World Record sale for a 1966 L-79 Nova Super Sport

[Postsedan]

Wow! $207,500K

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail...mp;startRow=181 (http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0113-143513&entryRow=195&lottype=&startRow=181)

Dan

[jasonL78]

L79's are hot....

[Don_Lightfoot]

I watched that on-line Dan, Was it as nice as the price would indicate?

What can you tell me about the Orange 69 Velle L78 ragger that went for big dollars as well?

Thanks pal.

[mockingbird812]

Impressive! Looks like a nice resto.

[Postsedan]

Don,

Strong money, $117K. I do not know this Chevelle?

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail...mp;startRow=161 (http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0113-143493&entryRow=175&lottype=&startRow=161)

Dan

[mockingbird812]

117 sounds like market or a bit low if it is well sorted and everything purported.

[Bill Pritchard]

WOW, $207.5K is some crazy money for a 66 L79 Nova SS! <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/shocked.gif

I would say that $117K is all the money and then some for a 69 L78 Chevelle convert with a &quot;Date code period correct&quot; engine.

[Postsedan]

Bill,

I hear alcohol and 2 guys on tv had something to do with this sale, imagine that <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif

Dan

[Bill Pritchard]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Postsedan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Bill,

I hear alcohol and 2 guys on tv had something to do with this sale, imagine that <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/dunno.gif

Dan </div></div>

Yea, who'd'a thought anything like that could be involved? <<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/haha.gif

[Billohio]

Nova was stunning. Loved it

[kwhizz]

Was the Nova Clyde Martin's car???

[Bill Rose]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Don_Lightfoot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I watched that on-line Dan, Was it as nice as the price would indicate?

What can you tell me about the Orange 69 Velle L78 ragger that went for big dollars as well?

Thanks pal. </div></div>
I was in and out today, watching the auction. The 2 cars I wanted to see were that orange L-78 vert, and the black LS-6 El Camino, that followed. Well they went to commercials, and skipped them both......and that was after they specifically focused on the Elky earlier in the week. I understand the LS-6 Elky went for $115,000.

[Vern B]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bill Rose</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Don_Lightfoot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I watched that on-line Dan, Was it as nice as the price would indicate?

What can you tell me about the Orange 69 Velle L78 ragger that went for big dollars as well?

Thanks pal. </div></div>
I was in and out today, watching the auction. The 2 cars I wanted to see were that orange L-78 vert, and the black LS-6 El Camino, that followed. Well they went to commercials, and skipped them both......and that was after they specifically focused on the Elky earlier in the week. I understand the LS-6 Elky went for $115,000. </div></div>

I have the El Camino written down at $ 110 No Sale.

[Bill Rose]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Vern B</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bill Rose</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Don_Lightfoot</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I watched that on-line Dan, Was it as nice as the price would indicate?

What can you tell me about the Orange 69 Velle L78 ragger that went for big dollars as well?

Thanks pal. </div></div>
I was in and out today, watching the auction. The 2 cars I wanted to see were that orange L-78 vert, and the black LS-6 El Camino, that followed. Well they went to commercials, and skipped them both......and that was after they specifically focused on the Elky earlier in the week. I understand the LS-6 Elky went for $115,000. </div></div>

I have the El Camino written down at $ 110 No Sale. </div></div>

It's on the Mecum web site as sold for $115,000. It probably sold after the auction was over, in the &quot;Bid Goes On&quot; booth.
http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail...mp;startRow=161 (http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=FL0113-143494&amp;entryRow=176&amp;lottype=&amp;startRow=161)

[Vern B]

10-4

Could be.

[Mr. Chevy]

Rolled tip exhaust on that 'Velle... Very nice cars, both of them!!

Rich

[ZiggyL78]

Man.Those crazy Chevy guys.;)

[Lynn]

I love the body and the engine on the 66 67 Nova's. But.... still one of the worst front suspensions ever.

[markjohnson]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lynn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love the body and the engine on the 66 67 Nova's. But.... still one of the worst front suspensions ever. </div></div>

I gotta agree about that! I love the size and styling of those early Novas and I used to mess with them quite a bit but that front suspension is just plain ol' junk. It's really easy to make those particular cars faster than their limitations.

[rich p]

color change was the word! Cough, cough..

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Lynn</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I love the body and the engine on the 66 67 Nova's. But.... still one of the worst front suspensions ever. </div></div> That may be but... it did not limit their use for blasting around on the street back in the day.

[Plowman]

&quot;THE STREET&quot;. I saw Grumpy's &quot;66&quot; Nova, RACE with no trouble with that &quot;front suspensions&quot;{with fender-wells headers} too.

[iluv69s]

Wowwwww...that must be one heck of a Nova...

