The CHEAPEST Classic Car that you can Buy and DRIVE everyday ('70s Nova) 

Hey, as a Western New Yorker, this thing is far from "junky". This is practically a dream restoration project by NYS standards as far as how solid it is. It may not be a '67 Camaro but it's still a great old car.

I love inline 6 engines. They seem to be more durable than other engines. I think it's a good looking car.

My first car was a '78 Nova. Bought it for $400, it had over 240k miles on it, though the odometer had given up long before I bought it, so I can't be sure how much more it had. It was hand-painted robin's egg blue (with a brush) and the dimmer switch literally fell through the floor the first time I used it. It was hideous, cancerous, and I loved it. Since the speedometer and odometer didn't work, I put oversized tires on the back and enjoyed every minute of driving it. I even got rear-ended by a Lincoln once. Couldn't see where the car hit me, but her bumper was folded back into her front tire. I had to get rid of it once the rear oil seal gave out and I couldn't afford to repair it, and I still miss it to this day. Hard to believe that over 30 years later I can still smell that car sometimes.

This bodystyle has a huge following. The 4th generation Novas have earned their right in history and deserve a spot in car culture. I've owned 18 4th gen Novas and IMO they're the best handling of any Nova predecessors in stock form. I've owned all the bodystyles but I always come back to this year. You gotta give credit to all those Aunts and Grandmas who took care of their 4th gen so we can have them to enjoy now. Oh and BTW, don't feel bad, you're not the only one to run out of gas in 77 Nova. 😁😉

I think it's cooler than cool! You have it set up perfectly. If I were you I'd just keep it nice and keep it going. Personally I'd rather have the stock 6 cylinder than a LS in that car. Bravo!

Drive it as-is and enjoy it. Those Chevy Straight-6 engines are pretty well bullet proof. Don't mess with it if it ain't broke. With the quantity of those engines that are out there--GM used them in darn near everything--I'm surprised to see a NOS distributor cap and rotor that old. Can't imagine those are low volume parts.

I’d keep the six. Uncle Tony, UTG, mentioned once how modern cars are in the same realm now as appliances in your house. There’s really nit much to encourage you to tinker with them and no real reason to pop the hood, whereas with older cars there is maintenance that you can do-valve adjustment etc-so you have a relationship with your car. You say junker, we all know better.

This is honestly my favorite body style of Nova. Always wanted one and it's a bucket list car for me

I've shared this with my son. While he was in college, I found a '78 Chevy Nova in '88 for him to drive for $400. Ten years of Indiana winters had taken its toll on it but it was transportation. Same blue color as yours without the white roof. The Carter monojet carb had an ill-fitting fuel-air screw which caused the car to run rough...common problem on those. I found a screw from my bin of carb parts that fitted perfectly and no more problem. Outside of the rusted out front floor boards which I had to replace, it serve well for my son and his younger brother for a number of years...thanks for the memories..

I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who dream about owning this vintage of Nova four door with the inline six. I never owned one, but always admired them. This is an amazing car and I'm sure you'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Very cool. It's always amazed me how much difference the wheel and tire combo and an altitude adjustment makes.

Boy seeing that Nova brought back memories so here is a quick story for you. In my much younger days, I was a police officer in a small suburb of San Antonio, TX, and we had 5 or 6 of those little Novas (police package models) with the 350 V8. They had front bucket seats and a 4 spoke Camero steering wheel from the factory. The handling was outstanding, NO body roll in corners! As I remember they were little rocket ships compared to the Ford LTD boats we had been driving.

Great car. My daily driver is a 1976 Pontiac Ventura 4dr (same car) with the same 250 L6, A/C, Power brakes, and TH350 trans. Great running cars. BTW you lucked out on the COPC hub caps. The 250 is one of the most dependable engines GM developed. Rebuild the six or find another 250 six to put in it while you rebuild the six.

Great vlog. Rebuilt the 6 cylinder engine ( you will get more mpg doing than alone, fit electric ignition under the distributor and get even more mpg with an overdrive transmission), put a clear coat on the bodywork to keep the patina. Underseal it underneath with truck bed liner spray. All this work would make great RU-vid vlogs also! Not many many standard Nova's left on the road these days.

