Join Dennis Gage as He Meets "The Champ" and
Gets the Ride of His Life!

For those unaware, every fall Dan Jensen and Bob Bowden stage the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag Races (PSMCDR) in Stanton, Michigan. Year One's Keith Maney and Rob Youngblood attended the 1998 event and ran a story about the happenings in the Winter issue of Restoration Review.

They had so much fun covering the event that Phil Brewer, Year One's Art Director, and his father, also Phil Brewer (yes, it gets confusing around the shop), decided to build a Nova to compete in the '99 event. Phil (the elder) owns Brewer's Restoration and Performance (BRP) and the car was prepared for the event at his shop.

"The Car?" A 1968 SS Nova, 375-horse 396 with the very rare L-89 aluminum head option. The manual steering, manual drum brakes, roll-up windows, are all typical hot-rod Nova fare. It's Grotto blue, with a medium blue bucket seat interior and black vinyl top. They found a 68 big block with 68,000 mile that had been totally disassembled and in storage 13 years.

The rules for the race are relatively simple: The car must look and sound stock. Engines must maintain all the OEM equipment, i.e. stock intake, carb, heads, exhaust manifolds, camshaft, etc. No traction devices are allowed with one exception, manual trans cars can use an airbag on the right rear. Original size tires must be used. If the car originally came with F-70-14s, that's what has to be used. Repro bias ply or aftermarket radials (except specials drag radials) are legal, as long as the size is proper. A maximum exhaust diameter of 2.5" is legal.

A frenzied, 6-month body-off restoration began in late February 1999. As you might imagine, such limited rules mean everything has to be spot-on to get the best time out of the car. At the 1998 event the record e.t. was 12.70 with several tuning runs by some competitors in the 12.50 to 12.60 range so the Brewers faced an uphill battle.

A Chevy fan all his life Phil (the elder) knew that his car could do well. Having been quite a racer back in the 60's when he used to run a '57 Chev with a 425 hp small-block, one of the few cars that could beat him was a SS 396 L78 Nova. Fortunately, from his racing days, he had saved a few engine parts, like an original Holley 780 from an L78 396/375, 4 bolt blocks and a set of L-89 aluminum heads.

With help from the wives Connie and Ronda, friends Keith and Rob, and support from Year One & Extrude Hone the Nova took shape. Only three weeks before the race they fired it up for the first time. A few test & tunes later they headed for Michigan and a win, defeating one of the toughest Buicks around, Keith Diabo's 70 GSX with a record 12.37 e.t. at 111.9 mph. The Brewer's not only selected the best car & options for the event but precision tuning within the rules and driving played a major roll in the Drag Race. The younger Phil did an excellent job of driving the 3,240 lb. Nova down the quarter with consistent reaction times and pushing the limits of the 5 1/2" wide bias ply tires.

We caught up with Phil & Phil at the Silver Dollar Raceway in Reynolds, GA. Both Dennis Gage and producer Mike Alvey experienced what can only be described as, "leaving your stomach behind." One shot down the quarter-mile drag strip topped out at 110 mph with a 13.06 e.t. As Alvey put it, "there's no other feeling like it." The best e.t. of the day was a 12.60 at 111 mph with the younger Phil behind the wheel and the spare tire in the trunk.

Silver Dollar Raceway is a regional-quality NHRA quarter-mile drag strip located in Reynolds, Georgia, about twenty-five miles west of Warner Robins, Georgia, and ninety miles south of Atlanta. Owned by Ed Swearingen, the track is located on one hundred sixty-eight acres of land and is built to the latest standards of construction for professional quality drag racing. The racing surface is a full sixty-foot width, bounded by a concrete barrier wall to insure spectator and participant safety. The shutdown area is three thousand feet to insure adequate stopping room for the fastest quarter-mile passes. Times are measured by a Compulink System III, the same system used by the National Hot Rod Association at all Winston Drag Racing events.

The Brewers are looking forward to more pure stock events, and expect to have close competition from all of the makes and models of muscle cars. They know for certain the Buick guys will be tuning on their cars all year in hopes of out running the little blue Nova at their next meeting.

Hey, there's nothing like competition! That's what makes racing and this hobby so much fun. Everyone at My Classic Car wishes "The Champ" a terrific season!

You can e-mail Phil (the elder) at Brewer's Restoration and Performance (BRP) at brewer68@bellsouth.net or call 770-751-0687. To see the restoration go to www.yearone.com/live/carshows/employeecarimages/nova/brewer2.html Special thanks to Year One www.yearone.com Ed at Silver Dollar Raceway www.silverdollarraceway.com Keith Maney, Rob Youngblood (Year One), Julius Hughes (Atlanta Speed Shop), Ed & Bob (Extude Hone), Lance Patton (Reed Cams & Carb's), Sid & Keith Neal (Neal Racing), Lanati/Holley and of course, the ladies, Connie and Ronda!