In South America many people call <span style="font-weight: bold">all</span> the novas Chevy II's, no matter what year, because of the meaning of the word...No va !!(means No go) I am surprised Chevy never picked that up when they named the car.

One regret I have is a (few) years ago, not buying a L-79 Nova 2 door post street car that was apparently formerly owned by Grumpy.If my memory serves me, it was a medium /light blue 4 speed with rubber floor mats..all original.I guess an SS would be worth more, but I really loved the car and almost bought it way back then.

[Salvatore]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Plowman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">&quot;THE STREET&quot;. I saw Grumpy's &quot;66&quot; Nova, RACE with no trouble with that &quot;front suspensions&quot;{with fender-wells headers} too. </div></div>I saw many guys run with the first Pro Stock vegas and they looked mild also BUT where really a handful to drive. The 66-67 nova front suspensions were kinda junky. That is why they changed big time in 68. Still love the 66-67 L79's or even the 275 horse cars. Lansdale Dave's car is killer!

[1970Bluel78]

Yeah Drag Race.....Straight line

[Plowman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: [email protected]</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Plowman</div><div class="ubbcode-body">&quot;THE STREET&quot;. I saw Grumpy's &quot;66&quot; Nova, RACE with no trouble with that &quot;front suspensions&quot;{with fender-wells headers} too. </div></div>I saw many guys run with the first Pro Stock vegas and they looked mild also BUT where really a handful to drive. The 66-67 nova front suspensions were kinda junky. That is why they changed big time in 68. Still love the 66-67 L79's or even the 275 horse cars. Lansdale Dave's car is killer! </div></div> *Thank you Sam,my fender-wells headers &quot;67&quot; Nova had a 327,302,427L-88,and a 350 cu.in. in it with the stock front suspensions. Do you know there was a body change in the year 1968 for Nova{also front suspensions change} too,Sam. Dave's car is good also and very clean.

[GTO_DON]

Dont mean to rain on anyones parade but that guy spent too much for that car...Buddy of mine sold that car a few years ago for 70k and it was a great car but it had a color change! originally was Cameo Cream. I cant understand people sometimes...

[Jamess113]

I've been a lurker for a long time now. After seeing this thread I thought I'd introduce myself and share some info on the Chevy II. I'm the owner of Auto Body Specialists in Manchester NH and I'm the restorer of this black Chevy II. I restored it back in 2004 and I just recently freshened it up in 2010 for the last owner. It's is a very correct car with the exception of a few things one being the color combo. Yes, it's not the original color. The car still wear's it's original fire wall tag with it's original color code on it so nobody was trying to hide anything there. It has it's original born with drive train...... engine, trans and rear end. The engine wear's it's original valve covers, chrome fuel and vacuum lines, carb and intake exhaust manifolds etc. . All the chrome, stainless emblems and aluminum trim are original to the car with the exception of the bumpers and the hood molding. As far as I know the hub caps were original to the car also. We restored the Chevy II back in 2004 for a customer that was planning on driving every day so we up graded some of the suspension parts to make it a little bit more user friendly. I made sure any of the incorrect upgrades are easily changeable. The only thing on this car that is not easily changeable would be the color and I have to say it didn't seem to hurt the price one bit.

I never in a million years would I have thought that car would have bought that kind of money. I guess my customer was just in the right place at the right time.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/Jamess113/Picture115.jpg

[mockingbird812]

Thanks for checking in here James. YOU DO NICE WORK! Thanks for all of the back story on this beauty. Welcome aboard!

[Salvatore]

looks lazer strait to James! Black was a big factor in its sale I bet.

[Jamess113]

Thanks for the welcome. We started with a very complete car and I tried very hard to keep it as original as possible. I don't think the color change hurt the value at all. Black on Black looks a little better than original Sandalwood Tan and Fawn. That just my two cent though.

[Jamess113]

Here are couple more pictures.

http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/Jamess113/Picture128-1.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/Jamess113/Picture024.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/Jamess113/4431266092_c8755ceaa1_b-1.jpg
http://i816.photobucket.com/albums/zz86/Jamess113/4431265818_47d66f4454_o.jpg

[kwhizz]

Back in 66 when I bought my L-79 car new......The front suspension was bad........But......we didn't know it ......LOL........Those were the days........I also had the optional dented rear quarter......LOL

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/66%20Nova/scan.jpg

[Fredf]

I bought a dark green 66 nova 2 dr ht 327-350 in '72 with a broken crank for $650. Bench seat,4 speed, 12 bolt, dog dish hub caps, real sleeper. Made rattling noise when you pushed in the clutch pedal. I figured it started and ran, it couldn't be a broken crank. Guess what, broken crank, journal for rear 2 cylinders split in half, the rods were holding it together. I replaced the crank used for $25 and ended up selling the car for $800. I've kicked my a$$ for the last 30 years and it only gets worse seeing this.

