1970 Chevrolet Nova L78

Right off the factory floor, a 375 HP big-block V-8 and 4-speed manual transmission made this 1970 Nova a hot machine; but early in its life, a fateful trip to Motion Performance on New York’s Long Island gave it serious street fighter cred. Joel Rosen founded Motion Performance in 1963 with the goal of making high-performance cars quicker and faster. He started the business tuning Shelby Cobras and Corvettes for racing. The 1966 introduction of the Camaro—and Rosen’s subsequent partnership with the nearby Baldwin Chevrolet dealership—made him a Chevrolet performance specialist. Rosen and Baldwin-Motion joined the likes of other supercar dealers like Don Yenko, Dick Harrell and “Mr. Norm” Kraus. But Rosen’s creations stood apart with a unique look. Rosen added bold stripes and fiberglass body pieces to his cars in addition to hardcore performance parts. If you wanted a sleeper, Baldwin-Motion Chevrolets were not for you.

This Nova is fairly understated for a Motion car. The factory Code 28 Fathom Blue hue is not decorated with contrasting stripes or spoilers. It does, however, have a fiberglass Corvette stinger hood with hood pins, Corvette-style side pipes and Motion Performance-branded 15-inch E/T five-spoke mag wheels, but otherwise the exterior largely retains a fairly factory look.

Under that stinger hood, the matching-numbers L78 396/375 HP big-block V-8 wears a Fly Eye air cleaner and Motion-branded valve covers. Long-tube headers feed the side pipes. Underneath the car is a Motion finned differential cover and slapper bars to plant the rear tires during hard launches. The Nova’s interior features Trim 733 black vinyl-upholstered bucket seats, a center console and Sun gauges—including a column-mounted tachometer—augmenting the simple factory instruments. Historical paperwork accompanies the Nova, including a signed letter from Joel Rosen, an owner’s manual, an NCRS shipping data report and a Motion Performance catalog.