With a fairly straight body and a 350ci V8 nestling under the hood, this 1972 Chevrolet Nova looks like it would be a pretty good base for a project build. It is located in San Jose, California, and is listed for sale here on eBay. At the time of writing, bidding has reached $4,052, and with this being a No Reserve auction, it is set to go to a new home.
It will hardly surprise anyone to learn that there is rust that will need to be repaired as part of this Nova’s project build. The ad is a bit confusing, but it really doesn’t sound like it is terribly extensive. Some of the chrome has taken a bit of a battering over the years, but it all looks like it could be repaired and replated. There are a few minor dings and marks as well, but the whole car does show some promise.
The door trims are looking a bit shabby, and the front seat will need a new cover, but there are a number of positives to take from the interior of the Nova. The dash looks like it is n good condition, and the dash pad itself seems to have survived the years quite well. The owner doesn’t mention the state of the rear seat or the headliner, so hopefully, those are okay. There’s some work to be done, there’s no denying it, but it is a long way short of being the worst interior that I’ve seen.
The owner refers to the Nova as being all original, and I would take that as meaning that this is a numbers-matching car. The 350ci V8 engine is hooked to an automatic transmission, while the Nova is also fitted with power steering. The owner says that the Nova runs, but that’s as much as we know. The engine might look a bit greasy, but the fact that items like the hoses look clean and relatively new give a hint that this car may have been maintained fairly well. It does look like one of the heater hoses is disconnected, so I would suspect that the heater core might have a leak. Once again, this is something that isn’t unusual. If it has been slowly leaking for an extended period, it may have been a contributing factor to the rust in the floor.
The Nova is a great looking car, and the styling is equally suited to a faithful restoration, or to be transformed into a tough looking custom. The bones of a good car appear to be present, and it’s now up to someone to transform it into the car of their dreams. The question is, will that someone be you?
Hate to say it but as years go by that body style doesn’t age well. It looks ‘stodgy’. One of these without a vinyl top looks a whole lot better but still doesn’t have the classy lines of something like a Chevelle – must be something to do with the proportions. Just my .02.
Back in the middle 70’s I looked at one of these at a Chevy dealer, it was all bronze (no vinyl) with beige interior, 396 automatic, I don’t even recall that said ‘SS’ on it anyplace… it was a super clean used trade and surprise surprise the dealer wouldn’t let 19 year old me take it for a test drive. That one actually was very nice looking.
350,2dr,black interior…..yup, this will definitely end up hot rodded! As it should be! Just hope they refrain from putting SS badges on it.
I think I’ve talked about my 72 Nova 350 (not an SS) here on Barn Finds, so ignore if this is a repeat. I bought one in the early summer of 1972, white with tan vinyl roof and best of all, the Sky Roof option. The dealer had it a few months and no one here wanted a Sky Roof. The car overheated on the way home from the dealer and they fixed it sort of; it continued to overheat and each year I had to change the thermostat to ensure that it wouldn’t. The sunroof never leaked and I drove it a lot…I got married in 1973 and she loved the sunroof. By the time 1975 rolled around, we had a kid and she wanted a 4door. The car had rust on both lower door panels. But I still loved it. IIRC there were about 3000 converted for the US.
I’d restore it and make a very nice driver out of it. I’m not a fan of black interiors, which could be changed, and A/C would be mandatory. Yes, it’s a design that seen it’s day, but it’s an interesting idea.
Reminds me of the Nova in Pulp Fiction
SOLD $6400.00 so it says!