Michael Riley's Blog: Hemmings Find of the Day – 1963 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS

From reading through the listing for this 1963 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova SS two-door hardtop for sale on Hemmings.com, you get the feeling that the seller is probably the car's worst critic, outlining every imperfection in detail. And that's probably the best prior owner of a car you can imagine – one who tirelessly and honestly documents all the work done to a car and obsesses over every last micron of it, and one whose work results in a stunningly well-finished car. From the seller's description:

this car is a VIN number & Trim Tag number factory SS car, built in Oct 1963 at the GM plant in Oakland, CA. (note: SS decoding via the VIN number did not start until 1964 for the Nova, in 1963, the first year of the SS for the Nova, SS decoding is via the Trim Tag on the firewall, with a Z or X on on the ACC code line)

To say that my SS has been cared for is a major understatement. I have multiple pages of detailed maintenance records & purchases, dating back to the 80s from the previous owner, then picked-up by myself in 1997 with even more explicit & exact detail; every single thing on this car that has been changed, repaired, replaced, altered, modified or gone-thru since the mid-80s is documented (see video attached below). The fully restored engine & drivetrain is 1 part factory-original (trans), 2 parts non-factory-original (engine & rear end): period-correct 194 straight-6 engine = new with just over 23,700 miles; 2-speed Powerglide transmission = fully rebuilt original (and just serviced with new filter and fluid); rear end = installed period-correct posi traction with custom fabricated drive axles and new bearings, races, seals, etc.

I bought this SS in 1997 and it had been painted red by a previous owner but I have returned the car to its factory original VIN-number color of #912 Silver Blue, with her stunning 5.5 month paint work & frame-on restore done by Retro Rods of Monroe WA (see link attached below) My personal photo, receipt & appraisal binder for my SS is a photographic & documentation sight to see, and very extensive (see attached video) The restore work also includes new dash paint (entire dash stripped to bare metal), new interior upper door paint and interior back seat upper side paint. All exterior stainless trim pro straightened by hand, and fully polished out. All body trim is original and runs between very nice and mildly flawed. Chrome rocker panels = brand new, to include detail brush painting of the black, by hand, for all the lines in between (this same detail brush painting accomplished for all black lines in between the new chrome on console) Note: I painted in the rear of my trunk face & tail light surrounds in same color as full car, as I prefer this look to the factory silver.

My SS has been dry-garage kept & never been driven in the rain since its Retro Rods restore work and there is not one centimeter of rust or corrosion on this SS's painted body or roof metal "anywhere": doors & jambs, fenders, quarters, hood, trunk lid, hard top, front & back glass frames & roof pillars, and I have photographic evidence to back that statement up; additionally, the exterior paint surface is flawless over the entire car in every regard, and besides a few extremely teeny paint chips (almost cannot be seen) on forward nose of hood, there is not one dent or ding on this car.

New engine, and I stress "new", as the block I located for the engine was an original, unused & never-been-built 194 block (still wrapped in plastic) from a guy in North Dakota, who said his father had procured the engine block as new from a Chevy dealer way back in the day and never built it into an engine…. thus, the engine in my SS is not a "rebuilt" engine, it is a "new" engine. I have been running Job Gibbs Racing high zinc 20/50 in her since the build, and she gets fresh oil & filter every 3000 miles (same for air filter & fuel filter in front of fuel pump) The story on how I obtained this block is one of my all-time automobile favorites, the truth and I love to tell it, ask me & I'll tell you the story.

On the interior, it is done-done: kick panels, carpet / pad / floor sound dead, all 4 interior door panels, all arm rests & pads, both rear ash trays, console (new chrome, receipted), light fixtures, interior lighting door switches, all seat foam, all front bucket seat springs, all seat covers, behind rear seat insulation, rear deck insulation, rear view mirror, SS floor mats, lower door jamb Body by Fischer metal detail trim = new; heater core, squirrel cage, blower fan = new; all of the window frame lower channels, rubber seals, felts, fuzzies & vent window seals were professionally redone about 10 years ago (to note: there is zero rust in any of the 4 window frame lower channels); front glass = new, rear glass = original 1963; side & vent windows = original 1963; car has stock 4-wheel drum brake set-up, with new front drums (not spun, new), new pads at all 4 wheels and full bleed & adjust; the car has a custom stereo installed on removable blanking plate inside glove box, as to not alter the projection or look of the stock dashboard (the original AM radio still in place, but is not operational but can be easily repaired); speakers for glove box stereo are dual left & right, installed into rear seat deck and are pro covered by black grill cloth (a minor flaw to note: when my interior guy did the seats, he installed the metal seat logos in the vertical position instead of the horizontal position, they fit perfectly vertically and I did not make their correct position known to him). All gages, 3 speeds of fan, lighter and clock all work perfectly (quartz movement in clock). Bucket seat forward & aft adjust mechanisms work perfectly, the seats glide beautifully and they both have the correct spring-loaded action. Both speeds of windshield wipers work, as does the windshield wash spray. No water leaks at any side, front, rear or vent glass & windows, even in pouring rain.

All 4 SS wheel covers are very nice & clean, and I have 6 very clean spares that will go with the car; also welded in down below are two frame stiffeners that were highly recommended by the Retro Rods team, to help eliminate the typical hard top cracking that occurs where the roof pillars meet the body, this installation also greatly helped the car's handling; the Moon Eyes headlight bullets I installed on the front end when I bought the car, I find them very fitting for this car's exterior projection but they can be removed in minutes; the mini Moon Eyes tach I installed on the lower left of the dash gage bezel can be removed with 1 screw. The front bumper sports original '63 chrome, and could potentially be rechromed at some point down the road, but it's nice & presentable now (rear bumper sports fresh, new chrome).

Reverse lights not operational, but switch is on trans, and all wiring, bulbs & fuses in working order, as I replaced the trans switch and had the reverse lights working for over 10 years until the switch on the trans failed (it cannot be rebuilt), and I do know where there is a OEM switch, an Impala parts place in midwest, switch has a healthy price tag: $500, but if you want the reverse lights fully operational on this SS, the switch on the trans is the only thing you would need.