The Nova served as one of Chevrolet’s most affordable new car options in the 1960s and 1970s, although the options list was long enough to allow potential buyers to order their new purchase with engines offering excellent performance. This 1972 Nova sedan is better than average, with its engine bay housing a 307ci V8. It has spent seventeen years in storage, but the seller has revived it, feeling that returning it to a roadworthy state should be easy and inexpensive. They have listed the Nova here on Craigslist in Red Bluff, California. They set their price at $6,500 OBO, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Tony P for spotting this promising project.
Chevrolet’s Third Generation Nova graced showroom floors from 1968 until 1974. It featured radically revised styling and, as was the prevailing trend, its wheelbase, and other exterior dimensions grew slightly compared to its predecessor. The first owner ordered this Nova Sedan in 1972, selecting Spring Green to cloak its exterior. The seller confirms the car recently emerged from storage, and there is no arguing that the paint shows significant deterioration. They have buffed out a few spots, and while this has made a difference, I suspect the buyer will probably elect to perform at least a cosmetic restoration. The Nova has spent its life in California, making its lack of significant rust unsurprising. I can’t spot any problems that will cause heartache, and the seller confirms that areas like the trunk pan are rock-solid. The Nova retains its original trim which looks acceptable for a driver-grade build. The windshield is cracked, but the remaining glass is in good order.
The seller doesn’t supply any engine bay shots but confirms that this Nova retains its original 307ci V8. It should send 130hp and 230 ft/lbs of torque to the road via a three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission. It is unclear whether this classic scored power assistance for the steering or brakes. The power and torque figures won’t result in neck-snapping performance, but it should cope with city traffic and life on the open road fairly easily. The seller recently revived this classic, replacing the fluids and performing a tune-up. The tires are old, and with those replaced and a thorough inspection, they feel that it could easily serve as a daily driver. Alternatively, those who feel that this classic deserves more power could bolt a larger engine under the hood.
This Nova’s interior is far from perfect, requiring at least a partial retrim to present at its best. There is door trim damage, sunrot developing on the top of the back seat, the pad has cracked, and it is unclear what hides beneath the slipcover on the front seat. As with many classics from this period, kits are easy to find and fairly inexpensive. The air conditioning system is complete but no longer blows cold, and the only other factory option is an AM radio. There are no aftermarket additions beyond the slipcover and a wheel wrap.
I acknowledge that some readers will immediately dismiss this 1972 Chevrolet Nova due to its four-door body configuration. However, any enthusiast with a young family will immediately confirm how much of a battle it can be to maneuver a small child into the rear seat of a Hardtop or Fastback. This classic eliminates that issue, and if its existing V8 doesn’t supply enough power, bolting in something more potent to create a unique and powerful vehicle would be relatively easy. The seller’s price looks affordable, especially considering the lack of apparent significant rust problems. It has only been on the market for a day, and I won’t be surprised if a buyer emerges pretty quickly. Are you tempted?
Salvage title at a minimum needs paint, tires, windshield, tires, AC repair and more than likely upholstery. This belongs to the category of cars that compete in price, not passion, there are much nicer cars available for the for the money. In a softening market heading into winter a patient buyer will do better.
Steve R
Four door basic transportation nahhhhhh
Which is why it should be preserved. Mustangs and GTOs are commonplace. If this were fixed up, it would stand out.
God forbid they take a picture of the engine bay.
Or the license plates….
Nobody has yet to explain
to me why people cover
them up/remove them for
pictures.
Yes, I’m also puzzled by this common thing. Do they also cover their plates when driving around town or when parked at their house? Because heaven forbid that someone should see their number. Perhaps someone here can enlighten us? My best guess is “I’ve seen other paranoid people do this so I’d better do it too?”
4YVH063 Ca. is the last registration. My sister had a ’72 factory painted bright copper Nova 307 a/t 4 dr. which was not a bad car to drive., but the bad part was, it had power brakes & manual {Strong Arm} steering. I looked at the front plate they failed to cover in their paranoia………I think that’s why they cover them, people are paranoid literally about everything today.
Just what I need to haul my tribe around. So what if it has 4 doors, it’s
cheaper to insure than a 2-door here
in Florida. Anything with 2 doors may
look nice but they’ll sock it to you when it comes to insuring one. The last 2 door I had cost me $600 a month to insure and my wife had no
accidents or speeding tickets. That was 1987 and I’ll bet it’s even higher now. Along with the simple construction, I say this one is a winner 🏆 all the way around. Too bad the windshield is cracked. If it
weren’t, I’d go out there with a friend of mine, do a tune up, check the tranny for leaks and slippage, after that, hop in and drive home! And at this time of the year, who needs A/C
when you’ve got 4/60 A/C for the trip
to Florida. Great car! I really like it!
“Alternatively, those who feel that this classic deserves more power could bolt a larger engine under the hood.” It’s bad enough when people post this kind of thing in the comments. It’s worse when the article’s author posts it.
There are some four door cars that I don’t mind. This is not one of them. Buy it for half the ask and spray that worthless lump under the hood till it explodes. Then put in a real motor.
The 307 was a very good motor. And it was indeed real.
307, yes good engine. Work required here doesn’t balance out with 6500.
Small bore, matching small valves, smog heads, 8.5 compression ratio, all that = worthless from a performance standpoint. If you just want a motor that runs . . . ok
I prefer the lighter & torquey-at-low-revs 250 6 cyl that has NO timing chain & 7 main bearings. coupled with a 3:07 rear, & turbo muffler in place of the ridiculous stock heavy restrictive sideways muffler – even in a 1st gen f-body.
We had a Nova identicle to this in auto shop class in high school in the 80s. Same color 307 2 barrel auto trans. We used it to set the dwell( remember that? ) and the points. I’d like to say that if memory serves me correctly, we had no problem lighting up the old bias plys it had on it. I’m not saying we were doing big smokey burnouts with it, but we could get them to light up.
I’d leave this stock, I agree with JDC above, we have lots of Camaro, Firebird, Mustangs GTOs etc. I believe 4 door Novas and other cars like this should be preserved.
307, yes good engine. Work required here doesn’t balance out with 6500.
I had a 68 Nova with he 307 motor, 3 speed stick. The cam lobes wore out in 30,000 miles. The left engine mount let go and almost did a 180 in the engine bay. Dealers answer was to put a chain restraint on. On the plus side, the car cost a smidge less that $2,000 NEW!
I had a ‘71 Nova with the 307, positraction and 3 speed Muncie floor shift.
It was no barn burner but had decent performance.
The 307 put out 200 hp in ‘71.
What a difference a year makes.
In ’72, horsepower ratings lowered when they went from gross to net.
& compression ratios were lowered on all GM makes in ’71, so ’72 307 performance would be close to a ’71, i would think.
Glen the chain restraint on the motor was a factory recall to fix weak motor mounts. I’ve seen lots of those. Think that problem came to light in ’66 but ’67 for sure.
I like 4-doors myself. Not enough of them around.
Wonder if the a/c was a dealer one or a Mark 4 from Montgomery Ward. Can’t tell from the pics.
What a sweet little runner this would be. Better looking than the year that would follow. Looks to be mostly intact. Do some upholstery work and resquirt the paint. If performance is your goal then ditch that hang on a/c unit and recover that weight penalty and power suck.
This would be perfect for a tinkered (me) if you live anywhere near a dragstrip (me). So many things that can be incrementally done to this to make it tons of fun. The 307 responds like crazy to upgrades, and it has a Turbo 350. Granted, not as cheap to do anymore, but the sbc is as affordable as it gets. Alas, too far from me.
Tinkerer