CHEVROLET NOVA

LEFT STARRY EYED BY TOURING CAR LEGEND NORM BEECHEY'S CHEVY NOVA JIM ADDED ONE TO HIS SHED FIVE DECADES ON

- STEVE NALLY

Some things leave a lasting impression on a young bloke. Back in the ’60s Jim Luccario was courting his first wife when he took her to a racetrack and saw the great ‘Stormin’ Norman Beechey drifting his Chevy Nova II through a bend, with his elbow on the door and one wheel in the air.

Five decades later Jim added this bright red 1962 Nova II 400 coupe to his collection, which also includes a worked 1983 Ford Bronco XLT, ’28 Ford Roadster hot rod, ’55 Ford F100, 2008 HSV Maloo and national concourse-winning ’65 Thunderbird that he owned for 32 years before reluctantly selling 18 months ago. You could say the 76-year-old has an eclectic taste in cars.

Jim bought the Nova from a mate who imported it six years ago and he’s been slowly restoring it since. “It’s a California car and it was pretty straight,” he says. “I’m guessing it had a paint job in the States, the top of the car was originally white. It had new bumpers fitted before it was exported and I just gave it a good polish and clean up. There’s no real rust in the car.”

In 1962 base model Novas – which were classed as an ‘economy compact’ – left the factory powered by either a 2.5-litre four or 3.2-litre six, not exactly guaranteed to get your adrenalin up. To get a hot Chev V8 buyers had to stump up more than half the base price of the car for a dealer-installed Corvette 327 and so the Nova SS 327 was born.