Story & Photos: Eddie Maloney
The dads and moms who grew up with muscle cars owned by their dads and moms are passing the torch down to their children, only now, horsepower has taken on a whole new meaning thanks to the ingenuity (and piles of broken parts) from the 40plus crowd.
This is exactly the kind of story New Jersey native Cole Sammartino had growing up, which eventually led up to one pretty badass LSX powered Nova.
“I have been into cars since day one,” Cole explained. “My
dad started me off very young purchasing me Hot Wheels and other car themed toys for many years. At 4 years old he had me driving a bobcat and forklifts and by the tender age of 8 I was behind the wheel of his 46 Willys Jeep (off road of course),” he added with a smile.
Starting as a driver long before most us, when Cole turned 10 his father felt it was the right time to start looking for their father/son project. The project? A 1973 Chevrolet Nova that would continue to be improved up to this very day. “It was 2004
The father/son project is a big part of our car culture, and seems to be growing in popularity with the latest generation of gearheads.
■ The sleek Oxford White Nova has come a long, long way since Cole and his dad found it rusting by the roadside with a for sale sign in it.
“The most memorable moment in my car hands down is the first test drive before we bought it. I was 10 years old, and I remember my dad asking me if I was ready. Before I knew it, he floored it and started rowing gears… as he went for the 3-4 shift the shifter handle pulled out of the shifter base and he was holding it in his hand! The car was by far the fastest thing I had been in at that age, and it was mind blowing for me then that my dad broke the shifter from shifting so hard. Good memories and plenty of laughs.” Cole Sammartino
■ Despite not reaching the car’s potential with the new combination just yet, Cole competed at some big events in 2021 such as the famed LS Fest in Bowling Green, Kentucky, as well as FL2K at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida.
when my dad and I started looking for a project, something that would cost less than $2,000, when we came across this rusty 1973 Chevy Nova SS on the side of the road priced at $2,400 obo. It was a running car outfitted with a heathy 327 and Super T-10 4 speed. After test driving the car, my dad managed to talk the guy down to $1,600 and we drove the car home that day. I was probably the happiest 10-year-old kid at that time!”
After getting the Nova, Cole really started to learn about cars and once he hit high school he expand-
ed that knowledge in his auto shop classes. During that time, Cole competed in many competitions such as SkillsUSA and the Ford AAA Challenge. He won at the state level in both competitions and placed at the national level, as well. His success led to many scholarships offered his way, but
ultimately he started working at the local Ford dealership.
Over the course of the next 7 years, Cole and his father managed to completely restore the all-steel Nova, including replacing both 1/4 panels, floor pans, rockers, trunk panels, and repaired the doors, and fenders, as well.
“My buddy Brian Dillion, my dad, and I did all the paint and body work, too,” he added.
■ Most of the interior is factory, aside from the 10-point cage, Grant GT wheel, Holley dash and Hurst shifter. Even though Cole street drives the Nova it usually has a single race seat installed. Because the car was just mildly mini-tubbed, the rear seat could have been kept, but you have to shed weight off a full steel car somehow!
“
The most unique part of this build in my opinion is the stripe I had my neighbor custom make for me. It’s one off. I know there’s not another Nova with the same stripe.”
Cole Sammartino
During the years it took to restore the car, Cole bought his first drivetrain combo, a 383 cubic inch small block Chevy paired up to a TH400 automatic transmission. The combination resulted in 11.60 ¼ mile times in the Nova, which wasn’t too bad for a pump gas/ foot brake combination.
After a few years, Cole needed more so he built a Dart block based 421-inch small block. He added 18-degree cylinder heads, a solid roller cam, Dominator carb and a host of
...He still had that itch to go quicker and faster...
THIS IS ONE VERY QUICK NOVA!
■ The heartbeat of Cole’s Nova is a built Chevy 6.0-liter LS-based motor mated to twin VSRacing 6766 series turbochargers. He can run and tune it for both E85 and 93 octane fuel thanks to the Holley Terminator X EFI system. The super clean install, with the turbos mounted on either side of the custom rad, almost looks factory in the car.
■ There are two very distinct parts of this Nova that you won’t see often at this level. First, Cole rows the boat through a manual transmission – a Tremec T56 Magnum with adjustable twin-disc clutch. He also runs a GM 12-bolt rearend, shortened and beefed up with a Strange 35 spline axle and spool package, 3.42 gears and a LPW cover.
other goodies, that netted roughly 689 horsepower on race gas and 9.80s down the 1320. Unfortunately, he would lose interest in that combination due to its unreliability on the street, and that is when he decided to go with a more reliable turbo LS engine. It was a 3rd gener-
ation 6.0-liter LS with a S475 turbo with auto trans which pushed the 3600lb Nova to 8-second ETs, but that still wasn’t enough for Sammartino.
By this time, Cole had been serving in the United States Army for many years but still had that itch to
go quicker and faster. The latest and greatest combination is a twin turbocharged, 366 cubic inch LS pushing nearly 1,200 horsepower running on E85 fuel, but as you might imagine, now the big challenge is to harness that power and get it down the track.
Nicholas Cole Sammartino’s Street/Strip 1973 Chevy Nova
Chassis Type & Mods:
10pt chromoly custom bent rollcage by Fusion Fab in Milliville, NJ. They also did a the min-tub and moved the leaf springs inboard at the same time.
Suspension:
Front: TRZ upper and lower control arms, Menscer Motorsports coilovers, Front sub frame tubing work by Fusion Fab.
