Undiscovered Builders is Sponsored by Amsoil
For the 2016 Summer Nationals Car Craft has again called out for undiscovered builders to step up and be counted. We’re giving them some love to showcase their builds and to spotlight their unique talents for a boost to launch them toward their dream of building muscle cars for a living. Yes, we know that’s a crazy, but not unobtainable, goal for all of these builders. Or maybe it’s not. Here’s one of the five we are featuring:
Jim Ransom
Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
1969 Nova
Jim had a plan for his rusty, wasted Nova, and it was to race in the quarter mile, and that’s what he’s done since finishing it three years ago. But to get to this point took a lot of time and skill, as the poor Nova is a Wisconsin car, which means lots of rust from lots of winter salt. Over four years he replaced the doors and front fenders, and then welded in a new floor, rockers, rear quarters from the midline crease down, and on any other areas the rust worm had made holes in. He also flattened the firewall, before tackling the chassis and drivetrain.
As these are unibody cars, he created a 2×3-inch frame, then made his own A-arms, incorporating stock Nova spindles and coil overs, with a rear-steer rack-and-pinion. He also mounted the 9-inch Ford rear that is a fabb’d housing he also made. In fact, making fabb’d housings is one of the ways he pays for his car building hobby. Moving inside, he made his own roll cage, certified for low-8 second passes, though the best pass to date was a 10.00 at Great Lakes.
Tom Nickerson did the machine work and set up the crank for the 512 GM big-block before Jim took care of the roller cam and rockers, Jessel belt drive, front-drive distributor, Brodix heads and intake, with an 1150 Dominator mounted on top. It’s all anchored in by a motor-and mid-plate Jim made. He also made the headers.
Jim likes to do tin-bending as well, and so he fabricated all the interior panels and the rear wing. He also extended the cowl induction hood to the windshield—they normally stop at the back of the hood opening. The bumpers have also been narrowed a bit to tuck in nicer to the body than they do in stock form. Then it was time to lay on the Hugger Orange base/clear, handled expertly by Jim.
New to the car this week is the NOS nitrous system he’s anxious to try out at Great Lakes for the Car Craft Midnight Drags tomorrow night. He’s also anxious for HOT ROD Drag Week in September where he’ll flog his Nova on a six-day thrash of gas, sweat, humidity, and potential triumph should he win his class in the Street Race Power Adder class.
Jim’s having a lot of fun with his once-wasted Nova, and would like to be able to do more builds like this should he break away from his day job. Maybe the exposure at the Car Craft Summer Nationals will help him decide when and where he might make the jump to big-time car building.
The post 2016 Car Craft Summer Nationals Undiscovered, but not Unwashed, Builders: Jim Ransom appeared first on Hot Rod Network.