Let’s see a show of hands for everyone who dreams about opening some long forgotten garage and finding something like this? I thought so; me, too. This 1966 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS is in Owego, New York and can be found here on eBay with a current bid of just under $5,000, but the reserve isn’t met. There are six days left on this auction. This one will probably surprise me, and also make me very sad that these cars are out of my price range.
Chevrolet redesigned the Chevy II in 1966 and this car is the first year of that new body style. For $159 (around $1,170 today), a 1966 Chevy Nova 400 buyer could get the Super Sport package. SS wheel covers were part of that package, and this car looks like it has exactly one, with all of the other three wheels wearing different rims. Wheel covers probably aren’t what most folks would want on a performance car, or at least on a sporty car, but I love that look and, luckily, the seller mentions that all four wheel covers come with the car. This car was originally Lemonwood Yellow, which is by far my favorite color for these cars. It’s a bummer that it was painted the current (literally) purple’ish, red’ish, magenta’ish color sometime in the 1980s, but there probably aren’t many folks here who would want a ’66 Chevy Nova SS in yellow with wheel covers other than me!
This car is a mixed-bag of.. stuff; improvements, or what someone thought were improvements over the years. You can see the automatic floor shifter in-between the seats, but you can also see what is now a dead third-pedal. Yes, this was a manual car that was converted to be an automatic. Doesn’t that usually go the other way? The seller says that they have a new interior kit for this car, which is nice because it’ll need one. The seat backs look good as does the back seat, so maybe just the door panels and seat bottoms need to be tweaked. The body is in decent shape, no doubt from being off of the street for over three decades. You’ll have the usual work to do here, though, unless you just want to get things working and drive it while you pick away at it over the next couple of years.
The seller has the VIN blocked out other than the first three numbers, so there’s no telling what this engine is. It could be a 283 or a 327, who knows. The seller was “told” that it’s a 327 SBC, but as with all ads, just because someone told someone something does not make it the gospel. Can I get an amen on that? Thank you, brothers and sisters. We’ve all been (insert un-pc phrase here) by buying something that we were told was something when in fact it turned out to not be that special thing. But, a quick run of the numbers should tell you what this is, if you can talk the seller into getting those numbers to you. I’m sure that they’re totally honest and just haven’t run the numbers yet, they just started a business and don’t have time to restore this car which is why it’s for sale. This looks like a nice spare-weekends project if anyone has the room for yet another spare-weekends project. I wish that I had the room, although I’d want to restore it back to bone-stock spec. That yellow with black interior, manual transmission, and wheel covers is a great look, in my opinion. Is this Super Sport worth restoring or would it be better to just get it working and drive the wheels off of it as is?
Expensive mess
Agree. Junk. So much garbage out there it seems to be a fad.
Correct. It’s a good candidate for gas monkey garage with unlimited funds, several mechanics and donating sponsors for restoration. For the normal working man (or woman ) it’s Junk!
The SS hardtop this year and the ’67 model year were favorites for me, this example is already overpriced for the current condition IMO, I see this as a number 4 to 5 car and $2500 to $3k on the high end. I was at a Norcal swap meet within the last year and there were a few of these totally restored beauties for under $20k. My ex had one of these (non SS) back in the late 70’s and was a blue 2dr sedan with 6cyl. auto, good all around grocery getter and very dependable car.
I wish the seller lots o luck on this bucket.
A friend recently bought a nice finished 1967 Nova SS in Long Island for the low 20s. It looked like there was no way you could build another one for what he paid.
that SS hubcap is not correct original for this car, is from a full size Chevy. Nova SS had a different style SS hubcap
I owned & restored a 1966 Acadian Canso Sport Deluxe, and I, for one, guarantee you that the hubcap in the photo on the right rear tire rim is indeed the exact hubcap that was issued for the 1966 Chevy II Super Sport in the USA. The Acadian imitation knockoffs were very similar but better looking IMO. And my 1966 Acadian Canso Sport Deluxe was all original when I restored it. I owned the car for decades, and I know every Chevy II SS & Acadian SD part that ever existed or was manufactured by GM/Pontiac in the historiography of manufacturing at GM.
