Wayout Willy's Pure Dye Nova

Aunt Rita would be proud

- Ro McGonegal 

Bill Lowe has done this car twice in the 28 years he’s held the keys. The first time, he and his friends combined talent and experience to make it happen. The next go-around, Wayout Willy stepped up the game, bringing his expectations and his 1972 Nova to Roy Anania at South State Speed Shop (SSSS) in Hackensack, New Jersey, for the supercharged engine, and then to Tony Nese for the full-on body rub at Ultimate Auto Body over by Nutley.

What these guys did reflects their thoughts and mandates about the life that we are all in, doing it more or less because their convictions are old and their traditions run deep, so they are rarely driven by popular notion. That’s why this Nova is still around after all these years. You love it. You treat it. You drive it anew. While Bill could have gone billet and flash, he felt there was still more he could learn and apply by abiding the old ways.

Bill spiels: “The blue ’72 Nova was my second car ever. I got it because I was looking to take my first car—a red ’73 Nova—off the road so I could rebuild the 350 after a couple years of abuse. The red car belonged to my parents. My dad bought it in ’75, and then it ended up as Mom’s daily driver before I got my hands on it. The ’73 I used in high school and later for work. I learned how to drive with it. Back in ’83, my aunt Rita went with me to take the road test for my license.” Regardless of their disposition, to Bill, the Novas were like family members and seminal in his development.