“Clandestine Copper” - Tony Ferguson’s ‘72 Chevrolet Nova
The old adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, is precisely the sentiment of classic car and racing enthusiast Tony Ferguson with his 1972 Chevy Nova. This shimmering copper-colored beauty with its stock-style reupholstered interior projects just the image Ferguson intended: an unassuming powerhouse that could pass off as a beautiful but drowsy stock rebuild.
Ferguson purchased the Nova from a private party seller in Wyoming in the late 1990’s. His original intentions were to make it a competitive drag car. He equipped the Nova with a powerful nitrous big block and a roll cage and spent the first few years bracket racing, mostly at the former Douglas International Raceway (now Central Wyoming Motorsports Park) in Douglas, Wyoming. Ferguson then decided to level up the aesthetics of the Nova with some bodywork touch-ups and a fresh coat of paint by Jason Ferguson of Tubby’s Customs in Hillpoint, Wisconsin. With a sharp new look, Ferguson decided to switch things up under the hood. He replaced the big block with a nitrous-powered small block Chevy and screeched back into the racing scene, competing in numerous races including the 2008 Speed Network’s, “Pinks": All Out” reality drag racing series. This ‘72 Nova cranked out an impressive 10.3 second time in the quarter mile with a 1.38 second 60’ before the small block engine finally gave out.
After the motor blew, Ferguson took some time to regroup and craft a new vision for the Nova. It was then that the “Clandestine Copper” project was born. Ferguson envisioned the Nova to be more of a daily driver, albeit a quick one, versus just a race car. He replaced the blown small block with a 5.3L LS engine, Z06 Corvette cam, and an EFI Live tuner, all backed by a 4L60E transmission with a Circle D Specialties 3000 stall and a Quick Performance 9” rearend. Ferguson then added a ZEX Nitrous kit to ensure this ‘72 could feed his need for speed. On the inside, Ferguson gave the Nova a bit of a facelift with stock-style vinyl upholstery, a Dakota Digital VHX Series dash, a Lokar shifter and Lokar pedals, a Vintage Air kit, and IDIDIT steering column, and a JVC head unit and speaker system. While Ferguson never intended to remove the roll cage during the rebuild, it became somewhat of a necessity. He jokingly shared, “after bumping my head for the millionth time on that cage while trying to reupholster the interior, I decided it had to go”.
Once the Nova had a sharp new interior and motor setup, Ferguson continued the rebuild by adding 2 1/2” mandrel bent exhaust with Flowmaster 50 Series mufflers. He upgraded the front suspension with CPP control arms and QA1 double-adjustable coilovers and back was fitted with CPP leaf springs. To upgrade the braking system, Ferguson added four new Willwood brakes. The “Clandestine Copper” was ready for the finishing touches. Ferguson amped up the aesthetics with 18” and 20” Coy wheels and a Goodmark 2” steel cowl hood, color-matched by Tubby’s Customs, and the rebuild was officially complete.
It’s been about a year since the final transformation of this ‘72 and Ferguson couldn’t be happier. His vision of a classy sleeper was realized. He and his wife, Jessica, and two teenage sons, Riley and Isaiah, have enjoyed numerous cruises, car shows and road trips in the Nova since the rebuild. And when the craving for the thrill of a 1/4 mile launch strikes, the Ferguson family heads to the drag strip to put the 475 horses in this nitrous-powered LS to the test.