If the Chevrolet Nova, more commonly known as the Chevy II up until 1969, was a superhero, it would have had an amazing origin story. No dead parents, no radioactive spider, no getting hit with a bolt of lightning, or enhanced via some type of super serum. Rather, it was all about landing a punch on the Ford Falcon, with little to no leeway handed to either the engineers or designers. It's an underdog story.
Chevrolet needed a new compact model in the early 60s and they needed it quickly. It only took about 18 months from when the designers got the green light for this vehicle, up until the first production variant rolled off the assembly line in Michigan.
At first, they didn’t even know what to call it, which is why they settled on the Chevy II, which sounds ridiculously uninspiring, I know. They did consider naming it Nova for a moment, but ultimately decided against that, because Nova didn’t start with the letter ‘C’. Still, Chevrolet did use Nova for the flagship specification and with the introduction of the third-generation car in 1969, the Nova badge would thankfully replace Chevy II.
Speaking of the third-gen car, it was fully redesigned for the 1968 model year, featuring a longer 111-inch wheelbase and just three available body styles in the 2-door coupe, 3-door hatchback and 4-door sedan.
The most desirable ones were obviously the 2-door models, which is exactly what we’ve found here – more specifically, a 1972 Nova, upgraded beyond your wildest dreams.
This has got to be one of the cleanest, sickest rides we’ve seen as of late, and the specs are truly tremendous.
Visually, the body was stripped all the way to its “bones” and refinished in black and gray back in 2009. Additions included a cowl hood, single-piece door glass, shaved marker lights, chrome bumpers, new headlights, dual mirrors, and chrome 18-inch Rocket Racing wheels with Nitto NT555 Extreme redline radials contacting the Earth’s surface.
Inside, you’ll find black leather bucket seats, a color-coordinated dashboard with a custom center console, custom stereo, 427 badging, power windows, bowtie-branded floor mats, aluminum pedal covers, a Jensen touchscreen infotainment system, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a bunch of auxiliary gauges.
Photo: Bring a Trailer
As for why the car has 427 badging on it, well, it’s because of its replacement 427ci V8 engine, which according to the seller was over-bored .030” and modified with a custom oil pump, camshaft, cylinder heads, forged pistons, an Edelbrock intake manifold, MSD electronic ignition, Holley Street Avenger four-barrel carburetor and then some.
However much power this makes, is all sent to the rear wheels via a Keisler Engineering T-56 six-speed manual gearbox, working alongside an Eaton Detroit TrueTrac differential and an aftermarket dual exhaust system.
This custom 427-powerd 1972 Chevy Nova is currently getting auctioned off and interested parties only have a limited time to place their bids.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
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