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When we came across Corey Bohl and his 1967 Nova, he was sitting in first place in the Gasser B class of the 2022 Midwest Drags. We caught Corey and his dad Carl at the Morocco, IN-based US41 Motorplex. The two-man team were wrenching on the Nova and had the hood off the car exposing its 427 cubic inch small block Chevy powerplant. Naturally, we wanted to know more, and we couldn’t look away from the clear valve covers either.
It turned out that Corey had Ohio Crankshaft build the small block Chevy engine. They assembled the entire long block and selected the components for the build.
“The small block features a 4.000” stroke and 6.000” rods,” Bohl told us. “It’s just got a flat top piston with an 11:1 compression. Everything down to pushrods is from Ohio Crankshaft. Straub Technologies out of Tennessee designed me a hydraulic roller camshaft. The engine has Morel lifters. BES Racing Engines and Tony Bischoff CNC-ported the cylinder heads. I also threw a Victor Tunnel Ram on it to give it that cool factor, and it’s backed up with a GForce 4-speed and a Ram clutch. Up top, the engine also has COMP Cams Pro Magnum roller rockers and two 650 Holley carbs done by ATM Innovation out of Bowling Green, KY. I’ve also got a stud girdle, Doug’s 2” primary headers and clear valve covers, which are everybody’s favorite.”
Corey’s Nova looked extremely impressive, but he told us the build started as a $3,000 Craigslist find over a decade ago.
“I paid $3,000 for the car when I was like 19,” Bohl says. “I just happened to have three grand because I sold a vehicle the day before. The car was on Craigslist back when that was a thing. I got the car home and it was a six-cylinder Powerglide. It was red with black interior. It was in really good shape.
“Well, fast forward through kids and meeting my wife Sarah, and we got the car on a rotisserie and I stripped it all down. We got it painted and then everything else pretty much happened at the house with me and my dad. I knew I wanted a gasser from day one. I didn’t expect it to be a mid-10-second streetcar, but it’s been a hell of a ride.”
Competing in the Gasser B class for the Midwest Drags, Corey had run a 10.69 and a 10.68 at that point in the competition.
“I was happy with that,” he says. “The small block gives us about 675 horsepower. With less humidity and leaving at a little bit higher rpm, I’d like to get back into the 10.50s. It’s been 10.40 before.”
The Midwest Drags raced at Edgewater Motorsports Park (twice), US 41 Motorplex and Dragway 42 during the drag-and-drive week. Corey ended up running ETs of [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] for an overall average of [email protected]. That was good enough for the class win.
“Ohio Crankshaft did a great job,” Bohl says about his engine. “They build a hell of a motor.”
Engine of the Week is sponsored by PennGrade Motor Oil, Elring – Das Original and Engine & Performance Warehouse Inc./NPW Companies. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].
