There’s a popular saying, “never judge a book by its cover.”
Take Luke Glass for example, he’s 25 years old and owns a 1966 Chevy Nova. It safe to say that judging by his age alone, Luke would be into anything but a classic muscle car and that something made after 2000 would fit the stereotype most of us have for his age, and up to point that was true, but all that changed when he saw a 1966 Chevy II.
Luke’s love for cars started, as expected, in the import world after riding in a friend’s 700whp turbo Honda Civic at the tender and impressionable age of just 15.
Once he realized the cost of building such a car, he figured out it’d be wise to buy a built one instead and after saving enough money from his entry-level job, he purchased a build with similar power.
As time passed he went through a number of other imports before having his eyes set on a 2010 Nissan R35 GTR. His Mother co-signed for him, and as it turns out the bank will actually extend a $65,000 car loan to a 20-year-old kid.
With a car payment and living expenses going well beyond Luke’s earnings and not able to buy the go-fast parts he wanted, he sold the car and ac-
tually got out of the car scene for a little while. When the itch to go fast returned, he turned to one of his favorite cars; a Japanese spec Nissan 240SX with stick shift 2jz swap. The 240SX experience was a bumpy road to say the least though, and after blowing the motor up three times, Luke parted it out and swore he’d never have another race car.
I had no idea what I was doing with a turbo V8 at this power level...
LUKE GLASS
At age 22, with no fast car of his own, he was invited to a no-prep race and saw his new love, a domestic classic in the form of a jet black 1966 Chevy II Nova. He offered to buy it and was quickly denied, but from that day on he told himself that he’d never get into cars again unless it was with a built Chevy II. Quite some time later a buddy sent him a for sale ad that just might be Luke’s dream come true. A shop owner a few states away had a ’66 for sale that was pretty sweet, the only roadblock was that the owner was getting a ton of interest and Luke had to scare up the money overnight to make the buy the following day. Things just didn’t fall together with the bank quick enough, but good friends stepped in and they all pulled together to come up with the $27,500 it took to buy Luke’s dream.
There’s not much factory stuff left inside the Nova aside from the dash pad and face
Shifting gears through the BTE ’Glide comes via a Precision electric shifter and vitals are monitored by the FT600 dash and a few other gauges. Twin race seats replace stock units and the rear has been tubbed to allow for various wheel and tire combos. Lots of carbon panels were used and the polished 4” piping for the turbo cooler system is the first thing you notice when you peek inside.
The Chevrolet wasn’t in the best shape externally, but had a nasty power combination and a solid foundation to build on. And really, looks didn’t matter as this was going to be a no-prep car. “When we got the car home I had no idea what I was doing with a turbo V8 at this power level. I took the first ride with my brother, clinched the steering wheel and hung on, and man was I disappointed!” Luke ex-
plained. “I called the old owner and told him it was a turd and he laughed and said to put the fuse in for the on-board air tank for the wastegate control. We took another try and man what a freaking handful this monster was…I was hooked!” At his first no-prep race Luke had no idea how to set the car up but made a few friends in the scene and actually started winning races, going to the semi-finals.
Luke’s engine started with a factory iron LQ4 6.0 block bored out 30 over. Inside, a Molnar crank spins Molnar Power Adder rods and Wiseco pistons. Pretty much stock cylinder heads were used with aftermarket springs and retainers. Twin turbos are installed up front and poke through the front grill, while 4” plumbing for the cooler is routed through the interior.
He did eventually decide to give the body some updates and have it repainted by a friend, Randy Goodman. During the work, the original Nova body tub, quarter panels, roof, and bumpers were kept, but everything else went to fiberglass, including the front end, hood, doors, and trunk. Luke bought the car donned in what
he described as “ugly” green and he decided to keep it the same color and paint the bumpers and badges gloss black to contrast. “I just could not bring myself to paint the car any other color since it has created so much happiness for me, my friends and my family.” On top of the slick new paint, the windows and windshield were re-
placed with Optic Armor Lexan and a custom rear wing was installed.
The Lime Green paint isn’t the only thing that set the car’s look off though; the drag pack wheel and tire combo looks pretty cool too, with 17-inch V-Series wheels up front and double beadlocked 15x12 Alpha-1s with 28x10.5 slicks out back.
Luke Glass’s Twin Turbo LS 1966 Chevy II Nova
Body & Paint:
Original roof and quarter panels. Lime Green with gloss black bumpers and badges. Fiberglass doors, hood, trunk, custom drag wing.
Chassis and Suspension:
Mini tub and cage. Rear suspension is Moroso 4 link kit AFCO
Rear shocks and springs. AFCO Front Big Gun struts and springs with custom a-arms. Strange callipers with slotted rotors.
Engine:
Factory iron LQ4 block bored out 30 over. Rotating assembly consists of Molnar crank and power adder rods, Wiseco pistons, Bewley custom cam.
Cylinder Heads:
Factory 317 heads, stock rockers and valves, BTR dual springs and retainers.
