The Supercar Registry - Zach Carters Nova

Hi Bruce, here are a few words about my new 68 Chevy II. I saw the little nova a few years ago and talked with the owner about it but it wasn't for sale. Some friends of his went to an estate sale in Charlotte, NC and called him about the car. He wasn't that interested but one of the guys went ahead and bought it in case he wanted it later. After the purchase the car sat in a warehouse in Birmingham, ALA for a few years until the gentleman that turned it down saw it one day and decided to go ahead and buy it from his friend who grabbed it at auction.

He and his wife drove it home from Birmingham to Huntsville with the original wheels and what looks like the original tires. At that time (1999-2000) the nova showed a little over 16,000 miles and now in 2008 it boasts only 18,000 and change. Once Mr. Jenkins (Not Grumpy) got the car home he added the rally wheels, new wheel cylinders and shoes, fuel pump, wires, a belt, and points cap and button. I haven't washed the car or turned a bolt on it other than to tighten the fan belt the night I drove it home.

It is a 230 inline six with a powerglide and 8.2 inch rear end. Four wheel manual drums make driving lots of fun but they work expectionally well. The car appears to be almost totally original save for a couple things I know have been played with and a couple I can guess at. First, the exhaust is nice but has duals from the crossflow muffler out which can't be right. Second, the original wheels have been painted black over the original body color.

The redline tires have either been washed alot or sunbleached because they look almost pinkish white now. As far as options, the nova is just about as stripped as they come. It has an AM radio and shoulder belts and that's about it. I thought I had a bulb blown behind the heater controls but this car didn't come with the lighted heater control to start with. One cool thing yet aggravating thing is the buzzer, if the key is in and you open the door it makes more noise than the whine of the powerglide.

The photos don't show the true color of the original paint very well but they also don't show some of the 40 yrs worth of scratches and dings. One other thing that I found very unique about this car is the vinyl floor. It looks as if it were poured into the car and is in near perfect shape. Most vinyl floors are black or painted with laquer in a solid color but this one is a speckled color, kind of a olive and black. It would be impossible to replace the floor and that seems to be the one thing that keeps me from dropping a small block and four speed into the car. I couldn't consider cutting a hole in that floor.

I hope to have the wheels cleaned up and back on soon and detail the engine bay, the splatter on the underside of the hood is dirt and wipes off, I just haven't wiped it off yet. I will be pulling the seats soon to find the buildsheet which should be almost blank because of the way the car was ordered but it will still be nice to find and make a copy of. I hope the pictures look allright Bruce, I included a couple of the wheels that will be back on soon so try to picture it that way for now. I don't like the rally wheels on the car.

Tommy Turner

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