UPDATE 12/08/2022 – If there’s one attribute I genuinely admire in a person, it is determination. It seems the owner of this 1977 Chevrolet Nova Rally has that trait in abundance. They have listed the classic for a third time following a dramatic price drop. They initially offered it for $23,500, with no success. They slashed the price to $19,500 but still had no joy. It is listed here on Craigslist with a further reduction to $17,500. Considering all it offers, that price is looking more tempting. There have been no other changes beyond the price, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Pat L. for spotting this returning classic.
06/05/2022 – Chevrolet introduced the Rally option to its Nova range in 1971, but it only remained on showroom floors for two years. They elected to reintroduce it for the 1977 model year, and our feature car is one of those vehicles. It presents well, but the fresh Crate Motor occupying its engine bay should make it fun to drive. Located in Algonquin, Illinois, you will find the Nova listed for sale here on Craigslist.
The Nova proved to be a sales hit for Chevrolet, with 365,264 buyers electing to park one in their driveway in 1977. However, only 6,901 of those buyers went that step further to order a Nova Rally. The option brought no performance upgrades but was an appearance package primarily restricted to some unique stripes and badges and some cosmetic changes to the grille and headlamp bezels. Our feature car wears Bright Yellow paint with the distinctive Rally “triple-band” stripes in White. The seller states that the paint and stripes are original, and if this is accurate, it makes their condition very impressive. The paint shines nicely, with any flaws or defects proving too small to show in the supplied photos. The strips show no evidence of lifting or checking, while the panels are free from dings, dents, or visible rust. The White Rally wheels are spotless, while the glass, trim, and chrome look excellent. The photos may be limited in this listing, but the picture they paint appears nothing but positive.
The seller doesn’t indicate what motor originally resided under the hood of this Nova, but that is now academic. If the engine bay presentation looks exceptionally tidy, that is because the 350ci Crate Motor occupying the space has clocked a mere 100 miles. It is full of desirable components, and with an Edelbrock 600cfm carburetor forcing the mixture into the engine and spent gases exiting via a dual exhaust with Flowmasters and an equalizer pipe, the driver will have 265hp available under their right foot. Considering the best a buyer could expect off the showroom floor in 1977 was 170hp, this car should blow the original 17.4-second ¼-mile ET for a 350/auto equipped example 10-foot in the air. To gain an insight into the impact that emission regulations had on performance, it is worth comparing the ETs of a 1977 Nova 350 versus a 1970 model. The 17.4 second time was about what buyers expected in 1977, but a 350/auto 1970 Nova in its most conservative tune could cover the same journey in 16 seconds. If the buyer handed over the extra cash for the SS version, that figure plunged to 15.2 seconds. Incredibly, the new emission regulations may have improved what was flowing out of the exhaust, but they did nothing for fuel consumption because the figures between 1970 and 1977 are impossible to separate. The seller didn’t slot the new motor into this Nova, cross their fingers, and hope for the best. Virtually the entire braking system is new, as are the radiator, hoses, shocks, and starter. They say the car runs and drives beautifully, and the 350 sounds fantastic exhaling through the dual exhaust.
The original owner ordered the car trimmed in White vinyl, and there’s no evidence of yellowing. The seller recently replaced the carpet and rear side trims, but it seems the rest of the interior may be original. Providing some insight into the condition is the news that the Nova was winning show trophies as recently as May this year, confirming that it presents well. The buyer receives factory ice-cold air conditioning and a modern Kenwood Bluetooth stereo with a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer. If you don’t like the music emanating from the engine bay, you can pump up the volume to the threshold of pain. I may be getting older, but even I admit you can never have the music too loud!
By 1977, life had become pretty miserable for any classic enthusiast with gasoline pumping through their veins. The double whammy of more stringent safety requirements and tightening emission standards added weight and sapped the power from the iconic American V8 performance models. The Chevrolet small-block was no exception, becoming a shadow of its former self. The owner of this Nova Rally has sought to address that shortcoming. While its power and acceleration figures may not match those produced by the Nova at the dawn of the decade, it should still provide enough enjoyment to satisfy most owners. The car’s presentation is hard to fault, making it appear a total package. It has only been on the market a few days, and while the asking price is hardly pocket change, I won’t be surprised if an interested party emerges pretty quickly.
Nice car,but that front grille looks really cheesy,
like someone customized it in their garage.
That’s from the factory. Chevy made a special grill for the “Rally” Nova’s.
It was leftover from the final Nova SS like was on BF a couple days ago. The ’79s had that year’s regular Nova grille with square headlights, not even blacking out the chrome center bars.
