Shelly's Surprise
"Bringing the Nova back home where it belongs"
Story by John Aschenberg
Photos by – Julia Aschenberg
A lot of us can relate to old hot rods or cars we once had and sold it only to wish we had it back several years later. What are the chances of your old ride still being around, let alone ever owning it again? This is a story about a determined lady who wanted to find her husbands old '65 Chevy Nova. That lady is Shelly Schultz, and her lucky husband is Bill Schultz of Lafayette, In. Shelly and Bill had joked about getting the old car back and she had heard the ole Nova was for sale and knew just who to contact in finding Bill's car. A call was made to Greg Budreau of Auto Specialty in Lafayette, 765-477-7300 and he knew who had the car, so Shelly called to inquire about the '65 and a deal was made. The guy that Bill sold the car to back in '87 still had it, he drove it one year, parked it and then blew it all apart. The ironic part of this story is the fact that this was Bill's very first car when he was sixteen, and Shelly bought it back as a surprise for his 40th birthday back in '2005!
This was an original 194 c.i. six cylinder / powerglide car and Bill had big plans for the Nova. After some brainstorming with good friend Greg Budreau and crew at Auto Specialty, a plan was put into action which included a pro street look, slammed with air bags and a big 871 huffer within eyes view. Greg Budreau is a very talented individual who is responsible for all the fabrication work on this killer shoe box Nova. The custom rear chassis is made up of 2"x 3" and 2"x 4" rectangular steel material, while a 9-inch Ford Posi rear (4.56:1) with Moser axles was positioned into place. Up front you'll find a TCI tubular front clip with rack & pinion steering, and 2" dropped spindles. Ridetech shock waves were used in all four corners for ride quality and that cool down in the weeds look when not in motion. Four wheel disc brakes were used all the way around so Schultz can chalk it down quickly when putting his heavy foot into that healthy rat motor sitting between the frame rails. American Racing wheels were chosen to make it a complete rolling chassis; Torque Thrust II gray spoke to be exact, 15"x6" up front and huge 15"x15" out back all tightly wrapped in Hoosier rubber.
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