Most turbo builds hide the hardware under the hood – this Nova runs its turbos straight through the grille, and builds like Kirk Marburger’s twin-turbo ’66 Nova prove the formula works, running 8.80 seconds at over 157 mph on the street. See what it actually takes to push a decades-old small block Nova into 8-second territory without losing its street car status, and why this platform keeps showing up at turbo and radial events.
The turbos poking out of the grill grabbed our attention immediately! What about you?
Most drag cars hide their turbos under the hood. This Nova doesn’t bother. The turbos poke straight out through the grille where anyone can see them, which is either the boldest styling choice in street car racing or the most honest one – because a car running 8-second quarter miles on the street doesn’t have anything left to hide. Builds like Kirk Marburger’s twin-turbo ’66 Nova have proven this formula works at the highest level, running 8.80 seconds at over 157 mph on a pair of 76mm turbos while still driving on the street. What does it actually take to get a decades-old small block Chevy platform into 8-second territory without giving up its street car status?
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The Numbers Behind an 8-Second Street Car
Getting into the 8s on a street-legal car is a different animal than doing it as a dedicated race car. Marburger’s Nova, built around a 410 cubic-inch Dart Little M small block and a pair of 76mm Precision turbochargers, put down 1,150 horsepower to the tires on just 15 pounds of boost – a relatively conservative boost level that speaks to how much the rest of the combination had to be dialed in to handle that kind of power reliably, lap after lap, street car style.
Why Turbos Through the Grille Aren’t Just for Show
Mounting the turbos and intercooler piping up front, running through a 3-inch system into a massive air-to-air intercooler behind the grille, isn’t just for the visual – it’s about keeping intake temps down when the car is doing burnouts and staging in summer heat instead of sitting on a trailer between rounds. That’s the whole point of the “street car” twin-turbo Nova build style: making a car that can be driven to the track, make full-throttle passes, and drive home, without the compromises a pure race car would need to make.
The Nova’s Second Life as a Turbo Platform
The Nova was never engineered with any of this in mind, which is exactly why it’s become such a popular platform for exactly this kind of build. Light curb weight, a roomy engine bay, and decades of aftermarket support make it an ideal foundation for small block builders chasing big turbo power without the compromises a heavier platform would demand. Cars like this are why the Nova keeps showing up at street car radial and turbo events instead of fading into obscurity.
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