350 V8 4-Speed: 1976 Chevrolet Nova SS
As a fourth-generation car, and most people would say the last real generation of Nova, this car looks great to me. And, it’s orange! And, it’s an SS! This beauty is a 1976 Chevrolet Nova SS and it’s located in Houghton Lake, Michigan. The seller has it posted on Craigslist and they’re asking $8,000 for this tangerine dream.
Ok, maybe this isn’t a dream Nova compared to some earlier cars, but it checks quite a few boxes for me. First off, it looks almost perfect, at least body-wise. And, it’s orange. Come on, who doesn’t love an orange car? (hey, put your hands down in the back row, I saw that) It also is an SS and it has a 350 V8 and a 4-speed manual transmission. This is one sweet ride, there is no question about it. I’m not comparing it to some 650-hp custom first-generation Nova but for 1976 this was one nice car and it still is 42 years later. The Rally wheels were a part of the $187 SS package for the Nova.
The fourth-generation Novas were made for the 1975 through 1979 model years, after that the Nova fell hard. It became basically a rebadged Toyota which normally I’m all for, being a huge Toyota fan. But a front-wheel-drive Nova?! These rear-wheel-drive cars would take a handful of years off while the X-body cars (front-drive Citation, Skylark, Phoenix, Omega, etc.) took over for GM. In 1985, they reintroduced the Nova as the front-drive economy car.
The SS package for the Nova in this era included a black mesh grille, a beefier suspension, and the steering wheel seen here – sans the aftermarket cover. This car also has the coveted 4-speed manual. This is it for interior photos, I know, disappointing. I can see a crack on top of the dash and what looks like some degraded plastic trim around the gauge cluster, and I’m guessing there are more issues or there would be more photos, that’s usually the way it works. The seller’s entire description is as follows: “1976 Chevrolet Nova SS car was purchased in Nevada absolutely no rust anywhere! All original ss 350 with 4 speed manual trans”.
Here’s that Chevy 350 cubic-inch V8 with a 4-barrel carb which would have had 165 hp and 260 ft-lb of torque. There’s no word on how or if it runs, but I’m assuming that it runs. This would have been a pretty nice car for 1976 and I think it still is. The seller has it priced right in-between NADA’s average and high retail value. Are any of you fans of: 1) A fourth-generation Nova? 2) Orange cars? 3) A fourth-generation orange Nova SS with a 350 and 4-speed? I see some hands, that’s nice. Mine is raised, too.
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Comments
This is a rare (valuable?) ’76 Nova SS. What’s not to love except well, maybe the color. It’s a factory 4-speed with an in-dash tachometer and console gauges. Save the factory wheels. Then, mount some customs rims, add flowmasters and finally get the stance right and it would look and sound awesome. This is only the second ’76 Nova SS with a factory 4-speed that I’ve ever seen.
The color is perfect!
I have one, a true 1976 4spd car,with the rarest option of all,rear 1/4 windows open,black deluxe interior bucket and console, it did not come with all the factory gauges,but they are around.owned it for 25 yers.
I like the body style, the fact that’s it’s a 4 speed, and the color is cool ! (I had a orange ’77 Corvette) You don’t see too many in stock condition like this , and it appears to be well taken care of. Good luck to the new owner, it should be a hit at local car shows.
Posted 28 minutes ago, gone already. Who’s suprised?
My folks had a 76 hatchback. My brother and I would sleep there at the drive in. We didn’t keep it long. The color was a precursor to the reason why. Lemon yellow. It was a dog. Spent more time in the shop than on the road. Folks traded it in on a red and white Buick LeSabre. My mom loved that car.
Butt ugly in 76 and butt ugly today.
Working for Chevy in those years and manuals were not common. There may have been 20,000 or so 3-speeds and a couple of thousand 4 speeds, likely less than 1% of all produced that year. Chevrolet didn’t want to make the Nova a Camaro competitor. They also were reeling from fuel issues and leaded gas, the charge was already on to build economical cars and I believe the Citation was the replacement, when they quit building these in 1978. As much as I like these, that “Halloween” paint job with the white top makes me think I would only drive it at night, when I could sneak up on it. Great find.
I like it color and all, not surprised it’s gone already at that price.
I had this til bout 10 yrs ago… & recently seen er on YouTube on Hazzard Homecomin event in Virginia. She still looks just as good today.
My ’75 Nova looked like that too. Unfortunately the smoke was blue from when it blew its piston rings! I had to ride around in a big cloud of stinky oil smoke until my dad had the motor rebuilt, which seemed to take forever.
