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1969; Woodstock, man steps foot on the moon, the Vietnam war raged on and “Easy Rider” played on the big screen. Muscle cars were now an accepted part of life for the car enthusiast and coming from all the major builders. At almost any light you pulled up to, you were subject to a possible show down with some guy in a Nehru suit wearing beads and driving some brightly colored Detroit Iron. But roll up to this guy in an innocuous black grocery-getter and the mood goes flat. That is until you light up the asphalt and split the silence of the calm air with the roar of a 396 cubic inch SS big block! Talk about your sixties sleepers, whoa buddy.
Chevy debuted the Chevy II in 1962. The cute little thing had a pitifully anemic 120 horse inline six banger. In ’64, when Chevy decided to up the ante and give the brave little car a V-8, things got interesting, in a hurry. The Nova package was an upgrade to the Chevy deuce but the Super Sport (SS) addition to the Nova in ’63 set the tone for things to come. By ’69 the SS could be had with a big block 396 pumping out 375 bhp. Oh, life was good.
DM tooled up a whole other new muscle car for us in this Nova and I am so happy that they did. I owned a spirited ’70 Nova with the 350 horse mill and a close ratio four speed but the guys with the big block SS Nova’s cleaned my clock on a regular basis. DM decided on a sinister black exterior with black vinyl bucket interior. Outside, all that sets the model off is the chrome and the redline F70-14’s. They mounted them on the popular Rally wheels with chrome trim rings. The chrome trim around the windows, windshield and back glass is precisely done. The ‘for show’ hood vents and the side fender louvers are treated to the plating as well. It also surrounds the side marker lights, made mandatory in '68 and in the front units you can see the perfectly scaled, “396”. Usually seen too late to avoid a trouncing, it is the only giveaway to the car’s performance potential. Well, that and the, “SS” emblems on the blacked-out grille and rear valance panel if you knew that they meant trouble. The chrome foiled, “Nova” script is absolutely gorgeous. There are three, both front fenders, above the side louvers and on the rear deck lid. The working antenna is slim and scaled beautifully. Don’t miss the separately formed door lock buttons under each door handle and be sure to catch the well shaped lock knobs too. But be sure to take in the trunk lock button. It is recessed into the trunk lid just like the real one. Inside the trunk, the spare can be seen on correct matting and sitting on the jack tools. The rear plate flips open to reveal the gas filler and cap.
Interior-wise, DM treats us to another class on Diecast Detailing 101. Photo-etch metal sills greet you as you enter and they replicate the, “Body by Fisher” insignia within. The seats fold forward. Each one is flanked by seat belts. The dash, steering wheel, floor pedals and floor shifter are all perfectly carried out in scale and oh, yeah, the visors work. Say what you will about working suspension but I love it. The more that works the better. Nothing here suffers; the shape and fidelity of the body is perfect to the 1:1 and the ride height and stance of the model is as accurate as a Rolex. Did I mention that the doors open on realistic hidden hinges? Uh huh, they do. Doors open into the bodywork just like they do on the full sized car. You have to see the chassis detail up close. It’s mesmerizing. Brake lines emergency cabling and tranny lines are all fabricated in scale. The headers are cool, as seen from below, and the muffler is colored the right way. But it’s the engine bay that will steal your heart on this one. It’s miniaturization perfection. Gone are the days when all we got was an upgrade to plug wires from older tech models. Now we expect more. Well model lovers, we have it in spades up front here. The engine block hoist loop is fashioned. The dipstick is seen. From the gold anodized master cylinder we see fluid lines and flex tubing. Heater hose looms, clamps and fittings are readily apparent and don’t overlook the hood’s underside paint treatment. But to me the trick under the hood is the hood itself. Raise the hood and DM raises the bar once again. The scissors hinges are so real it may bring a tear to your eye. There are no fewer than seven pivot points plus operational springs! This cannot be adequately described, it has to be experienced. Even the minute wire mesh that replicates the air cleaner is dynamic to the sight.
Once again DM delights. I would have loved a small block Nova 350 in Autumn Gold to match my old 1:1 but yet again, the SS-396 cleans up! I rate this a 9.9 on the Thrillometer.
(02/08/2005)
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