We’ve seen numerous low mileage claims over the years. but single-digit readings on the odometer are still fairly uncommon. They are even more unusual when attached to a bargain basement model that, ironically, appears to be in a basement of sorts and wearing one the loudest paint colors offered on an otherwise unremarkable car. Yes, this 1977 Chevrolet Nova with its inline-six-cylinder engine, bright yellow paint, and three-on-the-tree is said to have just 3 miles on the clock and is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in St. Louis, Missouri, for $52,395.
Over $50,000 for a car you wouldn’t likely have paid much over $5,000 for brand new. Well, then again, it is still technically brand new, even if the cosmetic condition has suffered a bit while it’s been stored in some sort of underground lair. The seller doesn’t provide any meaningful information, but as long as they can prove the mileage claims, do they have to? For the Nova fan with everything, it’s hard to beat finding a car with delivery miles only, and it’s also somewhat rare considering the odd specifications, which include a combination of Willow Run/Ypsilanti paint and interior, column-shift manual, no A/C, and the mighty I6 motor.
But the bigger question remains: why? Suppose the peanut gallery on Facebook is correct in that this Nova is likely a dealer left-over that never sold and was likely purchased by the selling dealer to keep stored for a few decades. In that case, protecting and insuring a car for decades with questionable collector value is a big gamble. What is the modern-day equivalent of a dealer doing this – taking a new 2024 Malibu in rental car trim and moving it to a storage facility in hopes you can get triple the original asking price in 2050? Or is it just a matter of getting an unsold car off the books and maybe someday making a few bucks when the world wakes up to the fact that no one else thought to store a stripper sedan for a few decades?
Whatever the motivation is, the color scheme certainly helps to make a compelling argument for becoming the next caretaker of this low-mileage Nova. I can’t recall the last time I saw a Nova in any color that I’d deem “interesting,” and I doubt it found many takers when offered new in the dealership. Other commenters opined that the factory hubcaps are likely still sitting in the trunk, wrapped in plastic, with no scratch on them. Will the mighty 250 CI inline-six, good for all of about 110 horsepower, come to life with ease with some fresh gas, or will this new-in-the-wrapper Nova continue to remain a mystery in an underground parking garage?
Ok. I’m just going to go ahead and say it. Call me Captain Obvious here. But this has got to be the absolute biggest New car markup in dealer history!!! Wow. But if is this the real deal and the Nova survived all those decades of storage, that is really something else that a 250 straight 6 3 speed column shift am radio base model. I would leave it is as is. Window sticker and all.
Agree, and love the comments! 😂
And do what will it!!🤷🤌🤌
Weeeeeelll, let’s take a look see,,,mmm, hmm,,,mmm, hmm, yep, it’s the real deal. I think it was never used, and I bet there’s some warehouse FULL of older cars that never sold,,,in a warehouse in Phoenix. I can’t imagine a dealer hanging on to it all these years, so it must have been acquired some other way. To be clear, a base ’77 Nova sold for around $3600. I can’t see the sticker price, but a few options, maybe closer to $4grand. Again, while technically a “NOS” car, it will need a lot of work. Like most FB participants, they’re a bit off in the reality dept. It really is an outstanding find.
It may be NOS, but it’s also a POS!
The other $46,000 is the storage fee plus interest.
Yes, there is such a place. Not in Arizona…but in Nevada. I cannot disclose it’s location, but I’ve been there. And it has more desirable Chevies than a six cylinder Nova. As a matter of fact, one of every year of Corvette…including many C2 big blocks.
I think that paint color is called Bright Yellow and not Willow Run. Looks more like a Chrome Yellow to me. I wonder if someone won it in a game show or got it as a gift and couldn’t drive a manual? I like the archaic Maroney gas mileage sticker on the window too. I think ’77 was the first year they started requiring all of that data like city, highway and average fuel consumption broken out. It looks like it’s all written out in sentences. Maybe it’s worth $15k? Definitely not $50k
Be very suspicious of the odometer, I have never seen a new car that had less than 5 miles on it. That much gets put on in the after assembly test loop, loading and unloading the transporter, moving around the dealership for cleanup PDI etc. I suspect a rollback or new instrument cluster.
