thinking about getting a 1978 nova with a 350 motor, 3spd auto trans. all i know is its driveable, but the gas tank needs a patch/replacement..needs a front end allignment, and some body work...interior is gorgeous. ill post pics later tonight when i get home, just wanted to know if u guys had any ideas on what i should do to it and if its a good buy. guys asking 750

NOW WE ARE TALKING! That's my vintage and owned a couple. Price seems high but it always relative to overall condition. My biggest problem with these cars was rust. I loved them - both just the 250 six. Easy cars to work on - the V8 might make some things tight to get at but not like most newer stuff. Good luck, I worked on and owned two as said when warrantys were just 12/12 back when. T
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Tom Greenleaf - MetroWest, Boston
http://acsource.net/acforum/index.php

Before you even drop a cent with the seller towards purchasing this car get permission of the owner to take it in to a shop and have it inspected. Even if the cost of getting the car to a shop and the inspection costs you a hundred bucks it's money well spent.
I doesn’t matter at this point how nice the interior is; what’s the underside like. With you saying that it needs a little body work and the gas tank is leaking that tells me rust. If it’s just cosmetics; bonus that’s easy to fix; but what if it’s structural as well? As in frame rails and this being a partial uni-body car the floor pans; which hold this car together. You also mentioned that you think it might need an alignment. With the age of this car the front suspension and steering may need a complete rebuild.
I’m not trying to rain on your parade but I just hate to see someone jump into something and then have their dream of a nice older car be smashed. Yes almost anything can be repaired/rebuilt it just depends on how deep your pockets are and how far you’re willing to dig into this pocket.
If the person selling the car doesn’t have anything to hide or they may not know about the car; they shouldn’t have a problem with you having it inspected. It’s not going to cost them anything other then a bit of time, but it could save you a whole lot of grief. Regardless of their excuse for not allowing an inspection I would walk away, there’s always another car.
Dan.

Canadian "EH"