With a name like Dan Novara, building a Nova came naturally to the guy. I mean, he couldn't really drive anything else, could he? Still, the 1969 Nova that Dan built is in a class by itself, both in execution and power. While we've all heard the old adage that there's no replacement for displacement, there's also the new trend of forced induction. Dan decided he'd better have both just in case, and his big-block with twin 88mm turbos can make upward of 2,000 hp, depending on boost levels. This type of commitment to horsepower was needed in order for Dan to be successful, as he would be racing his car in the ultra-competitive world of X275 drag-radial racing.

The heart of Dan's Nova is a 516ci engine based on a Dart Big M block, and in perusing through the Nova's parts list, it's clear that he didn't cut any corners. When it came to the air and fueling systems that needed to support 2,000 hp, he went with the best money could buy: pieces from Aeromotive, Precision Turbo, Moran Motorsports, and Big Stuff. Since Dan runs M1 Methanol, an intercooler wasn't needed for his combination, and overheating issues are virtually nonexistent when street driving. In case Dan ever wants to turn it up, the twin Pro Mod 88s from Precision Turbo can support more than 3,000 hp. They're currently set at 30 psi of boost and tuned by Eric Dillard from Pro Line Racing Engines. The last thing anyone wants is to melt a brand-new engine combination into a chunk of molten metal by being way off on the tune, so lots of time was spent on the dyno getting everything just right.

With an engine this wild, you might expect the Nova's frame to be all tubs and tubes, but Dan wanted to maintain the car's street feel, so there's a surprising amount of factory pieces. The framerails all the way to the rear are actually stock, although they have been heavily massaged and tied together with a chromoly 25.5-spec cage from Matheis Race Cars. Safety equipment is also incorporated throughout the car, with a Simpson harness, window net, and twin fire-suppression systems.

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With such a small tire, getting the power to the ground can be quite a chore, so Dan took every step necessary to ensure his Nova could get down the track on a mere 275-sized radial. He installed traction control, went with a Davis Technologies Bump Box to keep up on boost at the line, and installed a Trans Specialties 1.58 First gear Powerglide with a fairly loose 5,400-rpm stall converter.

After going from an F2 Procharger, to a 14-71 on methanol, to twin 88s, Dan is finally satisfied with his existing setup and reports that it's a whole lot faster than the Procharger—and a lot more street-friendly than the big Littlefield. While he hasn't taken the Nova to the track yet, the car went 5.21 in the eighth-mile (with a 1.21 60-foot time) with the Procharger, so high-4s isn't out of the question with the new turbo setup in the 3,050-pound car. When he's not at the dragstrip, Dan can be found cruising to local shows, where he has gathered a number of First Place trophies. We're not sure if Dan will ever actually be finished tweaking his rolling masterpiece, but what he's done so far with both the car's looks and performance is simply incredible.

Who: Dan Novara

What: 1969 Nova

Where: St. Louis, MO

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Long-Block: With a dyno-proven 2,000 hp at 7,000 rpm, we seriously want Dan's twin-turbo big-block. The 516-inch Dart Big Mbased block has splayed billet main caps, has been O-ringed, with bronze 0.937 lifter bushings installed. A Lunati 4340 crank riding on Clevite bearings swings a set of BME rods, which are connected to trick, double-coated 9.6:1 Diamond pistons with Hellfire rings. Valve actuation comes courtesy of a Bullet solid roller cam with a 4-7 firing order swap. Duration on the intake side is 277 degrees at 0.050, with 282 on the exhaust. Lift is 0.788-inch on the intake, 0.765-inch exhaust, with a 116-degree lobe-separation angle. Driven with a Jesel beltdrive, the cam bumps Crower lifters into custom taper Smith Brothers pushrods, which lift 2.35-inch and 1.90-inch intake and exhaust valves located in massaged AFR 385cc heads. Sealing is provided by a SCE copper gasket that's held in place with ARP studs. The engine was machined and assembled by Federal Mogul.

Fuel and Air: Dan's Nova has so many engine mods that we had to separate his induction parts into a different category. For fuel, a rear-mounted and cable-driven Aeromotive Atomic fuel pump sends M1 Methanol up to eight Moran Billet Atomizer injectors that flow a whopping 550 lb/min of fuel. On the airflow side, there's an Accufab 105mm throttle-body, a custom Matheis sheetmetal intake, and headers to mount the turbos. Although he initially was going to go with 72mm turbos, Dan stepped up to twin 88mm Precision Pro Mod Gen 2s with billet wheels at the last minute, and reports he's glad he did.

Ignition: It takes a lot of juice to light off 2,000 hp worth of fuel, so Dan went straight to the MSD catalog and ordered the biggest and best they had to offer. That meant an MSD beltdrive distributor, which sends power to a Digital 8 box, through a MSD HVC II coil and 8.5mm Super Conductor wires. The only non-MSD parts are the NGK 5671-10 spark plugs, which ignite the methanol.

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Electronics: Controlling all the mechanical mayhem is a BigStuff3 computer, which features DAI and DAE upgrades for data acquisition, the SR2 option for traction control, an NTK wideband O2 system for methanol friendliness, and a CAN VNET that allows for a bunch of cool display options. The system is tuned by Eric Dillard from Pro Line, who Dan mentioned about four times in his spec sheet, so we're guessing he did a pretty good job.

Transmission: Getting a powerful car out of the hole on a small tire is all about power management, which is why Dan's transmission is set up to leave the line with as little drama as possible. The Powerglide transmission was built by Trans Specialties and features a 1.58:1 low gear and a 5,400-rpm stall speed Precision Torque Converter.

Chassis: There's a surprising amount of Nova left in Dan's ride, including the original framerails. The rear frame has been notched, however, and a full 25.5-spec chromoly cage from Matheis Race Cars was added.

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Suspension: The Chevy's front suspension is from Smith Racecraft and features spindles with a 2-inch drop. Out back, a ladder-bar suspension built by Matheis keeps the tires glued to the ground. Santhuff springs and shocks can be found at all four corners.

Rearend: The rear is a stout Matheis 9-inch rear built around a Pro Mod case, with eighth-mile-friendly 4.11 gears from Strange Engineering, and 40-spline axles also from Strange.

Brakes: Stopping power was dramatically improved with Strange brakes on all four corners. The rear brakes have the added feature of dual calipers to help stage the car without pushing through the beams.

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Wheels/Tires: Front wheels are 15x3.5-inch Weld Vs, which are covered by 26x4.5x15 Mickey Thompson frontrunner tires. Out back, 15x13-inch Welds mount a pair of Mickey Thompson 275/60/15 drag radials.

Interior and Paint: Although the interior and paint may often take a back seat to absurd power, it's part of the reason Dan's Nova gets the attention it does. The Nova's interior was created by The Top Shop, while Kullin Schoeffel, "Easy Ed" and Scott Lowery, and Paul's Paint and Body performed the chassis and cage painting, skull graphics, and custom paint blending, respectively.

Thanks To: At the top of Dan's thank-you list was his wife, Pamela, but he was also quick to mention a good dozen other people. Building a car of this caliber doesn't come without help and advice from friends, who all pitched in to make the Nova what it is today.