Faults:

Bought the car when I was 16 for a job delivering medical supplies. At the time I did not realize the car had been raced and abused. It had the 350 V8 but with a 2 bbl carburetor, manual choke and a fast idle switch on the dash. I did pay to have the Nova looked over, but all they did was take my money and told me all was fine.

Things that went bad were the shifter fell apart, transmission had to have a new clutch, gears, throw out bearing and pressure plate (Muncie transmission).

Radiator was replaced and I started to do body work due to rusty quarter panels. Drivers seat (bucket) was ripped, but the other seats were all perfect (black vinyl). Due to getting mileage plus hourly wage (20 cents per mile) I broke even when I sold the car 7 months after buying it.

The reason for selling it was it was so powerful and fast that I didn’t think I would be able to drive it safely in snow (living in Dayton, OH at the time). The car could spin the tires in third going up hills in the rain. Plus the bias ply tires were expensive (Goodyear 70 series bias outline white); radials would have been a huge improvement.

General Comments:

Fun car to drive and in some ways I miss it. It was Hugger Orange, loud with dual exhaust (holes in the mufflers), and the previous owner used a spray can to repaint the car without sanding it down afterwards.

When I sold it it needed either a new steering box or the box tightened as I could turn the steering wheel 1/4 turn without any movement of the wheels. It may have needed suspension parts as well, plus a driver's seat reupholstered, tires, and exhaust. But it cruised (14 mpg), was responsive, and fast. Warm inside due to engine heat, but a blast to drive.

Faults:

Right off of the dealer lot, the car suffered a vibration between 65-70 MPH. Dealer had no idea how to fix. Cousin (fresh out of tech school) replaced right rear shock absorber - problem solved.

Starter solenoid went bad - didn't engage starter pinion properly - ground flywheel - had to replace flywheel - 31,000 miles.

Thermostat stuck, caused overheating - 37,000 miles.

Distributor bushings needed replacement to address hesitation just off of idle - 46,000 miles.

Just the usual - brake shoes, tires, valve cover gaskets, belt changes, exhaust system replacements.

Front end held up well - occasional idler arm replacement.

Carburetor needed periodic rebuilds (3) to maintain drivability.

Springs (more rear than front) started sagging after about 8-9 years (~ 85,000 miles).

General Comments:

Interior held up reasonably well - bench seats split after several years of family (read:hard) use.

The 230 cubic inch straight 6 cylinder engine was excellent - no issues with bottom end, valve guides, rings, pistons. Valve tap developed after wrong PCV valve started sludging up motor. Luckily, a rough idle called our attention to the problem before the sludging got out totally of hand.

2-speed Powerglide transmission never had any reliability problems.

Fuel economy nothing special (14 MPG average - mainly city driving), acceleration from a stop none too speedy. The same bulletproof Powerglide mentioned above didn't help either parameter - a TurboHydraMatic 3-speed would have helped both.

Decent handling despite manual steering - just a bit tough to park. Rear wheel drive has its advantages.

Manual drum brakes were reliable, and stopped well - with a bigger engine/more accessories, that might not have been the case.

A well-built, well-designed, tireless, cheap-to-keep servant. Quality was fantastic compared to that of subsequent model years.