SP Rides: A Real Super Nova
By JERRETTE KAMAKA
OWNER: Butch Ferreira
YEAR: 1964
MAKE: Chevrolet
MODEL: Nova
ENGINE: 350 ci Chevrolet small block, Victor Jr. intake, Holley carburetor, headers
DRIVETRAIN: Automatic turbo 350 transmission, 2800 stall, 9” Ford rear end
WHEELS: Centerline rims
ELECTRONICS: MSD ignition
STEREO: AM radio
It’s rare to spot a hot rod Chevy Nova cruising the streets of Honolulu — and even rarer to find a first generation model like this 1964 Nova out there. But Butch Ferreira, who’s owned at least 40 different kinds of vehicles since graduating from Farrington High, knew he had to have one. Ten years ago, he finally found the turnkey hot rod he could drive on a daily basis.
“Over the years of going to car shows, I would see a lot of Camaros and ’55s, and I didn’t want something that a lot of other people had. I wanted to be different,” explained Ferreira, a retired heavy equipment operator. “You don’t see a lot of Novas, so I searched for six months looking at different Novas before coming across this Nova in Pleasanton, Calif. I called the guy and sent him a down payment and told him I’ll be at his place tomorrow to look at the car.”
The next day Ferreira flew to the West Coast and was with the seller looking over this ride with a fine toothcomb. Without even test-driving the car, he told the seller he’d take it. Today, the condition of the Nova is pretty much the same condition it was in back in 2006. When the car arrived on Oahu, Ferreira did some minor work on the car to get it to his liking.
“The engine wasn’t running that good so I had to do some tuning to the engine, and it came with gear drive so I took that out cause I didn’t want the noise,” said Ferreira. “I had to fix some of the wiring under the hood then I redid the front end, replacing the bushings and ball joints. I added the tailpipes and power windows and the fuel tank was rusty so I put a stainless steel tank.”
One of the attractions Ferreira has to this car is the pristine condition of the body, and the fact that there isn’t any warps or wobbles in the paint. And looking at this car’s lines from headlight to taillight will definitely impress anyone who knows and appreciates cars that are well cared for.
“When I was younger I saw building cars as a challenge. To modify the engine to make it go faster is what I liked about in working on cars,” added Ferreira. “But this car is done. There isn’t anything else I plan on doing to this car other than waxing it and maintaining its condition.”
This is probably the car that most people will see Ferreira driving, but there is another more radical Nova that he is putting the final touches on, which will hit the streets in the next few months.
