[NovaNoviceKY]

I am looking at a 64 Nova: 4door/6 cylinder/Daytona Blue. Asking $4k
Body:
Rust drivers side wheel wells, roof, etc
Concern area rust top and side of windshield (large gap top right, maybe old body filler?). Trunk bottom small holes
Interior:
Not bad, front seat has cover and ruff under it but overall not bad
Engine:
Told started recently tried to turn seemed like battery?? Told rocker arm stud pulled out
Other Mechanical:
Front passenger side drum brake froze up, wheel wont turn

i am looking at 4 door as cant afford a 2 door. Plan is 3-5yr project 1st step will be brakes etc, then an LS swap, then fix body. If i buy i will have an engine if needed
Looking to see if anyone has thoughts on worth $4k or not???

 

[AllyMcReal]

You came to the right place. Hopefully some knowledgeable people will chime in. I have a few comments, but it takes a village, right?

I like the 4-door idea, and I understand the desire to swap out mechanical components. But I'd look as closely as I could regarding rust, not just in the quarters and roof but in the following places:

Rocker panels
Floors, front and rear
Subframes under the floor and lower front cowl area
Lower B-pillar
All around rear window area
Front fenders, around the headlight area and the very bottom part
Finally, the last 4 inches of the car, just under the top edge of the rear bumper

Any mechanical upgrades will depend on the body being sound, or made sound, if you are going to apply more weight or power. Especially if you are making drivetrain changes, buy the best body you can.

 

[NovaNoviceKY]

 

[TR67ChevyII]

The gap is because the windshield gasket shrunk. It's a common issue. There is a lower priced repro gasket for $50 from all the usual sellers that works but doesn't fit quite right. and a good fitting one from Steele for about $190. There is old filler in the roof it looks like. Don't be surprised if there is a hole when you poke at it. It looks like it is an old repaint and you want to be sure it is not hiding a lot of filler everywhere else on the body as well. It's right on the border of being worth buying in my opinion. If there is extensive rust and and filler, it's probably not worth it. That is a lot of money and time you are proposing investing in a 4 door. You would likely be underwater in value when you are done with it. I like the 4 doors, we have 2 of them but you have to be realistic about how much you put in them when they don;t have the value of a 2 door.

 

[NovaNoviceKY]

The gap is because the windshield gasket shrunk. It's a common issue. There is a lower priced repro gasket for $50 from all the usual sellers that works but doesn't fit quite right. and a good fitting one from Steele for about $190. There is old filler in the roof it looks like. Don't be surprised if there is a hole when you poke at it. It looks like it is an old repaint and you want to be sure it is not hiding a lot of filler everywhere else on the body as well. It's right on the border of being worth buying in my opinion. If there is extensive rust and and filler, it's probably not worth it. That is a lot of money and time you are proposing investing in a 4 door. You would likely be underwater in value when you are done with it. I like the 4 doors, we have 2 of them but you have to be realistic about how much you put in them when they don;t have the value of a 2 door.

Thanks for the advice i am super excited to get a 4 door and have a cool project. Given that, I am thinking that if I take my time I prob can spend a little more and get a better deal long term. Appreciate the opinion!

 

[AllyMcReal]

The second set of pictures has one of the right front door opened, air cleaner on the floor. Two of the rust spots you should carefully look at both sides are the bottom of the A and B pillars, or the parts on the body at the bottom where they connect to the rocker. Looks like they might not be all that bad.

As far as the shot of the windshield upper driver's corner, I'm not sure that's not factory there. There may have been a spot fix there, but I'm not certain that isn't factory lead where the A-pillar attaches to the roof structure. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but from the photos shown, I don't see a lot of evidence that the car has ever been totally repainted, though there may be spots not shown where there is body putty or spot repaint. Have you checked the floor? Do you have pictures of the lower rockers? If those aren't rusty and you might get the seller to bend a little on price, you might be in the range. A lot of nice original trim there which makes these cars look good in my opinion, I love the color, and you might be able to make a go of it if there is no structural rust on the bottom of the car. It all depends on the bottom of the car.

There are quite a number of totally rust-free 4-doors still out there for a fraction of what 2-doors or wagons cost. Buy the best body you can find.

 

[NovaNoviceKY]

Thx for advice, sounds like it is worth a 2nd viewing to check points that you and others have mentioned. One point worth mentioning is the car has had 2 owners both within 30min of each other. The car has original manual in glovebox and some old receipts

 

[Nova Thug]

Welcome to the site..

Just curious, did you take the pictures or did the seller take them..?

You’re going to want to take a really good look at this car. If you can get it on a lift that would be best. 4K doesn’t seem like a bad number but the structural condition of the car is the make or break in my opinion..

The good list:
Looks to be pretty straight
400 series and it looks to have all of the trim pieces
64 is a good year as it should have 5 lug wheels which means it has an 8.2” 10 bolt rear axle and 5 lug front lower suspension.
It seems likely to be a running vehicle with a little bit of work..

The bad or potentially bad list:
It looks good from the outside but what lurks underneath is not clear from these pictures.

Signs of neglect-The channel around the trunk lid opening where all the paint is pealing or gone makes me think that the car has been sitting outside or something and that channel has collected dirt and organic matter that will hold moisture and create rust issues. Look down into the cowl vent grill opening and see if there is any debris down in there. Leafs and dirt can collect in this area and rust out the vent tank a and channel’s the run down to the vent doors in the front kick panels.

These are some pretty cool more door build threads from members here..

@turbohf 1966 Mordor Project...

