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American Spirit Reimagined | Summit Racing’s Spirit of ’26 Chevrolet Nova

By admin August 29, 2026 7 min read

As America prepared to commemorate its Bicentennial in 1976, the brain trust at General Motors had their own plans for the celebration. For 1974, the company unleashed its special edition “Spirit of America” package, available for the Nova, Impala, and Vega. Depending on the vehicle, customers were treated to custom interior accents, red-white-blue stripe packages, and “Spirit of America” badging—all to help mark America’s 200^th birthday.

Fifty years later, as the U.S. observes its 250^th birthday, The Summit Racing folks are bringing back the Spirit of America.

Or at least their spin on it.

Summit Racing’s “Spirit of ’26” 1974 Nova is not only a salute to America’s birthday, it also celebrates American car culture. The company calls it an everyman’s build, featuring a Day 2-style approach with affordable, off-the-shelf parts from Summit Racing. It’s an ode to Americans’ DIY ability and work ethic, and is built to explore America via the good old fashioned road trip.

The Original Spirit

Back to where it all began.

General Motors announced special editions for a trio of cars in the 1974 Chevy lineup: Impala, Nova, and Vega.

While options differed depending on each specific model, patriotic buyers were treated to things like custom interior accents, red-white-blue stripe packages, color-keyed wheels, and special “Spirit of America’ badging inside and out.

However, what those original Spirit of America cars offered in style, they lacked in performance and power as America grappled with rising fuel prices and stricter emissions standards. Fortunately, Summit Racing knows a thing or two about speed and performance parts and was more than willing to perform a little revisionist history.

The result: The Summit Racing Spirit of ’26 Chevrolet Nova.

A New Spirit Lives

Summit Racing stumbled across its 1974 Nova (non-Spirit of America version) on Facebook marketplace. Although it wasn’t a hatchback model like the original Spirit Nova, it was in very good shape and located near the company’s Ohio headquarters. Plus, it offered a basic, barebones canvas to which the Summit Racing folks could apply their vision.

We’re talking column-shift setup, bench seats, no A/C, AM radio—and yes, a plain Jane six-cylinder engine.

The plan started under the hood. The original 1974 Spirit of America Nova was available in four versions, including the six-cylinder and three different 350 cubic-inch options with a maximum output of 185 horsepower. The goal for the first phase of the Spirit of ’26 build was to easily exceed the original horsepower capability while maintaining a road trip-friendly demeanor. To accomplish that mission—and to have the Nova ready for summer cruising—the Summit Racing team started with 383 cubic-inch stroker short block from ATK.

Using the Chevy 383 as the foundation, the team swapped out the existing cam for something a little rowdier: a Stage 5 Summit Racing SBC LS Firing Order hydraulic roller cam. The 0.550-lift cam gives the Nova a serious lope, and the LS firing order delivers better torque and power than the traditional firing order. To help preserve a more period-correct look, they opted for a set of Trick Flow DHC 200 cylinder heads. The fully CNC-ported heads feature CNC-profiled 64cc combustion chambers but come with vintage touches like double hump head styling and straight spark plug holes. A set of finned Holley M/T valve covers and Summit Racing finned air cleaner add to the vintage look. An Edelbrock Super Victor II intake manifold and Holley 750 cfm double-pumper carburetor feeds the engine, while a set of Doug’s Headers headers get rid of the spent gases.

A GearStar GM 4L60E Level 3 transmission, Yank torque converter, and U.S. Shift transmission controller ensure the power is properly transferred to the wheels. A custom Summit Racing driveshaft and Currie Custom 9-inch Crate Axle with 3.73 gears complete the drivetrain.

The Spirit of ’26 Nova is slated to see some serious highway time, so the suspension and braking systems were reworked for improved comfort, handling, and safety. A Detroit Speed Front Speed Kit Handling Package provides all the needed upgrades up front. The kit came with tubular steel control arms, front sway bar, and monotube shocks—all designed by Detroit Speed to complement each other. A Detroit Speed Rear Speed 1 Kit includes a set of two-inch multi-leaf springs and shackles and monotube shocks for the backend of the Nova. The entire vehicle got new body bushings from Summit Racing. The Summit team also added a set of Summit Racing bolt-on subframe connectors to accommodate future plans for the vehicle (more on that later).

The braking system was an obvious area of improvement. The Nova now includes a Classic Performance Hydrastop Hydraulic brake assist kit to make up for any vacuum loss from the larger camshaft. The kit works off of the car’s power steering pump to generate additional stopping power. A set of front and rear Baer Classic Disc Brake Kits provide a marked improvement over the stock drum brakes. They’re a direct bolt-on replacement for early GM cars and feature 11-inch rotors and aluminum, 2-piston calipers on the front kits and 10.5-inch rotors and single-piston calipers on the rear kits.

The Nova’s body was in remarkably good shop for an Ohio car. After some minor repairs, the Nova was sent to Pro Auto Wraps in Massillon, OH for a custom vinyl wrap created by Summit Racing’s Mike Bloomhuff. The wrap design was developed as a nod to the original “Spirit of America” styling in 1974. It’s matte white with red and blue trim and a custom “Spirit of ’26” badge on the front fenders and trunk lid. The top is a custom black Summit Racing “logo-S” design, created to mimic the vinyl top of original 1974 special edition package. A Glasstek fiberglass hood, Cragar S/S wheels, and BFGoodrich Radial T/As complete the look.

But Wait…There’s More

The Summit Racing team plans to enjoy some road trips and shows over the course of the summer. Then, it’s on to a possible Phase II. The plan is to install a big block Chevy, built on one of Summit Racing’s new SPC engine blocks. They also plan to add a roll cage and beefier transmission, with a goal of hitting the drag and drive circuit in 2027.

Drag-n-drives, road trips, Chevrolets, and good old fashioned Detroit muscle—sounds like America to us!

Happy birthday, U.S.A.