Your video touched on exactly how I’ve been feeling / thinking. I’ve wanted to get back to an older reasonable turd and slowly bring it back to life. Love the car and yes it brings back great memories seeing yours God bless brother

Man the fact your little girl loves that car made my day! And drive and enjoy

This car definitely brings back fond memories. My Dad had a 78 4dr Nova, same blue color but no white roof. And my Mom had a 77 2dr red Nova. Made lots of memories in both of those cars. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

My grandmother had a 76 Nova from new and it was the first car I remember riding in, and the first car I fell in love with. So many happy memories in that car!

Be different, build the 6 back to stock-ish and do the od trans and throw a fuel injection unit on it. I bet you could get better milage, more power and be unique at the same time!✊😁

Keep it original as long as you can. That car is in great shape!

You can't beat an inline six for dependability, my first car was a 1965 Chevy II with a 194 cid inline six and 3 on the tree, many years later I needed a beater and I got a 1974 Nova 250 cid with Turbo 350 Transmission, also a very dependable car...so keep the six cylinder.

This is an amazingly restorable car. It's all original and all there and looks great. My friend had a '74 Nova we did a lot of cruising in back in high school.

I would keep the six cylinder in it. 😎

Very cool and often overlooked dependable iron block 6. Fix it up, don't crash, and in few years your daughter will learn to drive in it. So many young women had Chevy, Ford's with 6 cyl engines. Think back in the 60's, a 6cyl American compact could be bought new for roughly $2500 including some basic accessories. Biggest problem for longevity is body / frame rust. Thanks for sharing !

Actually it's a good engine. Very reliable 6 cyl. I drove a new one as a runner for an engineering firm in the 70s and back then it was more than capable...

I have had 2 1975 Novas. One with a 250 straight 6 and the other a 350. I regret selling the 6 cylinder one. It got good gas mileage.

I love it. I had a 1976 Nova. 4 door, blue with an inline 6. I loved that car and drove it every day. I loved the inline 6. It was a 3 on the tree. I wish I had another just like it. With that 3 speed it actually did get good gas mileage. If it were mine I would never get rid of that 6 cylinder .

Being a 77 model myself, you tweaked it just enough to make it look sharp. Straight 6s are cool full stop. Just look at BMW or Cummins.

Awesome! Big League Chew for the WIN! Straight 6’s are wicked Cool. If you’re gonna put a new transmission, just do a top end rebuild and add an EFI system, probably double your mileage at least, and make it more fun and bullet proof.

So happy to see a fellow classic 70s car driver who takes theirs out daily! It’s such fun! I’d never give it up for a brand new car, not in a million years. Good for you man, it’ll last you, as I’m sure you know. 😄

First off Sir, I'm so glad to see someone else out there driving a later model X body. My daily driver is a 1975 Buick Apollo 4 door, I purchased her for $600 in Kyle,TX 2 years ago and drove her home with a bad head gasket. Since then I've taken out the Gasser and put in a 6.2 GM Diesel from an 82 suburban. She ain't fast, however gets me STELLAR fuel economy, (31mpg average between fillups) and was darn near plug and play. I can't wait to see how having this ol girl unfolds for you!

I’m in Scotland, where American cars are as rare as an honest politician, and I love your car. I recently bought a 1987 F150 truck. Someone has ripped out the efi system and stuck a big Holley double pumper on, backwards. The cruise and air con are gone and it gets about 8mpg but I love it. Keep up the good work man 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸

Amazing car, I wish cars of this age were in that good of shape in my area. keep it as is and enjoy it stock.

Man, I loved those mesh wheels it came with. Mainly because in high school I really wanted a 4 dr. Nova painted black with black mesh wheels just like those. To each his own. I personally like the styling of the later Nova’s the best. Child of the 70’s thing.

