1966 Chevy II Nova 327
Imagine driving a car with about the same dimensions as a Pontiac Grand Am, but in 1966. In this time a car this size was considered a compact car and only foreign car manufacturers sold cars smaller than this one. I have seen 2 of these in Saint John from time to time, but as with any car thats over 30 years old, very few still exist and are not driven as daily drivers.
The majority of the information I have on this car I found in the July 1966 issue of Motor Trend. It is also where I got the pictures. Finding a magazine this old was sort of a miracle, much the same as finding this car up for sale. It actually still has the inserts in it. One is for the Columbia Record Club. They would send you 9 records free plus a record rack and all you need do was buy a record a month for 9 months at regular prices ($3.79 - $4.79) and you could cancel your membership anytime after that. I wonder if they would fill my order if I sent the card in now!
The Chevy II was introduced in 1962 at the same time as Chevy's new V-8 engine, the 327. In 1965, Chevy offered the 327 V-8 as an option in the Chevy II amid customer demand for a larger engine than the standard inline-6. In that year, only a 250hp version was offered. For the 1966 year, the standard output of the V-8 has been upped to 275hp and an optional performance version of the same engine produces 350hp. Keep in mind that these horsepower figures may sound fantastic, but a different rating system was used to find horsepower in those years. Depending on the number of power options on the car, the total "net" horsepower (the rating system used today) could drop from between 20-40% of the "gross" total.
The model tested was a Nova Super Sport Coupe. Along with the V-8 engine rated at 275hp, other options included: powerglide automatic (2 forward speeds), power steering, brakes, a radio and whitewall tires. The car weighed in at 3040lbs, very light considering that most cars that size built today weigh only about 200lbs less than this car. And this car was built using metal that did not dent if you sat on the roof, for example.
Even with an automatic that only offered 2 speeds, a mpg figure of 19.2 was observed on mostly urban freeway conditions. The worst mpg figure was 15.2, during an around town trip with alot of stop and go traffic.
The power-to-weight ratio is 11.4 lb/hp. To compare, a 1993 Ford Probe GT has a lb/hp ratio of 18.7 lb/hp and a Dodge Dynasty with a V-6 is about 23 lb/hp. The higher the number, the more load on the engine to move the car.
Inside, the driving position is excellent, although I would not want to slam my
head into the metal ring used for the horn. This car came with front bucket seats and
a console T-bar shifter, both rare items on cars in 1966. The rear-view mirror is
mounted about a 1/3 of the way down the windshield, so that you can see out the angled
rear window. The instrument panel is very basic, consisting of a fuel guage, horizontal
sweeping speedometer and a clock. Below are a few photos of the interior of the car:
A View Behind the Wheel |
The Seating Arrangements |
Acceleration wise, this car is certainly not slow, even by today's standards. The
table below shows different times observed to certain speeds and gives passing speed
times, 1/4 mile time and top speeds in gears (both of them):
| 0-30mph | 3.4 Seconds | 40-60mph | 4.1 Seconds | 1st Gear | 58mph @ 4600rpm |
| 0-50mph | 6.5 Seconds | 50-70mph | 4.8 Seconds | 2nd Gear | 78mph @ 3400rpm |
| 0-60mph | 8.6 Seconds | 1/4 MILE | TIME | ||
| 0-75mph | 12.9 Seconds | 85.87mph | 16.4 Seconds |
Now that you have a read a bit about the car, I bet you want to get a good look at the car. I have scanned in images of the side-view, rear-view, engine compartment, a view from below the car, and a drawing of the shifter and a scale drawing of the car itself.