Oh, whatever! There’s always one of you on every post about a low-mileage car. If you can’t tell that this car has no mileage on it then you are in the wrong hobby.
Worked for a Ford dealership for 15 years and yes 3-5 miles are a normal thing when dropped off the transport. If more, then they were randomly taken out of line and tested a little bit up to 15 miles or so at the factory. All of the moving once at the dealer if not test driven you might put a 1/4 mile on it if that. Lots of dealers don’t test drive their cars either. I don’t agree with that, but that’s what warranty is for!
Wrong 47 years in the car business and I seen tons under 5 miles. But just flap your gums like you’re an expert.
Nah in 87 a ordered a mustang gt the dealer called me when they were unloading it I drove straight there it had 2 miles and some 10ths, it had written in crayon dead batt on the windshield it wasn’t dead then so I assume they just replaced it before it left.I never had a problem with the car just had a lot of fun.
I later worked for another Ford dealer and lots came in with 3-4 miles on them. They only tested the vehicles randomly not all that came off the line.
I bought a 2020 Ranger with exactly 2 miles on it.
They don’t have any idea what it’s really worth and nor do any of us until somebody buys it because statistically there aren’t any. I hope it’s saved because statistically no one did. Valuable as a curiosity in a museum to remind people that there really were cars made between 1971 and whatever year the “experts” decided that cars became worth coveting again.
$53k? I think $25k for this stripper is more reasonable. The shade of yellow is a bit much for my taste and it’s probably why it didn’t sell when it was new. No description as to whether or not the engine is stuck after sitting all these years. I am sure the belts and hoses are pretty crispy by now. If it was winched onto a trailer and then stuck in a museum as an artifact, then that would be a moot point. I’d be curious as to an update as to when it sells, for how much and what the new owner will do with it.
Cant wait to see when someone has to take the key out of the ignition for the first time. I remember the 3 speed columns on Novas you had to throw it in reverse to get the key out. Thats before the tiny lever by the ignition switch that you had to hit was used.
I wonder if the hubcaps are still wrapped in plastic and in the trunk?
Rare and unusual doesn’t necessarily equate to valuable or desirable. Case in point.
It may very well be the real deal, however it no longer looks like the real deal. That engine compartment may clean up some but will never look like a brand new one. Can’t tell but I bet the underneath has some surface rust. it is very cool and I would love to know the story behind it. 50K for a new car that looks like an old car…no thanks
This worse than a new car that looks like an old car…it also drives and has the same features as an old car while at the same time being not as desirable as an old car that would absolutely demand that price.
Wheels were body-colored on cars with standard hub caps. These have been painted silver somewhere along the line.
I’ m not so sure. I believe silver is the correct color. If I looked back for pictures of the red one I had with 10,000 original miles I could be sure.
My family had a 1975 4 door blue six cly with a/c ,3 speed auto manual windows and locks powerbrakes and steering back in the early 1990’s in New jersey and it had dog dish hub caps with the rims painted the same color as the car. We got it from the original owner in the town we lived in
Not on my ’76 Nova purchased new, all 5 came silver. Only difference between this item here and mine was, mine was orange and had a 350 – 4 bbl with automatic. It was a 2 door and had an am-fm tape deck stereo. I bought a clock for it for 26 dollars from the parts counter because I didn’t like the empty space staring at me. Dashes were different between the two years tho, the ’76 looked like the ’75 dash pod
In 1977, they (GM of course) went to the four round instruments (same on all but Pontiac Phoenix). Heater core replacement was said to be a chore.
I wonder if this was part of a government fleet order that for whatever reason was never delivered. Maybe that’s why it was never sold off the lot.