Induction & Fuel Delivery:
Super Victor intake manifold with FAST 4150 throttle body, Custom 4” piping, Precision Turbo 4000 air/water intercooler with custom ice box and pump. -10 and -12 fuel lines, MagnaFuel 4703 fuel pump, 10 Gal fuel cell.
Electronics:
FuelTech FT600 with a Pro Harness, 8 can EGT sensors, boost controller, driveshaft sensors, 2 wideband nanos, and custom on-board air system for wastegate control.
Power Adder:
Borg Warner twin billet 369SXE turbos.
Transmission:
BTE Top Sportsman aftermarket case Powerglide, 1.69 gear, PST 4” chromoly driveshaft with chromoly yoke. Hughes billet bolt together converter and trans cooler.
Rear:
Ford 9”, Strange Pro 3.73 gear and 40 spline axles. Brakes:
Strange callipers with slotted rotors.
Tires and Wheels:
Weld ALPHA 1. 15 x 12 double beadlocks with 28 x 10.5 slicks on rear. Weld 17” V-Series front wheels with Mickey Thompson 26” radial tires.
Interior:
Precision electric shifter, Kirkey seats, 5 point harness, AEM transmission temperature gauge, carbon fiber panels.
ET & MPH:
1/8th mile – 5.04 @ 141 mph
Thanks to:
I’d like to thank a a bunch of people; Bobby Parks for tuning, Derek Burton for tuning and his help with the whole car and Randy Goodman for paint, Eddie Grimes for help with wiring, TJ and Tony Castro for fiberglass work and tons of other help. Thanks to my Crew Butch and John Smith, Colby Patterson, Tommy and Kylee Long, Max Leskowitz, and Jimmy Barnes. Thanks to Noah Stein for setting up the chassis, Tyler Glunt & TIG Towing for garage space, Pat Shannon (trouble shooting), Andrew Angermier (Fab Work), Keystone Powder Coating, Tommy Bauerlien (Transmission builder), the entire no prep racing community and Mom and Dad for overall support and encouragement.
Another key to a classic stance, not to mention performance, is the suspension setup, and The Snot Rocket’s (as the car is known) suspension is certainly not for show. A no-prep suspension becomes an entirely different animal and requires specific parts to hook with little to no prep. The front setup includes Afco Big Gun long travel struts and springs specific to a no-prep surface along with custom a-arms made by Luke. The same applies to the rear; a Moroso fourlink keeps the rear end in place while Afco Big Gun shocks keep the tires planted.
In today’s racing world, it’s hard to find something that doesn’t have a Chevrolet LSbased swap, especially in a Chevy, and Luke’s Nova is no different. Starting with an LQ4 iron 6.0 block bored .030 over, the rotating assembly consists of a Molnar crank, Wiseco pistons, and Molnar Power Adder rods. In addition, Luke had a custom Bewley cam for turbo applications made to complete the short block. Nothing special went into the heads, stock cast tried and true 317 heads stayed, complete with factory rockers and valves. The head additions included BTR dual valve springs and retainers and a Super Victor intake manifold from Edelbrock with Fast 4150 throttle body completes the package.
The power adder of choice for Luke was turbocharging and he chose twin 369SXE turbos to do the job. The sisters are mounted in the Nova grille and cooling the charge comes via a Precision 4000 air to water intercooler with a custom icebox and pump. A MagnaFuel 4703 pump provides fuel from a 10-gallon fuel cell and a Fueltech FT600 with Pro harness controls the entire car, including the various safety, boost, speed, and engine parameter sensors.
An estimated 1400whp transfers through a BTE built Top Sportsman Powerglide complete with 1.69 gear, Hughes bolt-together torque converter and trans cooler. A PST carbon fiber driveshaft takes that power to a Ford 9-inch read end stuffed with a 3.73 pro gear set and 40 spline axles.
It’s pretty much bare essentials inside the Chevy II with a pair of race seats, Precision electric shifter, AEM trans temp gauge, and the Fueltech FT600 digital gauge display. The most exciting thing would be the carbon panels and custom air to water tank that comes through to the back of the car and of course the custom cage that surrounds the driver.
Luke’s is a very unique story; after getting an offer he couldn’t
resist on his house, he bought an RV to live in and now travels wherever he needs to race. He goes from RV camp to RV camp and works on the car while he’s there unless he can find a garage to take it to. “Many RV parks have smiled, laughed or been super angry with me for having the Nova pulled apart beside my RV or for transbrake testing at 10pm. I pray anyone who had to deal with that reads this because I am really sorry about that!” At 25, Luke Glass is young and having fun, living in his RV and racing his dream car and he wouldn’t change it for the world! “I can’t believe I said I never wanted to own a race car again. This is just so rewarding knowing that I have to work twice as hard to get my car to the races as a guy with a lift in his garage.”
He’s enjoyed many experiences with the Nova to date but the best has to be the time he took his mom Mary Ellen for a run. “It was after we won a $30,000+ race when I took her for a full 1/8th mile hit. She drag raced back in the eighties but not like this, and she screamed the entire time and screamed with happiness at the end of the run. It’s something we always laugh about together.”