Imagine yourself rolling up to the line in your brand new, high dollar sports car only to look over and see this shoddy-looking Nova sitting next to you. Of course, the thing is hideous and the guy driving it must be nuts, right? Otherwise, why would he even be at the track with that thing? The only problem, is that when the tree light turns green, all you see is tail lights because the Crusty Nova is an absolute beast.

Okay, so I’m going to use the term “sleeper” loosely here, mainly because if you’ve been around the drag scene for at least a few years, you’ve likely at least heard of this Nova and the 1,100+ horsepower, fire-breathing monster sitting between the front fenders. Last I heard, it was a moderately modified LS motor with two large turbos. Rumors had it that he was looking for more engine, though I’m not sure as of this writing if he had ever gotten it.

As you can see in the below video, the Crusty Nova is fast in the quarter mile. Even better, he drives it to and from the track whenever he goes–so he gets our respect early on, just on that fact alone. After all, these cars were meant to be driven…Not stored.

Anyway, I digress…

Obviously, you can’t go fast on the engine and power adder alone, because the entire car needs to work well together to not only go from A to B as quickly as possible, but also stop the way it should. The car is (or was, by my last guess) equipped with a 4L80-E transmission, 3,800 converter, 4.30:1 gears out in a 9-inch Strange rear, and a set of Wilwood brakes to slow the 3,500 lb car down a bit.

Again, last I heard, the engine was in the process of being upgraded to something a bit more potent, which could be what he ran in this next Sleeper Sunday Video to achieve the time he did:

It’s amazing to watch a car with its original paint go 7.88 at 154 MPH. Let this be a lesson to never judge a book by its cover, and if you ever find yourself up at the light with an old Crusty, ’62 Nova, think twice because you never know just what the car is capable of doing.

Let us know what you think about this shoddy-looking, yet somehow sexy Nova in the comments below. Also, you have liked the RestoMods Facebook page, right? If not, make sure you do so you never miss out on anything we’re doing.