I think a cool idea would be a 3800 V6 swap. keep that mid-size car 6-cylinder flair but modernize the valvetrain and get better mpg. plus if youre lucky you can find superchargers pretty easily too! Mabye a 4.3 vortec v6? i think keeping it 6 cylinders would definitely be cool

This was my first car, in that same paint colour (it was a bad batch colour, never held a finish), but i had the 350-cubic-inch V8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor. It *moved* and it was so much fun, this is such a great auto. Your daughter absolutely has great taste.

The car of my childhood. My father bought it, painted it, and I fixed the wiring at the age of 14. Spacious car, smooth ride. Wonderful memories.

My brother used to have a 1976 Chevy nova 2 door and 6 cylinder, he passed away last year, we both had many adventures in that car. I love that car now it’s mine and your video make me remember all that memories. You have a nice Nova.

Love this! I also started daily driving a 70's a while back. A 1975 Jaguar XJ6, 4.2 inline six. It was a $1,000 car with a bad engine. Swapped in another one and it runs well. Not worth restoring but it's solid. Since I have a few nicely restored ones i decided to start driving this one. Best decisions i've made. My daughter also loves it, it's her favorite car of them all. Keep it a six cylinder and just fix small things to keep it on the road and enjoy it.

Having grown up on those cars, this video brought a smile to my face. Just look at the lack of features we were able to do with out.

In 1991. I was poor and 21 years old. My mom's friend found me a 1977 Oldsmobile Omega, which is the Olds version of the NOVA, and it looked kinda like that, except primer green with white vinyl interior. I hit a deer at 55Mph. That car saved my life. If I had the opportunity to buy one again I would. It would be awesome to drive that around again. ;)

I have to say, the 250 inline 6 was one of the best motors made. I had one the same year. It was a great car

I have a 1967 4 door Pontiac Catalina. I have been slowly putting new parts on it. Currently upgrading brakes from drum to disc in front. Parts for it are cheap. Insurance is cheap. I love driving it. It's like sitting on your couch while driving down the road. I plan to get it repainted the stock champagne color and just drive it during the spring and summer and enjoy it.

I have a 1976 Chevrolet Nova Gold Medalist. Chevrolet only made about 5,000 of them for the 1976 Winter Olympics. It's 4 door with an inline 6. I'm interested in selling it. It runs and drives great but the body is in very poor condition and someone poorly spray painted over the original gold color. I'm in Ohio if anyone is interested in taking it off my hands.

My wife's grandfather bought a brand new maroon '76 Nova 4 door with the straight six. He handed it down to my wife, and then she handed it down to her brother. Remember that car well. Great video.

At work one of the guys daily drives a 67 Cougar, I drive a 70 Volvo 142. There are pros and cons for daily driving cars this age but I certainly like doing so. Certainly, a GM product like this Nova benefits from lots of still available new, NOS and used parts availability.

I had a 1982 chev celebrity and the same thing happened to me! The tank said 1/4 left and then the engine stopped! Luckily, i put it in neutral and was able to glide to a gas station! This was 30 years ago and i still never drive with less than a quarter of a tank...lesson learned! :)

Cool car, those GTA wheels looked good on there, but I'm a firebird guy so I might be biased. Good job on keeping an old car on the road and outta the crusher.

when i was working in the late seventies in a chevy dealer those novas really were so beauty i remember one with a v8 three speed manual was sold as only one with such a transmission great video dude❤

Thank you for the video. Uncle Tony knows all about add-ons that help your fuel mileage. I like the idea of keeping the six cylinder.Mebbe a series about a low budget rebuild?

Thanks for keeping it alive. She looks great. I'm nostalgic about these cars but they didn't survive out here. The dog dishes are perfect. Keep it up

I had this exact model as my first car. It was my grandmother's then my sister's before I bought it from her for $100 in the late 80's. The rear end sagged, the bench seat was work out, the engine was tired, but I still loved it. Your first car is special.

Yep. My grandmother had one just like this, gold in color. She drove it from new until she passed in early 90's. I think it only had about 50,000 miles on it.

That's a great car! My take on it: treat the rusted paint with some "oil mix" and keep the 250. Rebuild it, if needed... but keep it.

I loved every bit of this video. Enjoy driving the Nova, bud.

