Chevrolet Nova
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The Chevrolet Nova or Chevy II was an American compact car introduced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors in 1962. The original Chevy II was of unibody construction, powered by an OHV inline four or six-cylinder engine, and available in two-door and four-door sedan configurations as well as convertible and station wagon versions. Intended as a low-cost alternative to Chevrolet's rear-engined Corvair and as competition for the Ford Falcon, the Nova ended up outlasting both.
Generations
First generation: 1962–1965
Available powerplants included a four-cylinder and an inline six. The six was actually the third-generation powerplant, replacing the second-generation Stovebolt. Rival manufacturer Chrysler introduced the Slant Six in their Plymouth Valiant, a Chevy II competitor.
Although the Nova was not originally available with a V8 option, the engine bay was perfectly proportioned for one. It wasn't long before Chevrolet V8s were offered as dealer-installed options (between 1962 and 1963), up to and including the fuel-injected version available in the Corvette. The combination of readily available V8 power and light weight made the Nova a popular choice of drag racers.
For 1963, the Chevy II Nova Super Sport was released. As mentioned above, Novas could not "officially" have V8 engines at this time — the standard SS engine was the six-cylinder — but many ended up with a small-block V8 under the hood.
In 1962 and 1963 the Nova was available in a convertible body style, and a two-door hardtop was added for 1963-65.
Second generation: 1966–1967
1966 Novas saw a significant restyling, based in part on the Super Nova concept car. In general, proportions were squared up but dimensions and features changed little. Engine options still included the basic inline four- and six-cylinder engines but now included the 283 and 327 in³ (4.6 and 5.4 L) V8 engines as well.
Third generation: 1968–1974
- 1968
The 153 four-cylinder option was offered between 1968-70, then was dropped due to lack of interest.
- 1969
1970
Basically a carryover from 1969; the side markers and taillight lenses were wider and positioned slightly differently. This was the final year for the SS396.
Approximately 177 COPO Novas were ordered, with 175 converted by Yenko Chevrolet. (The other two were sold in Canada.)
A beater coupe is seen in the movie Beverly Hills Cop.
- 1971
After 1971, other GM divisions began rebadging the Nova as their new entry-level vehicle, such as the Pontiac Ventura II (once a trim option for full-size Pontiacs to 1970), Oldsmobile Omega (1973) and the Buick Apollo (mid-1973). Interestingly, the intials of the four model names spelled out the acronym NOVA (Nova, Omega, Ventura, Apollo.)
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- 1973
A luxury-themed Nova Custom became part of the model lineup.
Buick and Oldsmobile entered the compact car market; both the Apollo and Omega debuted, using the same bodystyles from the Nova lineup.
Pontiac's final GTO of this era was based on a facelifted 1974 Ventura coupe fitted with a shaker hoodscoop from the Trans Am. This was the final GTO until 2003, when rebadged Holden Monaro coupes were imported from Australia by Pontiac as the 2004 GTO.
Fourth generation: 1975–1979
A facelifted Nova was introduced in 1975 and continued through 1979. Base coupes, including the hatchback, had fixed side windows (or the optioned swing-out windows similar to extended-cab pickup trucks) and vertical side vents. (For the Pontiac Ventura, the side vents were horizontal.)
Six-cylinder and V8 engines remained the norm through the end of the decade (and the end of the rear-wheel drive X-body platform.) Rival Chrysler introduced their Plymouth Volare/Dodge Aspen as a competitor to GM's X-body compacts; the GM X-cars outsold their Chrysler counterparts.
The front suspension and subframe assembly was similar to the one used in the second-generation GM F-body (Camaro, Firebird), whereas the rear axle and suspension were carried over from the 1968-74 generation.
The Nova lineup ranged from the stripped-down "S" model, base, Custom (1975 and 1978/1979, which in later years became the LN and Nova Concours replacement), and the luxury-themed LN (the LN was the first to sport metric displacement badges — either "4.3 LITRE" or "5.7 LITRE"). The LN was replaced with the Nova Concours (1976 and 1977; 1977s had a 3-taillight lens scheme much similar to the Impala with a Cadillac-esque front clip.) From 1977-1978, there was also the Nova Rally (not to be confused with the Rally Nova of the early 70's). These came factory with a 305 engine, and some with the 4-speed Saginaw transmission. While most Nova's of this era were designed for the fuel efficiency-mided consumer, this was built for speed and power, coming factory with 200 hp. They are quite rare to find in nice condition nowadays.
