Travis Kline, of Lima, says one day his 1970 Nova SS may belong to his son, Travis II, who helps keep it clean.
Jim Krumel | For The Lima News
LIMA – Travis Kline has lived the old saying: “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”
He thought he found the Chevrolet Nova of his dreams. The owner lived in New Jersey. But just as things began looking up, Kline and the owner couldn’t agree on a price for the 1970 Nova SS.
So, scratch that one.
Then his wife located a Nova on Facebook, but it had no engine.
“I went through multiple engines before I found a good one,” Kline said. “It was a 396 big block. I got the car on the road. I drove it for a summer, and then the next year, it had an engine fire.”
Scratch that one, too.
“It took me a year to replace the entire interior, fix the engine, and do some firewall work,” he said.
But Kline is persistent. And he has a young son, Travis II, who is a pretty good helper.
The car is back on the road and looking good. It’s a testament to the popularity of the ‘70 Nova SS, which saw more than 19,000 cars roll off the assembly line that year.
Kline and his son, Travis II, had the Nova at the Heartbeat of Lima Car Show in August, hosted by the Tom Ahl Family of Dealerships.
“My father had a few Novas back in the day and I fell in love with the body style,” Kline said. “I got this car in 2017, just before he passed away. He was happy to see me with a Nova.”
And who knows, Kline said, “Maybe someday this will be my son’s car.”
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