Here's Why My Rare Chevrolet Nova Twin Cam Is So Much Fun
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- čas přidán 29. 07. 2024
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This is my 1988 Chevrolet Nova Twin Cam. I’ve only made a few videos with this obscure 1980s sporty econobox, mainly because it boringly just keeps running and driving without any problems. But, out of the 40 or so cars I’ve owned in my life, this is by far one of my favorites. Let's take it for a drive on a back road, and I'll tell you all about why I love it, what issues it has, and what my plans are for this old Nova!
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Music used in this episode:
Selected tracks from the CZcams music library.
And:
Home - "Sleep"
1000 Names - "Rio"
Teknoaxe - "Cruising The Night Sky"
Agon - "Simplicity"
Kevin MacLeod - "March of the Spoons"
Charles Etienne - "HR16"
Home - "Overflow" - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I worked at NUMMI for eighteen years. I loved those cars. I saw more of the twin cams in our parking lot than on the street. The team members loved them. And I'm loving the NUMMI t-shirt!
Now it’s a Tesla plant!!
Must have been a blessing to drive them, I'd never sell it
For a car of this size and weight, 110hp is perfect. It's not too much power, yet it's not sorely underpowered either.
I miss my "Twinkie" so much!
I noticed the hub caps right away, now she looks proppa!
I trimmed the headliner I pulled from a same-generation Corolla I found at a junk yard. It was a much better quality headliner than the one found in the Novas. My aftermarket CD player didn't have a clock, so I also pulled that Corolla's clock to mount in the Twin Cam's dash "pocket," but there was no factory wiring harness, so I spliced the power from the stereo, resulting in a clock that was too dim to read in the daytime, I'm assuming that's because the clock was intended to rely on the headlight switch to tell it how bright to be (I was too lazy to rip it apart again, so I just left it).
While your $5 brake pads may not be great, the brakes on my Novas (1 base, 1 CL & 1 Twin Cam) seemed to wear out really fast, no matter what brand or quality I used.
Keep the great Twin Cam videos coming! They bring back some great memories for this (sadly) former Twin Cam owner.
I too had an 88 twin cam... my previous car was an fx16 GTS 5 speed... my kids were growing up and I needed four doors and I sacrificed and got an automatic but it was still fun to drive
Imagine if you got parts from a Toyota Corolla Levin or Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno and put them on your Chevrolet Nova...
Awesome! Good to still see some love around for older 'boxes'..
I had one in high school that I bought for someone that I worked with. Amazing little car. It was very zippy and good on gas I loved the 5 speed..the car was Stolen from the Rockaway mall and I never seen it again...I would love to find another one and enjoy it again
Ah bummer!!! Hope you can find another one someday!
@@HelloRoad I have tried there just not out there..
@@Adventureswithmike1 Totally get it. I've only seen two in person in my life.
Ive got one for sale 1987 chevy nova new trans
Now that is a fun little car! In 1986 I was a 16 year old kid and I went to the different dealerships to test drive each of their econo cars. I remember the Nova and even today recall just how thin and light the doors were, the tinny feeling inside but also how tossable it was. It was competitive to the others but more easy to drive and engaging too.
That's awesome a fellow Twin Cam enthusiast hooked you up with center caps. Looks great.
I know right? Looks so much better :) :)
There is something about twin cam 80-90s sedans. They are so simple , analog and driving one is a totally difrent expirience from what we are used to today. Here in Greece there aren't many left exept from toyota corolla s and nissan sunny s. Those things never break down.
I had a base model nova. Gutted 5 speed with more rust than sheet metal. Still my favorite car I've ever owned. Slow but fun even with the base 70 some hp.
It reminds me so much of my first car, a 1988 Toyota Tercel coupe. I will always miss that car!
Time marches on
I used to use a roll of tape as a cup holder.
My mom had an 83 or 84 Corolla and the space between each seat and the handbrake in the middle worked pretty well to wedge in drinks.
Why not just buy a cup holder that clips on, or fits on, your car seat?
@@paxhumana2015 that's boring
It's a stick, too! Awesome. Great vid. That intro was kickass, too.
This corolla shape was sold as a sprinter in Japan .We had a 1985 CXS 1.6 Ltr carburettored 4a 3 speed Auto and Mum ran it trouble free for 15 years .It was made in Australia and never rattled or squeaked and was a great car. It ran on 14 inch alloys.