Rear: Calvert Racing slip mono leafsprings with sliders, CalTracs traction bars, Menscer Motorsports shocks.
Body & Paint:
Body and paint were done by Brian Sammartino (my father), Brian Dillon, and owner. Oxford white single stage. Hood is a steel 2” cowl. Front bumper and lower valance are VFN fiberglass products. Rest of the car is all steel.
Engine:
Gen 3 stock 6.0L LS block bored .010 over to 4.010. Stock stroke (3.622) Callies Dragon Slayer crank, Callies Ultra H beam rods (6.125), Wiseco -3.2cc flat top pistons with tooled steel pins, ARP main and head studs, Johnson drop in slow leak down lifters, Custom ground Comp Cam (.610in .613ex lift 237in 243ex duration @.050 on a 114 lsa). Trick Flow LS2 220 as-cast, BTR .660 lift valve springs, BTR trunnion rocker upgrade, and Comp Cams Magnum chromoly push rods.
Induction & Fuel Delivery:
Holley 4500 split intake manifold, 4500 Holley elbow, WARR 102mm throttle body, Bosch 210 injectors, two 4303 MagnaFuel fuel pumps (second pump is on a Hobbs switch), MagnaFuel boost reference regulator, -10an feed lines, -8an return, and has Flex Fuel.
Power Adder:
Twin VSRacing 6766 turbos mounted to 1 7/8” Flowtech headers, 4” down pipes, twin VSRacing 44mm wastegates and 50mm blow off valves, and Treadstone 1300hp intercooler.
Electronics:
Holley Terminator X with flex fuel, boost control, and a Holley 7” digital dash.
Transmission & Converter:
Tremec T56 Magnum and Advanced Clutches adjustable twin disc clutch.
Rear Differential:
Shortened 12-bolt, Strange 35 spline axle and spool package, 3.42 gears and LPW differential cover.
Other Important Vehicle Information:
Car runs on 93 octane and E85. Has a Ron Rhodes core support and Champion LS swap radiator.
Wheels & Tires:
Champion Wheels 15x12 with 6.5 back space rear wheels and 15x3.5 fronts. 28x10 Mickey Thompson Pro Bracket Radials.
Best ET & MPH:
New combination, but previous single turbo auto trans setup went low 8s.
How Many Years Racing?:
Since I was allowed to race at the track (2011).
Thanks to:
My dad (Brian Sammartino) who helped with the whole build and restoration. We bought this car back in 2004 as a project together and completely restored the car from the ground up. This was my first car and I never plan on getting rid of it. Brian Dillon for help with body work and paint. Doug Harris for chassis and cage work. Raz Performance machine for engine machine work and assembly. MGP tuning (Miles Genier) for dyno time and tuning assistance. Myatt’s Garage (Justin Myatt) for track assistance and parts. Brittney Sammartino (wife) for always being by my side at the track and garage.
■ Check out how Cole and his dad found the Nova, it wasn’t much but they had a vision and they never imagined it would reach the point of where it is today – a twin turbo LS powered small tire street car running low 8s! Just 10 years old when they found the car, this shot of Cole was a few years into the project.
The new heartbeat is a Gen 3 stock 6.0 block bored .010 over to 4.010. A stock stroke (3.622) Callies Dragon Slayer crank, Callies Ultra H-beam 6.125 rods, Wiseco flat top pistons with tool steel pins swing inside the block. A custom ground Comp camshaft (.610 intake and .613 exhaust lift with 237 and 243 duration respectively at .050 on a 114 lsa) was used with Johnson drop in slow leak down lifters. Trick Flow LS2 220 heads were studded in place as-cast with BTR .660 lift valve springs, BTR trunnion rocker upgrade, and Comp Cams Magnum chromoly push rods.
Twin 6766 series turbos from VSRacing were added to the package along with 1 7/8” Flowtech headers, 4” down pipes, twin VSRacing 44mm wastegates and 50mm blow off valves, and Treadstone 1300hp intercooler.
Induction and fuel delivery is handled by a Holley 4500 split intake
manifold, 4500 Holley elbow and WARR 102mm throttle body with Bosch 210 injectors. Two 4303 MagnaFuel fuel pumps (second pump is on a Hobbs switch) with MagnaFuel boost reference regulator, -10an feed lines and -8an return lines were used to feed the hungry LS. The Holley Terminator X is setup with a flex fuel sensor for running either 93 octane or E85.
Here’s where Cole wanders outside the box a bit. With this combination he decided to toss the auto trans in favor of a standard gearbox. A Tremec T56 Magnum transmission with Advanced Clutches adjustable twin disc clutch now transfer the power rearward, and, as opposed the usual 9-inch, Cole went with a fortified shortened 12 bolt rearend with a Strange 35-spline axle and spool package, 3.42 gears and an LPW differential cover.
The car was only cut to allow for a
min-tub and moving the springs inboard, so it still rides on leafsprings. Calvert Racing’s slip mono leafs with sliders were used along with their world famous CalTracs traction bars and Menscer shocks. Aftermarket control arms were used in conjunction with coilover shocks up front.
The Nova is obviously a much different animal now and the big power twin turbo/stick shifted combo makes driving around town a blast, and days at the dragstrip even more fun! While the combination has shown promise with a handful of halftrack hits to date, it should bring the Nova into the very low 8-second zone in 2022.
For Cole Sammartino and his dad, the Nova was their first father/son project, and it is far from over. But the fact that he was just 10 years old when they started building it, makes Cole one lucky kid!
