Nova 350 vs Duster 340

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The 3rd gen "Nova" was a good looking car.

The 1st gen Duster improved on it.

nova- all post coupes with door window frames. Interesting since 66/67 were not.
Duster- technically a coupe, but no window frames and set a record with glass curvature.

nova- god awful front sub frame that flexed and caused "dog tracking" issues.
Duster- true "uni-body"
 
Jesus Chrysler said:
Verily, this thread it has been fouled by the devil's most sickening of temptations! If thou art going to drinketh from the sinful bile of Chevrolet , let it be at least a super cool chebby, like a BB Vette, or Z-28 Camode!
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You write the stupidest posts.

dirty white boy said:
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how bout a badwin motion SS camaro with your BB vette in back ground....like a yenko but from the other cost!
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I grew up less than 10 miles away from there.
abodyjoe said:
no doubt about it.. chrylser late to the game as usual.. ever see the engineering pics of the challenger? you would swear its a camaro...lol

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Looks like a ‘70’s Cuda with a Camaro nose.
mbaird said:
I work with a guy that grew up in NY and owned a Baldwin Motion 68 Camaro. To him it was just an old hotrod he owned long ago.
I asked him if he knew what it was worth today..... He guessed 50k....lol.
He about shat himself when I pulled some auction reports!
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I as well when I seen some of the resale prices. Everybody knew, they knew there stuff.
 
The blue duster with white top and stripe... SURE LOOKS Like my buddies , daughter - daddy build a couple of years ago...
 
Novas were decent looking but their lines were not crisp. I think Dusters/Demons/Dart Sports were much more stylish. Especially when you add scoops and graphics !
I did know a guy with a Nova SS 4sp in Turquoise that was ultra clean.... I liked that car. Hatchback I think?
 
Hatchbacks didn't come out until the face lift 73 and up styling with the lower rear window line and the grill end plugs.
 
I dont know why the hatchback part sticks in my mind.... But I know it was an earlier model with cleaner lines. I will have to familiarize myself with the differences.
 
Yeah, I've got a 69 Chevelle SS in the garage now and restored it 12 yrs. ago. I could care less about it now because they are a dime a dozen. I never owned a Chevy and hadn't any past history with one. Bought it because my neighbor was going thru a divorce and Chevy parts are cheep. On the other hand, I borrowed my brothers 72 Duster 340 4-speed on the last day of high school in 73. I ended up wrecking it doing burn outs. Lucky for me he didn't kick my *** that day but it killed my piggy bank. A year later I was looking to buy a Yellow 71 340 3-speed Demon and my dad talked me out of it. This brings me to present day, I'm restoring a 72 H code Demon 4-speed poly gold car. Guess what, it's going to yellow with black stripes like the one I passed on years ago. I'm doing a total restoration, about half in AMD new sheet metal. I'm building it for me and don't care about keeping it original, it will be more like the one that I would have ordered new in 72, if I had the money. Many times it comes down to past history as to the cars one likes.
 
Seems like back in '69 or '70 every small town had a 340 Dart or Duster that was just about the fastest street car around!
 
YY1 said:
The 3rd gen "Nova" was a good looking car.

The 1st gen Duster improved on it.

nova- all post coupes with door window frames. Interesting since 66/67 were not.
Duster- technically a coupe, but no window frames and set a record with glass curvature.

nova- god awful front sub frame that flexed and caused "dog tracking" issues.
Duster- true "uni-body"
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In my opinion, the ONLY thing the 68-72 Nova had on the Duster was a big block option. The Duster is a 2 door hardtop. When you bought a '70 Nova, you got a 1st gen Camaro subframe and suspension. When you bought a '70 Camaro, you got a much improved 2nd gen Camaro subframe and suspension.
 
drag racings all bout power to weight ratios! thay dont call them heavy chevys for nothing!! nova didnt get the new sub frame till 75 or 76! seen a many a camaro/firebird launch and passenger side door pop open from body flex!!!
 
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If i ever hit the lottery, i am going to have a large building built on an acreage so i can have muscle cars from every manufacturer. They all have character and unique qualities.

The 68-72 nova is a good looking car, lots of nice styling cues. The duster however has a strong drag racing heritage, and they won a lot more on Sunday and sold more on Monday than most cars i venture to guess. I love my big block duster, it's fast fun to drive and a great looking car.
 
1969-Nova-1971-Duster.jpg
 
The Nova and camaro took styling cues from the 55 Chevy, still a boxy car . Wasn't until the 70 camaro came out, that things changed.
 
I like boxy. Always have. I like the B body styling better, they are just a little big.
 
All my Chevy friends thought my 67 Barracuda fastback was ugly. I say to each his own.
I always did like the 60's and early 70's Novas and Camaros.
 
I'll tell ya "whut" guys. Ran into a nice "old" guy (so like me except "nice" LOL) with a NICE what - I - thought was about a 70 Nova. Turns out it was a 73-74, he had removed the "picnic table" bumper absorbers and set the bumpers back more like '70

IT IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING how much room is in the engine bay of one of those!!!!! 350/ headers, I could just about crawl down through there!!
 
never cared for novas, except for the 66-67. definitely do not like chevelles, EXCEPT the 66 or 67. camaros I do not like either. They are just everywhere. However, I will say, if I go the chevy way, I would love to have a 66 or 67 Chevelle. the shoebox styling looks great. Man, ANYTHING you want for chevy, you pick out of a magazine and order it. its just that simple.

I love the Darts and Barracuda's the best!
 
Would love to see a race between a 70 duster and 70 nova. 340 versus 350 both 4 speed cars completely stock with manifolds. 3.55-3.73 or 3.91 gears. I would have to say the duster would win based on HP to Weight ratio, Duster is much lighter.
 
Big Green Duster said:
We already know who wins but here read it anyway.
This or That – Season 2: 1969 Chevy Nova SS 350 or 1 | Hemmings Daily
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It is all a matter of opinion. A kid in high school back in the early 1980's has a 1972 "sun coupe" Nova, gold with a tan vinyl top, Cragars, Lakewoods and was the nicest looking car in the parking lot as far as I was concerned. Then I saw my first Duster 340 that I can remember and with the side stripes with "340" on the quarter panels was the hottest thing I had seen. I saw plenty of slant six Dusters but that was the first 340 car I recall. I had wanted one ever since and got my wish in 1993. I still like a good 1968-1972 Nova. My dream car also includes the 1970-72 Chevelle and 1969-70 Mach 1, both of which I have owned in the past. BTW, Speed and Supercar Magazine got a brand new 1971 Duster 340 wedge, column auto to go 13.90 at Englishtown.
 
dirty white boy said:
drag racings all bout power to weight ratios! thay dont call them heavy chevys for nothing!! nova didnt get the new sub frame till 75 or 76! seen a many a camaro/firebird launch and passenger side door pop open from body flex!!!
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All the chevys I raced againt for 14 yrs. were about all lighter than my hemi belvedere. A 454 Chevelle weighed about the same and ran the same class, most all others were lighter than that car ..
 
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