Before I begin, I must cop to something: I have a strong link to the shape of the 1975-79 GM X-bodies. Growing up in the 1990s, most kids were shuttled around in either minivans or a green SUV that was supposed to give off the air of rich outdoorsman. Not me. For the largest portion of my time in school, the family shuttle was a 1975 Oldsmobile Omega. It was a six cylinder automatic, basic two-door that rolled around on either Gambler or Cragar S/S wheels and served us up until the moment the third straight-six called it a day. Then it died in a fight with an old cop car, but that’s something else altogether. I first met the Omega back in 1991, when the front clip was primer gray and the rest of the car was still Bronze Metallic. I loved it…I was seven and thought it was one of the neatest cars I’d ever seen. Over the years, my eyes have opened up to the X-body’s basic nature, their true intentions, their origins and ultimately, their descent into the absolute final circle of Malaise, their transition to a front-wheel-drive crapbox I wouldn’t pay ten bucks for.

It’s weird, when you look at these cars…you see the faintest, last glimmerings of the fire that had been the original Musclecar era. The engines were neutered, no doubt, and you can’t look past the giant chrome bumpers either. But overall? Look at their peers…the Duster, the Maverick, the Hornet. All of them were trying to eek out one last gasp of performance cred in an era where dressing up as a disco pimp and pretending to be super-high society in a Monte Carlo was the norm. Look at this Nova Super Sport. Compared to what it had been just five years prior, there’s no doubt that it’s balls were cut off and that it was mostly a weak-sister attempt to capture some young buck’s attention. But check out what the car offers up: a 350 four-barrel engine and a four-speed…already you are off on the right foot and even in 1975 getting a small-block Chevy to move out didn’t take much effort. The front suspension is second-gen F-body front-steer style, so you can get the nose to do what you want, at least, and you have options there in the aftermarket as well. Inside, you get a tachometer and the four-pod gauge cluster from the first-generation F-body, but you also get three pedals and that four-spoke wheel from the Camaro. You also get room for four adults, a nice touch and a trump card over the Camaro. The F-car also donated the the wheels.

Now, the arguments: it’s a sticker car, the Super Sport badge didn’t mean jack shit in 1975, Seventies ugliness…I’ve heard it before and I’m sure I’ll hear it again. Everything about this car in stock form, minus the actual power output and the bumpers and the smog crap. smacks of 1970. This particular car has been restored, with some sheetmetal work being done and a guarantee that the 350 is spitting out a lot more than 165 sickly ponies that couldn’t be bothered to gallop. The promise and potential was there. It’s just a shame that bureaucrats correlated “high performance” with “heavy pollution” and strangled the life right out of cars…otherwise, this Nova would’ve been held in much higher regard.

Craigslist Link: 1975 Chevrolet Nova Super Sport Hatchback