Mom bought a light blue base model single cam sedan in '87 to replace her pos T1000. It drove nice enough and was a major upgrade to dad's '86 Tercel since it had tweed seats and door trim and carpeting. Dad never spent money on cars as he viewed them as transportation appliances. Anyway the two things that I didn't like about the Nova was a notchy transmission and a rather floaty ride at highway speeds. The gas mileage was quite good and the engine loved to rev and was rather smooth, too. I remember when the twin cams came out I really wanted one but just couldn't justify the price premium. I can certify that the dash squeaked and rattled when new and I really miss the paper thin doors and slender pillars. In December 1989 I took my road test in it at 16. Unfortunately mom totaled it in '92. I hope you can drive yours until the wheels fall off!
Love this car!! I have an '84 VW GLI which would of been a competitor to this car at the time, and was another one-year-only-car that was a performance variant of a regular sedan. One thing I find so common about the "hot" versions of budget 80s cars is that they're usually modded to hell and back (I'm in the process of bringing my car back to stock ride height). Your Nova looks to be a great survivor with low miles and very limited modifications! Glad you're enjoying the heck out of it!
I'd completely forgotten about these! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, that opening sequence was KILLER!!!
Thanks!! It was fun to put together...
Yes I remember those commercials
Looks an 80s/90s Toyota Corolla from the outside. That car came out at the right time in US when up until the late 70s cars were as long as a yacht with a big engine giving crap performance. Watching from Ireland.
My first car was a 1962 Nova sedan. Man, I wish I'd had the 80's nova.
62-74 are the best years
I'm glad I learned to drive in the early 70s.
I can speak to the side impact. Got hit directly on the rear driver side. Granted it was from a geo metro. If someone was sitting there they would've been okay. The door crumpled in and stayed stuck like that. I sold it a few weeks later as is to an older lady who to my knowledge drives it like that to this day. I miss that car. It was my first car and handled everything. It had no business being as good as it was. Yet, it was amazing. Ah, I might have to try and buy another one when I make it big. Thanks for this video, great stuff.
Love it. I think about my mom’s 88 all the time
IDK about the twin cam versions of these but I do remember these being pretty popular back in the day. There was a teacher's aide in my third grade class that had one. She got into an accident with it and although the car was repaired she knew that it would never be the same. I remember her sitting at AR reading table with a brochure for the all-new Chevy Geo Prism. Being one part nosey and the other part car lover even at 8 I remember talking to her about the car. I remember this new Prizm hatchback as looking like a smooth ER more rounded version of the Nova which of course being just a redesign version it was. The biggest killer of this gen Corolla / Nova was body rot. Especially on the East Coast. Most older Japanese cars rust from the bottom up in the Northeast but in South Florida they get rust patches around the glass areas. That's because of the high humidity levels. As with most Japanese Econo boxes here in Miami they tend to fall prey to all the little young Julio ricer racers so if you do catch a glimpse of 1 it will most likely have a giant spoiler, 8 tomato can exhaust, and a tacky body kit. Either way I do get a strong feeling of nostalgia whenever I catch a glimpse of one. Molested or unmolested. Another great car video bro!
I don't know that much about cars, but I gotta say these videos are consistently really well put together and interesting to watch. It's great that you have that attention to detail with your videos as well as your music, definitely subbed.
Speaking of that, didn't you write a song about this car forever ago? That was a great EP, I played the hell out of it when I was in high school. More State Shirt soonish, maybe?
Cool car, sir. Never knew about the 7500 RPM twin cam version of the 80s Nova! Awesome to see this rare relic being loved and appreciated. The exhaust actually sounds ok, IMO but it seems like you’re not happy with it so ditch it. Sound, especially with a high revving motor, is a really important part of the experience. If it was mine, I’d look into any Toyota “retrofittable” upgrades and SAVE every damn piece that came off the Nova just in case I wanted to put it back to stock. A set of Wantanabes (or some other classic/JDM style wheel) with good rubber, bigger brakes, some sway bars, it would be on its way to being a unique, light weight canyon carver. Good luck! 👍🏽
A friend of mine had one when we were in high school. One day, we skipped school and got caught speeding. The cop told us he clocked it at 115 in a 55. After we gave each other a high five, he took us to my buddies house and told his mom. We were both grounded and the car was taken away. 20 years later, I'm restoring a 1977 model. The moral of this story, Dont skip school so you can afford a Chevy II or a nice second gen Nova!🤣🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍 Nice 5th Gen!!
