73 Nova 350 SS. With a Twist!! 

You don’t need a radio/music when you have a 350 under the hood 👍🏻

Gm made a tent for the back of these. The back seat lays flat and makes a great bed

I grew up the 60s and 70s in the US and I never knew the Nova came as a hatchback. Always something new to learn!

Hot Rod for Friday night. Honey do list for Saturday. Swap meet parts hauler for Sunday. A car for all seasons!😎

That is a cool looking car. It's not my favorite color, but it does not look horrible. Great job keeping this classic on the road.

Nova... Ball of gas that falls in on itself and blows to pieces. I always wondered why they picked that name. First On Race Day.

I remember those - the other three X bodies were available with the hatchback too. So you could also have a hatchback GTO Ventura or a hatchback GSX Apollo!

Many, '73, '74 SS Novas were hatch back. I've, seen a bunch of them. '73, '74 SS, was just a badge, of course. 35 years ago, I had a friend, who had one. Very, nice Nova!

Factory console shift GM used column shift linkage for neutral safety and ignitition tumbler lock.

Picture this. 1978 Chevrolet Nova. 350 V8 no smog engine, 4 speed manual, hatchback, and named Malibu Rallye. That is what the 1978 Nova SS was called in Mexico. Also, yes they spelled it on the car Rallye, with the e. It is a neat rare car.

This is the first time watching one of ur videos that the car wasn't a total Scam car. GO CHEVYS!

Buddy had a yellow one with a 350. That sucker would haul the mail!!!

We really enjoy watching you! Thanks 😊

Your video quality is improving each time you put one out.

Amc hornet had a hatchback and duster and dart had an optional fold down rear seat.the later aspen volare had optional fold down rear seat too.

My great grandmother had a hatchback nova😂😂😂

It needs a little love in the back. Don't we all? Well maybe not all.

Novas were good cars. Affordable, attractive, and tons of potential for any level of performance desired. The major reason they're rare today is, most of them were made into race cars. They were considered a throw away car for their time. My oh my, how time changes things.

5:12 Looks like the rear exhaust hanger here has been cut off - wouldn't be surprised if it rattled against stuff occasionally. The other side @ 5:42 still has the complete hanger and rubber doughnut holding it in place. Also explains why the left pipe was cracking off the muffler.

Some shop put shocks my car when I was a kid and they were loose like that maybe a horrible sound on a Bbody Chevy. Took me awhile to figure it out. Fixed it up at the shop I Was working at years later... When they finally loosened up clunking. Horrible sound. Torque all to spec! No issues Glad I do all my own work now

they were great for skiing back in the day

Besides being my favorite Mustang guru, Kiwi has a nostalgic way of bringing in the same cars I had in my youth- first that Econoline van, the station wagons, and now this Nova! Mine was a '72 automatic 302 with factory air and rubber carpet, definitely not a hatchback. But somehow was it the fastest car I ever had. Bravo on this SS, real or not, looks like fun.

That extra shifter linkage is suppose to be there. It's to lock the floor shifter thru the locking key column. It was required column and shifter that locked.

Super Chevy Kiwi 👌🏼⛽️ ( until ya get it up on the “ rack” )🥃

It's akin to the "Space Duster" where the seat folds down & you get a huge amount of room

I never knew there were hatchbacks till about 3 years ago, saw a nice repainted yellow one in the u pull it, tboned on the driver side. They kept it there in the yard for a year or so because it's rare I guess. Ya I think that was a good idea too. I like hatchbacks.

Another rare Nova was the '72 SS with a CLOTH fold back sunroof. Knew a guy in the early 80's that had one.

Wow I have never seen one before, pretty cool!

I had one of those in non SS and I miss it.