The yellow color and lack of options along with the three on the tree makes me think that might be the case. This had to be one of GMs last cars where a three on the tree was even available. In trucks it was around till about 88 or so.
As far as the hubcaps, this special order might not have specified any. Maybe that’s why the wheels are silver. I remember back in the ’70s many times. Police departments did not have hubcaps on their vehicles. I don’t know if they ordered them that way or if they just tossed them when they arrived.
They were damn good cars then. And you know what? I sick and tired of everyone putting down the 230 and 250 inlines. Lemmings. I got my uncle eds 64 biscayne two door. 3 tree. 230 6. You know they s Webber manifold for it. Header also. Throw battery in truck. Set of Uniroyal tiger paws. 1972 baby. heavy duty munroematics. You got a car you can fling around the curves with that has great lines. Who cares about it’s story. I think it cool.
There’s something to be said for a smaller, lighter motor in the nose. Besides the gas mileage, less weight upfront means less understeer. The first year Corvette used a “Blue Flame” six cylinder, which was still bigger than the four-cylinders their British and Italian competition came with, but GM was losing to the Ford T-Bird, with the 312 “Y-Block” V8, so next year, the Corvette got a 283 under the hood, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Default wheel color was argent silver. Body color came with an uplevel car.
We ring. Body color was standard with dog dish caps. Full wheel covers came with black wheels. Just like other Chevy cars that year.
You are incorrect. Argent silver was default color for this year, sorry. How many people have to tell you that before you stop spreading misinformation?
Someone here needs to look at brochures and ads online, sheesh. Silver wheels absolutely, positively we’re not the default cover. I nearly lived at a Chevy dealer those years and absorbed brochure and authenticity stuff like a sponge. So the 5300 mile example I posted here had its wheels painted body color after the fact? Good grief. The only people who would have seen more of these cars new than me would have worked at Ypsilanti or a dealer.
I had a one owner red one with 10,000 original miles on it just a few years ago, but had a few old peoples dings and scratches and faded paint. Put it on eBay and no-one would believe the original miles so never sold on there. Finally a fellow from Virginia came by the shop ( in Montana) and saw it in person and took it back east. He had it repainted and drove it around until he passed away. Not sure where it is now.
I should have mentioned I really like these cars although I prefer a V-8. The one I sold with 10,000 original miles was a 6 cyl. but I have 4 or 5 in storage waiting for time to hot rod. My wife had a blue hatch back years ago and one of my Daughters came home from the hospital in it. That one is long gone but we bought one just like it for a future project.
LOL, does this bring back memories! My brother had one just like this, except auto, and the paint was badly faded by the time he acquired it. Poverty level was too nice a description for it, but somehow that didn’t deter me from buying a silver ’78, which wasn’t much better. Ah, we were young, dumb, and pretty broke back then, so it was the best we could do.
When I was a kid, there was a small Chevrolet dealership in my town. The building was built in the 1950s, and it had a raised carport next to the showroom where they would feature four or five cars. Well into 1979, one of those cars was a brand new, very basic 1977 Vega. One day, the Vega was gone. I asked a salesman if they finally sold it, and he told me the owner was sick of seeing it, so they moved it to the warehouse. This Nova seems like it has a similar story.
I’ve read a handful of similar stories over the years. A new car gets ‘lost’ (well, not really ‘lost’, perhaps ‘forgotten’) at the dealership. I remember a sales manager once telling me that the factory would offer incentives to the dealer on last year’s models, but after some period of time they would expire. So that partly explains the occasional two-year-old ‘new’ car at the dealer. One can perhaps extrapolate this to the leftover car just parked and essentially abandoned, especially if a low-desirability model like this Nova.
I wonder if it would be difficult to title, if it’s never been titled before.
