Off-Road Racing Baja Mexico
Baja and off-roading go hand in hand and here in this group we will discuss SCORE, Norra and other... View more
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A Chevy Nova for off-road?
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A Chevy Nova for off-road?
I wouldn’t have thought so – if anything, Nova’s were used for street racing, right?
As it turns out,once upon a time, the Nova actually occupied a slot as a trim level on the Chevy II, purposefully designed to undercut Ford’s Falcon as America’s most reliable and affordable, blue-collar compact car. By 1968, a redesign gave the Nova a more recognizable, aggressive style typical of the muscle cars that collectors love today.
Of course, the current market for collectible cars makes any Nova a prize but when Snortin’ Nortin’s original builders Mike Newton and Larry Tunnell started transforming a 1971 car into an off-road racer in the 1980s, low values probably made the decision seem a bit less absurd. Newton and Tunnell hoped to enter Snortin’ Nortin in SCORE Group 6 competition and actually named the Nova after Newton’s own screen-printing business and t-shirt shop.
Group 6 meant that Newton and Tunnell faced competition from cars with no production minimum requirements, nor engine capacity limits. Weight and dimensions played more into restrictions for builds, though in the course of a race in Baja, Snortin’ Nortin might run wheel-to-wheel with everything from purpose-built dune buggies to racing motorcyles, four-wheel-drive trucks, and Jeeps.
Of course, a Chevy Nova in factory form would never be able to finish a grueling endurance race like the Baja 1000, so Newton and Tunnell heavily modified Snortin’ Nortin to prepare for four-wheeling. After racing in Baja, the unique Nova also hit up the Mint 400 and Parker 400 before Newton’s untimely death led the car to be sold to a family friend in Louisiana.
Years later, veteran off-roading Rick “Hurricane” Johnson managed to locate Snortin’ Nortin and save the car from Bayou rust and rot. Johnson’s friends Jim “Rooster” Riley, Matt “Shrek” Dowland, and Ed “Hollywood” Dowland then teamed up and spent 90 days bringing Snortin’ Nortin back to life.
Snortin’ Nortin uses coil springs and five (count ’em, five!) Fox Racing shocks per wheel up front and Deaver leaf springs with four shocks per wheel at the rear axle. After the quick restoration, this off-roading Nova then returned to race the 2011 NORRA 1000 in the Vintage Class, beating out other famous entrants including the world’s most expensive Bronco, Big Oly (the subject of another forthcoming Off-Road Legends feature).
To move 6,500 pounds of American steel, you need some serious power to go along with the suspension magic. Once upon a time, the Nova originally came from the factory equipped with a range of engine options, from a 153ci inline-four to 230 and 250ci inline-sixes and multiple V8 options.
Snortin’ Nortin obviously needs more, so the 90-day restoration included dropping in a fire-breathing 350ci V8 built by Dale’s Speed & Marine and sporting a Holley 750 cubic-feet-per-minute carburetor, ProComp aluminum heads, and MSD ignition. A GM Turbo 350 transmission sends grunt to the rear wheels via a Dana 60 rear pumpkin—no four-wheel-drive here, as with many successful Baja racers, it turns out.
Those massive 35-inch General Tire Grabber tires wrapped on American Racing Outlaw II wheels contribute to Snortin’ Nortin ground clearance, which helps make 4×4 less necessary for Baja—plus, the high speeds in the world’s most famous desert race typically include very little in the way of rock-crawling where four-wheel-drive might make enough of a difference to offset the added weight and complexity. After all, potentially winning at Baja means first finishing at Baja and only one true 4×4 has ever won the race outright (driven by legit off-road legend himself Rod Hall way back in the very early years).
Other than looking downright awesome, Snortin’ Nortin also earned a reputation thanks to a sneaky urban legend that the “fire-breathing” V8 actually sipped tequila instead of gasoline. Blame the rumors on sponsor Azuñia Añejo Tequila but these days, dumping in a few gallons of tequila to shoot flames out the rear might actually save some money for other racing expenses, given the price of gas.
The rest of the Snortin’ Nortin build includes typical off-road equipment like bull bars, KC lights, Mastercraft Safety seats, five-point harnesses, and window nets. After finding success racing against other legends again, Snortin’ Nortin actually popped up for sale so equipped at a shockingly low price of $30,000. But now, this Nova sits at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, where it appeared as part of the Extreme Conditions exhibit giving members of the general public can take a closer look at one of the most off-the-wall off-roading legends ever built, complete with true racing patina (even if most of the grit and grime has been washed away).
Stay tuned for more episodes of Off-Road Legends here at HotCars and every Monday on our YouTube channel, featuring such celebrated and underappreciated four-wheelers like the Porsche 959 rally car, Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, and even the Nissan Hardbody pickup truck.
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11 Replies
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That’s pretty cool but I think it would get beat up pretty good on a long off-road stretch down in Baja. Guys will try to lift anything these days including an old Lincoln Continental.
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That looks like a serious offroad vehicle but can the chassis hold up?
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You would be surprised.
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I had a 79 Nova my dad passed down me when I was in high school and while I never took it off the pavement really, those were tough little cars but I really hadn’t considered them as much more than potential street muscle cars.
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LOL what is it about Novas anyway? I remember our gardener at our first house had an old Nova with the trunk door and back glass removed and a piece of plywood for flooring. He hauled his mower, edger and tools back there.
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I believe it
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Novas were nearly indestructible cars. why not for offroad?
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How about a lifted, offroad Corvette?
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Now that’s just… WRONG!!! 😆😆😆😆😆
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Why not???
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I can remember when ALL of the Baja offroad racing machines were just modified street cars. VW bugs? Pickup trucks didn’t make their appearance until years later.
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