1962 Chevy II Nova 300

1962 Chevrolet Nova 300 Description

I bought this car in 1986 as a rolling basket case and spent the money on the drive train. I put the car on the road in 1988 and I took it off in 2000 and it has been barned since. In that time, I put on about 8,000 miles (car has 93,000 miles if the odometer is right)

Here is what was nice:

• Engine: .030 over 283 from a 60 Vette that was originally the 245 hp version with all new internals built from the ground-up by an old timer (not me.) It ran great.
• Tranny: T-10 4 speed (not sure of tranny origin) with a Hurst shifter. It spins/shifts properly except for a rear bearing noise that came up just before I took it off the road; new clutch and fly wheel combo in 99.
• Front seats are from a 1st gen Chevelle buckets (recovered professionally to match the rear) as the stock seats were bench.
• Nice set of American Racing aluminum rims.
• New Holley carb.
• Sandblasted and undercoated interior and bottom of car.
• Alpine stereo (now ridiculously outdated but still sounds decent.)

Here is what wasn't so nice:

• My folks tossed the binder with everything about I did to the car. My memory for specifics (exactly the rise and duration of the cam, for example) is gone after 30 years.
• While the paint is a head-turning color, it needs attention and the rear of the body has lots of glass. And there is noticeable rust in the usual spots in the front doors. (see pics)
• It's a 4 door so the money it would take for a show-grade trailer queen makes no sense.
• Has the velour headliner.
• Gears are a bit too high. Great on the highway, but lower gears would be better. The rest of the drive train (from the cam to the gears in the T-10) were intended to run with 3:73s but it has 3:08s.

Here is the state now:

When I took it off the road for the last time, it was a nice driver with some pop but mechanically it needed a drag link and the rear bearing in the tranny replaced (which is noisy but not leaking). I filled the engine with Mobile 1 to the intake, fogged the carb, put 100 octane fuel with marine Stabil in the tank, and took out the floor carpet to keep possible mice away. (My shop is pretty sealed up, but there are still mice occasionally.)

To get it going, it'll need points, plugs and maybe a distributor to get her to fire (once I got the oil out of the cylinders, it turned over great), the driveshaft dropped to fix the tranny bearing, some brake work (cleaning, fluid and seal on the master cylinder) due to sitting, the drag link replaced (loose joints), tires, and a floor carpet. At that point it would be a nice driver.

Add some body patchwork and freshen the paint and it'll be a head turner driver. Or pull out the drive train and put it in a frame-off and you have everything you need to go.

Having had a car for 30 years, I hate to let 'er go. But my kids have zero interest and I'd like a little more space in my shop.

email with questions