Story and Photos by Steve Magnante
09/14/07

Go to YouTube right now. Type in Wilshire Shaker and watch the half dozen or so 30-second movies of this thing in action. We’ll wait…Good, you’re back. Now tell us you aren’t ready to build one of these crazy altered wheelbase machines for yourself. The fact is, the altered wheelbase match race scene took the nation by storm and set the stage for modern funny car drag racing.

But while these cars were only in competition for about 24 months (1965 and 1966)  before escalating speeds and safety concerns brought the advent of flip-top funny cars, there’s no reason you can’t build one today for street and strip use. We call ‘em Match Bash cars because they capture the look and feel of an old time altered wheelbase door slammer, but with the ability to chug down Main Street on pump gas.

Here’s an overview of the planning and construction of the Wilshire Shaker Chevy Nova Match Bash car. Its funny how life works, I started construction of this car back in 1997, just a few weeks after Ro hired me on to work with him at Hot Rod magazine. Now here we are a decade later doing the same thing with the same car! So read the story and then go build yourself a Match Basher! And don’t forget to check out the Wilshire Shaker Recipe List sidebar for more ideas on the car and the whole Match Bash theme.

Before starting a project like this, it’s always a good idea to whip up a line drawing showing the stock Nova wheelbase, ride height and wheel openings. Drawings help you visualize how the outcome will appear before metal work begins.