When I was restoring my 67 Nova SS about 35 years ago I wanted a set of stock exhaust manifolds for it. Caught a dead head to Baltimore (I was airline flying at the time) to get a set that a guy had advertised on Hemmings. He has a black 67 327/375 4 speed stripper that had 7 miles on it. Guy across the street from him was a drag racer who wanted to be like Grumpy…ordered it and died the day it was delivered, This guy bought it from his wife. He showed it all the time, very carful to go as far forward as he did backwards off the trailer so the odometer really never changed. When I met him he was crying…he’d had it slip off the ramps while backing it off the trailer and crushed the bumper, left fender and grille. Broke his heart!
My family had a 1975 4 door blue six cly with a/c ,3 speed auto manual windows and locks powerbrakes and steering back in the early 1990’s in New jersey and it had dog dish hub caps with the rims painted the same color as the car. We got it from the original owner in the town we lived in
I saw scores of them when new. Never saw a one with silver wheels unless the car was silver.
You’re beating a dead horse cowboy.
Here’s a possible scenario. Car wasn’t gonna sell, put in basement. Customer came in, looked at another car and said “I hate those wheels and hubcaps, change ’em and i’ll buy it”. Run down to basement, swap wheels, tires and hubcaps, and got a sale!
Love weirdos like this though the asking price is…optimistic? Daring?
The biggest problem is that, with such low mileage, just taking it for a spin around the block a few times will lower its extreme survivor value.
Am I the only one to notice that Die-hard battery? You know it isn’t that hard to pull a speedometer cable. Throw some different hoops in it and move it around.
This is why you should not smoke meth, your brain doesn’t function like a normal one, 50k? For a car that sold for around 3k new and to give someone that much of a mark up because they were too embarrassed to drive it after they bought it, that’s the only excuse I can see as to not drive it. Well, I seriously doubt anyone will pay this price, the seller will sober up and it’ll sit for another few years.
Odd. I was under the impression that the MPH/KPH speedometers were Canadian market cars only – I could be wrong on this.
bt
I think in 77 the government was pushing for the US to go metric and many things were listed in metric along with standard measurements.
This would explain mph/kph on the speedo.
no they were North American speedos but script was only reversed to larger reading if one was in the other country. My ’76 Nova had the US speedo with larger MPH readings over the KPH below it in smaller script. I believe my father in laws Olds 88 had it that way as well and it was a ’74 model year
I don’t get the value of an ultra low milage car. If you drive it three more miles will it be worth 25 thousand.
Nova was an ok car in it’s day but nothing spectacular.
You do much better with your 50k, or even 25.
It doesn’t look like it was never prepped for storage, which is a shame. Being exposed as it was, it may have only 3 miles on it, but it would require restoration just the same….. surface rust, paint fading/peeling, hardened seals and plastics all around. So after spending $52k (yeah, right) and the cost of a simple restoration, you have a unique piece of history that you can drive nowhere, as it’s only value is the numbers on the odometer. If it could be purchased for a reasonable price, it would be great fun to drive. But I can think of a lot of cars I’d rather have for $60k+.
Here’s what I remember wheels looking like on every single solitary ’75-79 Nova I ever saw new, that had dog dish caps.
Full wheel cover cars had black wheels.
https://gmauthority.com/blog/2021/09/5300-mile-1978-chevrolet-nova-sedan-headed-to-auction/
You really think someone decided to pull the wheels, strip the tires off, paint the wheels a different color on THIS car? No one has done anything with this car but try not to think about it, for the last 45 years. Google nova brochures and you’ll see “dog dish” hubcaps were not the only option. And what you won’t see is a bunch of body colored wheels.
Duh, only Rally Wheels were silver in ‘77. For real. Were you looking at them then? I was. Gee, someone might have done something on a car in 47 years? Lol
I worked in retail automotive for many years. This looks to be an “add car”. We would order a stripped down model and advertise it for cost minus hold back. It was meant to get bodies in the door then upsell. The joke was who ever sold it was history Ha Ha. PS the only cars I ever saw the owner buy personally were upscale trades that we owned under value.
Give it a break.