Classic runners are fun and dependable

Absolutely love this! Been driving for 34 years and upgrading vehicles as I went. Before I knew it I was driving a 60k truck. Sold it, made money, picked up an old Frontier to flip and LOVED IT! Still have it and will keep it. Sometimes the old solid, reliable beater is the most enjoyable car to drive. Feels good to own a vehicle and it NOT own me.

I love the old cars! I just wish that I can find a rust free example.

Your kid was the best part of this video. She makes anyone smile :)

I'm in love with the patina and stance. I have a 78 4 door that I've had since I was 14. 22 years. It's light green with the white roof. This makes me want to get it on the road again!

A friend I know who is a Chevrolet mechanic has a 1975 Chevy Nova LN (Luxury Nova). It is a pastel blue with medium blue interior. Has bucket seats, center console, 5.7 litre V8, air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, rear defogger, sport mirrors. Came equipped with color keyed wheel covers which he swapped for a set of 5-spoke Pontiac rally wheels. That car is powerful with a V8 engine. 0 to 60 in about 5.6 seconds. The car when it came out was doing battle with the BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E Klasse, Peugeot 504, Alfa Romeo Alfetta.

I been dying to find me something similar to daily. 20 years ago you could find these in nice shape for $1500 all day. Now even the 4 doors are getting pricey for a decent example.

Good on you! I bought a $200 '58 Ford pickup, no rust 6 pot 3 speed stick, runs like a watch, daily it as well. these things are still out there folks. Save them and learn a skill at he same time. And out here, a rigid middle finger to the EPA as well. Keep 'em tuned right and they'll run clean and run forever for very little dough. Be as independent as you can! You're doing the lord's work man, keep it up and pass it on. Respect from CA.

Love it!!! All I have is beaters, though. I vote to keep it a six, but hop it up. Hard to tell, but looks like it has an integrated head. They’re prone to cracking. It would be cool to put an older head on it with a Clifford intake, small four barrel, dual exhaust, and lose the smog junk.

These cars rock! My first car was a 1962 Nova Sedan. My dream car is another Nova!

Nice to see another old car saved from being scrapped, and I like tha laid back style you have! In my humble opinion the alloy wheelset was better, and I'd keep the Straight 6 (Im a fan of I6 engines) and would give it some love and upgrade, and definately get a transmission with overdrive! :)

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, I hear. To my eye, this and the 64 are the best looking Novas. I'm with Carley - this is a great car. I like the sixes. The V8s are great, but so-o-o commonly used, that a six has a distinctive factor.

I think it's a great car to have, sure not the best looking Nova, yet lots you can do with it that won't cost much to enjoy!

I bought my 1977 Nova Concours Coupe almost 11 years ago. I drive that car more than anything else I own, even to my corporate meetings. It’s also an inline 6 with AC and heater. I took it on a 500+ miles roadtrip this weekend!!

It is getting to a point where you gotta give a nod to the surviving 4 dr. classics, just considered parts cars a few decades back. Sub-frame car that should ride pretty well. Turns heads I bet.

305. That is what moves my elco, sounds good, enough power to pull a hill, decent mileage. I would rock that nova, childhood flashbacks.

Love those GTA style wheels on them. I also hate how they say you can't daily a classic car. Why not, it was safe enough to daily back then? If it goes and stops, engine works, transmission works, brakes are good then it's mostly good to go. A/c is optional. Both my 01 Camaro's do just fine one a 6.0 the others still a 5.7 and my 84 S10 with it's 6.0 till I blew the transmission ran pretty up and down the highway as well.

I’m 46. In high school, I wasn’t even 15 yet. I trade a drumset for this exact same car. Color, motor. Etc…same. Even bad that red primer bleed through look. I ended up playing on dirt roads with it. Slides. Doughnuts. Then we had a spring fling at school. We all spray painted it. Beating it up. Still ran. Then I sold it to a dirt track racer. He put a roll cage in it, built motor…won the championship for several years. I love the look of these cars!! Wish I had it back in mint condition.

Personally, I would keep the Nova original. Put some fresh rings and bearings in the 6cyl if needed, maybe add a little better cam.

