“Sleeper”: a car you’d never know could take your pink slip, until it happens. That’s what you’ve got here–grandma simple on the outside, fairly nasty engine underhood. It was built by someone who passed away right after completing the build. He must’ve been a strong fellow and a competent mechanic to boot, because he left behind a hot rod. If you want it, you’ll have to do better than $20,750, which is short of reserve here on eBay. The car is in Victor, New York. Note that the seller points out that it’s listed as a 1965, but is actually a 1967.
This Nova came out in the second year of a two-year product refresh after the model debuted in 1962 and had a first generation that lasted from 1962-65. The exterior color code is Mountain Green, with Fawn interior. Note things like that the door rubbers look perfect. Same in the trunk. The trunk floor, in addition, is nearly pristine. This car has been worshipped, and with the miles on the odo very low, it would be easy to believe it is super-close to original.
Sure enough, they left the interior of this one stock. No attempt to make it hardcore-looking, except for maybe the accessory gauges, and they’re probably there to keep the engine under scrutiny. There’s no black. No fancy steering wheel. Just good old grandma-level cloth and velour with carpets that, as they did in the 1960s, form just the tiniest mismatch with the seats. Color aside, this is plain-Jane interior—roll-up windows, even. I wouldn’t touch anything in the cabin. The mechanicals are the entirely opposite story.
The engine, a 383 stroker, sounds legit, and it dyno’d at around 460/450 HP to torque, so it’s going to be pretty easy to overwhelm those little baby tires on there, which could be fun. Everywhere you look underhood and underneath, there’s a logo for a hop-up part combined with stout-looking stuff and no dirt or rust anywhere. But contrast that with the outside—dog dish hubcaps, no engine call-outs. This car is a serious sleeper. It is a bit of a shame that a 39,770-mile car got an underhood reboot, though. You wonder what happened to the six-cylinder engine that this one came with, but bygones are bygones, and at this point, the car just needs to be taken for what it is. It’s tempting to keep an eye on this one’s auction. At $20K, it’s still in run-around territory. If it climbs into the mid-20s or more, that’s going to let the casual buyer out. Then the question is, how does this Nova hold up against a whole ‘nother level of auction competition? Is that engine enough to justify $30K?
Nice, clean build and very unassuming, subdued colors. Perfect sleeper. Should be a lot of fun for the high bidder. Definitely deserves to be stored in a nice garage, preferably with climate control. Too bad my shop is busting at the seams. Previous owner loved this car for sure.
Wow, this is a fantastic car that someone obviously loved. I love the whole sleeper look, especially that it’s carried over to the interior. The gauge pod below is about the only give away that something might be up. Of course with a BluePrint engines 383 pushing 450HP, that whole sleeper thing is out the door as soon as the engine gets cranked. This one does have engine callouts on the side lower fenders, exactly where they should be, and they say 327. No if this car was originally a 327, who knows. If it was, then yes I’d agree its a bit sad to know the 327 was separated from its original car, but then again maybe the 327 grenaded, and so the owner was like screw it, let’s go off the deep end with a 383! Overall, I think there’s certain engine combos that for sure should be saved. Unfortunately, a base car with a inline 6 isn’t one. I had a Chevy with a 307 in it, I know some sadists sing their praises, but it really was a terrible engine. Like they say, only 43 cubic inches from being good! I had zero hesitation about ditching it from the original car and going with something a lot better. I’m sorry to hear this owner passed away so soon. Hopefully he got to enjoy his build a little at least after he’d obviously spent a lot of time and a lot of money on a car he obviously loved.
originally a 6 ?
There’s a callout badge on the side, looks like “327.”
I really wonder if theres any mint condition original 6 cyl. Novas left. These used to be everywhere , but they were disposable cars, and at least on the East Coast they rusted badly . All the Novas that are left seem to be hopped up in one way or another.
I was just thinking the ’66-67 2 door sedan is so off my radar I’d forgotten it existed. In the thumbnail I thought it was an Opel. There are a couple that do the show circuit in my area but they’re hopped-up hardtops except for one perfectly stock, black, 4-door.
Super sweet Nova! I do have a question… what is the chrome “knob” under the drivers door interior handle? My first guess was for a remote mirror, but this car does not have one…
I believe that’s the handle to open the door. The top one is the windows crank. The bottom is the door latch.
The small round ‘knob’ is the door lock button. These don’t have the push down knobs on top of the door to do that job. Instead, these knobs are tuned to lock/unlock the doors.
Learn something new every day! Certainly easier to reach.
I was wondering the same thing.
I just watched a n episode of Iron Resurrection this morning where they resto mod one
https://www.google.com/search?q=iron+resurrection&sxsrf=ALiCzsYOJQUAJ2RnjzClk6dacmE0HxWt_Q%3A1663794147548&source=hp&ei=43srY5XeHY6oqtsPrtCDoA0&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TKoqKjAvtjQ2YPQSzCzKz1MoSi0uLSpKTS7JzM8DALpzC5w&oq=iton+re&gs_lcp=ChFtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1ocBABGAEyBwgAELEDEAoyCgguELEDEIMBEAoyBwgAELEDEAoyCgguEMcBEK8BEAoyBAgAEAoyBAguEAoyBAgAEAoyBAgAEAo6BAgjECc6BAguECc6CwgAEIAEELEDEIMBOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARDRAzoFCAAQgAQ6CwguEIAEELEDENQCOg4ILhCABBCxAxCDARDUAjoFCC4QgAQ6CAgAEIAEELEDOggILhCABBCxAzoHCC4QgAQQCjoHCAAQgAQQCjoKCC4QsQMQ1AIQCjoKCAAQsQMQgwEQCjoHCC4QsQMQCjoLCC4QsQMQxwEQrwFQFViqFWCEYWgAcAB4AIABpASIAdQOkgEHMi02LjUtMZgBAKABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-hp#fpstate=ivlbx
That chrome button under the door handle is the door lock knob.
Learn something new every day! Certainly easier to reach.
And it just rang a bell for me, similar to the C2 Corvette locking knobs.
I hope they put a full frame under it or it will break in half. I had a 66 that would never take the weight or torque of a mild v8 let alone this.
I hope the front clip is welded and reenforced to the unibody if not look out, she will bend or break with all the HP.
And yes, I saw Iron Resurrection as well, Joe does it right.
What a beautiful “Sleeper” I’d love to see the look on some ones face when they try to challenge this one. Probably give some one a heart attack when this one’s motor wakes up and roars.