The Chevy II/Nova wasn’t Chevrolet’s first compact car. That came in the form of the somewhat unorthodox Corvair in 1960. Thinking they needed a product with a more conventional layout (water-cooled front engine), Chevrolet gave birth to the Chevy II in 1962, and the Nova was top trim level. The first generation was in production through 1965 when the seller’s sharp, one-owner, and mostly original Sport Coupe was built. With just 63,000 miles to show for its 59 years, this Nova can be found in a garage in Indian Trail, North Carolina, and is available here on eBay. The current bid is $15,100, the reserve is unmet, and the Buy It Now ante is $27,500.
Sales-wise, the Chevy II was quite popular in its first two years, with an unexpected drop-off in 1964 and 1965. Speculation is that the new mid-size Chevelle stole some thunder those two years because you could buy a bigger car for not much more money. The vehicles had a styling refresh in 1964 with some tweaks in 1965. A V8 was available for the first time in ’64 (the 283 cubic inch version) and the 327 joined the fold in ’65, putting the Nova SS in range of muscle car territory. 122,800 Chevy II or Nova products left the assembly line in 1965.
From the looks of things, this one-owner car could be a part of an estate sale. Otherwise, why is all the stuff piled up around it and why wouldn’t you take it outside for better photos? The surroundings suggest a non-running automobile, yet an appraiser was brought in to give an assessment (which is largely positive). Most of the paint is thought to be original and there are no flaws in the body other than what storage in the garage might have caused. And the interior was partially redone in the 1980s and looks quite nice.
We wish the running conditions of the car were discussed. The absence of an air cleaner in a dirty compartment doesn’t speak to this having been more than a nice daily driver at some point. If it hasn’t run in a while, will some work be needed to change that, such as cleaning out the fuel system? But the vehicle is said to be numbers matching and with lower mileage as is indicated, you’d think the V8 and Powerglide automatic transmission would be sound. If you’re looking for a rarer Nova, this could be it. The only year that production numbers were lower was its last in 1979.
Too few photos and not enough info means you take your chances without going there to see the car in person…and he expects to get upwards of $25k.
This is one of those ads you wish were posted on Facebook so you can tell how long since the ad was posted. Like you said, not nearly enough information or pictures to justify the asking price. I could be wrong, it’s a factory V8 and decent examples of this body style are thin on the ground.
Steve R
eBay used to show the date when a vehicle was listed. Looks like they did away with that in the past two years or so. They’ve changed their whole format around selling items, not for the better either. Supposed to be more “user friendly” and it has only gotten more convoluted. IMHO.
In 1973, I bought a cherry stock 1965 Nova SS two door hardtop , turquois over black, factory 283 two bbl, 4 speed , bucket seats & console, and the econoline guage cluster that had oil pressure water temp, ammeter, and fuel guages. – For $700. I’ve never found production numbers or ever seen another. I was just a 21 year old student.
That would have been a real sweet car.
Nice original 65, i had one just like this one in 1980. This has the original interior which looks very nice but looks like it’s been repainted at sometime, it has a rear antenna which on a non SS car isn’t seen much. The only thing I noticed but was hard to see was the radio according to the cowl tag was a push button radio which this one didn’t have but tags have been known to be wrong on Norwood cars. Like others have said need complete pictures but you should look at it in person especially since it’s been repainted. Its not a bad price. I’d say it’s been a garage kept car that was driven on a dirt or gravel road because of the brown stain on the cast trumk panel plate .
I looked at the fuzzy pictures, my bad the seats have been re done I missed the vinyl center section in the middle of the front and rear seats plus the outer edge vinyl is missing.
I have a certain affinity for ’64 and ’65 Novas as my very first actual “street sweeper” was a ’64 283 4 speed Nova 400. Stone stock it would scare 4 barrel 4 speed Mustangs, and with the addition of a 300 horse 327 top end and a “30-30” solid lifter cam, it would smoke a single carb GTO or 442. Neat cars, (the 300 horse 327 4 speed available in ’65 was a showstopper) Kind of hard to judge this one due to the lack of better pictures, but it appears to be in decent shape, and there is no denying that V-8 Chevy IIs are becoming rather hard to find. Price seems a tad high, but then I haven’t really followed the market on them. Good luck to both the seller and the eventual buyer.
While out bone-yarding a couple decades ago I bought a pristine set of OEM stainless window deflectors for a ’65 Nova believing that the world would beat a path to my door wanting them.
Now, 20+ years later they are still wrapped in cloth and sitting on a shelf in my Man Cave. I’ve listed them several times, offered them for sale at the Turkey Rod Runs and posted to different FB groups and nobody has even sniffed at them.
Oh well, they weren’t all home runs.
The problem of being way over price and it’s still a nova does it for big thumbs down.