Great story. My wife and I had a 78 that I bought for like 200$ the driver door had no glass, no door had locks, the engine started with no key, it was burning oil and the brakes were bad. It wasnt the ugliest thought. And I totally loved it. I even used super cheap burned oil (it was burnt it so fast that it was not cheap to keep buying brand new oil) at the end and that 250 straight 6 wasn't ready to go. Since then I love the Nova. I really enjoyed my time with it. It wasn’t fast, but it was strong and reliable. I would definitely consider getting another one.

I see no problem with calling these cars "classics". After all, they are almost half of a century old! And yeah, this car is very far from junky. I wish my Ford was in this condition when i bought it! Very nice car overall, and seems like a very good daily! In my opinion, stock inline six would be better for it than a LS. Don't take that unique vibe from that car, and please, don't turn it into another soulless LS-swapped mess.)

I love watching this video because I had a 77 Nova that I drove daily back in the 90s. I bought the car with no engine and dropped in a 350 from a wrecked 1970 Monte Carlo. My Nova would smoke the tires effortlessly and did pretty good at the street races at the time. These days I would absolutely love to have a straight six Nova and leave it stock.

I'm so glad classic cars are making a comeback let's bring back all the 80s rust buckets from the grave y'all!

man, you're my hero. a had a 97 honda accord that i drove the wheels off of for 16 years. finally got rid of it and bought a brand new truck in 2020. yes it is great to have a nice new reliable vehicle, but i miss having a beater car i didn't have to worry about if it got bumped and scratched or crap on the seat or dirt on the floor. EMBRACE THE BEATER

YES! I have a 1990 Caprice and I drive it as much as I can. My father owned an office supply business and he bought two 1977 Chevy Nova's after a flood took out the other vehicles in Johnstown PA. I remember riding around in them after my mom took one and my aunt bought the other after they were retired fleet.

i gave ya a like just cuz Carly is adorable! I love seeing kids happy and smiling!

Love it! I drive a ‘77 Nova Concours. Bought it off the side of the road 4 years ago-it’s been my daily ever since. 👍

Buffalo, NY here too…My parents had a ‘75 Nova when I was a kid. I have a picture of my sister and I playing in the yard in 1986 with the Nova visible in the driveway, you can clearly see the rockers and wheel wells were totally rotted out by then. LOL

My first impression was that you might have gotten ahold of an old police package Nova. If you keep it, I’d say stay with the. 6. 14-16 mpg average with an automatic, accessories, and some wear and tear is probably about right. Everything running the way it’s supposed to I would bet it would hit 20-22 on the highway. Not outstanding, but not terrible either. Just remember that 15 mpg was pretty good for the average V-8 sedan back then. I couldn’t tell if your motor had the intake cast into the head like the small Ford 6s - I’ve seen some mid 70s 250s that did - prior to that the intake was bolted on. Don’t know that it makes much difference unless you’re going to warm it up a bit with a 2 or 4 barrel carb. A couple of my Aunts had 2 door Novas from that range, one with a 350 2 barrel and one with a 305. I don’t recall them bragging about the mileage, but the 350 was definitely worse. My grandad had acquired a 72 2 door with a 230/Powerglide - he didn’t believe in buying anything new - parked it when it started smoking and he had finally rebuild the 250 in his favorite 67 Impala - I liked the mid-late 70s body styles better cause of better visibility. I should have spoke up for the 72, however. Anyway, great video!

I don't know who you are, but please keep up the good work!! Are you ready for this? I had a 1978 Nova, the EXACT same color, 250 engine and AC. I replaced the engine with a 400 out of a 75 Chevy wagon. I replaced the old trans with a new 700R4. I left the rear end the same. I drove that car from Chapel Hill, NC to Buffalo, NY AND BACK on 56 gallons of gas. I installed car audio for a living so I put a very high end system in. I had a Nakamichi head unit, the best unit at the time you could buy for any car. There was a Kenwood electronic crossover, four Alpine 4-channel amps, and an ADS 100x4 on the subs. At that time, this was one of the best systems one could get. You will notice that the rear deck is very , front to rear and the trunk is very tall. I replaced the rear deck with 13 ply Burch and the same in the trunk. I placed 2 12” and 2 10” speakers on each board, one on the rear deck and one behind the seat. The seats were recovered in cloth for better sitting and sound. That was one of the best cars I ever had!!! Had power brakes, power steering and AC. I salute you, Sir!!! I would keep that thing til the wheels fell off!! Take care of it and it will last almost indefinitely!! Have a very blessed day!!!

