We remember the days when it seemed everybody was hacking out their trunks and welding in halved 55-gallon drums for wheel clearance. Back halving cars was all the rage in the 1980s, along with sky-high bird catcher scoops, “pizza cutter” front skinnies, and tweed interior over Recaro race seats.

While this particular ’66 Nova is a lot more sedate than the bizarrely-painted street machines we recall from our childhood, we do have to tip the cap to the owner who kept this Pro Street Deuce on the subtle side. Well, in looks anyways.

A local terror around Upstate New York, this Chevy is known for an all-time best ET of 8.68-seconds at 156mph with a 5.55-second eight mile! That adds up to a wild 0-to-60 time of 2.5-seconds.

Rated around 950 horsepower at the flywheel, this Nova has no problem boiling the massive Mickey Thompson 13 x 31 ET Street tires. Best of all, this little shoebox is spun by a 434 small block built by Chris Yates. Now, all that power doesn’t come from nowhere, and has been known to down a couple hundred horsepower-worth of nitrous.

Backed with a TH400 full manual transmission spinning an ATI 9-inch converter, a pair of Dynomax 3-inch welded race mufflers hang right before a Dana 60 with 4.10 gears and ladder bars. All of this adds up to a wicked street-driven machine that can cook the paint right off of the highway. Enjoy the video!