[Tomsriv]

Find out all the specs on the engine. What car is it out of, what is the compression, what kind of pistons and valve job, etc. Does it look like the owner took his time or just threw the car together? Its not uncommon to find nova's that are complete hack jobs. I went looking with a friend and we saw some pretty bad Novas. One seller told me, after I inquired about the electrical system, that it was fine and "all there". I get there and go to start it and he tells me to touch the two wires under the dash together. He also told me that the car had never been in an accident when I could plainly see that it had one 68-69 fender on one 70-72 fender (the marker lights are different).

Good electrical systems are a must for a reliable car. A hacked electrical system will waste a lot of your time that you could better spend power tuning.

Check the suspension bushings to see if they are cracked. A front-end rebuild will cost about $250 and take a weekend to complete, if your lucky.

Check the headers to see if they will need to be replaced. They might be flat on the bottom or have major spark plug clearance issues that would make them worth replacing. Power steering novas have a lot less clearance.