No Reserve Real SS: 1970 Chevrolet Nova
Pity the poor 1970 Chevrolet Nova (but not too much, there were 307K* built) but the Super Sport (SS) performance version was overshadowed by internal competition in the form of the Chevelle SS and the Camaro SS & Z28. Even at that, the Nova SS still managed a 20K* unit output that year so not too shabby a showing. And for your review, we have one from that pinnacle performance year. It is located in Middleburg, Florida and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $15,550 with twenty bids tendered so far.
Basically a continuation from the ’69 model (which was a continuation of the ’68 version), the Nova SS occupied the compact performance slot with competition from Plymouth (the new Duster 340) and Dodge with the Dart GT. Ford’s fading Falcon and newly introduced Maverick didn’t offer up a true performance version, though the mid-year Falcon-in-a-midsized-Fairlane certainly did.
Nova SS in ’70 meant a standard 300 gross HP, 350 CI “Turbo-Fire” V8 engine. The sales brochure will tell you that was as good as it got, but print advertisements from the era extolled the virtues of both a 350 and 375 HP 396 CI big-block engine. The seller of this Nova states that it’s not driven regularly and the valve covers in the trunk may have something to do with this Chevy’s infrequent use. A Turbo-Hydramatic three-speed automatic transmission is employed and the whole shebang drives a heavy-duty twelve-bolt differential.
The Forest Green exterior finish is pretty well kaput and there is surface rust bleed-through on the horizontal surfaces. Also noted is rust in the fender legs – no surprise there. Other observations include a rusted-through leading edge on the hood, taillight lenses that appear to have been pinched from a ’72 model, and wheels that were maybe sourced from a third-gen Monte Carlo. But the rest, including the fake hood louvers, SS badges, and blacked-out rear valance, are all in place as expected.
Inside, we find optional bucket seats with a center console replete with engine gauges – a great inclusion. The black vinyl upholstery looks OK as in no splits but the interior is pretty grimy with observable amounts of mold – no surprise for a car domiciled outdoors in north Florida. But the entire environment is complete right down to the Delco radio. This is an A/C equipped Nova but the A6 compressor is in the trunk with the valve covers. A ’70 Nova interior can be redone essentially from an online catalog.
Questions abound of course, as in what’s really up with the engine and why the far-away image (and why the removed valve covers – a problem, off for servicing, or just the originals that were replaced?) It would also be good to know what, if anything, is lurking underneath this X-body. The floors are obscured by ratty carpet so inside shots are to no avail. Regardless, as the prices of Chevelles and Camaros have reached stratospheric heights, it only makes sense that a Nova SS, especially the last of the high-compression version, will follow suit. Nine bidders are after this no-reserve offering so I imagine it will find a new home, one where it will be hopefully improved, soon!
*According to Nova Resource
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Comments
Please help me understand this.
The ’69 Nova “SS” featured a few days ago was deemed as suspect in the title and description for its autheticity.
Yet this one is declared “Real Deal”.
The ’69 represented that its biuld sheet is available yet this one does not. Build sheet is unassailable proof.
They both look real to me, if the
sellers are honest.
Why the inconsistency?
Honest question.
Ahaha
We seem to be getting the same attitude in canada
One side lies
And
The other is not allowed to voice …
In spite of the snark coming from some commenters about lies and not being able to voice, it’s a matter of research and interpretation.
I can’t say what measures or research methods one author, or another, may use to verify a car’s authenticity, you would have to question that author. I can only speak for myself, and besides the fact that a ’69 Nova SS cannot be determined by VIN (SS was an add-on package to the two-door V8 coupe and known as RPO Z26), I see no reason to suspect that this Nova SS is anything but a genuine SS – it has all of the indicators that an SS should possess, things that usually look altered, removed or forgotten on a clone. Yes, a genuine, not reproduced, build sheet is the best proof.
Honest answer.