This is actually a really nice car. I probably (as a foreigner) don't see it the same way as you, but a car of that shape makes me think of luxury vehicles

I took drivers training in highschool andthat was our training car.77 nova I bought a 79 nova with the 305 in it and drove it home from Virginia to California after getting out of the Army in 1983. I had that car for about 10 years and well bought a truck after that but now I'm 62 and have been looking for a Nova like yours I think a 305 with the Turbo 350 Automatic in would suit your car just fine. I like that your daughter likes that car and it makes her happy maybe you should keep it around until she starts driving she might enjoy it as a first car. Take care.

That Nova looks surprisingly clean. If nothing else, the steering wheel with the period Nova logo is definitely a classic. I'd likely keep it just like it is. Our family actually had the Buick equivalent of the car back in the day - a 1977 Skylark. I believe the Buick had a V6 rather than an inline 6. It was our family's first 4-door, and was chosen for better gas mileage and easier access for my brother and I. The Skylark replaced a 74 Regal coupe that had a 455 V8, and although it was a big block, those engines were pretty gutted by then though I suppose you wouldn't know it based on the gas mileage, lol.

I grew up riding in my dad's '76 two door Nova. He also had a '71. The '76 was rusty and falling apart, but still running, when we got rid of it in the late 90's.

I love the style of nova and the skylark. Stick to the 6 and maybe rebuild it 👌👌 and nova is a classic car

Back in 1996, I bought a 1964 Chevy 2 four door. The lifter covers and valve cover had been leaking for decades and had coated the floor underneath with enough gook that there was zero rust under it. I rebuilt the 230, left the powerglide as is, put a needle bearing idler arm on it and drove it every day for 15 years. It saw 14 states, climbed Mt. Washington, and was my trusted companion on many adventures. The only upgrade was an HEI distributor. Sold it when gas got expensive and drove a Ford Festiva, another wonderful car.

My first car was a 1975 Chevy Nova Custom. 350 small block, 350 transmission, half landau roof. Lots of chrome. I had a lot of fun with that car.

I have a 76 Nova 305 V8 4 Door in Lime Green. I'm restoring it as of now. I bought it back in 1999 when I was 20 years old. It's in good shape. Just needs some tlc. I love my Nova.

Classic in my Books.looks awesome even in four door.I would love it.U R ONE LUCKY DUDE

Just think.... you're driving a Cadillac Seville without the luxury, but all the style. Love the style of you Nova!!

I like the car very much. My self I would do the 305 nonmolested ,with a overdrive tinny cheap paint job and call it my run about LOL. Happy for your luck, made me smile when you little girl loved so much. I bought a1972 new really loved it.God bless you and your family.

Here in Ca...had a firend, who many yrs back bought his Dads 75 Nova 4 door. Fresh paint 8" rallyes lowered it 1 inch. 305 had a small Isky 256 mega cam some bowl work, intake etc 100 percent smog legal. Shift kit 3.08 gears. Car ran strong for what it was, looked sharp, his woman loved it so did his buddys...same ones who said it was a waste of money Later on put remote door locks like a modern car. Could tote his buddies around, toss groceries in it. Had so little money in it! Cheap hot rod

Embrace the beater, now if there was a slogan that defined my entire life that’s it. Love it!

My 65 El Camino wasn't that cheap but I do daily drive it and I love it. My kids love it and it gets the waves and thumbs up everywhere I go. I think it's cool your Daughter digs the Nova.

I totally agree. I drive a 93 Buick Roadmaster. Old cars are cheap and fun. So many pros. Fuel economy not so much, but cheap to own, cheap to insure, cheap to fix, fun to drive.