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Perhaps the toughest little
overachiever ever to harass the traditional
muscle intermediates was Chevy’s Nova Super
Sport. Never a style leader, this was the
compact for the serious enthusiast, the
individualist whose goal was not to wow the
easily impressed, but to go fast on guile and
light weight.
Nova originally was the name
of the top-of-the-line Chevy II, a compact that
debuted in 1962 as GM’s answer to the Ford
Falcon. A boxy design on a 110-inch wheelbase,
it was available with four- and six-cylinder
engines.
The Chevy II had been
designed from the outset for a V-8 and indeed,
some hot rodders had delighted in dropping in a
hot 327 Corvette engine. But not until the ’64
model year was a V-8 officially offered as a
Chevy II option, and then it was the
195-horsepower, two-barrel 283. The good news
was that the Chevy II’s 283 could be teamed with
the M20 four-speed manual gearbox. The bad news
for ’64 was that Chevy had dropped the spry
Chevy II convertible and the Nova SS. The ragtop
never would return, but the SS was back by
mid-year, and it was about come into its own as
something more than a tame little sporty
compact.
In 1965, Chevrolet made the
Chevy II available with its tough 327-cubic-inch
V-8 and things really began to heat up. In L74
guise, the 327 four-barrel cranked out 300
horsepower. Though the SS model was its most
logical home, the L74 made for a very effective
Q-Ship when ordered in a dressed-down Chevy II
two-door sedan. A 250-horsepower version of the
327 also was offered, as was a four-barrel, dual
exhaust 220-horsepower 283. Three-speed manuals
were standard with these V-8s and Powerglide was
optional. But the most fun was the
Muncie
four-speed gearbox and Positraction
differential. Worthwhile options included
upgraded suspension components, sintered
metallic brake linings, and a tachometer.
Available only in hardtop
form, the 1964-65 Nova SS was dashing enough,
but it was upstaged by the Chevelle Malibu SS
396, a bigger car that cost only about $100
more.
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