JO
Great reply but you did not get the true meaning of my comment
As always there is some great info coming from this group
And yours is mostly spot on
I think it’s a matter of a gut feeling. I saw the 69 that was up the other day, and if the seller has the build sheet, and it’s not on fresh crisp white paper, then it probably is the real deal. I don’t know though, just too many things were off on that listing. The angle of the photos, the lack of options, the lack of engine pics. It just all added up to someone trying to hide something. I know these period of cars it’s hard to nail down on what’s real and not real without the build sheet, since so many options could be picked and added individually, but that 69 just seems off. In the last pic of the listing you can see a bit of the engine compartment from that interior shot with the hood open. The battery is in the right place, but you can see it’s got a fake old school cover on top of it to make it look like an old battery. Normally that wouldn’t be a flag, but why spend money on something like that, when so much else needs help? And that’s definitely a topper since batteries that style stopped in the mid to late 70s, though the Delco Eye lasted almost till 2000. If that’s faked and dolled up, then what else have they dolled up for the “barn find special” sale? Again though, all that goes out the window if the seller can produce the build sheet.
As for this 70, sure it’s missing the build sheet, but it’s got enough options that imaging someone springing for the SS package isn’t hard to see. Sure, the taillights are wrong (only late 71 and 72s had the larger reverse lens) but maybe the owner screwed up their first attempt at adding the blue dots and these are replacements. Everything else seems right for this car and doesn’t look like it was added after the fact. I don’t know, again, it’s just a gut feeling. I think that if someone was checking the boxes for air, console, buckets, gauges, and deluxe interior, throwing the SS package in there isn’t too far off base.
Gut feel can play a part if you have a gut feel. If you don’t, you have to rely on research.
I worked for a Chevrolet dealership for a few years, a long time ago, and learned a tremendous amount during my time there. I have also owned a lot of old Chevies over the years. Others have not had either benefit. Even though I do have a gut feel with certain subjects, nothing replaces old-fashioned research and I still rely on that as much as possible. And the problem is complicated by the myriad of makes that we cover – it’s everything and it’s impossible to have a gut-feel around a small, obscure marque that is completely strange to you as an automotive author. The problem is that research, as convenient as it is online, is not always accurate. Forums, in particular, are full of individuals who think, feel, surmise, etc. I want to talk to the person who “knows” and that can be difficult to discern online.
When it’s all said and done, you have to go with what you have uncovered. Does gut-feel have a role? Sure, but it can lead you astray too.
Thx,
JO
As a kid , i was always attracted to the nova and i owned one in my twenties
The interior is what turned me off and the lack of a topless model
That cheap dash is as ugly as it mopar competition
But one cannot deny the general’s great exterior design
Their rusting capabilities must also be noted so the floor /frame must be inspected but that doesn’t seem to slow down the bidders
did you ever see a 70 Torino dash ? Best as a taxi … or do you just hate Mopars ?
I love some chrysler products , cuda / challenger but i always found that their construction was cheap looking and many had such cheap looking interiors and the nova was one of the uglies from chevy
I am not partial to any brand as i am a car lover , the car must have the right combination of all
Bone, he’s just a dumbass who was spanked by mopars and he hasn’t gotten over it yet.
The very first car I dreamed about buying was a 70 Nova with a transplant 454 and a 4 gear. I got my pop to look at it, until he looked under the hood. I ended up with a 68 Catalina, but was happy with it for a year after learning how to rebuild an engine. I probably wouldn’t have lived to be 18 if I bought that Nova, especially only knowing how to floor that old Pontiac.
Got the same. fuel tank in my Scout that never leaves the farm:-)
My 69 Nova was forest green/black vinyl top ralley wheels. Bought it new in Bothel, Washington. $2700.00 out the door. There were less expensive cars available but my wife liked the Nova and I like the big V8 and 4 speed gears.
God bless America
I had a 69 Nova SS396/375 that I purchased when it was only a couple of years old with 5k on the clock. What was odd was it dad every exterior option one could order including top yet it had a base interior with a bench seat. It had spun a bearing so I installed a L88 with open chambered aluminum heads… boy what a car!
My next door neighbor had a 375hp 396 4 speed with every option you could get except the folding sunroof. It was a beautiful car that met it’s end in a crash like so many did.