I miss my '63 Nova wagon, but those damn tailgate parts were so hard to find. My first car was a lesson in PCH, especially with a T5 and way too much torque for it.
Yes, this sleepy street stormer Chevy II wagon beats the donked-out version like a stepchild. I had one much like this way too many years ago. It was a lot of fun. But I disagree that primered is the best way to run a sleeper, especially with that cowl induction scoop. It's too anonymous to sell as a street sleeper.
If it were me, I'd go for the standard Chevy gold, a powder blue or dark brown, with wide matching painted steel wheels and cherry poverty caps. Real Grandma-class look. After that I'd primp the interior and if it's running a three-speed (who needs a four-speed for street or drag strip action if a stroked 383 is really stout) I'd run the shifter back up on the column. And run a real quiet single exhaust with a turndown to hide that it's the size of a small sewer pipe.
Finally, I'd drive around the hardcore motorhead hangouts and pose as a dink -- chirp my tires as I go around corners, rev the engine with the clutch out, then let it lug when I put it into gear. Run with a couple of my biggest, baddest buddies and see who wanted to come out to play. For cash.
@Mad_Science: I used to do it all the time. Lots of folks had no idea how light they were. My '63 was 2700lbs with a bitchin' stereo. Even with one-wheel drive, it would amaze people.
How many different kinds of awesome is this? Quite a few. Take care of the (minor) rust and it'll be perfect; alternatively, Fuck It, It's California, It'll Last.
The only way to improve the sleeperness of this ride is to put one hubcap on it, not one per side, just one...and misalign the front bumper so it's 1.5" lower on one side than the other.
It's really close on the "I don't give a shit" look, however. The leftover holes from a dent puller are classic, BTW.
"Yeah, I was pulling this dent out, but ran outta beer before getting the Bondo on, so...fuck it, it looks fine."
Donks are invariable fail. Always. But I've come to believe that they might, in the best possible benefit of a doubt, represent a desperate attempt to add interest to Jelly Beans because there really isn't much else you can do with them. This would not, however, explain donking a classic, so obviously I don't have my theory completely worked out.
As for this little Chunky wagon, all matte black primer might be too obvious. Right now he's in keeping with tradition of matte black hoods, though--I guess it depends on what color he has in mind for the paint job. I'd leave it alone, except for trying to arrest the rust monster scabs.
And what a lucky dude, daily driver Vista Cruiser, back up Nova II wagon. Life is just not fair.
"Is a primered drag-race Nova less offensive than a donked one?" That question was rhetorical, right? The only thing wrong with the black/green wagon was the horrible wheels. The only thing wrong with this one is the owner's plan to get a nice paint job. Pretty cars are harder to win stoplight drags with, because people expect pretty cars to be fast. This car as it is probably doesn't get a second look unless it's walking away from you.
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
Yes, leave it in primer...looks more like a 'sleeper' than if it were painted. These 'Down On The Street' articles have made me more aware of all the classics in my town. 1964 was a good year for classy cars.
Looking at the grille/headlights, and taillights, isn't this a 66/67? IIRC, the 65's were the last with round(er) headlight bezels and the shorter taillights.
Either way, it's sacrilege. My 1963 Chevy II Nova wagon is rolling over in it's grave.
@Turboner: I think it is a '66/67, but the Server Hamsters will be Very Angry if I change the headline now (stuff blows up when we do that). Sorry about the mistake- I'm on the road and without my reference library now.
This is not a 1965 wagon. THIS IS A 1966 NOVA WAGON! It is obvious that this is the 2nd Gen 1966 model due to the tall/skinny tail lights, the solid (non-ribbed) front headlight frames, and the rise in sculpture line just before the back fender below the window. 1966 Nova's RULE!!
'65 Chevy II wagon: Nice!
Rattle can paint job: Perfect!
Painted over body cancer: Billetproof!
Various appropriate speed stickers: Love 'em
Lime green donks: WTF were you thinking man!?
Van Sarockin, rogue trebuchet promoted this comment
joneez wants the clunkers he paid for was starred
joneez wants the clunkers he paid for was unstarred
Murilee, sometimes I notice that a gallery will come around in the old friendly style instead of this abomination (which simply does not function properly for me). Is it safe to assume that this is because all galleries are initially submitted in the format that works, and only once in a very great while will Nibbles allow it? Or is it something more sinister?
The below section is directed at Nibbles' handlers only and should not be construed as criticism of anybody but the ones who foisted this abominable, buggy and unfriendly "new and improved" site format:
[rant]Sirs; your "improvements" are anything but. Picture posting is spotty at best, it capriciously crops and/or resizes images with no real apparent rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes editing your post will cause images to vanish into the ether, other times it does not. Editing posts makes all HTML formatting disappear. Your "improved" galleries will NOT under any circumstances show me any image larger than a thumbnail for more than a second (which requires clearing my browser cache for each view). When comments exceed the set page length, they fall off the face of the internet, never to be seen again (unless you dig them up in the author's profile page, but then you don't get to see any of the responses). The reverse chronological order of comment posting makes reading in order inconvenient if not impossible and leads to many, many repeated comments by people who might have bothered to read through first, if it wasn't such a pain in the ass. There is no real visual distinction between an original post and a reply to it, other than the @username: at the beginning of it, indenting would be nice. somebody posted a nice Greasemonkey script over at Lifehacker that addressed the reply and gray text issues (forgot to mention that one) and made the comments somewhat easier to read, but apparently some changes were made that rendered it useless through anomalous behavior and (AFAIK) most people who loved it have had to quit using it.[/rant]
These are the most glaring of my issues with the commenting system, and by no means constitutes a complete list. Thank you for tolerating my little rant.
