There’s one car on this block that really knows how to stand out. Let’s take a closer look.
Oops; photobombed by a VW Vanagon. Let’s try again.
There it is, in its Creamsicle livery. “Medium Orange” was one of the colors available in 1976, although it’s more typically seen on coupes and not a four door sedan with a two-tone white top.
Orange was big in the mid 70s, needles to say. And somebody wanted their Nova sedan in the style of the day, sort of.
A similar Nova (more yellow than orange) lives in my neighborhood. I see it and hear it often…. or more precisely I see it and DON’T hear it. Inline six, Powerglide, all-metal body, no CV joints. Noticeably quiet compared to modern overstressed fours with FWD and rattly plastic bodies.
Noisy colors = silent mechanism. Silent colors = noisy mechanism.
You’d hear it if you were standing next to it when the driver shifted the PowerGlide from drive to park and allowed to the car to idle.
“Clunk-Clunk-Clunk-ooOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH”
Powerglides had their own, distinctive sound to them.
Yes, that high whine at idle was a common feature of my youth. And not just the PGs, but the similar 2 speed autos found in the BOP A bodies of the 60s.
And I do recall the loud “Clack Clack” that the linkage made when the neighbor backed their 64 Impala convertible out of the driveway and shifted from Reverse to Drive in front of our house.
I kind of miss those unique sounds that certain cars used to make.
Ah yes, those unique automotive sound of the 1960’s & 1970’s; the sounds of my childhood!
To wit: The whine of a PowerGlide tranny in “Park”, the “Nang Nang Nang” warble of a Mopar reduction geared starter motor, the guttural grunt/cough of a Y-block Ford V8 engine starting, The one-of-a-kind whirrrrring sound a small block Mopar’s fan clutch sucking air thru the radiator/alternator/fan belts produced, the quietly macho rumble of an Oldsmobile V8 rear’s resonator/muffler made as your neighbor’s ’64 Crocus yellow VIsta Cruiser station wagon drove by, the oiled metal-on-metal sound of a Mopar’s TorqueFlite automatic tranny made in first gear, the low moaning of a GM’s Quadrajet carburetor when the secondaries kicked in under full throttle, the ROARRRRR of the same floored gas pedal secondaries from a Mopar’s Thermoquad carb…..
Today I cannot tell the difference between a Camry, Altima, Focus or Chebby whatever as they drive by me.
And Chevy three speed stick transmissions through the fifties to at least 1958) had a distinctive whine particularly in first gear. it was also unsynchronized and I bet the transmission dated to the thirties. I’m also guessing someone here knows all the facts on this.
Yup, that Muncie three speed on GM cars and light trucks was used from 1940 to about 1965. Helical gears were silent on synchronized second and third gears. In 1966 the all-helical all-synchronized “seven bolt” (side cover) Saginaw unit appeared.
Their suspension must be in good shape too. My Crown Vic *would* be very quiet if it weren’t for the fact that the suspension sounds like a box of rocks any time I encounter a pothole. :-/
It could be the photography/lighting, but the color on this one looks quite a bit “hotter” than the 1970s Chevy orange that I remember. I’m betting on a repaint in either a non-stock color or in one of the colors that results from trying to match an old formula with modern paint.
Yes, the 70s was the decade for orange cars. I didn’t really like them then, but have come to in the decades since.
I saw a bright orange BMC Mini the other day, matt blak bonnet wides, it took me back to the 70s in a flash, must go by there again with my camera and see if its a regular in that spot.
1970’s Orange Rides Rule!
1974 Volvo 144 — background was my neighbor’s ’74 Charger I believe, and next to him was a guy with a ’77 Laguna SS/S-3
http://i65.tinypic.com/nbt5jb.jpg
I was getting rad LOL.
PS there is a creamsicle Nova here in Seattle these days I’ll try to catch it and post here, I see it every week or so!
We had a similar Nova when I was a teenager. Ours was an unholy shade of green that I called baby diaper.
Unless the grille was replaced from the 1976 into 1975, I believe that this was a 1975 model according to the grille. In addition unless this Orange was one of the many color options for the Four Door Sedan model, the owner probably decided he wants his painted in Orange since its still appeared to have a shiny coating on a 41 year old car. It looked like the car was in great shape though.
