To better compete in the emerging compact car segment, Chevrolet rolled out the Chevy II in the Fall of 1961. It was a “conventional” adversary compared to their Corvair, which had a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. The Chevy II would become quite successful, especially in Nova trim. This 1968 Chevy II is from the last model year that the name would appear – for 1969 forward, it was simply known as the Nova. The car is rusty after having sat for the last thirty 30 years and is missing a few key parts, like the driveshaft. Located with a dealer in Rutledge, Tennessee, it could make for an interesting project. The Chevy is available here on eBay where the no reserve auction is holding at $3,961.
Third-generation Nova’s were built from 1968-72 and would be the brand’s most popular. With the major restyle that came in 1968, sales increased by more than 70% to 183,500 units, of which 133,000 were equipped with an inline six-cylinder engine. The seller’s machine was one of those cars, a Plain Jane Chevy II, but somewhere between 1968 and 1993, it lost the I-6 in favorable of a small-block Chevy V8. We’re guessing it’s either a 307 or 350 and the motor could be slightly newer than the car itself given the placement of the oil filler opening in the left side valve cover.
As the story goes, this Nova has been a Southern car all its life, although I don’t see where that’s a huge selling point. Though the engine is different now, the transmission is still a “3-on-the-tree” manual. The Chevy was last driven in 1993 and no longer has a battery in addition to the MIA driveshaft, which may have been what disabled the vehicle three decades ago. The factory radio has taken flight and part of the heater box is in the trunk. The car may otherwise be complete.
This was a Grotto Blue Nova with a matching interior when it left the Willow Run, Michigan assembly plant. The paint is, of course, wearing patina today and there is rust in quite a few places, though the seller is certain that the frame and rocker panels are in solid condition. The car suffered a small crunch on the corner of the rear passenger’s side, so the body shop will have to pull that out and replace the bumper if you’re planning to restore the car.
The interior is equally worn out from being exposed to time and Mother Nature. The upholstery, door panels, floor coverings, dash pad, and about everywhere else will need to be sourced. Once you got it running, you could drive it as-is for a while before tacking a restoration and the seller offers a walk-around video of the car. Though you’d likely spend more than it’s worth to restore the car to 1968 condition, it would be great to see another non-SS clone added back to the running population.
Better Have A HAZ MAT Suit when you get inside.
Guessing the engine call-out was only on the V-8’s?
Yes in 1968.
The rust mentioned looks more like serious cancer …
Residue line on the right side bottom portion of the seat, a rotted lower half of the glove box, both door panels in the same shape in the same place, the rust on the pedals and the most telling the spare tire…covered in a uniform coat of residue, even the portion that is tucked under any faulty weatherstripping.
To me this thing appears it has spent the last 30 years at the southern end of a boat ramp…
If it had all the original parts, even in the shape shown here, it MIGHT be a nice project. As it is now, you’re looking at a pile of uninteresting parts….
Could have been the 153 c.i. four that got pulled for the V8 conversion as well
Cool car!!! Lovely patina, the underside format look too bad….a trip to the steel yard for some .0625 sheet metal for the trunk and floor pans, matching Indian blankets for seat covers, get her running, a drive shaft and brakes, walaa she’s ready to go! Note: in order to come under budget if need the car reasonable priced by dropping the 1 off the end of the price though.
Price is up to $4163 with three days left! A quick patch up as I mentioned above makes a cool daily driver, especially with the 3 on the tree, I love those, but realistically this is 3500 more than it’s worth.
Wonder why the drive shaft is missing? Sounds like it was towed on a dolly, too bad they didn’t just throw it in the back seat. Looks like a full resto is needed.
This Nova in today’s market is a 3000 dollar top end value. Actually, if your not into restoring and have a little mechanical back ground , you can be back on the streets and cruising in no time. Once again, tired of those dreamers who expect to get something for nothing. Look at gas and house prices, and you complain about A 50 year old car, geez givee a break!
Previous owner…Axl Foley.
I would rather put some money into this than have a Crap Mareo like Everyone else thinks is the greatest. It’s My opinion so I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Give it some love.
At $5113 with 2 days to go. Doesn’t look too bad, floor pans being the major issue. A mig welder and fiberglass could remedy that. Nice first-year Nova but I would definitely address the floors to make it safe enough to drive. I had a ’66 El Camino with bad floors and it creaked and twisted while driving around the block!