1975 Chevrolet Nova

Description

Judging books by their covers is a mistake we were taught not to make as children, and this 1975 Chevrolet Nova is an excellent example for us adults. Packing a stout 406 cubic inch V8, it's not the car you remember from the smog-choked '70s and instead represents more speed per dollar than just about anything else in our showroom.

Not many of these cars have survived the past four decades, mostly because they weren't all that much fun to drive. That's been neatly remedied here and the looks have been upgraded to match. You'll note that the freshened Nova shape looks rather good in bright red, and the paint job was completed around 2010, so it still looks quite fresh. Although it might be sacrilegious to bowtie fans, the hood scoop was borrowed from a Mustang and neatly grafted onto the Nova's flat hood and nobody can argue that it doesn't look right. This Nova clearly led a charmed life, as it was neither neglected nor abused and it shows in the straight bodywork and good gaps, while the glass and weather-stripping remain in excellent shape. It shows a few signs of use, as it has been a fair-weather daily driver for a few years, but even details like the grille, bumpers, and taillights remain in excellent shape. And just for fun, someone has added a '400' badge to the deck lid, a little tip of the hat to the guy you just passed to let him know what happened.

The no-frills interior is ideal for this car's attitude, providing maximum performance with minimum baggage. The bench seats were reupholstered in the correct materials using factory patterns, and there are fresh carpets on the floor. The door panels feature woodgrained accents that brighten it up at least a little bit in the otherwise all-black interior. A monster tach on top of the dash works with factory gauges and a set of auxiliary instruments underneath to monitor the warmed-over small block up front, so you know where this car's focus really is. There's an AM/FM/cassette stereo in the dash that powers speakers in the kick panels and on the rear package shelf and someone has installed a set of matching carpeted floor mats to keep things tidy. There's plenty of space in this Nova, even in the back seat, and with a good-sized trunk, there's plenty of room for your gear plus a full-sized spare tire.

The 406 cubic inch V8 is a strong runner that's been freshened with a set of high flow heads, an upgraded camshaft, and an Edelbrock 4-barrel carburetor with matching intake manifold. With an .030 overbore, it works out to a very impressive 406 cubes and puts big block power in a small block package that's ideal for the mid-sized Nova. A few chrome dress up pieces plus Chevy Orange paint give it a dressy look, but once you hear it rumbling through the long-tube headers and Flowmaster mufflers, you won't mistake this for a trailer queen. The TH350 3-speed automatic shifts easily and is always read to drop down a gear, and the 10-bolt rear end has 3.42 gears on a Posi-Traction limited slip. It's mostly original underneath but it's obvious it's been someplace warm all its life, and the later Rally-style wheels help with the sleeper image.

Affordable, fast fun, this Nova brings plenty of horsepower to play with and a clean, well-maintained look that has its own appeal. Call today!