It’s pretty safe to say that no one is paying fifty large for the privilege of owning a new ’77 Nova. The car is worth something even if only adjusted for inflation. Making it roadable will cost more even if you’re only going around the block now and then. My guess is that the silver wheels may be a swap from something else. I believe that ordering full wheel covers got you black wheels. I would love a driveable six/stick Nova or Chevelle.
Hard to believe anyone is going to pay 50K for a base Nova. I doubt you could get that if this car was loaded with options and was more desirable, like a 350 with a 4 speed and ac.
Over 52k for this? This is a joke right? I could see 5k tops for the novelty of it and the I have 3 mile 77 Nova and bragging rights but over 52 large?…I could think of a LOT of things better to spend or invest 52 k on.Good night Irene.
Maybe if it came with twin turbo LS, six sp trans, and Ford 9in.,in the trunk..
I wonder if this was part of a government fleet order that for whatever reason was never delivered. Maybe that’s why it was never sold off the lot.
The yellow color and lack of options along with the three on the tree makes me think that might be the case. This had to be one of GMs last cars where a three on the tree was even available. In trucks it was around till about 88 or so.
As far as the hubcaps, this special order might not have specified any. Maybe that’s why the wheels are silver. I remember back in the ’70s many times. Police departments did not have hubcaps on their vehicles. I don’t know if they ordered them that way or if they just tossed them when they arrived.
Gas tank displays 1/2 tank of fresh 1977 Sinclair fuel.
You can’t really drive it, else each mile lowers its value.
& u do not want to put this in a chevy dealer showroom – with those very low window sticker option & purchase prices on it – else today’s young buyers will have a seizure when they see it.
I thought all new cars back then were driven on a road test more than 3 miles.
The chevy strait 6 would run just as good with 206k miles on it.
Time warp car! I’d be interested to know what a potential buyer will pay for it.
If there was about $47,000 cash in the trunk I could possibly see a $52,000 price tag.
Undesirable new, undesirable now. 50K … you’d have to be on glue.
Maybe not 50-grand, but understandable? Sounds like someone might want to remove the plastic bag from their head.
Okay, so you’ve got a ’77 Chevy Nova
with 3 miles on it. What are you gonna do with it? Like JoeNY has said, you drive this car and any claim
you have about owning the lowest
mileage Chevy Nova goes out the window. Best place for this car would
be on permanent display in either a
museum or a Chevy dealer. Sounds like too much bother for me though
as I like my old cars to be both driveable and enjoyable and not some
financial millstone around my neck.
Hard pass on this one.
When I worked on the Alaska pipeline, Alyeska ( the umbrella name for all of the main contractors on the project), bought all their pickups in bright yellow. Maybe this forgotten Nova rolled out of the pipe at the Valdez terminal.
Those pickups probably had more options than this car.
50gs? No thanks.
The window sticker shows full hubcaps, so it was not a dog-dish car. Maybe in 77 they used rally wheel silver on the full wheels to simplify production?? – Only one color paint needed for both rallies and full hubcap cars, and less paint gun cleaning / changeout?
W/S also shows AM radio, plaid cloth interior upgrade, power steering, power brakes, drip rail moldings and body side moldings. So not really a “low option” car so much as just a car without any engine or transmission options chosen. And I would think all those extra cost items (especially the cloth interior and added exterior moldings) would make fleet order or government order unlikely.
Neat car, but only about 20% as neat as the seller seems to think.
Wondering if Lambrecht Chevrolet in Pierce, Nebraska was the selling dealership. A few years ago, the Lambrecht family had an auction of the vehicles the dealership didn’t sell, after the end of the model years. Many car magazines covered it back then. Don’t remember any Novas that were mentioned, but there were other delivery-mileage “new” vehicles and unsold trade-ins (Lambrecht didn’t sell used cars?)