[Igosplut]

This is not to pick on this car in any way, But I've had quite a few 66 Chevy II and I have two questions. The first is I've never seen the grill blacked out on the top where the rivets are. Is (was) that just on a black SS? And I've seen the chrome, and the body-color type used and I was under the impression the color cap was correct. Beautiful job, and a beautiful car, I was always a sucker for them in black. Although my real envy comes from looking at the perfect trim on that car, finding that stuff is like hitting the lottery (and you'd need it too, to pay for it).

As far as the Chevy II front ends go.... I can tell you from experience how bad they were. I rolled two of them from front end problems. NOTHING I ever did made them better, just different. They went straight OK as long as the front end didn't have a lot of travel, and wasn't too high. I had 90/10 shocks one one and it had such a range of movement that the toe changed so drastically that the front tires squealed. We won't get into cornering....

[Plowman]

Same trouble Camaro's and Nova have,camber too.

[300deluxeL79]

jenkins chevy II...

http://i359.photobucket.com/albums/oo33/69belair/jenkins/243385_1719682473844_1291745913_31393843_6299657_o .jpg

[Jamess113]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Igosplut</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is not to pick on this car in any way, But I've had quite a few 66 Chevy II and I have two questions. The first is I've never seen the grill blacked out on the top where the rivets are. Is (was) that just on a black SS? And I've seen the chrome, and the body-color type used and I was under the impression the color cap was correct. Beautiful job, and a beautiful car, I was always a sucker for them in black. Although my real envy comes from looking at the perfect trim on that car, finding that stuff is like hitting the lottery (and you'd need it too, to pay for it).

</div></div> That is the original grill to the car. It's been almost 10 year's but I think I can recall there being a slight hint of black on it. I really don't think I would have painted it black for no reason. It could be wrong for all I know.

As far as the gas cap goes Chrome would be correct. When we restored this car we did one in black to because the owner didn't like the chrome one.

[Big Block Bill]

Joe Cheeks from e-Automania had a twin to this car for sale @ Dana Mecum's last Spring Classic held in Belvedere, Illinois back in 2004? It was a Nova Club give-a-way car I seem remember at one time. Black on Black and it even had Factory A/C installed! I think it went for $55,000.00 back then. Also a VERY nice car. I wonder where it is today....

Bill

[Igosplut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Big Block Bill</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Joe Cheeks from e-Automania had a twin to this car for sale @ Dana Mecum's last Spring Classic held in Belvedere, Illinois back in 2004? It was a Nova Club give-a-way car I seem remember at one time. Black on Black and it even had Factory A/C installed! I think it went for $55,000.00 back then. Also a VERY nice car. I wonder where it is today....

Bill </div></div>

That one came from Texas, I have the NNN issue on it.

[olredalert]

----Wasnt that the give-away car???......Bill S

[Postsedan]

Not only was this a World Record Price, but it now becomes a World Record Price for a color change on a classic Muscle Car.

A nice restoration indeed.

Dan

[Igosplut]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: olredalert</div><div class="ubbcode-body">----Wasnt that the give-away car???......Bill S </div></div>

The NNN was a raffle car, and it did have AC. The car had Texas plates, and I believe that's where it was bought. They raffled off four cars until someone complained that it was illegal so Wayne stopped doing it.

[L-79 Nova]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kwhizz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Back in 66 when I bought my L-79 car new......The front suspension was bad........But......we didn't know it ......LOL........Those were the days........I also had the optional dented rear quarter......LOL

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/66%20Nova/scan.jpg</div></div>

What mods and what kind of times Ken? Ron...

[Paul_S]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: iluv69s</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In South America many people call <span style="font-weight: bold">all</span> the novas Chevy II's, no matter what year, because of the meaning of the word...No va !!(means No go) I am surprised Chevy never picked that up when they named the car.</div></div>

Chevy did know that and that is why the X-bodies exported down there were called Chevrolet 400 and/or Chevy. That removes any possible issue between the one word &quot;Nova&quot; (meaning birth of a star) and the two word term &quot;no va&quot; (meaning no go).

[kwhizz]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: L-79 Nova</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: kwhizz</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Back in 66 when I bought my L-79 car new......The front suspension was bad........But......we didn't know it ......LOL........Those were the days........I also had the optional dented rear quarter......LOL

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a251/kwhizz/66%20Nova/scan.jpg</div></div>

What mods and what kind of times Ken? Ron... </div></div>

Sig Erson Cam......Edelbrock crossram........Best E.T. was 11.73.....which was fast for back then......I had to run against Tony Christian and couldn,t match him.....so ...I took the crossram off and ran a single Holly three barrel and the car would run 12.10's all day long.......

Ken