The grille, parking lights, and headlamp bezels all say this is a 75. Orange was not listed a standard color for 75 on anything but a Corvette. In 76, Medium Orange was available on the smaller Chevy’s so, this is either a 76 wearing 75 front pieces, or 75 that’s been painted a 76 color. Of course, it could be a 75 with a special order color as well.
I wonder if medium orange is hugger orange by a different name or if it was repainted hugger orange. It looks more fluorescent than the 70s oranges I’m familiar with which tend to look more pale or brownish, but maybe it is the camera. Either way I like it!
It’s a ’75, that was the only year of this style that had the rounded-cornered “floating” turn signals. ’76-78 had squared-off ones at the very ends of the grille with no grille texture above, below or outboard of them.
My bright Nova story is about a Tweety-yellow ’76 sedan my Aunt Pauline owned. She drove it 35 miles an hour. Interstate? 35 mph. Dirt road? 35. Crowded parking lot? 35. Never got in an accident though.
She passed on due to cancer and left the Nova to Aunt Sue who immediately had it repainted dark metallic brown, almost black because she “didn’t want to be seen driving a taxi”. Within weeks Aunt Sue got rear-end/T boned while backing out of a parking space; the other driver claimed not to have seen her. Oh, and her previous car had been a Pinto…
Properly optioned (350 V8 engine, 3 speed TurboHydramatic automatic transmission, power steering, power disc brakes, GM’s always excellent factory air conditioning, top of the line interior trim package), this was a very competent car to ride and drive in.
Not a “penalty box” like some of the earlier, plainer Novas were.
The front seat always felt too low to the floor; but perhaps that was “just me”?
I think I just got my daily dose of Vitamin C just by looking at this Nova.
That Versa with no hubcaps gives the car a more humble look and that Highlander is in a pretty decent shade of Green. Is that Silver Forester souped up or is the hood scoop just cosmetic? Wonder if the Econoline based RV is owned by vagabonds who came up to Oregon for the Summer? That sure is a nice Nova to have for the grey rainy days ahead and I assume the car has been repainted if not totally restored.
This generation of Nova seemed to go totally dormant for a while but nicely kept ones are starting to pop up here and there. A shop near my house that does repairs as well as upgrade/resto-type work has had a Nova coupe of this generation, metallic brown with a light tan roof, in their lot for the past couple of weeks. Nice-looking ride so I wonder if it’s a stage of an ongoing restoration perhaps?
I had a 77 Nova 2 door sedan that was the very popular Firethorn red with a sort of butterscotch interior. 6 cylinder, Powerglide, power steering and brakes, and an AM radio. Very much a little old lady’s car. I bought it because I couldn’t find a Granada/Monarch and all the other “compact” GM sedans I looked at had engines that were….not of the same brand as the car. Like a Pontiac Phoenix with an Oldsmobile engine or a Buick Skylark with a Chevy V8.
Mark Reimer,
I don’t remember the front bench seat as being too low, but the rear bench seat had a bottom that was too short front to back. This was a “trick” GM used on these cars to make it look like such a large car had decent rear legroom.
I love the Creamsicle look, and orange cars in general. Aside from the rare custom or rod, the orange cars I see these days are all Prius Cs.
Medium orange? More like “Maximum orange”!!
I think the Nova’s paint color acts like an extra safely feature for the car. I mean, how could another driver possibly not notice it?
Mi dad drove a white 1976 bare-bones Nova when I was a little kid. I remember it very fondly. I think it’s one of the best looking american sedans of that era. I remember the black vinyl bench seats that would stick to your legs in the summer and the pull straps on the door, instead of armrests (at least on the rear doors). It had the 250cid straight six and automatic transmission. Nice memories.
It’s brave to drive around a bright orange car in Eugene. Send it up to Corvallis, and it’ll get a warm welcome.
I love the two-tone colour combination on this car.
Most of those Nova’s I remember, along with a lot of other 1970’s cars (including my C10 pickup) were metallic avocado green.
Did they really have Powerglides in 75-79 Novas?
I don’t think so. All autos (which were 99% of them) were 3-speed TurboHydramatics.