One of Tommy Lee Byrd’s super powers is making all things look cooler by fitting the right wheel and tire combo on them. Of course part of this stems from his position at Coker Tire, where he has the inside info on all things tires and wheels. But everyone reading this can learn something from him and his latest video about his daily driven classic. Sure, it’s a crew cab Nova, but it looks cool as hell and any real hot rodder would drive the hell out of this thing as their daily commute rig. Call me a liar.
Check out the video, and Tommy’s take on making cool old stuff, and in this case not so cool old stuff, fun to drive.
Video Description:
What is your definition of Classic Car? It probably doesn’t include 1977 Nova four door sedans, but hey…it’s 45 years old so it gets some credit for its age. Admittedly, this is not what car guys consider a true classic car, but it presents the same challenges that a 1969 Camaro, 1965 Ford Mustang or 1970 Plymouth ‘Cuda. Fuel system issues and ignition issues are usually at the top of the to-do list when it comes to daily driving a classic car. I bought this car because it was cheap and drove so nicely…and the A/C works! So I’m gonna keep on using it on my 90-mile commute. This ratty Nova does have some pretty cool patina, so I played into that by “back dating” the tire and wheel combination a few years to more of an early 1970’s look. My go to combo is black steel wheels with dog dish caps, and of course, bigger tires on the back. It’s just my thing. And GTA style wheels are not exactly my favorite thing on a ’70s car. Even though this car is a wimpy 6 cylinder, it hits the highway pretty nicely, thanks to the TH350 automatic transmission and 2.73 gears. I may do some follow up videos on this crusty Nova, but for now I’m just having fun driving it.
You ain’t lying!
I had this same car, only ALL blue/rust/fade, with 87K that I bought from the little old lady sister of the original owner on the east side of Indy in the late 90s.
I saw the ad in the Star at 7:30 am Saturday, and assuming it to be a 2-door, roared east across I-70 lest every Speedrome Stock class racer in 3 counties got to it before me. I recall being only mildly put out that it was a 4 door (I had a wife and 2 kids, so surprise!, everyone gets their own door!) and after giving the old man brother of the owner a thrill ride up the avenue and back out around the interstate, I bought it for $750.
350/350 with the only options being p/s, p/b, not even a radio, possibly a left over USAF fleet car based on the color and the fact that when I pulled the oil pan several years later it had 4 bolt main caps.
I drove it for a couple years, sold it at a profit to a co-worker, then bought it back a year later, now with a stereo, for $800 and an engine stand.
A while later I decided I wanted the engine more than I wanted the car so I pulled it and the trans and sold the roller to a guy that said he was gonna put a 406 SBC in it and bracket race at Muncie Dragway. I never saw it again and damned if I can remember for sure what become of that engine, It was #2 in the rotation at the time, behind my Engines By Ed 355 SBC, but I don’t recall it ever powering any one of the several old, junk G-bodys that I kept rolling during that era.
Once again the Boys at BangShift trip the trigger of this old GratefulGearHead’s Way Back Machine and the ?memories? flow, or in some cases merely trickle.
Thanks for the post..
I wonder if that’s the one that ended up being white/purple combo?