Don’t see many hatchbacks but I had a 1977 Buick Skylark which is the Nova knockoff and it had the hatchback. My first car. The 1968-1974 Novas are among my top five favorites and this car is a beauty! I did notice that it looks like the exhaust shop installed 2 inch exhaust. If you don’t specify that you want larger exhaust they will automatically go for the small pipes because they are easier to fit. They are compression bent instead of mandrel bent so they effectively put 1-1/2 inch exhaust on there ☹️

The hard part is finding a new trans dust cover that fits correctly. I had to take a body hammer and die grinder to mine to get it right.

Mr. B. Here ! 🍩☕️👀😎👍. Buick-Oldsmobile-Pontiac also had hatch back your right not many sold ! I worked for Olds in the 70’s ! Needs a little love ! 🍩☕️👀😎👍

watching the test drive. it looks like a nice spot over there

I have had the pleasure of owning 2 hatchback Novas. I had one back in the eighties, A '77 , and I currently own a 74. Neither were as nice as this one, but nice nonetheless. The 74 is going to the dragstrip the beginning of May and we'll see what it runs. Good content Kiwi!

My parents had a hatchback, great car.

love the nova but the 68 looks better. lol

Had a buddy back in the 70's with a 68 nova he stuck a 427 aluminum marine block in. Strickly a race car, did mid 10's in the 1/4. A wheelie popper, definitely not a no va. Lol That hood was discontinued in 1972, nice touch though.

A guy I worked with back in the early 1980s had a Buick Apollo hatchback. Same car, different badge. I don't know what it had under the hood but I distinctly remember the hatch whistling in the wind and juddering over the slightest potholes so I imagine they're relatively rare for fairly good reasons.

I would be suspicious of a older Nova owner that couldn't change the alternator. Or diagnose a loose shock absorber. Very nice classic car. It's either been very well cared for or kept in a barn for 30-40 years. The body by Fisher was kinda notorious for rusting away.

I have a 74 hatchback. Always a head turner.

My best friend, back when we was teenagers, had a red 73 Pontiac Ventura Sprint that was a hatchback also. But this 73 came with the Pontiac 350 2bbl engine and a TH350. It was very similar to the 1974 GTO's except that it didn't have all the high performance equipment that the 73 GTO's had, ie, 400 or 455 with a 4bbl, and limited slip. The GTO's probably a 4 speed manual option too I would guess. But it was a cool car, sure would do some smokey burn-outs.😂

Nice. Yeah, I remember the hatchbacks, but I don't know if I've ever seen one with the SS package.

Very nice. I love these old cars

If these are like the second gen camaro, and I am pretty sure they are, the shift linkage actually turns the column because that is where GM stuck the steering park lock and neutral safety / reverse light switch. It has to be connected for the reverse light to work and the column lock to work. In the case of the Camaro, it also has a cable that moves the PNR21 on the cluster. IDK why GM did that back then but, they did.

A really simple fix by the seems of things

Ah yes but is it a noice car. LOL

yup...i think a hatch back is cool....could see it when u were pull'n it in...differnt rear roof line than the standard nova....dont break the rear glass...!...if u can get a replacment...it wount b cheap...!...i think the last year 4 the nova was 77...?..well in around there..!..serviced 2 hatch backs...!..enjoyed the video...thanks Kiwi...another strole down memory lane...🙂

That's a bit, a little bit, like the LX Torana hatchback down here. Might have seen a few over the ditch too.

i would check under the trunk floor (spare tire area) when people talk about noise in the back lol.. ive seen things just moving around in there cause the noise.

In 73 a 307 the 305 didn't come out till 76 i believe if i had to guess it would have been a 350 two barrel factory motor but with a four barrel added later on it would wake up nicely i expect its a two bolt main motor as well nothing wrong with them they are still as stong running..

Those Nova's came with a transverse muffler that hung behind the diff and ahead of the fuel tank. 2in and 2 out

I grew up in this era and at least the crowd I hung with thought this was kind of a sissy version. I think that currently most everyone would give the left arm for one. It's got to be pretty rare in original setup. I wonder how many were v8 vs. Straight 6.

