Founded by General Motors founder William Durant and race car driver Louis Chevrolet, the Chevrolet brand of cars came into existence in 1911. All Chevrolet cars are affectionately referred to as Chevy and it is the highest selling General Motors branch. By 1963, one out of every ten cars sold was a Chevrolet in the United States of America.

Also called the Chevy II, the Chevrolet Nova was introduced by General motors in 1962. A compact car, the Chevy II, has a unibody construction was powered by an OHV inline four or six cylinder engine. The Chevy Nova was assembled in two-door and four-door sedans, as convertibles, and as station wagons. It was initially launched as a low priced substitute for the Chevrolet Covair, a rear engine car and as competition for the Ford Falcon; the Chevy Nova out did both the above cars.

The 1963 Chevy came equipped with the standard SS engine, which could be replaced with a V8 engine by the owner. The 1964 Chevy II was available with a V8 option that could be installed by the dealer on request. This addition made the Chevy II a popular choice among drag racer, considering the power that a V8 engine could belt out along with cars low weight. The two-door hardtop Chevy Nova was available from 1963 to 1965.