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Triple Black Barn Find: 1971 Nova

1971 Nova Barn Find

For a while now I’ve been thinking that it would be fun to pick up a Nova. Something with a 350 and a 4-speed would be ideal. It seems that everyone else thinks the same thing too because every one I’ve found has been scooped up quickly. This particular one almost fits the bill, but unfortunately it’s on the other side of the country. It has the 350, but is a 3-speed. I’m sure someone here would like to drag it home though. Without a vinyl top though, how can it be considered triple black? It’s located in Pleasant Hill, Missouri and is listed here on craigslist for $4,500. Thanks goes to Robert R for the tip!

Comments

  1. HoA Howard A Member

    Let’s see. Does this qualify as an official barn find? Dusty exterior, check, poor quality pictures, check, inside home of Rocky Raccoon, check, 3 guys with hands in pockets discussing possibilities, check. Yup, it’s a barn find, all right. My grandfather bought a brand new Nova in ’71, 350, 2 bbl., auto. I went with him to pick it up, and it had a stiff throttle spring, and he spun the tires, leaving the dealer. ( a 16 year old kid, thought that was pretty cool) Not too rare a car here, so restoration costs could easily exceed value.

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  2. Avatar bonneville 64

    Pleasant Hill is up by Kansas City Mo, so expect a lot of rust. Appears that the quarters will need repaired/replaced as they look like rusted thru. I’m thinking same for the floor pans. trunk area is a toss up. lousy pictures don’t help in making anything close to an educated guess, but may be worth looking at if you live in the area. The only unusual aspect is the floor mounted shifter for a 3 speed as they did not come from the factory like that, to the best of my knowledge, and although the buckets look correct for a 71 Chevrolet, not sure it came with them. would need info off the data plate on the firewall to do verification and at least first 7 digits of the VIN.

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    • Avatar Joe

      Hi all,
      If I am reading this sales brochure correctly, the 71 Nova could have come from factory with a 350/245hp and a 3 speed on the floor. The SS did not.

      https://myclassicgarage.com/marketplace/knowledge_base/1971-chevrolet-nova

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    • Avatar Tom Member

      On these Nova bodies, if you can see the rust, it IS the tip of the ice berg. Lots more beneath. guaranteed the inner wells are gone. Trunk is in trouble. Rockers are probably bad. bottoms of the front fenders probably an issue too. Bigger problems are within the suspension and the fact that they are all rusted together and much of it will break apart if you don’t have to cut it apart. Shock mounts can be a nightmare.

      TRIPLE BLACK = black exterior, black interior and what you WONT be in when done restoring this mess. Sorry, truth hurts sometimes. Cool car, always loved these.

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    • Avatar Ken66

      3 on the floor was factory, had one.

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    • Avatar Rocco

      This isn’t an SS so it probably had a bench seat when new. We were always looking for buckets to replace the bench seats in all our hot rods. Someone lucked up and found some SS buckets back in the day.

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  3. Avatar A.J.

    If that is real, it is actually pretty cool. The three on the floor is a better drag setup than the 4 on the floor. Depending on the rot level it would be a great starter musclecar.

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  4. Avatar Stang1968

    I’m not sure where Triple Black comes in on this being a coupe. Maybe he’s counting the black wheels?
    This is also a post coupe not a hard top.

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  5. Avatar Barzini

    Beside the good stories and car finds, one of the great things about this website is the comments that people leave. They can be funny (Howard A) or very insightful. I am also impressed by how people pick up on details that I routinely miss.

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  6. Avatar Gary

    Definitely not an SS car, I owned one in 1976, one nice ride. Had a hard time keeping my foot off the floor board. Mine was light green with black bench seat 350 4spd PS no power brakes, rubber floor mats, no carpet. Loved the twin hood trim and rear blackout panel. Also the SS was a post car, I do not think that Chevy made a hardtop version of this car.? This Black rust bucket would be more work than what it is worth IMO. Nice find however!

    Like 1
  7. Avatar jim s

    this car has a subframe front that bolts to the rest of body. if there is rust in that area it would be costly to fix. the one i drove was a little older and had a three on the tree with the 4 cyl and no options of any kind.

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  8. Avatar JW454

    In 1973 I drove a ’70 ~ 350 / 3 speed on the floor Nova quite a lot. It belonged to my art teacher from the 11th grade. She was always sending me to buy things for class and I also did routine maintenance on it.
    Come to think of it she was pretty hot… should have made a move.

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  9. Avatar RoughDiamond

    That 3-speed would be factory and also a light duty transmission. The precursor to the Rally Nova produced in ’71 and ’72. I owned a ’72 Rally Nova with a low HP 350 2 barrel and 3 speed manual transmission. You’d be upside down on this in no time. The ’71 SS is the year in this body style to find as it had lower production numbers.

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  10. Avatar Mike

    3 on the floor was available in 71, my older brother bought one with very low mileage from a family friend who son had died, and his was also triple black, this one could have been its twin. Lee loved that car and loved to drag race it on some of the back country roads around home, he was good at it also, until he meet his match in Potosi, Mo. Car versus tree on Hwy 21 South of Washington State Park. Tree won, car lost, how my brother ever walked away from that we still don’t know, he had a broken toe on his left foot, and a bump on his hard head.
    With its location being South of Kansas City, I would money it is rusted out in the normal places, that is why I would figure the pictures are not that great. I think it would take a lot of money to restore. IMO

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  11. Avatar leiniedude Member

    Another Nova. I was at the Autorama car show in Beloit Wis. recently, a huge car show! There must have been thirty of them there. Not to mention Camaros, Mustangs and Chevelles. I looked at the first one in line and then just walked past the rest. I do like them all, but what really gets me is seeing all those local cars but rarely see one on the road unless its show day. I hope this car can be saved and I hope she gets on the streets where she belongs. And keep the E-mails coming. A great site! And thanks for letting us vent. Take care, Mike.

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