I owned a 1974 SS Hatchback 350 w/ 4 speed, It was my first car. My mom owned a 75 Nova Custom Hatchback, w/ 6 in line.

Couldn't tell from the vid,but if that's a factory floor shift car,the "Shifter" under the car is part of the "Back Drive" system.Basically it allows the column to lock when the floor shifter is put in park,and works the reverse lights,and I think nuetral switch too.Kind of a pain to adjust sometimes.Nice car BTW.

My Aunt had a black one with a hatchback. In 1982 I was surprised to see one. I was 12.

i think they even came with tent to camp in the hatch back.

Nice car.

My 69 Camero had a fold down rear seat, I believe that that was the second rarest option behind disc brakes on that year

A lot of people hate the federally mandated "crash bumpers" on the '73-'74 Nova, but I think they fit fairly well with the styling. Could be partly because I was 7 in 1973 when my dad bought a new '73 Nova sedan.

I always liked these Novas styling wise but my primary memory of these cars back in the 70’s was that they always seemed to go down the road side saddle. I wonder if they had some kind of rear leaf spring center bolt issues?

Cool Nova Hatchback

Usually clunking sounds are universal joint or ring/pinion/axle bearing related. Dodged a bullet. When I was youth the preacher had two wagons, there was dealership near Raleigh, they made those baby corvettes. The sold those in Australia didn't they, they kind look like shrunken Novas. Opel. A friend had a ss hatchback red with a double black stripe down one side, I want to say it was 350.

I've got a hatchback 73 or 74 Nova I forget which it's been sitting in that Barn for about 40 years now. Had a V6 in it automatic leave a column shift don't remember but part of that thing out. But I still got the interior and I still have the hatch on the back plus the front and rear bumpers. I'll make you a great deal on it it's going to come out and pick it up.

Those are so cool. We had one in auto body shop.

I'm coming back some day , come what may with a Blue Nova 😢.

What a Sweet Car!. Thanks for the great video!. Love that this is a hatchback. There was a dark blue one that ran around my neighborhood back in the day 😊

there was an optional tent for campng.

Nice car. 👍👍🙂🇨🇦

The lever that runs from the transmission to the steering column is for the ignition lock. It prohibits the driver from removing the keys unless the car is in park.

Great to see the different cars through the shop, bit like a Torana LX/A9X hatch back?.

I do like your videos. Keep it up.......Jay

I used to have a 73 hatchback Nova. Miss that ole car. It didn't look nowhere near as nice as this one. She was a 20 footer. Looked good from 20 feet away. The hatch was rusted out so bad the back glass was barely holding on. Had a 68 Corvette 327 with double hump heads. Geared for top end and slow on take off. Still wish I had it back.

Yeah it is hard to put a good dual exhaust system on those Nova and Camaro as they originally had a single muffler that resided behind the rear axle and even a dual exhaust used the same muffler set-up except that muffler had dual inlets and outlets. Actually there was this fellow who had a 68 Camaro street car that had the factory dual set-up with headers and it sounded sweet with that cammed up small block running around when we were street rodding back in the mid-seventies. If the muffler shop had to weld those hangers on they could have at least welded the hanger to the factory reinforcement plate for the seat belt attachment instead of the bolt. It appear as though they used a kit and did not modify it to work with the car as you have pointed out the curve of the tailpipe had to come forward somewhat. I do not have the necessary set-up to fabricate exhaust systems (the pipe bender and such) but I do have the patience to make up my own systems (I have to pie cut and weld for slight bends or piece up the elbows and such) but when I get through I have a set-up that is functional and lasts as far as hangers not breaking and such. It seems to me that when we modify exhaust from stock there are always problems.

In the ‘70’s many of us were introduced to hatchbacks on Pintos and Vegas and Hornets - and on imports. Sure made hauling oversize stuff easy. I think they should have made it standard on the X body GM cars. But at that time competition in the low price segment was fierce, so many dealers didn’t want the extra cost for a “fancy” trunk that made it harder to sell against other dealers selling standard trunk models. I’ve always liked the hatchback Novas, they easily swallow 8’ lumber for home projects.

