We like speed on a budget. The less money you have to spend to haul serious ass, the happier we are. And no car has spelled “low-buck” quite like the GM X-cars. The NOVA series (for Chevrolet Nova, Oldsmobile Omega, Pontiac Ventura and Buick Apollo) has many things going for it: they are light, they were cheap (and if you know where to look, you can still find them for decent money), they share components with the Camaro and Firebird, especially in the front suspension, and the engine bay was big enough for a small-block V8 to be shoved in with no issue whatsoever. Just provide the engine and make the necessary modifications, and an X-car will rock whatever piece of asphalt it’s on.
For proof, we offer up this nasty 1972 Pontiac Ventura that made waves at Rocky Mountain Race Week. We are sure many of you are going to cringe at the thought of another junkyard sourced, turbocharged LS for whatever reason, but this Ventura is running tens no problem and on a good run is getting very close to the nine-second mark with an engine that has north of 220,000 miles on the clock and a stock bottom end. Hate it for what it is, but respect it for what it can do over and over with no bitching, puking or fragged parts. It isn’t pretty, it’s not going to win a show award, but it’ll run lap after lap then get on the highway like a brand new car. If you hate that, then we have nothing to offer you, because that is pretty damn respectable.
I know it’s fast, but boy is it boring to watch race. Super fugly front end treatment to what could be a great looking car.
Nice car! I appreciate the low budget vibe that works very very well. Props to the owner / driver.
LS’s make big power cheaper than any other engine. That’s a good thing for car guys.
Looks like he’s got a fun toy