I’ve seen dealers in the past with hold over cars from the previous year or two that didn’t sell placed in a warehouse and held on to the right buyer came along. They were small town dealers that knew there normal clientele, and it was no big deal if they held onto one an extra year or two. They were insured under a blanket insurance policy, so they didn’t cost any extra. When those certain customers came calling, the salesman would tell them, well we have this special car we have been hanging on to, we can make you a great deal. Car has already been discounted by the mfg, so the dealer still makes a profit and customer gets a new car even if it isn’t the current model year. This car was probably the “ loss leader” they advertised then directed the customer to more optioned model for more profit. It got passed over until it was too late, new models came out, oops, what to do now? One of my uncles bought two different vehicles this way.
But $50g? What are they smoking? Even if was a SS with a 350/4 speed it wouldn’t bring $40g as is. 66-72 is where the Nova money is at, the 73- end are just not that popular yet.
Why would a dealer do this? Think, Collier Motors, the AMC dealership which lost its franchise when they refused to take Renault cars. They continued for a time as a used-car dealership (with a lot of NOS vehicles in the yard) and slowly transformed to a storage lot controlled by an eccentric elderly man.
When the lot was being cleaned out, there were still a handful of never-titled, single-digit-mileage AMCs in there. Most of them were in pretty sorry shape – the damp North Carolina climate.
But, since a dealer has commercial insurance that covers his inventory, his buying such a car off the floorplanning his bank gave him, wouldn’t cost much additional.
But, again, why? Maybe a handshake deal with a family member, that fell through; and he had no backup plan, and didn’t want to think about it? Hoping it would appreciate to let him recover his investment – remember, if he’d sold it, say, in 1980, he’d have lost half of what he had in it. Now, granted, $50k isn’t what it used to be; but it’s more than what he paid, even when inflation is factored in.
Decades of neglect …
https://www.thedrive.com/news/39807/the-clock-is-ticking-for-americas-last-amc-dealership
Thank you for posting. How sad to think all those cars with no miles sitting there rotting.
My family owned a Chevrolet dealership 1968 – 2004. It was common to receive a new vehicle with 2 – 4 miles. But also they came with just enough gas to start the vehicle, load and unload from the delivery truck and maybe drive 10 – 15 miles. So, why was this Nova stored with a half a tank of gas? I am skeptical.
Is the car’s story worth $50,000? Because that’s the feature of this strippo, run of the mill, and rather strangely painted Nova. Looking at this car, it could have 30,000 miles on it, or 3.
just think of all the rubber parts that need to be replaced before you can drive it. then the rotted brake lines etc.
I have a 75 nova and I don’t care if it’s 3 miles no way they r getting that kind of money on this gen . 20 tops
Oh, whatever! There’s always one of you on every post about a low-mileage car. If you can’t tell that this car has no mileage on it then you are in the wrong hobby.
I worked at the Van Nuys plant, The silver wheels did come on the ‘F’ body as well as the stripped base ‘X’ body
Not uncommon for a dealer having in their posession a car that never sold. What is uncommon in our instant info/photo era is to see one sit for so long without someone exposing it. I recall Wayne C. on CCC meeting with a Volvo dealer who had an older model his father held back at their dealership.
Car is worth what someone is willing to pay.
Nothing like a 6 with the 3 on the tree. Showing my age but I’d enjoy it more than one with an LS.
Hope the new owner leaves it as is as there are tons of these Nova’s out there that can be hopped up.
The ship-to on the window sticker is Jim Bishop Chevrolet in Cap Girardeau, MO. That dealer owner died in 1993. How did it get to St. Louis?
Not uncommon for a dealer having in their posession a car that never sold. What is uncommon in our instant info/photo era is to see one sit for so long without someone exposing it. I recall Wayne C. on CCC meeting with a Volvo dealer who had an older model his father held back at their dealership.
Car is worth what someone is willing to pay.
Nothing like a 6 with the 3 on the tree. Showing my age but I’d enjoy it more than one with an LS. I had a 78 with a 6 and it was a great car.
Hope the new owner leaves it as is as there are tons of these Nova’s out there that can be hopped up.
