Can't find the Chevelle or Camaro of your dreams? Try a Nova!

"Supernova" is the scientific term for a "White-hot star".  I wouldn't go quite that far, but the Chevy Nova undoubtedly has it's place in Musclecar history and has a "Cult" following of it's own even today. There are even magazines devoted soley to them. That notwithstanding, you can still buy a Nova for a lot less than a same-year Camaro or Chevelle. Here's the history of the Nova. It was introduced in 1962 as an economy car to compete with the low-priced compact Ford Falcon and Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart. Originally 194 or 230 inch six-cylinders were the only engines available. The cars were good-looking, and because of their light weight and short wheelbase they caught on as drag racers who shoehorned in 283 and 327 V8s. My cousin had a 1963 Nova with a 283 bored out to 301 that just screamed. The car would be going about 90 before the speed of the tires matched the road. The 62-65 Novas are sought after today by hot-rodders. In 1966 the factory upped the ante by making the car slightly bigger and sleeker, and taking the L79 350 hp 327 Corvette motor and stuffing it in the Nova SS. These cars had incredible power to weight ratio-( An SS396 or GTO or 442 was rated at 350 hp, but weighed 500-600 lbs more ). Many an unsuspecting musclecar owner got their doors blown off by an L79 Nova. In 1968 Chevrolet really heated things up. The new for 68 bodystyle shared the same subframe as a Camaro, which meant that the big-block 396 could be installed. These cars were wicked fast, and the only difference between them and a small-block Nova SS were the small "396" emblems on the front fender. Many arrogant 440 Road Runner and Charger owners saw taillights when they mistakenly picked on what they thought was a 327 or 350 powered Nova. Nickey Chevrolet, Baldwin-Motion Performance, and Don Yenko also swapped in 427s for people. One of the few races I lost in my RAIII, 4-speed, 4.33 geared Judge was to a 396 Nova. The 396 option continued until 1970. In fact, Chevrolet wanted to offer the "King Kong" 450 hp LS6 454 in the Nova and Camaro. That's why the intake manifold is so flat, and loses 15-20 hp over the previous 427 manifold, even though Chevelles had the famous domed "Cowl Induction" hood.-engineers had designed the manifold to clear the flat hood of the Camaros and Novas. Ultimately, the brass wanted to cut down on model proliferation, and the LS6 was only offered in the Chevelle. It wasn't offered in Corvettes, because Zora-Arkus Duntov-( Head Corvette engineer ) fully expected the more radical LS7 to make production as the Vette's top engine option, but it was killed by the brass at the last minute. After 1970 however, the L48 350 was the largest engine available in a Nova. The bodystyle remained the same ( except for minor trim changes ) through 1974. In 1973 a "Hatchback" version was introduced, and this option continued until the models demise. The body was updated again in 1975. The "SS" package was continued until 1976, but not many buyers specified this option. The Nova soldiered on until 1979, and a 350 V8 was still available, but by then GM performance buyers were buying Pontiac Trans-Ams and the re-introduced ( in 1977 ) Z/28 Camaro. In 1980 the "X" body platform became the (Ugh!) Front-drive Citation,Omega, Phownix, etc. However, their were millions built, and the 68-79 models share subframes with the Camaro / Firebird line, so any factory or aftermarket suspension or brake upgrades that fit the F-bodys will work on a Nova, which means you can really tailor the suspension-drag racer, hard cornering "g" machine, whatever you want. And you can drop in any engine from a 350 to a 572 pretty easily. After driving a hot Nova, you may forget all about a Chevelle or Camaro!  Mastermind