Bob
Those are 65 SS hubcaps, shifter is wrong. This car will be bid upwards of $12000 easy.
most likely this is a 283. wrong hub caps.I think the shifter is wrong too. it did not have the handle it was a smaller t bar? $12K-$15K tops for restored original.. if you go muscle you will put $15K in it.. so the real price for this car is $2200 unfortunately.. and the best year was the 67 SS…
The console & shifter are ‘T-bar’ for 66, correct. The hubcaps are correct & the SS imitation knockoff is correct too. A bare bones GM Pony car Unibody like this is worth $5k minimum with requisite rust holes given the rarity & demand on the vintage car market. New carpets & seat covers are needed, but they are reasonably priced new. It’s not a numbers matching SS, and it is doubtful that it is an SS because the interior door panels are not there, and the chrome trim piece is missing. And I agree that when they are restored they are not worth much more than $15k depending on the block & heads.
Am I missing something here?? The bid is up to $6350.00, the reserve has not been meet, the bid keeps going up, and you all are hollering that to much!! No it’s not to much, It’s Just More Than You Want To Pay! They haven’t made that car since 1966, and someone is looking at his dream car, and has a pocket full of money so he don’t care “How Much” or that the hub caps aren’t correct…When you want something badly, sometimes the brain shifts in to neutral.. It has happen to most of us…
sounds like this maybe your car bob. Going muscle. Lets say you pay $6300 for the car, then you have a 383 stroker, there is $7500-$8500 with Transmission. you need a rear end change thats $1000.00 tires and rims thats $$2000.00 interior $1000. $1000 -$2000 FOR PAINT.then the little things another $1000.. there you ARE $20k+ YOU GOT YOUR CAR..
…was the L-79 available this year? I so, and this has the docs, it’s worth every penny of what it’s bringing…without, much less…
66 was the first year for the L-79 in a Nova and this one was not so equipped as evidenced by the lack of 12 bolt rear end. also the little triangle on the heads tells me they are probably 520 power pack heads which makes this a 283. still a decent car to restore and hard to come by. what’s it worth? whatever someone will pay. for me it is worth 5-6k but no more..
yes we had blk/blk 66 l79 327/350hp
if it was only a L-79 without pulling the motor pull the rearend and see if it had a 3.31 or 3.73 rearend? if not dont waste your time.
so you know the shifter is wrong and most likely this is a not an L-79
Sure isn’t my car, I’m into Nash, Ramblers and AMC’s oldest being a 1931 870R, newest 1965 Marlin, and you could throw $20,000.00 at that Marlin and have a $10,000.00 Car!
exactly
sounds like you know your cars Bob. seems like your a good guy. enjoyed talking to you. check my new motor out. I’m rebuilding a 1970 elcamino. factory air. mini tubb 4.56 gear 20 in rims and tires.
https://youtu.be/7nGg8-5_l4Q
Alan, Thanks for the compliment, The Sound of Your Engine gets the Heart Rate Up and at 68 I Gotta watch that! Well it’s off to the Car Auction to see what kind of Crap I can buy?? Just one big crap shoot there.. Badger State Auto Auction in
Fond Du Lac, WI
my next car will be 1939 la salle . I’ll chop the top and mini tubb it out and put a 500hp chevy motor in it. maybe a ls motor fuel injected.
I bought a 66 Nova SS numbers matching L79 from a farmer’s field in 1982 for $1500. I rebuilt the engine and M22 Rock crusher 4-speed. The body was solid from the firewall back. Needed front fenders replaced. Interior was in decent shape. I drove it daily for about 5 years then decided to do a complete restore. Pulled the entire front end to replace the all the sheet metal and that was as far as I got. Someone came to the house and offered me $12000 for it. Couldn’t pass that up. To this day I wish I could have resisted the cash and finished it.
I was going to agree I would return this to stock, but at the current bid the only way the buyer is going to have a shot at breaking even is going to be a full blown resto mod. Too bad!
Back many moons ago, around 1980, when I was a junior in high school, I found a 67 Chevy II Nova on a used car lot a couple miles from my house. I bought it that Saturday afternoon for $850. It was a blue 2 door hardtop, blur interior, 283 with a 4 speed. It was not a SS, but had bucket seats & console. It was a very fun car. After high school, it sat in my dad’s garage next to my 69 Z/28 for 3 years while I was away in the Navy. Then rarely driven because I had purchased a 1980 Z/28 & the company I worked for provided me with a service truck.
