Slide 1

A life-long GM fan with a number of project Camaros under his belt, Kirk first saw this Nova at a Summit Racing Equipment car show. Originally built in 1997, it was supercharged and the owner racked up trophies at shows every weekend. When the Nova was put up for sale a while later, Kirk sold his 1969 Camaro “fun car” and bought it with the intention of racing it. Unfortunately, just nine days later, a rainstorm caught Kirk by surprise and the slick-tired car ended up off the road. Kirk was fine, but the Nova… not so much.

Slide 2

Kirk had heard that the original builder of the car was a fellow named Scott Walker, who also lived in the Pittsburgh area. In fact, he lived just five minutes away! Kirk called Scott and asked him if he’d like a chance to rebuild it. “At first, he was pretty upset about what I had done to his baby,” Kirk recalls, “but the car was special to him, so he agreed to help.”

Slide 3

After straightening the Nova out, Kirk decided it needed to be faster, and Scott agreed. They upgraded to a Dart Little M small block, capable of withstanding lots of extra horses with ease. That extra power is delivered by twin 76mm turbochargers hooked up to custom stainless steel headers, a custom intake manifold, and dual throttle bodies.

Slide 4

To handle all the extra power, Kirk and Scott equipped the new block with AFR 23º cylinder heads, an MSD ignition system, a Callies crankshaft and connecting rods, JE pistons, Jesel rocker arms, Crower lifters, and a custom intercooler.

Slide 5

“The Big Stuff 3 engine management computer is really the key to the whole thing,” Kirk says. “It allows me to switch from easy driving on the street to maximum performance at the track.”

Slide 6

All that power gets sent through a Powerglide transmission to the Strange rear-end and axles. Billet Specialties Street Lite wheels and Mickey Thompson tires take it to the pavement, and Wilwood discs keep it under control.

Slide 7

Up front, the Nova has an independent coil-over suspension with adjustable shocks and stainless steel control arms. Out back, the ladder bar suspension features QA1 shocks.

Slide 8

Kirk didn’t want just a drag car—it had to be nice to drive on the street as well. The show-worthy Ultraleather and snake skin upholstery is so nice, you almost forget that you’re surrounded by a 10-point roll cage. The interior also features a Hurst shifter on a custom console, plus a restored stock dash.

Slide 9

Aside from the fiberglass cowl hood and bumpers, and the custom-built wing, Kirk’s Nova is still wearing all of its original steel body panels, trim, and glass. It’s also painted in the original Code K “Artesian Turquoise” color.

Slide 10

The final piece of Kirk’s performance upgrade is his tuner, Patrick Barnhill. “I took him for a drive, and he was in the passenger seat with his laptop, clicking away,” says Kirk. “I had no idea what he was doing.”

Slide 11

Just days before this photoshoot, Kirk showed up at a test-and-tune event at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. “Patrick was sitting in his recliner at home,” Kirk says. “He patched into the Nova’s Big Stuff 3 engine management computer remotely, looked at some data, and optimized the car’s performance for the day’s conditions.” Minutes later, Kirk made a 7.89 pass at 176 mph!

Slide 12

After the photo shoot, Kirk headed to his local track and turned in a 7.78, just to reinforce his distinctive domination of speed and style.

Slide 13

While he doesn’t race competitively, Kirk is constantly thinking about ways to make his super Nova go even faster. Fortunately, he and Scott Walker developed a great friendship along the way, and are now neighbors. “I even build a big shop like Scott’s, where we can work on the Nova and other projects.” Kirk says!

Slide 14

Can’t get enough? Check out even more photos on the following slides.

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