Jalopnik
The thing that we can sometimes forget when we go to car shows full of 60s Detroit iron is that the Chevy II/Nova was sold as a cheap economy car. A starter car. At the car shows, you'll see obsessively restored examples, usually loaded with every possible option... but there was a time when beat-to-hell Novas were as common as trashed Cavaliers are today.
That's why it was nice to run across this daily-driver beater convertible in Alameda's West End. I spotted it right around the corner from the brown '74 Porsche 911 Targa.
I know it's a daily driver, because I talked to the owner for a minute before he hopped in the thing and drove off to his job 25 miles away. And, ugly as this car may be, it started right up and drove off without a single engine part coming out of the tailpipe.
Tall leaf-spring shackles are still with us! Just don't, you know, get too aggressive in the corners with this setup.
It's a bit down at the heels, but still has early-60s GM style. I'm pretty sure that front bumper isn't from a '63, and in fact this car may be a mishmash of several different years- 1963 seems to be the average vintage of the body parts.
Naturally, there's a bit of the typical body rust you get in old GM cars around here. Looks like none of it has reached Midwestern levels yet, though. And with a convertible, you don't have the rear window rust you usually get!
Even though we've all seen an octillion of these cars with nutso small-blocks, you couldn't get a factory-installed V8 until the 1964 model year. It's cool how GM was proud enough of the six to put a little I6 emblem on the fender.
The '63 Nova convertible listed at just $2472; the much slower and flimsier '63 Beetle convertible was priced a bit cheaper, at $2095.
Of course, the real competition for this car wasn't so much the Beetle; the $2344 Rambler American convertible and the $2470 Ford Futura were the real opponents.
Comments
My brother had a 68 and I had a 70 with 6 cylinders. My mom had a 73, yellow with a black vinyl top, 350 and a 4 speed (go mom!). There will always be a fond spot in my heart and a soft spot in my head for Chevy II's and Novas.
only one leaf hanging off that tall shackle? Isn't that rather unusual, or was the back of this thing just that light?
Back then, over at Ford, they liked to ask: "Is that a Chevy too?"
This example sure defines the word veteran!
Somebody on Bewitched had to drive one of these. Gladys Kravitz maybe?
That certainly can't be the original wheels and correct tire size - this II is now cruising on enormous meats.
I remember B-78-13s on the neighbor's II. They were very skinny and very tiny - how did those bias-belted rim-wrappers handle in the rain with a full load of school kids?
@Retiree: I don't think that's the proper shackle. Looks "modified" but they were pretty light.
My grandfather always tells the me story from back in '61-'62 when he used to work as a travelling salesman for a chain and sproket company.
The company was pushing all their salesman to renew their company leases in the new 'downsized' compacts, the Falcon,ChevyII,Dart and Tempest.
He's still proud that he went down to the dealer and leased a brand new full-sized Pontiac wagon.
He never drove anything smaller than a Continental, my grandfather. I think he's where I got my taste in cars.
Yes, that is one leaf in the back. The famed "Mono Leaf" from GM.It was cheap & it worked. What more could you expect from Chevrolet?
Did he buy it new? How many miles?
Big props keeping old iron alive! Gotta respect the humble Nova, too - it weighs, what, about 20% more than the Cavalier, and has about four times as much steel?
This old critter looks pretty good, all things considered. This is definitely not PCH - I'd love to take this rascal on. It'd be a snap.
And I don't even like Chevy.
The beautiful thing is, nobody drives a car like that every day because they have to.
Now if only that Nova convertible was in Project Car Hell. Instant vote from me.
Impressively weathered classic...the dull black streak under the filler cap is a nice touch. The droptop looks like some Coleman camping tent from Sears that's been converted into something to fit a car. Considering Cali. sun damage, I wonder many times that's been replaced.
I'm guessing there's a simple, stout 3-spd stick hooked up to that six.
This one brings back some memories. My dad 'inherited' a 64 ChevyII from a salesman in the company that had recently died. The company had just recently begun downsizing the company cars, and the sales guy that had this one was given the freedom to 'order' it from the lease company with the options he wanted. Well, the options he wanted were nothing .... except a 283 4V with a four speed. Even had the dog dish hub caps, and a bench seat!!! However, that damn thing was lightning quick. I couldn't drive, but my dad would let me shift from the passenger side. He would push in the clutch, and I would move the lever. Great fun for a 12 year old at he time!!!!
Damn, I miss the 60's ...........
I wonder if we could get GM's design department to whip up a couple "Ecotec" or "I4" badges. Or in 30 years, are we just going to marvel at the quaint little "Hybrid" badges?
I lost a battle with the rear bumper of an S-10 in my '66 coupe. Totally trashed the front cap!
That was a great little car,and it was pretty quick even with a stock 350.
That happened back in '96, and it's still rotting at my parents house. It's not a pretty sight. Maybe someday...
@AllenK: ...and your parents house is where, exactly?
Just curious....
The reason why it was hot stuff to have the "6" badge on the fender was that the base Nova came with a FOUR back then.
My first car was a '63 Nova, purchased in 1977 for $225. "The Box" had the 230 CID I-6 and PowerGlide 2-speed auto ("Hey, where's third gear???").
White 2-door hardtop coupe. No rust, and only 75K on the clock. Bought it from an actual little old lady.
No seatbelts, metal dash, 4-wheel drums. VERY safe, that car.
The car was virtually indestructible, and while owning it I got paid a $275 insurance claim for a rear-ender, then sold the car for $250 in 1979. Good return on investment.
I also spent more than the value of the car in a stereo....Pioneer 8-track tape deck, The ubiquitous Jensen Triax speakers, and a HUGE 40-Watt amplifier. 40 WHOLE WATTS!!!
Oh, how I wish I still had that car, just so I could drop a small-block and a 4-speed in it for serious hoonage.
@Mad_Science:
Do you think you've seen my car? Or do you have something up your sleeve.. :)
"The Chevrolet Nova sold poorly in Spanish-speaking countries because its name translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish."
This is a urban legend that I did not notice being shared here.
"It's the classic cautionary tale about the pitfalls of doing business in foreign countries that can be found in hundreds (if not thousands) of books about marketing: General Motors introduced their Chevrolet Nova model of automobile into a Spanish-speaking market, then scratched their heads in puzzlement when it sold poorly. GM executives were baffled until someone finally pointed out to them that "nova" translates as "doesn't go" in Spanish. The embarrassed automobile giant changed the model name to the Caribe, and sales of the car took off."
More about it here [www.snopes.com]
@FreeMan: lol i know! in Australia, that would be total madness! Our potholes would break up a car like this one, in about 300 miles!
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