nickey novas

[mech1]

looking for imfo on 1974 nickey novas how many any registerd any imfo apriciated reply
[email protected]

[sYc]

So, far, we don't have any Nickey Novas registered, but we would be GLAD to here about one! The only NIckey Nova I know of is owned by Reggie Jackson, and can be seen here: http://student.monterey.edu/nr/prewarskicharles/world/mroctober/car.html He has quite a few Supercars, and is building a new page for them here: http://www.reggiejackson.com

[whitetop]

Hot Rod magazine did a special issue on a 1973 Nickey 454 Nova. It was orange with black vinyl top and aluminum slots. It was on the cover and also had a 3-4 page article inside. The issue was in 1973 (August?). Should be easy to find on ebay.
Dave

[JoeC]

Dave that was in May 73 Hot Rod magazine.
Kevin has a 73 Nickey L88 Nova at

http://www.corvettes-musclecars.com/Supercars/73NickeyNova/index.htm

[Stefano]

There was a 1974 (?)Nickey Corvette for sale at the Mecum Rockford Spring classic a couple of years ago,if I remember correctly.

Does anyone know about this or other Nickey Corvettes?

[BillW]

Noticed you were looking for info on Nickey Novas. I owned a 1973 Nickey Nova. It was green (almost a Citrus green like the 1970 Camaros) with a black vinyl half top. It was a hatchback ( more on this later). It had a 454 LS-6 engine, Turbo 350 ( hard to believe but it was), a/c, tilt wheel, Lakewood traction bars and tranny blanket, slotted mags, Goodyear Rally GT tires( L-60 rear, E-60 front)Holley 780, headers, shift kit, Lear stereo (8-track), bucket seats, floor shift, and full Stewart Warner gauges. I was told the reason for the hatchback, tilt wheel, and auto tranny was because the original owner was a Vietnam vet who was in a wheel chair. This was further proved by the fact that under the dash I could see where hand controls were once mounted on the car. Shortly after buying the car in 1975 it lost oil pressure. I pulled the engine and had it rebuilt and balanced, added Accel dual point, Crane cam, and new Hookers. I had to beat the hell out of the drivers side header to get it to clear. At this time I also trashed the A/C, it was so hard to work on this car. The car suffered from a stock rear gear ( probably in the neighborhood of 3:23) and was a pig out of the hole. Top end however was another story. Although the speedo stopped at 120 MPH I know I saw 140 MPH in this car. I was 21 at the time, young and foolish! The car had small chrome Nickey emblems above the front fender side marker lights, "454" emblems below the side "SS" emblems, and the famous backward K sticker on the rear trunk lid. There was documentation in the glove box that the car was delivered and modified at Nickey Chevrolet. I wish I could find the original owner of this car. The last time I saw the car it was in a boneyard in Elkhart, Indiana. I went back several years ago and it was gone, probably to the crusher. I have found only two other Nickey Nova's, one owned by Kevin Suydam and the Hot Rod cover car. That puts the count at three. I have pictures of my Nickey if any one is interested. Hope this has been helpful.

[Stefano]

Bill,
Thanks for sharing that would be very Cool, post the pics if you can. /ubbthreads/images/icons/cool.gif

[JoeC]

BillW..Wecome to the site. Sounds like an interesting Nova. Did you ever go to the Nickey speed shop that was opened after the dealer closed?

[BillW]

Thanks for the nice welcome guys. No, I never went to Nickey or the speed shop after the dealership closed. I do remember on WLS Radio "Nickey, Nickey, Nickey, Nickey Chevrolet". At one time I sent a short letter to "Muscle Car Review" magazine about my Nickey Nova and got a reply from a gentleman who said the " Hot Rod" cover car was in a private collection in Texas. I wonder if there was a mistake there and the car he was talking about is actually the Kevin Suydam car in Washington. I really would like to know how many of these cars were produced. "Hot Rod" magazine coaxed some impressive numbers out of their test car but it took some fiddling. If my car had real gears ( say 3:73 or 4:10) I believe it was capable of twelve second ET's. By the way, I am still into Heartbeat muscle, my pride now is a 1969 Z/28, 302 DZ, 4:10, M-21, mostly original but with MSD ignition, Hookers, Flowmasters. My dream car is a Daytona yellow Yenko! Your web site has brought me some very enjoyable reading! Bill W.

[bbdon]

Here are the pictures of Bill's Nickey nova. Thanks Bill!
Picture1 (http://www.sonic.net/bbdon/free/nickey2.jpg)
Picture2 (http://www.sonic.net/bbdon/free/nickey3.jpg)
Picture3 (http://www.sonic.net/bbdon/free/nickey4.jpg)

[JoeC]

great pictures thanks for posting

[BillW]

Glad you like the pictures, sorry for the blur but I could not find the negatives so I took pictures of my old 8 x 10's with my digital camera and sent them to Don. If you look close you can see the chrome "Nickey" emblems above the front fender marker lights and the "454" emblems under the "SS" emblems on the fenders. That's me smokin' the hides in my high school parking lot. A special thanks to Don Coffman for his help in getting these pictures posted! /ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif

[hvychev]

Bill awesome pics!! The slotted mags are cool. Are you sure the car is gone forever?

[Roadvoyeur]

I haven`t seen any Nickey Novas at any muscle car shows, but I do know that in 1969 I went to Nickey with my best friend who purchased a 1969 Nova SS right off the Nickey Showroom floor. It was equipped with a L-78, 396 with 425hp to the rear wheels, holly750, headers, traction bars, buckets, console, and a b&m 4speed with b&m in-line shifter.
The Nova was ocean blue, with black vinyl top, and he paid cash for it. We drove it right off the lot, burning rubber for about 2blks. It was the fastest car I had ever been in. We both lived in Rochelle Ill and darn near needed new rear tires by the time we got home. I had owned GTO`s but this Nova would blow the doors off any goat. We drag raced it, mostly on the street, and took lots of money off the guys from Dekalb area. We both went into the service later that year, and I do know my friend sold the Nova to another kid who we heard crashed the car just a couple of months after he purchased it.
I was just wondering if anyone else ever heard of a Nova coming off the Nickey Showroom floor built like this.. It was a beautiful machine, and I think about that car everytime I see a Nova...
Just thought I would share this with your Nickey fans..If you have any questions about the car, please feel free to ask me...
thanks for your time...Road

[sixtiesmuscle]

What makes you say it was "425" horsepower? Was there a sticker on the air cleaner to that effect? Where were any 396 emblems & stickers?

[BillW]

I went back to the bone yard several years ago and it wasn't there. It could have been purchased and stuck away but I think I would have heard of it by now. I am still active in this area with muscle cars and I think I would have heard something. Everytime I see a '73 Nova I check it out! With the renewed interest I have in the car I think a clone would be fairly easily done and the purchase price of a nice '73 Nova SS can't be that much. Thanks for your question. Bill

[bbdon]

Here's a good starting point. It's going to cost extra though, it's a chick magnet.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1873661185

[Roadvoyeur]

I don`t recall if there was an emblem stating it was 425hp, but the air cleaner did say L-78 396 and it had 396 badges on the front fenders. The window sticker did state that it was a L-78 396ci w/425hp, and with the modifications made to the engine by Nickey, I would be willing to bet it was putting out more than the 425hp...

[69hurstSC]

Have any other 73 Nickey Nova's been discovered? Interested to see how many were converted.

[Stefano]

Kevin's and Reggie's are the only two 73/74 era NicKey Novas which we know to exist. We do have info on a few more which have never been found. Complete production records do not exist.