blue paint and Ermine White top, with only 9,000 miles on the odometer. It had spent most of its 20-year life covered with a blanket, emerging for the occasional car show. Cunningham hounded the previous owner for a year before he let it go for just $10,000.
Other than a cowl-induction hood, John left the exterior appearance unmolested. He installed a cage and two Kirkey race seats inside but otherwise left the interior alone. John hung a leaf-sprung Ford 9-inch with Cal-Trac bars out back for suspension. Up front, he fit the Nova with the first full front clip from Smith Racecraft. He turned to Glen and Kevin Self of Durant, Oklahoma, to build a 540ci big block (or was it? More on that later).
The Search Is ON
In 2021, a wave of nostalgia washed over Justin one day as he started reminiscing about that baby blue beast. The thought of its whereabouts became a puzzle he was determined to solve. Hoping to reunite with his long-lost love, he embarked on a quest to track Cunningham down.
Finding Cunningham turned out to be pretty easy. However, Justin’s search quickly hit a dead-end when John informed him that he sold the Nova in 2005 and didn’t know where it went. Not knowing where else to turn, Justin turned to social media and made a Facebook post in a few groups asking if anyone knew the Nova’s whereabouts.
Astoundingly, someone responded with the information he coveted. The car was owned by Iowan Brad McKenzie, who had owned it for the past 16 years. It seems Brad loved the car as much as Justin, but unfortunately, he had recently passed away.
Making Contact
Lucky for Justin, the commenter put him in touch with the family. They were happy to speak with someone who obviously loved the car as much as Brad did. They told him that Brad hadn’t driven the Nova very much outside of the occasional car show or ice cream run. It was being stored in a storage building in Iowa, and they were willing to entertain offers from the right person.
In 2022, after several phone calls with the family, Justin was confident the Nova was still in good working condition as described. All he had to do was get to Iowa to put eyes on it. Justin, Keith, and his brother-in-law Kyle Henson made the 12-hour trip to the storage shed. When they examined the Nova, it showed only an additional 3,000 miles for a total of 12,000 original miles!
“It was very surreal to see it 18 years later,” he says. “It was nearly identical to the way I remembered it. I’m very blessed to be able to own one of my all-time favorite cars!”
The guys dropped the fuel from the cell, put in some fresh fuel and a charged battery, and turned the key. The Nova instantly fired to life, sealing the deal for Justin. Indeed, it was exactly as he remembered. All that was left to do was to strap the car on the trailer and complete an epic 24-hour roundtrip road trip of a lifetime.
Discovering History
Through the buying process, Justin has become good friends with John Cunningham, who has been a great source of information on the Nova. Some of that information was surprising. Evidently, this Nova was actually owned by the mother of Bill “Grumpy” Jenkins, and he donated it to the National Nostalgic Nova Club upon her passing. John bought it from the club’s president.
The biggest surprise was that John fibbed to Hot Rod magazine way back in 2004! A racing competitor at heart, he told them the engine was 540c.i. In fact, it was 565c.i., and Justin has verified that with a Michigan machine shop that freshened the engine in 2016.
The Nova Now
Because the Nova had sat for over a year, Justin wanted to check things over once he got the car back to Selmer before driving it in anger. He’d like to thank his dad and friends Mark Turner, Patrick Moore, Kyle Henson, and Tony Miles for all the help getting the Nova back into fighting shape. Even his wife, Molly, and kids, Liam and Rosalee, have gotten their hands dirty.
The Nova is essentially the same, with a few things freshened up. The first move was to replace the valve springs, which is always a good move when a race vehicle sits for a long time (or you don’t know how old the springs are). They took the carburetor off to have it gone through. Finally, they dropped the fuel, changed all the fluids, and cleaned out the lines before giving it a fresh batch.
Now that the Nova is back together, Justin has been able to take it to Jackson Dragway in Jackson, Tennessee, to see if it performs as he remembered. We’re happy to report that he is getting it dialed in, with his best pass to date on engine only of 5.90 at 117mph on the eighth-mile track. After looking at the data, Justin found that the previous tune was taking out a lot of timing after the 1-2 shift, so he knows there is much more performance left. And he always has nitrous to fall back on. Beyond that, he’s just been enjoying the car, taking it to cruise-ins, car shows, and the family out for the occasional ice cream run.
We imagine John and Brad would be proud to know that Justin is using it just the way they had, with no plans to change it, and keeping the legacy of this Nova alive!
For more great rides, check out our RIDES section!