[Steps down off soapbox]
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
@Mike the Dog: As of today, I've noticed the reply link being preserved. As of 2.58 CST, hearts are illuminated correctly, but a quick test shows that HTML is still being lost, and the loss of the oldest comments is a far greater issue.
1) Take 3' section of 3/4" heater hose and plug one end.
2) Fill hose 3/4 full of lead bird shot (BBs will do in a pinch).
3) Plug the other end.
4) Apply liberally to the perpetrator of this visual offense until he sees the error of his ways, and agrees to replace those horrid wheels with slot mags or steelies and dog dishes.
5) Graciously allow perp to paint steelies green, if he wants.
Seriously, I like the car. I even like the green stripe that seems to offend so many here. Even at its most liberal though, my keen appreciation of all things ironic cannot deal with those horrid wheels.
Edited by Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. at 08/08/09 3:17 PM
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was starred
Mike the Dog is sitting by the door with a pair of cow slippers, and a very sad face. was unstarred
08/24/09
08/23/09
08/23/09
If it were me, I'd go for the standard Chevy gold, a powder blue or dark brown, with wide matching painted steel wheels and cherry poverty caps. Real Grandma-class look. After that I'd primp the interior and if it's running a three-speed (who needs a four-speed for street or drag strip action if a stroked 383 is really stout) I'd run the shifter back up on the column. And run a real quiet single exhaust with a turndown to hide that it's the size of a small sewer pipe.
Finally, I'd drive around the hardcore motorhead hangouts and pose as a dink -- chirp my tires as I go around corners, rev the engine with the clutch out, then let it lug when I put it into gear. Run with a couple of my biggest, baddest buddies and see who wanted to come out to play. For cash.
08/23/09
I hope he prowls the streets at night, waiting to embarrass 5.0s and Camaros.
08/24/09
08/23/09
08/23/09
It's really close on the "I don't give a shit" look, however. The leftover holes from a dent puller are classic, BTW.
"Yeah, I was pulling this dent out, but ran outta beer before getting the Bondo on, so...fuck it, it looks fine."
08/23/09
As for this little Chunky wagon, all matte black primer might be too obvious. Right now he's in keeping with tradition of matte black hoods, though--I guess it depends on what color he has in mind for the paint job. I'd leave it alone, except for trying to arrest the rust monster scabs.
And what a lucky dude, daily driver Vista Cruiser, back up Nova II wagon. Life is just not fair.
08/23/09
08/23/09
08/23/09
Yes, leave it in primer...looks more like a 'sleeper' than if it were painted. These 'Down On The Street' articles have made me more aware of all the classics in my town. 1964 was a good year for classy cars.
08/09/09
Either way, it's sacrilege. My 1963 Chevy II Nova wagon is rolling over in it's grave.
08/09/09
08/08/09
08/09/09
08/08/09
Rattle can paint job: Perfect!
Painted over body cancer: Billetproof!
Various appropriate speed stickers: Love 'em
Lime green donks: WTF were you thinking man!?
08/08/09
The below section is directed at Nibbles' handlers only and should not be construed as criticism of anybody but the ones who foisted this abominable, buggy and unfriendly "new and improved" site format:
[rant]Sirs; your "improvements" are anything but. Picture posting is spotty at best, it capriciously crops and/or resizes images with no real apparent rhyme or reason to it. Sometimes editing your post will cause images to vanish into the ether, other times it does not. Editing posts makes all HTML formatting disappear. Your "improved" galleries will NOT under any circumstances show me any image larger than a thumbnail for more than a second (which requires clearing my browser cache for each view). When comments exceed the set page length, they fall off the face of the internet, never to be seen again (unless you dig them up in the author's profile page, but then you don't get to see any of the responses). The reverse chronological order of comment posting makes reading in order inconvenient if not impossible and leads to many, many repeated comments by people who might have bothered to read through first, if it wasn't such a pain in the ass. There is no real visual distinction between an original post and a reply to it, other than the @username: at the beginning of it, indenting would be nice. somebody posted a nice Greasemonkey script over at Lifehacker that addressed the reply and gray text issues (forgot to mention that one) and made the comments somewhat easier to read, but apparently some changes were made that rendered it useless through anomalous behavior and (AFAIK) most people who loved it have had to quit using it.[/rant]
These are the most glaring of my issues with the commenting system, and by no means constitutes a complete list. Thank you for tolerating my little rant.
[Steps down off soapbox]
08/08/09
Edit: /hornet's nest, meet stick
08/08/09
2) Fill hose 3/4 full of lead bird shot (BBs will do in a pinch).
3) Plug the other end.
4) Apply liberally to the perpetrator of this visual offense until he sees the error of his ways, and agrees to replace those horrid wheels with slot mags or steelies and dog dishes.
5) Graciously allow perp to paint steelies green, if he wants.
Seriously, I like the car. I even like the green stripe that seems to offend so many here. Even at its most liberal though, my keen appreciation of all things ironic cannot deal with those horrid wheels.
08/08/09
08/08/09
08/08/09
I read that as "Graverobber's love child. "