“Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast”

Now that that’s stuck in your head, parents of small children (you’re welcome!) we bring you the tale of two Novas, both built by Solid Tech Performance out of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Though the same shop put both these cars together, they really couldn’t be less alike. “Beauty” is a $30,000 1966 Nova powered by a 6.0l LS spinning a Vortech V-1 T1 supercharger, while “The Beast” (AKA the “trash can Nova”) is a 1972 model with about $4,000 invested total, and sports a 5.3 with twin 59mm turbos under the hood.

In terms of aesthetics, it’s easy to see which is which. The ’66 is immaculate, inside and out, and would look right at home at a show-and-shine or high-end cruise night. The ’72, on the other hand, reminds us of the Nova our friend in high school drove, which had a chain and padlock through the hood and grille because somebody kept stealing his battery. It’s a clapped-out mess, and without a look under the hood you’d be justified in assuming it was just another beater in need of rescue.

1320Video caught the pair in action at this year’s All Out Call Out, where both Novas were running in the 11.50 class. You’ll have to watch the video to see what happened – we’ll just say that there is a cautionary tale here about the importance of running some sort of air filter or screen on your compressor intake and leave it at that.