Stored 20 Years: 1969 Chevrolet Nova

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If you search online for a 1969-72 Chevy Nova for sale, SS models and clones of the same pop up the most often. Less seen are the “regular” Nova with six-cylinder or small V8 engines. They represented 93% of Nova sales, at least in 1969. That’s what we have here, a basic two-tone Nova with a 307 cubic inch motor and an automatic transmission, likely the venerable Powerglide. This was a one-owner car until the seller bought it to bring it back to life after more than 20 years of storage. Located in Lake County, California, this Nova is available here on craigslist for $15,000. Thanks for the tip, Pat L.!

The third generation of the Nova (1968-74) would become it’s most popular. And except for some styling changes in ’73-74, the car would stay much the same during this run. 1969 would be the last year the Chevy II name was used (dating back to 1962) and the car was simply “Nova” after that. For 1969, Chevy built nearly 252,000 examples of the car, with about a quarter of those coming with the basic 307 V8.

As the story goes, the original owner of this Nova drove it for nearly 30 years until her death in the late 1990s. The family transferred it to non-operating status and parked it in a bar where it stayed until two years ago. That’s when the seller purchased it from the family and slowly began to bring it back to life. After changing all the fluids, giving it a tune-up, rebuilding the carburetor, and replacing the radiator and thermostat, the car fired right up. It runs well for a car that has 156,000 miles on the clock. The brakes are good, but the tires are ancient and should be replaced.

Besides this work, we’re told the rest of the car is 95% original. Sometime in the past, the alternator had to be rebuilt and the front bench seat was recovered. It’s possible that the gold-ish paint is original and rust may be limited to the driver’s side rear wheel well. The headliner needs replacing, the dash pad may be cracked, the door panels need a little work, and the rubber floor mat could be pulled in favor of new black carpeting (I had a Nova with the exact same interior). Oddly, the steering wheel is not original; Chevy went with this style in 1971.

A fair amount of paperwork has been saved, such as the original owner’s manual, dealer warranty tag, and some other documents. According to Hagerty, a ’69 Nova in Fair Condition is worth $10,000, and the work needed to bring this one up to show quality will not come cheap. If the seller is flexible on the price, this could make a nice project to work on.

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Comments

  1. Raymond

    Because they were plain and boring cars, valient and dart had more personality even though the roofs looked funny….chevette of their times….blah….and baby poop to boot…

    Like 4
  2. Scott Kerley

    Interesting for being a one owner and transferred to non-op that the original blue plate is gone 🤔

    Like 2
    • Steve R

      You are right, that part of the story doesn’t make sense. The cars condition speaks for itself, there is no reason to embellish the story.

      Whoever us buying this car is doing so because they are after a straight rust free body. A more realistic price would be closer to $10,000. This is one of the few times price guides are accurate.

      Steve R

      Like 7
  3. Robert Collins

    Back in 1973. I paid $1200.00 for my SS 396 4 speed Nova. !!!!! Always riding on two tickets!! LOL Had a lot of great memories in that car!! Never lost a race unless it hung up on 2nd gear. Muncie linkage !! I sure wish I still had her!!! Worth alit more now!!

    Like 7
  4. Raymond

    307 is far slowest v8 that General Motors made had a olds 307 took 15 secs just hit 60

    Like 0
    • Chris Webster

      Two different engines.

      Like 10
    • Chris Webster

      The Olds 307 and Chev 307 are different engines.

      Like 7
  5. Dan August

    “Always riding on two tickets”
    What does that mean?

    Like 2
    • timothy r herrod

      Just a guess but i think it means he was one ticket away from losing his license for too many points

      Like 8
  6. JCAMember

    $15k for grandma’s Nova that needs a restoration? Seems optimistic. The 307 was still an economy engine that came with with a 2bbl carb

    Like 8
  7. Grumpyboy

    The 307 is still one of the biggest dogs Chevy ever produced.

    Like 0
  8. JoeNYWF64

    I always thought with bench seat, the nova’s STD SMOOTH VINYL interior was taxi cab ready – tho it would have to be a 4 door, of course. Even carpeting was not std. The front seat now appears taxi ready.
    Odd the elderly female owner would order this car with a v8 & vinyl roof, but no power steering! I would think she would sooner get the 6 with power steering & maybe even power brakes.

    Like 3
  9. Pugsy

    It’s a rust bucket, don’t be fooled about that.

    Like 5
  10. BigBlocksRock

    Front turnsignals are ’72

    Like 0
  11. TC

    Friend of mine had one of those in high school with the stock 307 and one night we street raced it against a new 86 I Rock Z28 and won that guy was so mad he thought there was NOS on the Nova, to bad it wasn’t for pinks.

    Like 1
  12. Tomw

    It looks like a white painted top, something chevy did on the economy models. I remember a new green Nova and a tan one with white painted tops in 1978. Both straight sixes with automatics.

    Like 0
  13. Spiderider

    ” I remember back in highschool you drove a crappy Chevy Nova, what do you drive now?… Same crappy Chevy Nova..”

    If only it were light blue w dent in the door lol

    Like 0

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