Haha! Thanks for sharing your story!! :) :)
We have two of the more prosaic NUMMI vehicles in the family and I really enjoy the videos you have done about yours.
Thank you! :) :)
@@HelloRoad Tacoma and Vibe to answer your unasked question.
The wife's first car was a red 1988 Nova. I love them because a friend had a 1986 nova a red one also. I see them at Pull a part junk yard here in Tennessee.
I love it. I had a 1986 Chevy Nova. Great car. I had a blue one.
These were cool.little cars back then. My high school teacher had 5his as his pride and joy. He used to brag that it was his little Toyota-Chevorlet, ie. His little "ToyLet"! Good to see that someone appreciates the significance of this car. This and the Isuzu I-Mark RS with Lotus suspension are 2 little obscure cars I wouldn't mind owning! If you ever sell it like you did with that awesome 5th Ave, I claim first dibs!!!🙂👍
This was my first car and loved it
Nice Gem 💎 👌 Sooo sick! 1 of my bucket list cars....
My Childhood car growing up this was my parents car up til 2010 when the Transmission blow and mom decided to donate it 😢
Reminds me of the original
Mazda 636. Great little engine, with fun handling.
Yes, looks very similar!
626 F2T, same as the first gen Probe GT.
Looks like a really fun car!
Definitely!!
wow what a machine our cool man!
Fun looking Nova. Id say keep the Cherry Bomb. I had one on my 87 cavalier cs sedan with a 2.0L, loved the sound.
My brother and parents had regular Novas. I never thought much of them then, but now it looks so nice. One of the few GM cars from back then that wasn't ugly. Clean lines. The plastics inside did make noises even when new. I'm sure every time you start the Nova up, it "passes smog".
it was one of the worst gm car of that era, the isuzu or suzuki made cars were better, still not good but better
The door frame trim can be sanded and painted with bumper black, just use some adhesive promoter after the sanding. The rain gutter trim I sand them down to chrome and put black electrical tape on.
I feel the same about the 1991 Ford Escort GT. I bought car number 238 when they came out in 1990, then I bought another one in 1993. That was a great driving car that you can pick up really cheaply now. I put a lot of highway miles on the 1993.
I want to get one for a klze v6 swap. 210hp nasty sounding high rpm v6 in a lightweight chassis. Nearly twice the power as what this Nova is working with.
I would love a twin cam 88 nova hatch, I would pay up to 3k for one, love the looks and that 4age is just...no words. Truly a rarity
I regret selling my Nova hatchback as much as my 80s rabbit. Those paper thin doors freaked me out after a few highway trips.
Insane gas mileage though.Paid $600 or $800 for mine in 1998,one owner car.
I can relate to the thin doors of 80s and 90s cars. My mom's late 1992 Honda Accord was very thick feeling when you open and close it, it was like a thud. But my 1998 Honda Accord feels relatively thin, I can close the door hands free by driving away and let gravity do the trick. My recent 1989 Nissan Sentra has the skinniest doors I have ever encountered. You open and close it and sounds like a aluminum can crushing.
Owned one for 11 years, great fun. Had 197,000 miles on it when I traded it in on a Golf TDI.
Oh wow! Great when another former Twin Cam owner pops up!
Come for the cars, stay for the Synthwave😎.
Thats what I call a Synthwave car
3M 1/4 inch red pinstripe tape. Basically what factory used.
I would go aftermakret exhaust, for sure
I know I might be a little late to this but man, this model of nova calls me more than any other has ever done, and thankfully just inquired a base model of 86' as my project, but I'm ditching the original engine for a monstrous K20 under that puppy, and sending it!, Hopefully soon enough I'll have it running! But absolutely loved yours, that black with the red stripe Is ALWAYS going to look nice.
Awesome!!
It's got the same gauge cluster as a mr2 awesome
my 1st car back in 2002!
Get a pin stripper to paint it. It is a better alternative than a sticker. Get autopal headlights (so much better at night), a twin exhaust would look great on it. Love the car!!!
Nice review .. 😁
Do the stereos in both the Nova and Prizm have a CD and/or cassette player?
i saw the nova in the back ground of the probe video so i had to check to see if it was the twin cam :D
its a fun underappreciated pocket rocket
the last one i was was in a salvage yard around a decade ago after it met a moose O_O
Yep, it's a great car!
The good ole dangling cherry bomb
As an owner of a 74, people talked shit about us for years and now we're accepted. Gen V will get their time soon (I already love them and have since I learned about them, I also was born in Fremont)
Great video! I know the engine sound from my 1985 MR2 that was my daily car until last year.
