Seriously thinking of buying and DDing this

[K85 Octane]

I must like the pain or something

What do you guys think?

My cousin's car, he's the second owner for 20 years
1965 Nova Chevy II
Original Everything (except ignition, which original is in a box)
He's a machinist, so the motor was rebuilt, all factory GM parts were hunted down and used, ~30k miles
Has some new suspension parts in the trunk (control arms, new ball joint stuff) Rebuilt 2bbl carb, etc
Interior needs lots of work, nasty carpet was ripped out and never replaced to show clean floor pans. Has driver door panel.

I would end up selling my 2001 S10 (which seems to WANT to nickel and dime me, but I'm not buying it anything) and daily driving the Nova. The interior would get some seat covers and cleaning up, but would probably stay like this for a long time. Car drives really nice. Currently though, SoCal is really hot and humid, so I'll quickly wish the Nova had AC. The car wont change much, just make it a driver and drive it. More than likely frame connectors and mini subframe the front for A-arms. Tie in the two shock towers over the motor, replace all bushings, shocks, and go.

I'm thinking along the lines of Mike's '70 C10 paint idea. Clean up the rust (exterior and interior) and hit is with a clear coat to stop more. The body is in crazy nice shape, no rust anywhere as far as I can tell.

If anything, it's just a bunch of pictures for you guys to check out.

 

[K85 Octane]

 

[rdn2blazer]

Id be all over that in a red hot second. Get it!

 

[K85 Octane]

 

[Xtremegmc80]

I would so dd it!

 

[K85 Octane]

Oh yeah, I'm sure the Alternator isn't original and I remember the radiator being replaced, not sure its factory.

EDIT: and yes, that's a late 20's Gram Paige in under the tarp and his two tone yellow/tan beautiful '85 K20-K30.

 

[SouthernYank]

Thats a no brainer, you dont see many of them in that sort of shape these days. I'd roll the Nova for sure before that old dime.

 

[ktmoutfront]

63chevyII DD's one.

 

[79rustyk10]

Do it!

There's guys around here that would kill for something that clean and strait. And a HUGE plus to me is it's already setup for a small block. Is that a 283 I'm guessing?

 

[K85 Octane]

yep, original 283
Parking is well supervised at work and normally so congested it's impossible to steal it. So I'd only worry about door dings there. But days like tomorrow (yep, I'm working) it's empty and attendant-less, so I'd be very worried about it. My building has a camera that points that way, but I don't trust the security guards to even see it. At home it's ok, enough people have ears and eyes out there windows less than 50ft away. Yes, it would continue to be an outside car. I guess at this point.... I'm worried about theft and gas millage. My current s10 gets ~15-21

 

[Green Monster]

I had a 65 El Camino with a 283 and powerglide.....daily driver with weekly trips from Sac to Paso Robles. Super reliable. Buy it and put a 4bbl and straight pipes on it.....and don't forget the Mystery oil!

 

[K85 Octane]

lol
no straight pipes, sucker will stay quiet
4bbl maybe, but would rather stay as fuel efficient as possible. Will see mostly street, little freeway.

Mystery oil?
Paso Robles is awesome They have a great golf course up there and a couple real nice lakes.

 

[Burbdood 74]

The primary jets on a 4bbl carb are smaller than the jets on a 2bbl carb so, you can get good mileage and the fun if you punch it on the freeway...or street...or wherever.

 

[K588]

Hell yes, I know if it was me I'd kick myself everyday if I let it get away.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

Don't let it slip away!
Do it do it now.
For a while cucvfreek was DDin a 62 Buick.

 

[79rustyk10]

I'd bet it would be comparable mileage wise to the s10 if not a little better.

My 74 would get mid teens with a slightly hotter than stock 350, th350, and 3.08s. If nothing else toss in a 700r4 or a t5.

 

[Green Monster]

Mystery oil keeps the valve seats lubed.....unless they've been replaced. I had to add a glug of it to my gas tank every time I filled up. Come to think of it, if he rebuilt the motor, he probably put hardened seats in it.....duh.

Yeah, I grew up at Nacimiento.....it's nice up there. And you can't beat Hunter Ranch for golf.

I'm new to Thousand Oaks, know of any good places to wheel in north LA? Just want to test the 4wd in my new ride.

 

[K85 Octane]

Thanks guys for the opinions. I'll be talking with my cousin soon. Would need to make payments on it and he can keep it in the yard until paid in full. He doesn't ever drive it, so no worries. I think he said $6k last time we spoke about it. Seems fair enough for what's around here, though I've seen some with nice interiors. I guess I'm paying to keep it in the family and for its clean KNOWN history.

 

[89yimmiJ]

I have a '63 Pro-Touring Nova.

The Nova front suspension is similar but worse than an early Mustang or Falcon. The spring is on top of the upper control arm. You'll want to look into putting in some upgrades fairly on. You don't have to swap the subframe for daily driver use but I would look into some other upgrades to make it more roadworthy. Stevesnovasite.com is one of the best resources on the web.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

Woof. $6k is a lot isn't there a cousin discount?