1971 Chevy Nova - Inline 250 / Powerglide / 4 Wheel Drum

Description for Chevrolet Nova 1971

1971 ChevroletChevy Nova
Continuing to downsize my toy collection. I picked this Nova up June of this year just outside of Philly non running and driving (of course). I put in a little wrench time and got her back road worthy and for the last 4 months she's been my "Beater Bomb Nova". I like a ratty muscle car or two in my collection...something you can drive easily have fun and bombing around town in. I've had Chevelle, Malibus, Cutlass', Skylarks, and Camaros. With that said, undeniably the 69-72 Nova body style is my favorite of all time.
Anyway, this is a what you see is what you get deal. The car is TAGGED, RUNNING, AND DRIVABLE so we will start out with that. The motor is a Straight 6 (250 CI) and the trans is a 2 speed Powerglide.The powerglide goes into gearpositively and has a nice 1-2 shift.A pretty underwhelming powertrain (by any stretch of the imagination)but if you know Straight 6's, they NEVER let you down and ALWAYS start. For those looking at this wishing for a V8...I've done the swap no less then 4 times in past cars i've owned and its straight forward (provided you have the tools and wherewithal to complete swap). Pull straight 6 motor...remove I6 mounting brackets....install SBC motor mount brackets...install SBC 350...Miller time.
All lighting works as it should (brake lights, tail lights, head lights) however some of the trim and accessory light will need some work (see pictures). Car was missing some of the marker lamp assemblies but I purchased some used ones off of ebay and they are included in the sale.
In terms of rot and rust, it does have it's fair share of problem areas (see pics). Car will need lower patches in the front fenders (common on Novas) as well as wheel arch patches on the passenger side quarter panel (also common...see pics). It looks like at some point a pervious owner tried to repair but bungled it. Is what it is. I was surprisedfor a northern car that the rest of the floors and trunk pan were as solid as they were (as those are usually swiss cheese on northern cars). The previous owner did the best he could patching the front floor boards. It's not the way I woulda done it but, there is metal there (fastened by rivets) over top of the original floor. Half pans are cheap if you wish to fix.Wire wheel, seal, paint and call it good would be the treatment I would give the good pan sections if I were keeping car. The rear frame rails are solid with only surface rust on them (no soft spots that I could find).
Here is what I PERSONALLY have done to the car to get it running and make road worthy:
Work Performed

• Rebuilt the MonojetCarburetor. That's right...it's a ONE BARELL CARB!!! One of the main reasons it wouldn't start was it had a BUNCH of junk in the bowl and clogging the jet. Stripped it down, cleaned, installed all need jets, float, filter, and gaskets and she fired right up. See the video below of it running blipping the throttle...no misses or sputters. Starts right up.

• Drained fuel tank. Got as much crude and junk out of the tank as I could (siphoned). It was mostly old gas crud and what not...I didn't see any major rust flakes the integrity of the tank is good. I'm running a filter pre fuel pump and post to catch the remaining loose particles. 5 months later and the carb hasn't clogged or chocked out so I think the cleaning was worthwhile.

• Replaced the ENTIRE BRAKE SYSTEM!!! Car was manual 4 way drums and3 out of 4 of the wheel cylinders were leaking when I got it. I replaced the master cylinder (drum/drum), installed a 12" Delco Moraine Booster, skinned new hard lines for front right and left...rear right and left...and the front to back line feeding the rear circuit. Each wheel got a new wheel cylinder, soft lines, shoes, and shoe hardware. Simply put...I'm a brake whore lol Everything is new. Being that I've done this quiet a few times, and would have eventually upgraded to discs, all that is needed for the conversion to disc is disc spindles, disc master, and a disc/drum combo valve. Speedway Motors sells a disc conversion kit for $320 which has every thing you need to complete the swap. I've taken care of the PITA part (running new hard lines which will fit the upgraded disc master and combo valve) so there won't be any guess work or need to modify existing lines with union fittings (YIKES!!!). See pictures.

• Replaced cap, rotor, points, and condenser. Points were gapped to .018.

• Installed Oil pressure and Water temp gauges. Cheap summit mechanical gauges, but do the job they need to do.

• Replaced Thermostat with 195 stant unit, flushed radiator and refilled with fresh coolant.

• Rewired tail lights and replaced lens covers. They didn't work when I got them (often the case). Someone had *attempted* to do some creative splices with the marker but clearly didn't know what they were doing. I ordered new pigtails for both the brake and tail/turn signal lamps and wired them in. All brake, tail, and turn signal lights function as they should now. Note, I was not able to get the reverse lamps to light. I think it may be the reverse light switch (as I trust my wiring skills) but have not got around to replacing the switch.

• Replaced valve cover gasket and painted valve cover. Gasket was leaking a tad so I just replaced it. The cover was pretty weak looking so I hit it with a few coats of crinkle black. Came out pretty trick in my opinion.

Still To Do/ Problems

• Bodywork if you want something nice. The pictures tell a better story then I can so look ALL of them over. There will need to be some cutting and welding.

• One seater currently. Passenger seat was missing when I purchased.

• Exhuast needs work (see pictures).

• Front suspension is old and crunchy. OG ball joints with the rivits, tie rod end, sway bar links, shocks, and springs (see pics). I always replace this stuff when I do the drum to disc conversion (as it all has to come apart anyways) and that would be my recommendation to you as well. Rockauto.com is you friend here. Buy Moog if you can.

• Oddly enough, car has a tow hitch on it lol (See Pics). I tried to remove it with a break bar and some PB Blaster but couldn't get it to budge. I think it makes the car look stupid so I would remove it. It'll probably need the nut heads torched off as my MAP gas and PB technique did not get the job done.

Exterior

Brakes
Carb
Misc
Videos

1971 Chevy Nova - Test Drive - YouTube

Video will open in a new window

[isdntekvideo]

1971 Chevy Nova - Engine Running - YouTube

Video will open in a new window

[isdntekvideo] Terms & Conditions

• This is about as accurate an assessmentI can give on the car during my repairs and time owning it.I have provided PLENTY OF LARGE PICTURES and TWO VIDEOS!!!! for you to looks the car over. I don't buy junk...nor do I sell it. It's an honest car for an honest price. With that said, please, PLEASE, PLEASE...NO DEADBEATS BIDDERS!!!!

• Buyer is responsible for all cost associated with transport or shipping the car to there location. I can assist buyer within reason with getting the car to their location but please try and have your transport plan situated in a reasonable time frame (i.e. A month is too long for me to store car for you after purchase).

• A $200 paypal deposit is due within 48 hours of listings end. This deposit is non negotiable and non-refundable. The remaining balance is due in cash on pickup.

• Car is being sold AS-IS.

Good luck yall,
Average Joe