Speaking of safety, I feel the same way and feel much safer in my 2011 Prius now, driving it as quickly as I did the MR2.
Regarding the missing roof part: Don´t you think it might be the same as in the Corolla AE82 sedan?
Should be easier to find...
I could be wrong, but I'm fairly certain both the Nova and the AE82 Corolla sedan had the same terrible cloth headliners-they all sagged and disintegrated. The FX16 had a much more durable headliner. If that doesn't work, I might try to come up with a custom solution! Or I just stop looking up and ignore it!
would really like to see you do a vid on the chevy vega. This was an incredibly popular car, esp among the street rodders, pulling out the 4 banger n stuffing in a v8.would love to see a vid on the stock set up!!
I'll keep an eye out for one! Haven't seen a Vega in a loooong time...
Did not squeak new. Really solid car.
you and Mr. Regular have GOT to do a cross over episode!
LOL it is a AE82 Twincam corolla. I owned one with the 4AGE. Great engine.
just got one im only 17 but im restoring it to its former glory. the engine doesnt run the clutch doesnt disengage and shes got 4 flat tires but hopefully soon i can have her running again. if you have any spare parts i would love to buy them off you.
Glad you found one. Is it a base model or a Twin Cam? Sorry I don't have any spare parts, but base models pop up in junkyards from time to time. :)
@@HelloRoad it's a twin cam
@@tannert8361 Nice! Good luck getting it running!! :)
@@HelloRoad Thanks so much!!! =)
A NUMMI shirt! And a Matt Watson sighting, too cool
😀😀😀
GM should have stuck with that partnership with Toyota... Now they turn out crappy cars.... They had a chance and they blew it..period...
@@rontreen3278 By the mid-80s GM knew they were in trouble. They entered the NUMMI partnership to learn from Toyota but arrogance was too deeply ingrained in their corporate culture and they failed to reform. GM kept producing mediocre cars in their own factories and the rest is history.
Make it as factory as possible! I’m sure you can go to a custom exhaust shop and have them make something better, I bet any older Corolla exhaust can be welded on and sound ok.
Yes, I do think I'm going to try to keep it as close to factory as possible...
The rear reminds me of a Levin.
PS, damn just saw it was colab with Toyota. It's strange but the dash gauges look very similar to a Nissan Bluebird.
The dashboard also looks like that from a Nissan sunny (name from European market) i guess they used the same parts for cars around the world.
Well, @Gunzee, a Toyota Corolla Levin is essentially a souped up version of the vanilla Toyota Corolla, as well as the Chevrolet Nova from that same time period and all of them are related to the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno.
Frank Fritz from the show American Pickers has one.
He does/din. He was excited when he found a photo of one at a pick
I think it sounds good. Just attach it again.
(I got a 74 so I don't have to smog it)
this was my 1st car..very reliable..the only problem i had was the waterpump..cops took mine
...and the nest part...the original license plates!!
Where did you get the music in this video and your other vids. They sound so period correct .
Some of the tracks are from the CZcams music library, some are royalty free tracks I found somewhere, I don't remember where! Sorry!
This would look so rad on coilovers!
Believe it or not I have 1 I need an engine and title but it has coil overs
I remember the Toyota based Chevy Nova. I was too young at the time to drive a car, but I remember finding it more attractive than the Toyota Corolla.
Plot twist, it is essentially a badge swapped version of a Toyota Corolla, as well as is related to the Toyota Corolla Levin and the Toyota AE86 Sprinter Trueno.
@@paxhumana2015 Aren't The Toyota Corolla and Toyota Sprinter the same cars, just with different appearance changes to the cars?
Go stock with the exhaust
On the red stripe trim, I would go to the Chevy dealer and see if they have on in a warehouse somewhere. It couldn't cost much.
Look up Phoenix Graphics online...They might have that red stripe for your car, or perhaps something close from another car.
Otherwise pretty sure most auto parts stores have generic red decals you could try.
Might look cool with a bodykit...but where you gonna find that?
I drove my 1988 Nova Twin Cam to town today. Yes, zippy and fun to drive. Mine has an occasional howling sound in the rear passenger side wheel. Wheel bearing failing or something rubbing?
Glad to see another Twin Cam owner here! My first thought would be a possible bad wheel bearing... Not sure exactly else what it might be?