I owned a 77 rally and that looks exactly like the grill on it. Of all the cars I have owned in my life its the one I wish I had back
Sorry but that white Nova interior reminds me too much of Pulp Fiction. I shot Marvin in the face!
Not for me…..But it might look good on you.
Center post too wide ruins look of car
Factory ..
Novas had the perfect not too big, not too small size coupled with a boxy shape that maximized space and driver visibility. With with a 350 V8 the Nova provided decent acceleration to go with the easy handling. This car has upgraded the 1970s original equipment and the yellow color brightens it’s appearance.
The value of these is under the asking price. Not much demand for Nova’s after 72.
Used to not like this Gen Nova,times have changed.
Why? Would the owner put radio speakers in the door cards and add an after market go cart steering wheel. You can’t fix stupid, but you could fix the door panels and change the wheel.
Probably because he owns the car and can do anything he likes to it.
Heres my dilemma if I had that car….with the Motor taken out would I put it back to a 350 or a stroker 383 or take the original motor and raise the compression different cam intake carb and set it all up it would be numbers matching. I knew somebody back in the Bronx that had one in gold very quick nice ride. It’s a good looking car and period correct. 🐻🇺🇸
Door speakers and 6×9 Jensen tri axels in packy tray was the norm.
And a Mullet…..
I would find a 396 as fast as I could to fix this Nova right . From high school my buddy’s brother drove a 1969 that was 10 fast cars in our area if I’m not mistaken it had a 396 , dam I forget !
Owned a ’76 Nova SS with 350 and a column automatic. Orange with black SS trim, Corvette 4 spoke steering wheel, and silver Rallye rims. My wife bought it new just before we got married (I bought a Ford F100 and traded off my worn out car and truck).
So in regards to ownership, it had to be one of the poorest quality built vehicles I had owned. Factory ‘bent’ rim as a spare (center was welded in crooked), leaky trunk, ac which fried in the Mojave on vacation, ill fitting interior trim panels, etc. But did that little 4 bbl with positraction scoot !! It gave a respectable 20 mpg on the highway, but a dismal 10 mpg if driven enthusiastically. It had a fair amount of cowl shake as many front subframe/unit body cars did from GM, but none of the negatives mattered when hammering it off the line. It would smoke anything of that era with ease and grew admiring looks while doing so. It is too bad that the new ‘european look’ GM was introducing on the Nova in ’75 never really found a longstanding appreciation, and age well they did not. Our ’76 had a MSRP of $5600 in Oct. of ’75 when it sold off the showroom floor to my wife-to-be. We sold it in ’78 to buy a gently used Jaguar E-type with 20,000 miles and our Nova had about 30,000 mostly troublefree when it went down the road. I wish I had BOTH of them back today, especially in the condition they were then.
Oh, and the same grille in my ’76 SS carried over to the ’77 Rallye, but had the Rallye badge added instead of the SS logo on the ’75 and ’76 super sports. It was unique to only those two models in design. Another side note to the earlier SS cars. A small run in our part of the midwest offered a model called the ‘Dakota SS’. My neighbor had one in this color of yellow, but instead of it being a coupe like mine, his was a hatchback with bucket seats, console, and a 4 speed on the floor. We would often be seen standing next to each others cars eyeballing the difference, and would laugh when caught by the other doing so.
Kids…… does anyone know if there were other special editions for their area based on either a Rallye or an SS ? They had to have been really low in production numbers if so
Just a few more price drops to go, to reach market value.
I had a 77 Nova with a small V8 I don’t even remember what size I just remember it was the last dependable Chevrolet I owned, I only sold it because I was 20 unemployed and needed to pay the rent.
Um, I’ve always had a hard time considering these “Nova’s.”
Shuttle Guy-
As I owned a ’76, I don’t have a hard time considering these Novas. However re: the “Novas” that NUMMI made from ’85-’88 which were basically rebadged Corollas… that I’d have a hard time with!
PS- I also have a hard time considering the comments from anyone that types “Um…” first thing when making a comment, but maybe that’s just me. :)
Um, I’ll watch that next time. :)
Is that an antenna on the LF fender?
Keep moving downward. Another 10 grand and I’ll start getting interested.
I bought my wife one of these years ago, when we were young and had little kids, and it served us well. So whenever I had a chance to pick these up over the last few years I grabbed them. I have small collection of 5 or 6 and hope to fix them up in my retirement. Great little cars.
Tim Hahn-
I think it’s hilarious you said you have “a collection of 5 or 6…”. You talk about cars like other people talk about stamps or baseball cards. Good luck w/ the project! Don’t wait too long to retire or you might only get through fixing up the first 4 Novas. :)