New Yorker Ben Carenza is no stranger to vintage tin and has owned a wide berth of different cars over the decades. While several Fords, including a ’69 Ranchero and ’73 Mustang, were in the mix, Ben has demonstrated a clear preference for Bowtie-branded machinery. “I’ve had several ’66 and ’67 Novas,” he recalls with a broad smile, “a ’57 Chevy, a ’40 Chevy pickup, a ’63 Chevy pickup, a ’62 Biscayne, and an ’81 Malibu.”
Several years ago Ben was in the mood for a new project and started looking around for a good, clean Chevy II. “I love the early box Novas to begin with,” he explains, “and wanted to build one that looks like a plain-Jane, nothing-special kind of a car but with loads of performance underneath…