The shear number and variety of cars that come out to the Irwindale drag racing event, Thursday Night Thunder, on a weekday night is astounding. This first generation Chevy Nova, tuned in the gasser discipline, was a car that resonated with the both Mike Garrett and I as we walked the line to see that night's drag offerings.
I have to admit that I was never a fan of the gasser look until just recently. They didn't make sense to me. Someone would purposely raise their car? BLASPHEMY. When I asked Mike why he loved gassers so much he put it simply: "Just look at the stance!" And it clicked. Stance really isn't about being low, its all about the overall package of looking mean and this Nova definitely looks mean.
What sits up front is a big V8 with an equally big blower. Murcuh.
The interior of the car was as simple and purposeful as it gets. I just love the old gear selectors.
Looking mean standing at the lights.
An 1/8th of a mile at 5.61. Not bad, dear gasser, not bad at all….
More to come from the Irwindale drag night!
-Linhbergh
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
Is there a site with more details on the Nova? It must have a pretty healthy small block to run a 5.61. It appears to have a serious drag racing Lenco transmission in it.
badddd assss!!!!
Lenco's aren't exactly "old"......I'd rock one in any drag car really
1/8th mile is weak. better than nothing, but lets try to live in the real
hot engineering. love it
pretty sure that the gear selectors in the car are for a lenco tranny. You yank back on one for each gear instead of shifting.
That shifter is a nice high end drag shifter, each gear has its own lever and you hit another lever to reset them all back if not mistaken. I remember while working at a shop driving a 60s nova wagon that had a factory push button shifter on the dash, now for the 60s i thought that was pretty nice!
Love that last shot! I miss the SGV sometimes. Go Gasser Go!
so good. a lot of love old school GM.... I love the late 60s early 70's Novas (2nd/3rd gen). tough looking car this one.
a big V8 with a big blower.. WOW that's one detailed description of the engine. A drag car is all about the engine! At least the displacement and horsepower figures should be present in this spotlight. And especially if it's about a car as brilliant as this one!
Had never seen such a gear selector, whats the advantage over a "normal" one, or sequential?
the car is putting down some times there! never seen that selector setup before, looks complicatedly cool though.. dread to think what happens if you choose the wrong gear??!! all in all a great little blog..
I've always loved the look of an Enderle "bug catcher" sitting atop a 6-71. Classic and badass.
i dont get it, most REAL drag cars have Lenco Drives in them, why is everyone so shocked??? shit, try looking at a Liberty transmission!!
I run a gasser style '64 Mercury short box pick up with a hot 302 (soon to be replaced by a hotter 306!) backed by a T5, noting beats banging gears through a 1/4 mile...real race cars have a clutch!
Awesome, can you desktop the last picture, I like the california sunset
Three pedals!! its a mans car
Missing some coverage on why the stance is what is in terms of weight ditribution and dynamics. Cool machine though, but theres more to gassers than this story..
Ok let's get back to my LA Speedhunting adventures from a couple of weeks ago. As previously mentioned, I was in possession of a German Hot Rod for the week: a 500bhp V10 Powered, BMW M5. You know, this car had an odd effect on me. I kept wanting