What ended up being a parts car to fix another car that was recently involved in a car accident might become a new driver project. 1962 4dr with a 4cy 153cu.in 3spd on the column and it runs. All the interior is there needs to be reupholstered, Needs floors and center trunk pan; brakes and fuel need to be gone through. Interior needs some cleaning up but its a possible running driver to enjoy. Neat little car!
Won't be a powerhouse with the 4 cyl, but beats driving some newer 4 door shitbox. The question becomes how much work do you want to put into it, and what final result?
I almost bought one of those 4 door Chevy IIs a few years ago. With those short front doors, I thought I'd cut it up and make a neat looking El Camino.
My wife's grandmother had a Chevy II sedan when we got married that was a bit of a rust bucket but ran good. The car was under 10 years old when we got married in 1969 but already had rust bleeding through the white paint. In 1968 I had a buddy in Vietnam who was from Kansas who had a 4 cylinder Chevy II back home that he thought was the greatest car ever built.
I have a 2 door version of that Chevy 2. I've saved it since 1974. Has rusty floors and now no engine or trans. Plus I have a complete parts car. Both 6 cylinder versions. My someday project. Love these Chevy 2's!
When I was in college, one of my classmates had the two door version of this; 153 three speed base model (Chevy II 100). It had been his grandmothers' car, and she had recently given up driving. It topped out at 73 mph.
I like the full-service floorpan. It would need a lot of welding, but if you're up for the task, why not?
I will get some shots this weekend. I do have a video of it running. I will see if I can find it. Shifter rod is botched at the column and seems sloppy. I have to address that. It definitely can be a driver.
Don't pass up this opportunity to put a floor shifter in it, preferably a Hurst, and while you're at it, put a Muncie 4 speed in it, I've done this to a couple Chevys that had those sloppy column shifters. Many years ago I worked on my nieces' sons' four door 69 Nova, it was a 4cyl/3 speed on the column, was surprisingly peppy after a tuneup, was thinking if it was mine I would do the Muncie conversion on it, would have made it a "fun to drive" car.
Hello, Ever since I rode around in a 62 Chevy nova in high school, it has always stuck with me as a good small format car. At the time a big 352 c.i. SBC motor + 4 speed, would have made that sedan move quite quickly. Perhaps even faster than my own 300 h.p. 58 Impala. ha! but, my friend just wanted a car that started and got him where he wanted to go. It was a two door hardtop and at least looked cool cruising with all of the windows open. Back then, I liked the small format, but the faster cars appealed more if we could afford them. 409 Biscayne, 409 Impala, etc. those were the cars we longed to have in our arsenal as teenagers. Jnaki So, many years later, I drew what would be a nice daily driver from a 62 Chevy 2 memory. A two door El Camino, of course, red, slight rake and a SBC motor for power. My wife has always like my 65 red El Camino and she drove it 1000s of miles by herself after we got married. For our current small two car garage, this small format El Camino would take up less space and still be able to carry stuff in the back. this time, A/C, air shocks and of course this item I saved from 1976 when we sold our red 65 El Camino. A “red” Nomad station wagon version, would fit our needs, just in time for the winter holiday season… But, now, for more storage and transporting our granddaughter when she comes to visit, we needed a new format for our daily driver. A transformation to a two door Chevy 2 Nomad wagon would be our preference. 90% of the time, it is my wife and I driving to finish errands. But, for those times when our son and granddaughter come to visit, we need a 4 door version. An SBC crate motor, plus A/C, air shocks, and we are good to go anywhere… YRMV
During and after high school I had daily access to a '62 small 6-(194)-3 speed. We used it at my uncle's Gulf station to chase parts and lunch. After killin' the column linkage we stuck a Foxcraft on the floor. One rainy afternoon on a nice wide city thorofare while 'making' time I experienced my first 360 degree drifting, a half a block, spin out. Amazing how fast one body can fog-up windows.
The shifter collar seems to have been poorly “repaired” by the prior owner; I will get a shot of it. I’ve been on the hunt to find a used collar. But was playing around with the idea of getting a floor shifter and keeping the factory bench seat I know it was optioned for 66-67 and some later novas to have a floor shift with a bench. But that brings up the idea where I plan on keeping the car as stock looking as I can and swap out the motor and make it a sleeper. Still up in the air.
I like the idea of keeping it a column shift, it seems more appropriate for a car like that and you hardly ever see them anymore. I imagine reproduction floor pans are available for two door cars, will they work in a four door? As a teenager I worked in the summers for a farmer who had a 4 cylinder Chevy II. I remember his wife had a lead foot, and she pushed that little car to its limit on rural gravel roads.
Shoot, if that were mine, I’d replace the bad metal (Help! Lloyd!) @Lloyd's paint & glass, fix the mechanicals, and drive it everyday back and forth to work, as long as there wasn’t snow and ice on the ground.
The floor pans for the 4 door and the 2 door are the same. I just bought pans halfs. no reason to do the full floor. The floors are really not that bad as it looks.
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