Good luck with anything remotely close to $52,000, I can’t see a reason other than the mileage to add the car to a collection, but that’s not reason enough for that kind of money in my opinion. But, you never know……….
Good luck with anything remotely close to $52,000, I can’t see a reason other than the mileage to add the car to a collection, but that’s not reason enough for that kind of money in my opinion. But, you never know……….
Good luck with anything remotely close to $52,000, I can’t see a reason other than the mileage to add the car to a collection, but that’s not reason enough for that kind of money in my opinion. But, you never know……….
I got deja vu, all over again!
There was a Dealer in that area that kept his unsold “Odd Ball” cars.
Things like a ’71 Tornado with NO options on it. Weird color combinations etc…
When he passed his collection was sold at the “Kruse Fall Auburn Auction”. It took up a whole field. Amazing to see.
Looks like a taxi cab that the taxi company never bothered to pick up, LOL! Although for taxi duty, I’d have expected an A/T, for the heavy city miles cabs get in stop-and-go traffic. I’d be inclined to leave it bone stock, just because “three-on-the-tree” six-cylinder cars were becoming very rare by 1977 (my senior year in high school, BTW). If you do make any changes, try to keep the mods to “Bolt-on” parts, and keep the original pieces, so when you go to sell it, the next caretaker can bring it back to stock, if desired. Oh, and laminate the build sheet when you find it, to preserve it!
YUK. FB pictures suck. The seller should do cartwheels if he gets 20K
I don’t think I would bother getting this one running. I’d detail it then mothball it in a museum. But, I don’t have a museum, so the seller can keep it. Neat find though.
1977 Nova TV commercial. Note body-colored wheels with small caps.
I’ve provided two examples with body-colored wheels with small caps. Which is the way Ypsilanti built them. Sigh.
It’s good to back up an opinion with documentation.
First of all that car looks repainted. Fun to read about smh
It reminds me of the old adage to the actual new purchaser “Did they see you coming or did they send for you” I don’t think it is worth anywhere near the asking price considering how much you are going to have to spend to get it roadworthy. Good luck to you.
Man, my neighbor had one just like this but an automatic. His may’ve been a ‘78 because the wheelcovers had a modified design with shield crest in the center. Took a job selling cemetery plots and they made him repaint it in a more subdued color, navy blue. Remember seeing that yellow peaking out here and there. Probably why I still hate repaints in non-original colors.
I was given a black 75 2 door by a guy who worked next door to our repair shop in 1990 when he bought a 90 ss454 p-up. The Nova had a 6 cylinder with black buckets and console and a 3 speed stick on the floor no gauges just idiot lights. He had special ordered it in 75. Had 250k on it and still ran good.
I can’t read the sticker. Where was this car built? Perhaps Van Nuys painted wheels silver. I never saw any new ones that weren’t from Ypsilanti. I did see a picture from Google images that shows a ‘77 nova in the plant with black wheels— full wheel covers. I like figuring out this mystery. If you don’t, miracle of miracles, you can scroll past.
Bought a Nova new in 1978. Red, I6, automatic. Don’t think it had many other options. If I remember correctly, it cost me between 4000 and 4500 dollars. Wasn’t much different from this car. Just basic transportation for a recent high school graduate working his first job. If this one was in that price range now I would be interested. At that asking price, no way!
The car should still have that genuine new car smell. Or can that be artificially & accurately reproduced in a high mileage car?
Did anybody look at all the pictures that car’s got 103, 000 The engine is so dirty and the brake pedals and gas pedals are so dirty and look at the door still played. It’s a little bit rough that car does not just have 3,000 mi on it
Dude!! Why would someone have the original window sticker on the car that long!!?? Back in the day that wouldn’t pass inspection let alone a cop giving you a ticket for obstruction!!
& look how many vehicles are NOW on the road in just the last few years or so(why?!) & you can’t see inside – even thru the windshield! & in my area at least, the cops do nothing, when they could ticket such cars parked on the street & in parking lots & make a FORTUNE & make it safer on the roads at the same time! I know they would have HUNG me, driving around in the ’80s or earlier with such tint.