@@HelloRoad I drove it again and no howling sound. But I am thinking wheel bearing and will investigate further come spring. I plan on keeping it forever.
If the stereo in the Nova or Prizm is original, is it made by Delco GM or Toyota? Does the stereo in the Nova or Prizm have a cassette player if it's original or not or CD player if it's not original or do the stereos have AM/FM only?
Both the Nova and Prizm no longer have the original stereos. They were Delco from the factory. Not sure on the specs of the original stereos...
Question, did the Twin Cam come in white?
Nope, just black.
The trim and wheels fall right in line with the rare Chevy Celebrity Euro Sport and later Lumina Euro Sport.
I could be wrong, but I believe that the trim came from the factory with the black plastic coating. At least that's how my FX16 is, and I believe other owners have discussed this on the facebook group before.
It's pretty funny to think back to seeing these when I was a kid. My dad has a 65 nova and would talk shit on these because MERICA. Then years later when I get the FX, he absolutely loves it and can't believe how zippy it is. He missed out on a lot of cool cars because of his stupid biases.
Although the exhaust sounds good imo i'd say put a stock exhaust on it, i feel like you might enjoy it more as it'll be more quiet plus it makes it closer to being 100% stock
Yeah, that's what I'm thinking...
What percentage of Japanese-made parts vs. American-made parts are in these 1988 Chevy Nova Twin Cams? Anyone know?
I think they are almost all japanese and they just put them together in nummi, since the body is the same as the japanese Sprinter and the mechanical part is the same as the FX and they were produced since 1983
Throw some red Watanabes on it!❤
I honestly like fwd cars if they handle well, but i can definitely say if they made these rwd you'd be driving a $60k econo-box in this video.
There is alot of aftermarket for that car you just need to know the interchanges, alot of fx16, ae86 and mr2 stuff fits this car
Remove the tail pipe they’re good car I brought a 1985 Corolla last year one of the best car just like your Did you share everything the Chevy Corolla and a Toyota Corolla I love those cars
Fixing rattle plastic is easy for me, the tape that follows the bumper is like that pretty much on all of them, I haven't ever really found a decent OEM looking solution.
If you can find another set of aluminum center caps I'd be interested in buying, I've literally looked for years now and only tracked down the rims (damaged) I only have 3 caps and I think 2 of them are pretty much unusable.
I'll certainly let you know if I come across another set of center caps!!
Matt Farah should review this.. he loves oddball cars!
That would be rad!
I would imagine you are the guy driving around with a mask on inside your car with the windows rolled up ear plugs in and you're the only one in the car trying to protect yourself from yourself from getting covid-19
Picked one up yesterday! Where do I look for parts??
You found a Twin Cam? Nice! Parts are still available on Rock Auto. But for trim, body, etc it's all junkyards
@@HelloRoad yes it’s pretty hard to get anything interior. My 5th gear just went out, so the engine is going to get rebuilt along with the trans. I really can’t wait to get back to having it as my daily!
@@Thycatboss 85 won’t have the twin cam. And it is front wheel drive, I’m not sure you will fit the 305.
It needs a set of Enkie 92 wheels, better rubber, suspension and brakes would.make it more drivable
Was there a Corolla equivalent of the twin cam?
In the US, the closest thing would've been the Corolla FX16.
My aunt had a Toyota Nova when I was younger and it was the car I learned how to drive a stick in. It wasn't the twin cam and it was a gutless turd. But, it was stupid reliable. It finally met its demise by getting creamed by a drunk in a dually while parked out front of her house.
😭
I notice your headliner is gone too. Mine still has the foam and particles rain down on me.
Yep, these headliners were all crap! Luckily the previous owner cleared out all of the foam.
3M pinstrip tape
BTW buy Akebono brand brake pads. They cost more but they will be the last set of brakes you'll ever buy.
You have 1989 plates on the car. Was the car first sold in 1989 or was it re-plated in 1989? The first sold date will be on your title.
I'll have to check!
@@HelloRoad It will be interesting to see if the car was on the dealer lot into 1989 or it came in to California in that year. if the title has an asterisk year, then that was the year it came in to the state.
I want this car so bad
Is that the same chassis as the ae82 Corolla sedan?
yes!
@@HelloRoad I knew it!!
@@HelloRoad that’s actually really sick!!
I think a lot of cars from this era, were destroyed during the “cash for clunkers” program! I had an 1988 Mazda 626, and it also had 110 HP, which was plenty fast enough!