The Apollo was replaced by the sportier Buick Skylark after 1975 (during the 1975 model year, the Apollo nameplate was used for the 4-door sedan, while the coupe was badged as the Skylark), while Pontiac's Ventura became a more luxurious Phoenix during 1978 (the Phoenix was the first X-body fitted with square headlights). BOP versions of the Nova had either a Chevrolet inline six or Buick V6 as the base powerplant.
During the 1977 model year for the Ventura, the GM Iron Duke was the base motor (in response to the Arab Oil Embargo) coupled to a Borg-Warner T-50 transmission (it has no relationship to the T5 found in third-generation GM F-bodies); this is a rare find these days although the motor differed from the six-cylinder based 153 last offered as an option in 1970.) The Ventura was replaced by the Phoenix in the middle of the 1977 model year.
Base V8 motors included a Chevrolet 262 (and 305) and Oldsmobile 260; Pontiac Venturas were not fitted with a Pontiac V8 from the factory after 1975, when Oldsmobile 260s and Buick 350s were installed as optional equipment. This led to civil action against GM.
The Nova SS continued for 1975 and 1976; when the SS was discontinued, the option code for the SS — RPO Z26 — continued as the Nova Rally until 1979.
Even Cadillac got into the act. The Nova's X-body was stretched by several inches and fitted with an Oldsmobile fuel-injected V8 to become the Seville for 1975.
A high-performance police version of the Nova was introduced for the 1975 model year, making it the first compact car certified for police duty in the U.S. Most were initially purchased by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department in 1976.
The Nova's final model year, 1979, saw few changes. The front end was revised with square headlights and a new grille for the short run. Production ended on December 22, 1978.
From 1980 onwards, the Nova's original niche in the Chevrolet lineup was filled by front-wheel drive compacts including the Citation (1980-1985), and Corsica (1987-1996). Upon introduction of the downsized GM A-body (later G-body) intermediates in 1978, the X-body and downsized A-platform had similar dimensions, and the more modern downsized A-bodies outsold their X-body counterparts.
1985–1988 Nova
In 1985 the Nova name was applied to a rebadged Toyota Sprinter, an upmarket version of the Toyota Corolla that, along with the Spectrum, replaced the Citation and was produced at the NUMMI plant in Fremont, California, as an historic first joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. 1988 was the last year for the Nova nameplate on this (or any) platform, which arrived in showrooms as the Geo Prizm the following year.
Novas abroad
Argentina
The early third-generation (1968 body style) Nova was marketed in Argentina as the Chevrolet Chevy from late 1969 through 1978. The first- and second-generation (U.S. 1962-67) body styles were sold as the Chevrolet 400; the second-generation body style was produced until 1974.Their SS counterparts were both coupes and 4-door sedans, the latter of which was unheard of in the U.S. prior to the introduction of the 1994 Impala SS. In fact, a majority were fitted with inline sixes coupled to a ZF manual transmission.
The urban legend
A popular urban legend asserts that the Nova sold poorly in Latin America because the phrase no va means "does not go" in Spanish. In reality, the Spanish no va and nova are as different as the English no table and notable. [link] The word nova exists in [Spanish] with the same meaning as in English. Also, the Spanish word for 'new' (nuevo or nueva) is cognate to nova, which originally meant "new" in Latin . Finally, as NOVA is a brand of gasoline sold in Mexico, the largest of all Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, it is clear that this urban legend, while perhaps entertaining, is utterly baseless.See also
External links
- [Chevrolet Nova Internet Source] — The second known Nova site on the Internet
- [Nova listserv] — The first and only known public mailing list dedicated to Chevrolet Novas and other X-bodies; in continuous existence since January 1998
- [NovaResource.com] — Excellent source of history, production numbers, and option code information for 1962-79 Novas
- [Steve's Nova Site] - Includes Q&A discussion board; another excellent resource for Nova owners
- [Chevy Nova SS at Muscle Car Facts] — A year-by-year history.
- [Gen4Novas.com] — Source for the 'stepchild' Disco-era X-car.
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