Back in the ‘70s, no car looked better in basic trim than the Chevy Nova. This 1972 Nova had little in the way of options when it left the factory, yet it looks quite nice. Two-tone colors, automatic transmission, power steering, cloth upholstery and maybe full wheel covers and white-wall tires may have been the only extras on the window sticker. We’re told the car is completely original with 43,000 miles and is located is Bahama, North Carolina (north of Durham) and offered here on eBay with a Buy It Now price of $12,900.
If the paint job on this car is original, it looks as though the auto has been babied. The seller tells us it’s always been garaged and that the floor pans, trunk and rockers are solid. There is some corrosion building at the bottom of the right rear wheel well that should be attended to sooner rather than later. We’re told that the top was originally vinyl and we’re guessing it was white, but why was it removed and painted instead? Did rust form under it and was eliminating the problem the best way to go?
The interior also looks pretty good on this two-owner car. The driver’s seat has a loose seam that should be easy to repair and the headliner, while not torn, looks to be starting to get the droops. If the buyer wants to listen to some tunes cruising down the road, he’ll have to put in his own stereo as this is a radio-delete car. I had a ’70 Nova like this and it had the same rubber floor covering that took quite a beating over the years.
Under the hood resides a 250 cubic inch inline-six that is likely original to the car. The seller doesn’t say if or how it runs, but we assume it does or we’d have been told otherwise. The battery is fairly new and the master cylinder looks like to could be, too. Being passed along from the day the car was first sold in 1972 are the original keys, owner’s manual and inspection and operations checklist from when it was delivered to owner #1. There is no mention as to what happened to the wheel covers or hub caps.
Chevy built about 350,000 Nova’s in 1972 and 140,000 of hem had a six-cylinder like this car. 260,000 were two-door sedans, as well. Because this car has the entry-level powerplant and has a couple of minor things to fix, it won’t command the big bucks the V-8s go for. I hope no one buys this survivor with the goal of turning this car into another SS 350 tribute car. They’re only original once.
Source: NovaResource
Original color, not original paint. These were cool little cars with a small block. Now a days you could hop up that 6cyl and get it to go pretty well. I think there’s nothing like the sound of an 8 through stock mufflers. Either way a sharp ride slightly over priced.
I’ve been looking for quite some time for a decent GM body to put a rebuilt 396 and a 4 speed that’s been sitting on my shop floor!! I was hoping to pay about half of this buy it now price!!
Noooo!!!! Leave that poor little engine alone, it never hurt anyone. What is it about this country that we feel the need to harm the small and defenseless?
I’m with you Ken. I hate it when people buy perfectly good cars like this and tear out the original drivetrain!!!!!!!!
tim i have a 1976 buick skylark with a 231 v6 i have re done most of it orig miles 80k miles if you are interested i could do half of that price for it call 713-553-5323 cell or e-mail fintail@att.net
Is that the original interior? It looks a little less faded, and more deluxe, than I would expect to see. And you would think the seller could have sourced some wheel covers, particularly given the price.
The interior is just like what I had on my Pontiac Ventura (my first car) of the same vintage. It was a base model as well.
Perfect car for my neice who’s just now
getting her license. Simple and reliable
transportation til she gets enough driving experience to handle a mustang.
Needs two more doors so we don’t have to pay triple premiums to insure it. Here
in Florida, insurance companies really
rack you when it comes to insuring
anything with two doors on it. My late
wife and I got socked $1,000 a month
for a ’77 mustang II that couldn’t get out
of its own way. And my wife had that
safe driver thing on her license too.
That was 1987 but I never forgot that
very expensive lesson. To this day, I’ll
only drive four doors.
One of the most successful compact cars of Chevrolet. In a world of 350-SS, a 250 with three-speed is a good way to be different. It’s a car that can give you less problem-per-mile rate. If you really wanna try something different, a 3×2 barrel carb kit and 5-speed manual is my suggestion.
In this articles description of interior,the writer stated his family had a Nova like the sellers,-” with the same Rubber floor covering, that took quite a beating ”
But if you zoom in the one photo shown in article here, the Floors of this 72′ has CARPET, with off color mats.( I’m )not seeing any Rubber covering ,he spoke of?
The car for sale DEFINITELY has rubber floor covering instead of carpeting. The 8th picture on the Ebay post makes that quite apparent.
It’s got extra brackets front & rear to lift the motor right out – in probably 20 minutes. Not good. lol Why?
Delux roof & optional passenger door mirror, but no carpeting? Odd.
I have the same feeling as TimM except I have a 377 that dynoed over 500 HP and this car was almost made for that engine!
Nice car, but vastly overpriced. It still needs some rust work and some upholstery work (along with some hubcaps and a good cleaning of the engine compartment). Price seems to be more for one in perfect condition.
I agree, Jim. I have a 1965 Impala 4-door hardtop, 283 & Powerglide, with only 83,000 miles on it. I am the 3rd owner (first 2 owners were single women!), and the only part of the car that is not original is the paint, which is high quality, applied in 1989. According to Hagerty, my car is only worth about $8000. I’d love to have this Nova as a fair-weather daily driver, but not at that price. The seller is in Fantasyland, and should have done some research regarding current value.
Axel Foley!!!
I always wanted to do a ‘what-if’ car. Not a counterfeit SS, but a Z/28 package. Put in a date-correct LT-1 with a Muncie M-21 and a 12 bolt, put on the fat sway bars, the right dropped stance, 15″ Z/28 wheels, trim package w/stripes…make it look just like the factory would have had they made such a Nova. It’s all Camaro under the skin, so it shouldn’t be difficult. This is a perfect candidate, but over priced by about $4k.
My 1972 LeMans was this exact color scheme. And yes, it had a vinyl roof that was bubbling pretty bad underneath. But, I didn’t care because it was only a $500 beater. Looking under the hood of this certainly brings back memories, super easy to fix.
I don’t know about Novas in basic trim looking better than any other base car , we had a “true” base model honey gold 73 Nova , 6cyl ,manual 3 on the tree , vinyl seats ,no carpet, radio or any brightwork other than small dog dish hubcaps . It makes this Nova look like a Caddy . Still probably the most plain looking ugly car we have ever owned
Have some baby moons with chef emblem that would look good! And from a 72.
If it had a Tennessee title it’s had more than two owners! I’m pretty sure that’s one I owned and I was second or third owner.
texas borne texas bred