I betcha this is where GMH got the idea for the LX Torana hatch!?!

Had those hatch backs here in South Africa as well think they were 302s could be wrong....that column rod is a lock.out lever off the column

Looks like a nice ride, certainly needed some TLC,thanks for sharing, all the best to you and your loved ones

That car didn't necessarily used to be a column shift car. For whatever reason, GM used to build floor shift cars with all the guts for column shift still intact. I had a 75 camaro like that, you could watch the steering column rotate as you'd move the floor shifter back and forth. I used to freak my friends out by shifting the car by choking the steering column.

That's a very clean Nova. I didn't know those came as a hatchback either.

Love this car. It’s a perfect driver car.

New one on me. I wasn't expecting to see a Nova hatchback

Thanks Kiwi 🥝, what a good looking car 🚗 and I like the color...😊

There are a few up here in northeast Pennsylvania area. One of them is a real 4 speed

When I was 17 in 1973, I bought a brand new 73 Nova. 6cyl. Powerglide, yellow w a white top, AM radio, Rally Wheels w whitewall radial tires. $3292, tax and license included. A hatchback would have added another $350, a V8 was an extra $159.

Had 1 in 1983 for winter beater I was 17 and storing my 1973 z28 me my dad and brother restored.

Great video from Dr kiwi.

Yep. Had a 74.

KIWI, I have an idea for your merch. Remember the "Super roo" stickers on XYGT falcon front guards ? You could swap out the roo for a kiwi and make it super kev ? Or super kiwi? It links kiwis with your love of fords. Im no artist but did a sketch last night and it definitely works with a kiwi doimg a burnout. Anyway.. just a thought. Love the early 70s Novas. We used to thrash one around kapiti/wellington on the 90s. A red 70 ss with a 402 big block and power glide. It was a machine.

Originally rear up upper Shack mounts went through the trunk floor I can't tell you how many we used to have to fix on Nova's Camaro's firebirds. Because people put air shacks on back in the day to get the back end up to clear the L 60s And the added stress would. spider crack. The upper mount Same with compact and mid-size fords mopars and 55- 57 chevys ***springs hold the car up shocks dampen the movement

Nice car! I used to have a ‘73 non-hatchback.

Yup, GM had a tent that fit the hatchback, as others have probably said. Cool stuff! Take care, Kiwi.

I have a '72 Nova... I never liked when they changed the design in '73, and Hatchback??? Eeeeeewwwww.... Still, a Very Nice Car... 💪💪💪

I have a 73 hatchback with the skyroof option.

Steering wheel is off. That would get my ocd screaming.😂

Hey I personally know that the back of that car can hold 53 batteries I had a 6 cylinder 3speed manual on the floor

I had a 72 non SS with a 350. Even without being souped up it hauled ass pretty good. I'm more of a Mopar guy but, I did love that Nova.

"possibly" 🤣

I have a '72 Nova, but it's a bit different than that one. It's blue, but a darker blue. Not a hatchback. It's got a well built 383, Muncie M21 4 speed, and a 12 bolt Posi. Jacked up in the back with air shocks, has 275/60-15 rear tires on 15x8 wheels, and 225/70-14 front tires on 14x6 wheels, and a 4" cowl hood to allow clearance for the two Edelbrock dual 500 cfm four barrels on an Edelbrock high rise manifold. My exhaust is a LOT louder. Too bad about the rust. Mine's an original AZ car with no rust. Those look like aftermarket rear spring shackles. Haven't seen those since the '70s. How are the front subframe bushings? They tend to fail, and if not caught in time will wear out the holes in the subframe. Hard to believe I was 14 when that car was new.

Obvious the owner takes great car of the car, how clean the engine bay saids it, Is it the original owner? I would buy that car in a minute.

Saw 1 in movie where tatum robs the speedway with james Bond ?