What no reply button!! I stand corrected!!! Back in the day probably before you were born!! Traffic stops were strict in my state!! You would of gotten a ticket!!
I purchased a brand new 89′ S-10 Pickup it had 4 miles and some 10th??? 3 years later I traded the 93′ in for the new 92′ model S-10 it was sitting in the showroom when I picked it up the following day it was in the parking lot with a full tank of gas and it had 18 miles on it!! My Dad worked at and retired from the GM proving grounds in Milford Michigan, and he said most likely it was randomly pulled off the line for a “Test’ run!!! So personaly I think that Nova is the real deal NOS…..
This is probably as close to stripped as you could get without specifically ordering one with no options. Feels like a dealer special, but you never know.
Here are the options on this one (I can’t see the prices very well):
Roof Drip Moldings 17
Body Side Moldings 41
Power Brakes 43
V6 Engine 0
3 Speed manual Transmission 0
Standard Emission System 0
Variable Ratio Power Steering 195
Radial w/ Stripe 145
AM Radio 32
Black Plaid Cloth Bench 24
Bright Yellow 0
Honestly, that’s a lot of decor for a base car but a cheap way to dress up the appearance. Power steering, brakes and radials were still a splurge for some folks. The AM tunes were satisfactory with a good variety of formats and still decent reception without the picket fencing common to FM broadcasting.
True, but it would have been an “I6”, not a V6, most likely a 230 or 250 “straight” six. A common mistake, to be sure. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought that the Buick Skylark versions could get a Buick V6, but Chevy only got it’s own six, not the Buick motor, but the Buick could be had with either one, IIRC. Then again, they say your memory is the first thing to go, but I’m not sure, I can’t remember! LOL!
I believe you are correct on the Buick V6 in the up market brands. Chevy stuck with the 250 inline thru 79 in the X-car.
Robert, you are correct. It is so hard to see the sticker that I mistook it for “V”, but that would not have been a choice in ’77.
I also noticed that I missed an option:
Wheel Covers 33
In that case we’re both down the Rabbit hole, because that’s my recollection too!!!
Pepperidge Farm remembers. But I forget!
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=122148849902036574&set=a.122119267754036574
Photo documentation of black wheels on 1977 full wheel cover Novas at Ypsilanti, just as I recalled. The three-mile car was built at Ypsilanti per the window sticker. I don’t have to be right, but I also don’t have to be wrong to massage someone’s ego. This is for the poster who attacked me for “spreading misinformation”. Eye roll here. Let’s get the information out there…the right information. Nothing more, nothing less.
On the assembly line at that moment in time they may have been short 1 or 2 black wheels & substituted 4 silver ones. Not out of the question when on here a comment mentioned someone got 2nd gen camaro emblems on a new 2nd gen firebird’s door panels! – due to running out of firebird ones – both cars made on same assembly line. I have heard also of exterior motor size emblems on the front side edge of fenders not matching! – due to running out of the correct ones or assembly line worker error.
I suppose that is possible–as is in 47 years of ownership, someone decided they liked silver wheels better than black.
In my several decades of looking closely at new Chevrolets at dealers, I have seen:
1) ’76 Concours with wide side molding on one side and narrow side molding on the other
2) ’77 Impala in the showroom (!) with Caprice Classic rear seat and seat back.
3) Early ’90’s Lumina base model with ‘Euro’ red trim molding on one side.
4) ’73 Chevelle Laguna with four interior “Malibu” door panels
Also, saw a new ’73 Sedan deVille with a window sticker for a Fleetwood Brougham, which was considerably a more expensive model.
A ’75 Monte Carlo with Vinyl Bucket seats and a cloth back seat.
I saw a new Plymouth K car on the showroom floor with paint peeling from the glove compartment door – & then walked out, never to buy a Chrysler product.