Midsouthern Restorations

1964 Nova SS

This classic car restoration comes from East Tennessee. The owners of this car live in the country of Bahrain, but call Knoxville their home. After researching their options and not being satisfied with the local shops, they sought us out for help. The car is a 1964 Nova SS.

The car is what you would call a “30 footer”. It looks good from 30 feet, but loses its appeal as you get closer. Many upgrades were ordered for the motor and steering. Being a few months back logged gave us time to drive the car and park it out front. The more we drove the car the worse the motor began to run. The owners had not owned the car long and living out of the country did not drive it much. By the time we were ready to work on it, the motor was ready to expire. A rack and pinion steering was fit to the Chevrolet chassis. The motor was pulled and is being replaced by a “Dyno” run and tested crate motor. A 700R 4 speed auto transmission will replace the old Powerglide transmission. Once the body and mechanicals were separated, the paint was stripped to bare metal and a typical case of shoddy body work was found. This is the type of repairs that are found on many auction cars. Watch how the correct repairs are made and the rebuilding of a body takes shape. The owner stepped up to the plate and will have a Hot Red Nova SS done correctly to be proud of and cruise in when he is state side.

The owner wanted more and more from his car so it placed on the rotisserie. This was a good thing has many bad areas were found and repaired. Through sandblasting cutting and welding all the rust and former bad repairs were eliminated. After a few weeks of non stop work the car is now seal primed and the under side is being smoothed out and ready for body color.

The Nova SS is nearing completion and is in final stages. Every aspect of this car has been touched, refurbished, made high performance. The upholstery is all new, even the seat springs. The owner knows quality and expected no less from his hot rod. The supplied 383 stroker has been dyno'd before install and ran 450HP. The exhaust and front suspension are equally impressive. This little Chevrolet is turning into one nice ride, done correctly by its owner.