Around 1989, my dad finished restoring his 71 Corvette, & needed the garage space, & a friend offered to buy the Nova, so I sold it for $2000. I thought I had made a killing on it. Just another on the long list of cars I now wish I could have kept.
The rad support was cut to remove & install another engine which shows major butchery on ownership. Also, someone added crome trim pieces to cover up the bottoms of the quarter panels and the front fenders at the bottom. There is no side quarter SS emblems and the steering wheel is not showing the SS badge in the horn cover. The shifter is wrong, and no console is in place. The SS emblems should be on the door panels too, and the glove box. No radio was left in place either. And it’s interesting that the back trunk lid SS emblem is not indicated in photos. The hood should have an SS emblem on it too if I’m not mistaken.
Cutting the rad support to remove an engine is pure unadulterated butchery IMHO.
It’s still worth $5k minimum, methinks.
Bob
The trim pieces on the quarter panels is correct just the pieces on the door are missing. The shifter is what caught my eye and looks like maybe out of a Camaro. The C2 never had a stirrup shifter and probably means they dropped a 327 and TurboHydramatic. The C2 had a T-handle with the shift lock on top. That is the correct steering wheel and horn cover. The chrome trunk piece is correct for the SS only. Also the glove box door had Super Sport in script. It is also missing the engine call-outs on the lower quarter panels. If none originally it started life a 199 6-cylinder (yeah the was the standard engine for the SS) a V-flags only indicated a 283 and the V-flags with 327 meant a 327 obviously (those are the ones you didn’t want to challenge). There was an SS emblem on the grille but hood had only Chevrolet trim on it. The name Nova wasn’t used on the SS in ’66 it was only Chevy II Super Sport. Nova was used in ’67.
My first real car was a ’66 SS with a 283 2-bbl (195 hp) with Powerglide and “Factory” air conditioning. It was on the window sticker but it is installed by the dealer. 4-big round vents under the center of the dash that would freeze your “bleep” off in Miami. Mom bought it new and handed it down to me 2-3 years later. Wish I had kept it. But I was a stupid teenager?
Hubcaps correct for a 66/67 Nova SS….neighbor’s mom had one with a six…sweet car….she did wreck it bad though….guess the bidding shows it’s worth….they are kinda rare….u can find more Camero’s around than these….
hubcaps were exact same for dads 66 l79 ss and my 65 chevelle ss
I think 65 was the last year Chevrolet put 283s in any super sports
Mom bought a new ’66 Chevy II Super Sport with a 283 2-bbl 195 hp with Power Glide 2-speed auto. 3 years later it was mine. Kick myself in the butt for not keeping it.
Hey Righteous Bob I’m with ya this car is so worth the money .Some of these guys kill me. They have no problem dishing out crazy amounts of money for a Porsche that looks like Gravedigger had its way with it at Monster Jam ,and yet they think this is an expensive mess or a pile of junk .Give me a freakin break.These Novas are one of the most saught after models and this is a nice solid car that should be saved and brought back .If this is a true SS 4spd car ,its well worth the money.Now about the engine if im not mistaken the 283 and the 327 had the oil filler tube on the front of the motor ,maybe its me but I dont see it .This may be a 350 or some other SBC. Definitely need to see the numbers on the block, it could be anything.
I agree the hubcaps are correct.
I owned a numbers matching ’66 Lemonwood yellow Chevy II SS L-79. The only 4-speed transmissions available were the Muncie M-20 wide ratio and M-21 close ratio, no M-22.
Some pictures show SS on right rear fender others don’t.
super sport should be in script on glove box too
Hello.
It is basically a “no rust” car and worth more than asked to anyone wanting one, familiar with the pyramidic costs for any basic restoration to roadable, safe condition.
I want one?
My guess is with that 4spd it could very well be a L79. It looks to have a clock which is a SS common option, deluxe interior minus the goofy door panels and faintly see the Super Sport script on the glove box. Looks to have the ’68 “horseshoe” Camaro shifter. Has correct driver side only mirror. Looks like good bones for a complete resto. I own a true ’66 Chevy ll / Nova SS.
If you look at the shift collar on the column you can see this was a standard 3 speed. It also has a clutch pedal as well. Now an automatic? I would say this was a 6 cylinder 3 speed OE.