(Find the Hot Wheels Chevrolet Nova on Ebay and scour the Buby listings here)
Sometimes when searching the pegs a casting doesn’t so much grab your attention as literally jump out at you, whack you round the face and illuminate itself in bright neon lettering reading “PICK ME”. And the beauty of collecting means I really don’t have to explain why. Perfect case in point is the latest incarnation of the Chevrolet Nova SS from Hot Wheels.
This thing ended up coming home with me during a recent hunt and it had nothing to do with the packaging it came in, the movie series it’s from or anything else other than it just looks so. Damn. Cool. And I will have to clear one thing up before I dive deeper: yes it’s from the new semi-premium “Fast & Furious: Decades of Fast” line but I really couldn’t care less about the films so this will be the last paragraph containing the words “Fast” or “Furious”. Still with me? Good. Because we’re about to get nerdy.
The Chevrolet Nova replicated by Hot Wheels is a 1970 third generation (1968-72) SS model. Initially just a trim package, the SS became effectively a model in it’s own right in 1968, the year Chevrolet dropped the “Chevy II” name for the range in favour of the “Nova” moniker.
The SS was available with either a 350 cu in (5.7 litre) V8 developing 295bhp or a 396 cu in “big-block” with either 350 or 375bhp. Power could be sent to the rear wheels via a 4 speed manual gearbox or a three speed “Turbo Hydromatic” automatic.
The third gen model was also exported to Argentina where it was branded the Chevrolet Chevy. Both 2 and 4-door models were available with the 4-door cars built at the General Motors de Argentina plant in San MartÃn, Buenos Aires. The US market V8 engines were dropped in favour of inline-six engines ranging from 194 cu in (3.18 litre) up to 250 cu in (4.1 litre). Argentine SS models were equipped with the 250 engine spiced up with the addition of a two-barrel Holey carburetor giving 170bhp and in contrast to the US market, could be purchased in both coupe and sedan forms.
Why am I talking about an Argentine 4-door then? Well this is why.
The Hot Wheels car will be joined by the incredible Chevy SS 4-door by Argentine brand Buby’s “Mini Buby” line.
I’ve looked at Mini Buby before at Lamley when I rescued a Mercedes-Benz 1112 truck from oblivion. The company produced some unique and brilliant pieces before it folded and this is one of them. Buby cars often featured moving parts and/or suspension and the Mini Buby line comprised of cars from European brands such as Renault and Fiat as well as models unique to the Argentine/South American market such as the Volkswagen Gacel and IKA Torino. This is one of my favourite models in my hoard. I love the looks, colour, suspension and the patina. And it makes a great companion to the Hot Wheels car.
Mattel’s offering is a gorgeous diecast all round and the new C5 wheel looks the bomb on this casting.
The paint is excellent and extends to the metal base which is a neat feature. Where tampos/decals have been applied they are decent quality but there are still weak points: on my car and others I have seen on the pegs a section of (or indeed the entirety of) the double racing stripe is mis-aligned slightly along with the side marker and indicators. There’s also a weird squiggle where the Nova badge is supposed to be on the back. Not perfect, but then it cost me less than £5 and just look at it.
It’s a very cool diecast and the proportions are damn good. And that just shows how good the Buby model was all those years ago because well they’re damn good as well.
The fact that the Buby car holds up so well to this day is testament to just how good the brand was.
It makes me a little sad however that we are missing a lot of the domestic brands of old. Buby disappeared in the 1990s and brands like Efsi, Poliguri, Mercury etc have disappeared to be replaced with a mass of brands spilling out of China. It is to be expected I suppose and that’s by no means a complaint, more an observation. But the Hot Wheels car shows that even despite that, the hobby is in a very bright place still.
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This is great! Chevy Nova’s have been one of my favorite cars since I was a kid. My grandmom owned a third gen Nova and I always loved that car. My love for Nova’s continued as an adult when I discovered the first and third gen Nova’s. Anyway, I was stoked to hear when Hot Wheels was going to have a new casting for the 3rd gen, and even more stoked to see the final product. It turned out great! However, I’m disappointed it has only been released as a F&F car. Yes, this version looks great, but I think it’s been released 4 now. How come we haven’t seen any re-colors of this amazing casting in other Hot Wheels lines? Hope they are coming soon.
As for this Buby version, I never knew it exsited, but it looks great. I’m now going to look into how I can get one myself!
Thanks for the great write up!
Jeff
I love 4 door version’s cars Iike the nova. In a way thank the fast and furious line to produce castings like the nova 2 door model. If you can overlook this the castings being made are for everyone at this point.