On my way home from my cabin in Pike County, my mom brought up how one day today’s cars will one day be classic cars. I wonder if they will ever be appreciated as the non-muscle car automobiles from the 1960s and 1970s. I’ve always dug Chevrolet’s Nova and its X-body brethren; their appearance screams sporty and grown-up, especially in coupe form. This Nova is a 1973 model, and is a two-owner 59,000-mile survivor. Find it here on eBay in Denver, Colorado with reserve not met.
Introduced in 1962 to better compete against Ford’s compact Falcon, the Nova (initially known as the Chevy II; the Nova was originally a trim package) was conceived to complement the compact Corvair (which had been on sale since mid-1959 as a 1960 model) and provide a one-two punch against the Falcon. Featuring a slightly longer wheelbase, the Nova was meant to give buyers a simple, back-to-the-basics compact car that was more similar to its competition (many had thought that the Corvair was too advanced and a bit of a handful to drive). Over time, the Nova became Chevrolet’s bread and butter compact car, with sporty and high performance models joining the fray over the years. After a full redesign in 1968, the Nova was given a facelift and some body-line modifications to keep up with the changing times. This 1973 model is painted in a minty green (hence the title), which seems to have been a fairly common shade of color on mid-1970s cars. There is some minor rust behind the rear wheels and on the lip above the rear wheels, but otherwise this car appears to be in nice condition. I dig the black side stripes that run from the front to the back of the car, and the chrome and stainless trim looks to have held up well. I’ve grown to like the wheels on the car (my brother’s 1979 El Camino had the same style wheels) and look sharp wrapped in white-line tires. The lack of a vinyl top is a huge plus as well (I had a 1974 Buick Regal coupe with a white vinyl top, and there was rust underneath the vinyl top below the rear window).
It seems like three-quarters of Chevrolet’s cars and trucks in the mid-1970s had a small-block 350 V8. This Nova is optioned with a 350 V8 with two-barrel carburetor. Rated at 145 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, the 350 two-barrel is no screamer, but keep in mind that horsepower was on a downward trend for 1970s American cars. The transmission is an automatic (either a two-speed Powerglide or a three-speed TH350), and either one should be fairly reliable. Having traveled only 59,700 miles in its 44-year life, this car’s drivetrain should be in good working order, but could use a bit of detailing and an inspection top-to-bottom. The motor head in me would swap the two-barrel for a four-barrel carburetor and add some performance parts, but it’s probably better to leave it as-is mechanically.
At first glance, the interior appears to be in good condition, though I am worried that those seat covers on the front seats are hiding something bad. The dash pad is the only blemish, with cracks above the speedometer and air conditioning controls. I love that this car has bucket seats, and the console with floor shift is an unusual and sporty touch on this base-model Nova. The manual windows are a huge plus for me, as is the factory air conditioning that still blows “ice-cold”. I also dig the contrasting Parchment interior with the black dash, floor, steering wheel and console. I would replace the dash pad, ditch the seat covers and make sure the front seats are in good condition, and give the rest of the interior a good detailing, including putting protectant on the seats, dash, and other vinyl surfaces. Overall, this car is not perfect, but once the necessary areas are addressed, this would be a great car to take to local car shows and cruise nights. What are your thoughts on this 1973 Nova?
I had a green 2 door 73 standard on the column…I was 18 and stupidity got the best of me one night…Wish I took care of it and held onto it. It was a FUN car to drive!
…looks to be the turbo 350…this car should be at a bargain price, since most people prefer these cars without those 5 MPH bumpers….very nice find, guys!
Definitely not a powerglide.
I slapped 4K on it and somebody else has got a high bid on it. I’d be surprised if it didn’t hit 10K.
looks to be in great shape and the bucket/floor shifter combo is nice! still not worth the 10k buy it now price though.
Educate me. What tells a turbo 350 apart?
Th350 has three foward gears instead of the glides two speeds. the easiest way to tell a th350 from a th400 would be that the th350 has a cable kick down and the th400 has an electric kick down switch.
Car must have taken a pretty good hit to bend the back bumper. Left rear quarter also looks dented. Otherwise, I love the rims. I had a girlfriend that had a white ’78 Camaro with the same rims painted white with the chrome trim rings and center caps.
Clock and a/c are rare, the console and buckets look like add on’s to me.
…4 bbl, ok…. but convert to a 700r4 or 4L60 . make this a real sleeper at any traffic light…
The lower first gear will LAUNCH………..
and the OD will save fuel and cruise better
Use a Camaro conversion kit to change the shifter to the 700r4’s 4 speeds.
I would suspect this will show up at some point in SS trim for $15k
One of my college roommates had a ’73 Nova this color. His had a white painted top, bench seat, full wheel covers, and a 307 with Powerglide. He bought it from an 80 year old woman in 1980 with 12k miles on it. He then proceeded to trash it over the next 6 years.
This car appears to originally have been equipped with a column shifted 3 speed transmission and most likely a bench seat too. ’73s don’t seem to bring as much money as earlier versions, so I’m not sure where this one will end up.
Nice car, console/buckets! has the chrome trim around the door & side window, body sill molding, and impact strips on the bumpers; BUT, those rear quarter panels have cancer that needs to be addressed! Wonder how hard it will be to find a replacement rear bumper? I like this car, but it’s on the wrong side of the country for me! :-)
Not a fan of the grill and head lights on the later years of this body but it certainly gives you a nice platform to build anything from mild to wild as a street car. A good friend had a built dual quad 427 in a 69 SS, it got run hard and we knew that engine inside out because of it, good times.
If I were a betting man, I would say this is a turbo 350. This was the last year for powerglide and by this point they weren’t using them much at all, except in a occasional Vega or six cylinder nova.
I am currently restoring a 1970 nova but it has the inline 6 and the torque glide…i agree I love the old school body style..looking to get it restored and running as motor has 100k on it. But once moving and restored I’ll probably drop a 350 and 700r4 in it. Email me if you want to see pics or more info. Always up for a good discussion on the car