@Sierra57
First Restoration - 1963 Nova 4 Door

@Martin71RS

62 chevy II Nova 4 door (sleeper?) project

62 chevy II Nova 4 door project Update Dec 10th 2017 I posted the Nova in the project forums, but any comments are welcome! The Nova project has started! www.pro-touring.nl (page 2) also finally an update on the Camaro with lots of drag race movies (in the Netherlands!) this time...

www.stevesnovasite.com

 

[kt64]

As the 2nd owner of a garage stored low milage '64 Nova 4 door: $4,000 seems too high. Appraisal value for my car, in excellent condition worth about $6,100. 2 door add $10,000, original SS name your price. 100,000 miles is normal life expectancy for vehicles from this era. You are going to spend many thousands to restore it. 4 door side trim not available. Car trim is not stainless steel. Lower price cars (chevy 2) trim is annoted aluminum. Your trim can be polished. You have to take it to a body shop that specializes in this. One is in L.A. The other south of New York city. Offer $1,800 cash up to $2500. In the 'rust free' South (where I live), there are still many 50-year-old 4 door cars available.

 

[NovaNoviceKY]

Welcome to the site..

Just curious, did you take the pictures or did the seller take them..?

You’re going to want to take a really good look at this car. If you can get it on a lift that would be best. 4K doesn’t seem like a bad number but the structural condition of the car is the make or break in my opinion..

The good list:
Looks to be pretty straight
400 series and it looks to have all of the trim pieces
64 is a good year as it should have 5 lug wheels which means it has an 8.2” 10 bolt rear axle and 5 lug front lower suspension.
It seems likely to be a running vehicle with a little bit of work..

The bad or potentially bad list:
It looks good from the outside but what lurks underneath is not clear from these pictures.

Signs of neglect-The channel around the trunk lid opening where all the paint is pealing or gone makes me think that the car has been sitting outside or something and that channel has collected dirt and organic matter that will hold moisture and create rust issues. Look down into the cowl vent grill opening and see if there is any debris down in there. Leafs and dirt can collect in this area and rust out the vent tank a and channel’s the run down to the vent doors in the front kick panels.

These are some pretty cool more door build threads from members here..

@turbohf 1966 Mordor Project...

@Sierra57
First Restoration - 1963 Nova 4 Door

@Martin71RS

62 chevy II Nova 4 door (sleeper?) project

62 chevy II Nova 4 door project Update Dec 10th 2017 I posted the Nova in the project forums, but any comments are welcome! The Nova project has started! www.pro-touring.nl (page 2) also finally an update on the Camaro with lots of drag race movies (in the Netherlands!) this time...

www.stevesnovasite.com

Thx for the info! I took the pictures on a quick stop and look at for 5-10 minutes. I have confirmed that it has been sitting with 40-50 other cars on a farm lot for years. Guy owns it

Welcome to the site..

Just curious, did you take the pictures or did the seller take them..?

You’re going to want to take a really good look at this car. If you can get it on a lift that would be best. 4K doesn’t seem like a bad number but the structural condition of the car is the make or break in my opinion..

The good list:
Looks to be pretty straight
400 series and it looks to have all of the trim pieces
64 is a good year as it should have 5 lug wheels which means it has an 8.2” 10 bolt rear axle and 5 lug front lower suspension.
It seems likely to be a running vehicle with a little bit of work..

The bad or potentially bad list:
It looks good from the outside but what lurks underneath is not clear from these pictures.

Signs of neglect-The channel around the trunk lid opening where all the paint is pealing or gone makes me think that the car has been sitting outside or something and that channel has collected dirt and organic matter that will hold moisture and create rust issues. Look down into the cowl vent grill opening and see if there is any debris down in there. Leafs and dirt can collect in this area and rust out the vent tank a and channel’s the run down to the vent doors in the front kick panels.

These are some pretty cool more door build threads from members here..

@turbohf 1966 Mordor Project...

@Sierra57
First Restoration - 1963 Nova 4 Door

@Martin71RS

62 chevy II Nova 4 door (sleeper?) project

62 chevy II Nova 4 door project Update Dec 10th 2017 I posted the Nova in the project forums, but any comments are welcome! The Nova project has started! www.pro-touring.nl (page 2) also finally an update on the Camaro with lots of drag race movies (in the Netherlands!) this time...

www.stevesnovasite.com

i took the pictures. Made a quick stop to look at it just to see if interested. Yes i found out that it has been sitting out for years on a farm w 40+ other cars. Guy is 80yrs old and said he has had it for 23yrs. I found a 62 that is 5hrs away thinking about looking at. I did notice it is 4 lug

 

[Nova Thug]

These cars are never really rust free.. Rust never sleeps..! At the time when these cars were built there really weren’t any rust prevention measures being used..

 

[Rusty63]

that price is high based on potential issues. would not like to see you get hosed on the deal with a ton of work meaning you won't drive it in quite a while.

massive plus is the firewall and cowl do not look rotted out, at least on the side visible in the pics.

the pillar rust is concerning. they usually fracture like that due to some heavy rust or a bad putty/repaint. could that be one of the lousy repop windshield gaskets? if it has spent its life outside and is that gasket is still flexible, that is as good guess.

the other big one is the rear shackle mounts. that isn't a fun job. also carefully check the braces/brackets underneath.

this will make or break your deal. as the others said, if these things don't check out, move to a lesser rusted vehicle for the price you are willing to pay: you will be happy you did!

-Rusty

 

[NovaNoviceKY]

Appreciate everyones assistance! I took a closer look at car and didnt find any spots that were horrible, but considerable rust about every point mentioned to check. Worse was C pillar where it meets the body. A considerable amount of putty/filler. A few neat things about car, too big of project & too much $. Thx again!!!