Mint Machine: Steve Field’s Turbocharged 1967 Nova

Steve Field’s first car was a 1984 Camaro that he built into a fun little street machine. While the Camaro was nice, he yearned for something a bit older. Steve ended up trading his Camaro for this 1967 Nova that he has turned into a street/strip ripper that he enjoys with his whole family.

The Nova was a real mess when Steve picked it up. It came with just the doors, roof, trunk lid, and the suspension was totally rotted out. The condition didn’t deter Steve, he wanted an old car to build, and he was ready to take on the challenge of this project. Steve had grown up watching his dad restore cars, so he knew what it would take to bring the Nova back to life.

Originally, Steve planned on turning the Nova into a totally rad Pro Street car. He wanted the whole Pro Street experience from big wheel tubs, to a giant supercharger sticking out of the hood. The car actually ended up having a 6-71 supercharger on it at one point when it was cruising the streets.

Driving the Nova to local shows was fun, but some outside influences got Steve to change his goals for the car.

“My friends got me into wanting to race the car just for fun. That escalated real quick because the blower just wasn’t making enough power to do that. I sold the blower to buy all the stuff to convert the car to a turbo setup. Since then, we’ve been making more upgrades to the car to try and go quicker each season,” Steve says.

Currently, under the hood of the Nova you’ll find a small-block Chevy that’s been punched out to 383 cubic-inches. The Dart block is home to a forged Eagle rotating assembly, and is topped off with Holley System X cylinder heads. A pair of Forced Inductions turbos feed boost into the engine. The fuel system uses an Aeromotive fuel pump for street driving, and then a Magnafuel 750 as the secondary pump that kicks on when the boost ramps up. Big 3 Racing tuned the Holley Dominator that controls the engine.

The Nova’s ladder bar rear suspension holds a 9” Ford rearend in place. For shocks, Steve selected a full set of adjustable units from Strange Engineering. The OEM front suspension has been replaced by Mustang II parts. Billet Specialties wheels are used for the Nova’s rolling stock.

When Steve first finished the Nova, it wore black primer for a paint job. Steve wasn’t sure what color he wanted to paint the car, and Mint Green certainly wasn’t on the menu.

“My best friend owns a body shop and he was painting a Chevelle for a customer. The paint company sent him the wrong color for that car, and they couldn’t take it back because he had already mixed it. That paint sat on the shelf for a couple of years and he asked me one day if I wanted to use it to paint the Nova. I really wasn’t a fan of the color, but we painted the hood just to see how it would look. Well, we both took a look after it was done and thought it was cool because nobody else had something painted that color. So, he painted the entire car and the rest is history,” Steve explains.

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Steve’s favorite part of this build is the fact the Nova is still a legit street car. You’ll see Steve taking his grandkids to get ice cream in the car on a hot day during the summer. Steve also likes jumping in the car with his wife and just going for a drive on the open road.

The classic muscle cars are what hook so many of us into the automotive scene. Steve Field followed his heart and built a muscle car that not only goes fast, but gets to be driven on the street with his family.

About the author

Brian Wagner

Spending his childhood at different race tracks around Ohio with his family’s 1967 Nova, Brian developed a true love for drag racing. Brian enjoys anything loud, fast, and fun.
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