If you never heard about the Bill Thomas Novel Nova and the ”Instant Funny Car Kit”, grab a beer, settle back, and read on about the car that opened the door to Match Racing for the little Chevy II Nova!

I won’t go into GM’s ban on racing in 1963 – plenty of info out there.  A few of the Pontiac guys were still getting some backdoor support from the factory for the Tempests and SD Catalina’s, but after the Z11 409’s days were over in 1963, the Chevrolet racers were up the you-know-what creek with no factory support.  Privateers would install a 427 Z11 in their Chevy II or Chevelle to be competitive on the match race circuit.

But there was hope for Chevrolet racers at Bill Thomas Race Cars in Anaheim California !  Bill Thomas (actually BT Jr.) was a racing specialist automotive engineer on the West Coast.  Mr. Thomas worked with several Chevrolet dealers in the LA area starting in the early ‘60’s, and was well known for prepping Dan Gurney’s 1961 Chevrolet road-race Impala 409, his extensive modifications of the Corvette Fuel Injection systems, the 4-carb big valve Corvairs, his work with Hayden Proffit’s ’62 S/S bubbletop, and of course, the Cheetah.  But he was also involved in hot-rodding Chevrolet’s new Chevy II Nova.

In early 1962 he crammed a 360 HP Fuel Injection 327 and 4-speed into a brand new Chevy II.  Then in late ’62, he built “Bad Bascom” for the Grand Touring Class in sports car road races.  This Nova also incorporated a 1962 Corvette swing-axle rear housing with a transverse leaf spring.

And some of his most famous Nova’s were the 3 “Fastbacks”, built from fiberglass that looked like Novas with AMC Marlin roofs!  Chevrolet Racing originally designed these for the Sebring circuit, and construction had just started when the GM no-racing policy took effect.  That’s why the 3 Fastbacks ended up in Match Bash races instead of Watkins Glen!

Then, in mid 1965 or thereabouts, Bill Thomas Race Cars developed a lightweight straight-axle Chevy II front subframe assembly to help Chevy racers turn their little Chevy II into a Match Bash/Funny Car racer.  The subframe was also jointly marketed by Nickey Chicago, and I've been told over 100 subframes were sold back then.  Hot Rod Magazine called the subframe the “Instant Funny Car Kit” and published an article in March 1966 by Jim McFarland entitled “The Novel Nova”.  The name stuck over the years.

Built at Bill Thomas Race Cars in Anaheim in the stall next to Dick Harrell’s 1966 Nova Funny Car, the Novel Nova itself had an undistinguished drag racing career after completion.  It floated around in different configurations, most recently as a small block injected “Novacaine.”  Interestingly, the rear axle location was never changed on the Novel Nova.  Then in 2008, the car was purchased by John Tinberg in Illinois , and he just completed a year-long nut and bolt restoration of this historic Bill Thomas Nova!  The restoration took an incredible amount of work and research to be sure it is correct.  And it is – right down to the double-jog in the brake line exiting the original screw-top master cylinder!

So in August 2009, John and his wife Carla hosted a private party for the unveiling of this famous car at their home outside of Chicago.  There were over 40 people attending the “coming-out” party for the Novel Nova, traveling from as far as Kentucky and California .  It was a fantastic get-together with diehard car folks!  And to top it all off, my wife and I met Bill Thomas III who also flew in from California to see his dad’s restored car, as well as Steve Bimbi, “Mr. Nickey!”  The Bill Thomas Nova continues its relationship with Nickey Chicago to this day!  What an event!

The public “unveiling” of the restored Novel Nova was held at the Nickey Muscle Car & Corvette Nationals in Rosemont Illinois on November 21st and 22nd 2009.!

I was fortunate enough to see this restored Nova at the private unveiling back in early September 2009 – and it is awesome!  And I can tell you the car gives me the chills because it is so correct and so well done – a true part of Nova history.   I’ll have some more pictures in the future – stay tuned!

 Enjoy the following articles and pictures!

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