Restoring a 1967 Chevy II Nova: What You Actually Need to Know
The 1967 Chevy II Nova is one of those cars that shows up at every swap meet and estate sale with a "runs great" tag. It rarely does. The model year is important because it was the first year of the second generation Nova, which is when things get interesting from a performance standpoint. The body was completely redesigned, the frame got stronger, and GM started offering real engine options instead of just the base six-cylinder. That's the year most people target when they talk about building a Nova into a legit street car or drag strip regular. Here's the thing nobody tells you on forums: the 1967 Nova isn't technically a muscle car the way people use the term now. The original muscle cars were mid-size bodies stuffed with big V8s. The 1967 Nova started as a compact with a six. But once GM offered the 327 in the Super Sport package and hot rodders started swapping in the 350 and 396, it became one of the lightest platforms you could build a real car out of. Curb weight with a four-speed and small block comes in around 2,800 pounds. That's lighter than a contemporary Camaro by over 200 pounds. Weight is everything on a street car. That's the advantage. I've spent more hours than I care to admit in these bodies. The first one I worked on full-time was a project car that had been parked in a barn since 1983. The seller said it ran. It didn't. The fuel system was completely solidified from ethanol-free gas going stale over three decades. I replaced the tank, all lines, the carb, and spent another three days just chasing vacuum leaks because the intake manifold gaskets were brittle and cracked when I tried to torque them down. You'll find that same issue on a lot of 1967 Novas. The factory intake manifolds used paper-like gaskets that don't survive removal very well. Buy a new set before you even unbolt anything.
One counter-intuitive thing about the 1967 Nova frame is how often people overlook the suspension bushings. The control arm bushings are rubber and they collapse over time. When they do, your toe alignment goes out constantly and you'll swear your car is wandering. I spent two weeks troubleshooting a wandering 1967 Nova only to find the lower control arm bushings were shot. Replaced them with polyurethane aftermarket units and the car tracked straight again. The entire fix cost about sixty dollars in parts and took about an hour with a proper press or a sturdy garden press setup.
Engine Options and What Actually Works
The stock engines for 1967 were the 153 cubic inch six, the 230 inline-six, and the 283 small block. The 327 was optional in the SS package. If you're buying a 1967 Nova and it has the original six, you have two choices. You can rebuild what's there and it will drive fine for a low-speed cruiser, or you can drop in a small block and have something genuinely quick. The engine bay has enough room for a 350 or even a 383 with minor modifications to the crossmember and firewall clearance. The swap itself isn't difficult. The 1967 Nova uses a standard small block pattern for Chevrolet engines, same as the Camaro and the early Chevelle. Motor mounts are available as universal or Nova-specific pieces. The main issue people run into is the starter. Early small blocks used a different starter mount location than later ones. If you're pulling a 350 out of a 1968 or later Camaro, the starter might not line up. You'll need an adapter plate or you need to source a 1967-specific starter from a salvage yard. That saves you a trip to the machine shop. Transmission pairing matters a lot here. The Muncie M20 four-speed was the stock transmission for the 327 SS. These are solid gears and they shift fine if they're rebuilt properly. But the input shaft bearings in the bellhousing tend to wear out on high-mileage examples. When that happens, the transmission vibrates at certain RPMs and sounds exactly like a bad engine mount. Don't tear into your motor mounts first. Check the transmission input shaft bearings. They take twenty minutes to inspect and ten minutes to replace if you have the right puller tool.
Get the Full Details
Common Problems You Will Encounter
The 1967 Nova body is a rust magnet in certain areas. The frame rails rot out from the rear axle forward. The rear quarter panels above the wheel wells are the other weak spot. And the floor pans, especially around the transmission tunnel, develop surface rust that turns into holes pretty quickly if you live anywhere that salts roads in winter. I bought a Nova once that looked perfect from the surface and turned out to have the floor pans eaten through beneath the carpet. I learned to crawl under every one I look at before I hand over any money. The brake system on 1967 models uses drum brakes in the rear and either drums or early disc fronts depending on the trim. Disc brakes were optional on the SS in 1967 and standard in 1968. If you have the drum rear setup, the wheel cylinders leak internally into the backing plate over time. This causes the brakes to grab unevenly. Rebuilding the rear drums with new wheel cylinders and adjusting the self-adjusters gets you back to square one. It won't make them feel like a modern car, but it will make them safe for highway driving at moderate speeds. Here's a blunt truth about 1967 Nova restoration costs. A decent running example in fair shape runs between eight and fifteen thousand dollars today depending on rust condition and whether the engine is original. A concourse restoration with a modern small block, four-speed, and disc brake conversion will cost you twenty-five to forty thousand dollars in parts and labor if you do it right. If you're on a budget, buying a solid barn find and doing a single-stage paint job with a rebuilt 350 and upgraded suspension gives you a car that drives well without touching the high-end market pricing. That's the practical path most people should take.
Where to Source Parts
Parts availability for the 1967 Nova is actually one of its strengths. General Motors produced enough of them and the aftermarket has had forty years to cover every component. Summit Racing, Jegs, and RockAuto carry most suspension and engine parts at reasonable prices. For body panels and trim pieces, Classic Industries and GM parts distributors are your best bet. The NOS (new old stock) market is active on eBay and at car shows. Be careful with used body panels from wrecking yards. Rust repair panels are cheap, but finding an uncut door or quarter panel in any condition is getting harder every year and prices have climbed accordingly. Electrical gremlins are extremely common in 1967 Novas. The wiring harness deteriorates from the factory onward. I've worked on several where the original harness was so brittle that removing the dash panel caused half the wires to snap. The solution is a replacement harness from a reputable supplier like Painless Wiring or American Car Craft. It takes a weekend to install if you're methodical about labeling every connector before you disconnect anything. Don't skip the labeling step. I lost a full day on a 1967 Nova because I assumed I'd remember where the horn relay went. If you're serious about the 1967 Chevy II Nova as a project platform, it's one of the most practical choices you can make. The parts network is deep, the weight is right, and the chassis responds well to suspension upgrades. Just go in with your eyes open about rust and electrical issues. Those two problems will eat your time and budget faster than anything else. I've seen guys build amazing cars from scrapyard Nova shells and I've also seen perfectly good projects abandoned because the floor pans weren't worth saving. Inspect the floor and frame before you fall in love with the exterior.