I have to admit, most `75`79 Novas have called it quits by now; either eaten alive by the tin worm or beaten to death. One thing to watch on these X-bodies: the rear spring shackles! Ever driven behind one of these, and seen it “dog-track” down the road in a crooked fashion? That’s due to the rear springs, And most suffered that malady. But for a Nova fan, this one just might do!
There is a yellow one of these close by that’s been sitting in a driveway for at least 15 years, uncovered, never touched or moved. It has a hood mounted tach that’s probably not a stock option.
I’m sure it is one of those “Not for sale, I’m going to fix it up someday” stories.
Neither valuable or desirable, but none the less a nice car and fair price. A good starting point for someone looking to enjoy older cars and can’t find a Z28, LS-6 or L-79. Clean it up and enjoy it because you are not going to find many more like it. Good luck !
The color is very period.
I think I’d pack the original mechanical components away and upgrade this to modern LS motor and trans., brakes, steering and suspension, ending up with a fun and cool retro ride that can always be returned to stock someday if desired.
I think I’d even enhance the ’70s vibe by color matching the wheels(or a replacement set) with some of that orange. I guess that maybe that was more of a Pontiac thing but I think it would work here. Just my $0.02.
Rear wheel drive, manual transmission and V-8 engines are always going to be in demand. There was a navy blue one with white stripes back in the day that looked very sharp.
Love the color and these are hard to find not beaten to death.
This model was sold in Mexico in 1978. It was called the Malibu Rallye.
Here is a picture of the grille.
I almost bought a black on that was all original with a no-smog 350, 4 speed and factory air, but I missed it. It was super clean.
These Novas had special wheels here in Mexico.
Those look a lot like the kelsey hayes wheels chrysler had to recall in the late 60’s early 70’s for cracking. Wouldn’t surprise me if gm got them on the cheap and put them on Mexican novas. :(
Not Mopar….that was a 69 offered wheel in aluminum with some what standard acorn nuts that got loose sooner than expected….also in 4 1/2 vrs GM’s 4 3/4…..
kinda looks like a 70’s Jaguar wheel..
I grew up with these cars and the corporate twins. Steve A is right. Butt ugly then and butt ugly now…
Nice rare 4-speed car but surprised it does not have A/C being purchased in Nevada since I live in Nevada!
Mark, where did you see this car is from Nevada?
The write up says Michigan.
I had a 75 Custom Hatchback White interior 4 speed/350
Nice its still around…..
Anyone who says these or any other 60,s and 70,s Nova’s are butt ugly are probably looking in their mirror to much. Chevy Nova’s were some of the best selling automobiles ever so how ugly could they be ???
Can someone post a link to the ad for sale please?
Long gone Tom. The ad was back in October.
Thanks for letting me know. I’d like to know who owns it now so when I have a bundle of cash to go buy it.
My brother owned a near identicle orange with white interior 4 speed 350,3:73.
Tom, try doing a search for one on EBAY, then save the search. Every time one pops up you’ll get an email.
With a little luck, one may catch your interest. If that happens, send pictures!! lol
Love this car,i too have a 76 ss 4spd. they are hard to find and i see not ugly in it whatsoever, 1975 and 1976 are the last of standard built,after that they were metric,smaller spindles,axles,rear diff,all were 305. 76 is the last of what a nova use to be. the f41 suspension package was a nice touch with the special rallies,mine i s in canada,bought new by a friend of mine,he blew the engine the same day it was delivered,he was mad and returning the car,they wouldn’t take it back but promise him he would have back the next day.the dealer installed a bran new 1976 corvette l-82 in it which i still have. these ss nova’s have the same upper and lower control arms as the z-28 and the same close ratio steering box, the car drive’s extremely well handles very good in tight corners, when i removed the L-82 and shelved it i installed a 350 425 hp with 3.73 gears. that’s all this car ever needed to be like the muscle cars we remember. i run a 3 grove super T-10 comp + shifter. it’s a great car. good luck with her ,you found one of the last of the good.
I’ve always loved these 4th-gen Novas! If I could wave a magic wand at it, the only things I would change (other than putting it I’m my garage!) would be to lose the vinyl top, and make it a hatchback.
Hi, In December 1975; I special ordered a 1976 Nova, 2 door, light metallic blue. The car was ordered with the 350 four speed with console gages. The dealer told me that it would take eight weeks to get the car, also, that I needed to put down a $500 deposit. That was a lot of money back then. The car had $ 4002 sticker. Also the dealer said do you know how much insurance you will pay for the car. I received the car as ordered. I kept the motor after 163,000 miles. The Chicago salt really took its toll on the body. It was a fairly fast car, although I did not beat the car.