One thing is a certainty, and that is that there will be plenty of people who would like to own a clean and solid classic car, but they aren’t fixated on complete originality. For those individuals, cars like this 1971 Chevrolet Nova offer some real possibilities. This is a car that is extremely clean and tidy and it appears that it will only require some minor tinkering before it will be ready to be driven and enjoyed. It features a few very nice upgrades that should provide it with a noticeable boost in performance. If that all sounds like a winning combination to you, then you will find the Nova located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and listed for sale here on eBay. Bidding on the Nova has reached $15,301, and the reserve has now been met.

The first thing to note about the Nova is just how solid it is. The owner has included some shots of the vehicle’s floors, and they look extremely clean and solid. The previous owner treated the Nova to a repaint in its original Burnt Orange but chose to not paint the roof in its original Antique White. For my money, that seems to have been a pretty wise move. The panels look nice and straight, with no signs of any significant dents or dings. The panel gaps also look tight and consistent, while there are no signs of any external rust problems. The external trim, chrome, and the glass, all look really good. The Weld wheels aren’t original, but once you see what’s under the hood, they don’t seem to be out of place.

The engine bay of the Nova would originally have been occupied by the mighty 250ci Turbo-Thrift six-cylinder engine, but there really is nothing as great as a V8. In this case, the previous owner made the decision to swap in a 350, backed by a Powerglide transmission. This motor has been treated to an Edelbrock intake and carburetor, an ACCEL HEI distributor, a set of Hedman headers, and a dual exhaust with Flowmaster mufflers. The car had been sitting for a while before the current owner purchased it, but he has fitted it with a new battery, and the Nova now runs and drives once again. That doesn’t mean that it is necessarily ready to hit the road immediately, but it doesn’t look like it is going to take a lot of work to get it to that point. The owner suggests that it would pay to have the car checked thoroughly before attempting any extended trips. He also states that the front drum brakes do pull to one side, and might need adjustment. I tend to agree with his suggestion that converting the fronts to discs might be a wise investment. The tires actually look like they have a lot of wear in them, but the owner says that they are pretty old. A new set of tires sound like they might be a wise sort of investment.

I would class the Nova’s interior as above average for a vehicle of this age, but it isn’t perfect. Tackling the aftermarket additions first, and there are a set of gauges mounted under the dash. These don’t currently function, but I personally think that getting them working to monitor the 350 might be a wise move. There is an aftermarket radio/cassette player mounted in the dash, and I don’t mind that. The one addition that I find somewhat overwhelming is the tach mounted on the steering column. Whether that stays or goes would be a matter of taste, but given how much of the speedometer it obscures, I would be very inclined to substitute something slightly smaller. The dash pad appears to be free of cracks, while the rubber mats are in surprisingly good condition for a vehicle of this age. The upholstered surfaces seem to be free of rips and tears, but some of the vinyl is discolored. There is nothing that would require immediate attention, but the next owner might choose to address this at some point in the future.

This 1971 Nova isn’t a spectacular car, but it is an extremely tidy one that would still stand out in a crowd. It would seem to need little to return it to active duty, and given its mechanical configuration, it is a car that should be capable of providing the next owner with some reliable motoring. The owner suggests a further upgrade of the engine, and while that sounds tempting, I would be very inclined to maybe upgrade the brakes and possibly the transmission, and leave the rest exactly how it is. What would you do?