Terry Nash's '55 210 two-door sedan is as se to a perfect street machine as anyone could want. The cruiser is fine enough for practical enough for everyday driving.

We literally genuflected before the '55 Chevy, and the other Tri-Fives, too. These cars became as undeniable as the '32 Ford three-window and the '40 Ford coupe were to the generation preceding.

Another blue Nova, Rick Dobbertin’s ’65, won Street Machine of the Year in 1982. It showed up with a twin-­turbocharged, supercharged, and nitrous-­injected 454, as well as 33-inch rear ...