Alright everyone, here is the third installation of the From Your Garage series where you can send in your car and its story to be featured on the website. This time we are featuring one of my cars from the past, my 1963 Nova SS Convertible.
Back in the 1990s I was building a 1972 Nova and came across this car for sale in a magazine. It was a pale yellow, very similar to the factory Butternut Yellow, had a full tube chassis with tubs, Disc brakes, 454 big block, 700r4 trans, 17 inch wheels and a Hartz cloth top. I instantly fell in love with it but just couldn’t swing it financially with having most of my money tied up in the 72 Nova. To my surprise, a local friend of mine ended up buying the car. We traveled to car shows and I photographed it every time I had a chance to. I was constantly asking him to sell the car to me and I finally wore him down and bought the car from him sometime around 1996-97. Soon after that life took a turn and I had to end up selling the car. Cool thing about that is that I found out the car was built by Mark Grimes! I spoke to him by telephone and ended up selling the car back to him. We became good friends and would talk on a regular basis. I always told him I would like to buy the car back if it ever was for sale again…
Fast forward a few years to 2004 and we met up at the Good Guys show in Columbus, Ohio. He brought the Nova to the show for me to see what he had done to it. It was a brighter Yellow, new Big Block with 2 Demon 4 barrel carbs and new Bonspeed 18 and 20 inch wheels.
About a year later, he told me he would sell the car back to me and I jumped at the opportunity to buy the car again! So, now it’s 2005 and I have the car back in my possession. I was going to take the car for a cruise one day and found an oil spot on the floor of my garage. Upon further inspection, the rear main seal was leaking oil from the back of the motor. Not knowing what to do, I called Mark and told him what was going on. He offered to come and get the car, bring it to his shop in Omaha, Nebraska from my house in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and fix the engine! Once the car was at his shop we spoke about doing some upgrades to the car. While it was tore apart to fix the engine they installed a set of Baer disc Brakes front and rear as well as the newest Ride Tech. air ride system. He had the car over the winter and delivered it back to me in early June of 2006. I told him my plan was to take it to Columbus for the Good Guys show in July….
So, it’s Columbus weekend and we take the car to the show. This is my first and only time having a car at a show this large so I am nervous and not really knowing what to expect…. We roll in on Friday and find a great parking spot and get to cleaning the car and shining it up to look as good as possible. After getting it all ready and just sitting down, I notice a golf cart pull up to the front of the car and start looking it over. Took me a minute to realize they were with the Good Guys club and were considering giving the car an award! I walked up to them and we had a great conversation about the car, the show etc. and they awarded the car with the Best Bitchin’ Award! Man, I was through the roof! Never expected to win an award at a show like this! I was so excited I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry tears of joy! Definitely one of the best days of my life! I was on cloud 9 the rest of the weekend! Felt very fortunate and grateful for everyone and everything falling into place to get to experience something like that!!
So, as they say, all good stories must come to an end and in 2008, this one unfortunately did… The car was sold to someone back in Nebraska and I have not seen the car since that day….. I still look for that car online with hopes of buying it again as it has so much sentimental value to me. I know some people will say it’s just a car, but that car has been the reason for some great friendships and experiences that just can’t be replaced. After all, it’s the cars that bring the people together!
1963 Nova S.S. Convertible specs.
Full tube chassis with rear wheel tubs
454 Big Block with Edelbrock Dual Quad intake and Demon Carbs. 500 h.p.
700R4 Transmission
Baer 4 Wheel Disc Brakes
Ride Tech Air Ride Suspension
18X8 and 20X10 Bonspeed "Malibu 6" Wheels
Hartz Cloth Top
Dupont Paint
Stock Style Interior recovered in Leather
Full backseat with tubs
Bonspeed "Roulette" Gages
Lokar Shifter
Fuel Cell in finished Trunk area
Custom Rollbar
Full Super Sport trim including center console
Want your car featured? Send your cars story, info and photos to me at:
streetmachinecentral@gmail.com
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