Wanger’s Classic Nova
Although know as the “Godfather of the GTO,” Jim Wangers also did his magic on Chevrolets.
People associate Jim Wangers — “godfather of the GTO” — with Pontiac, but he had his hand in other makes of cars as well. Wangers built and sold a car called “The Milwaukee Classic” when he owned Jim Wangers Chevrolet, Inc., on Milwaukee’s Green Bay Avenue in the early 1970s. After a story appeared in Old Cars several years ago mentioning Wangers’ Chevrolet dealership, we received a call from Larry Muschinski of Milwaukee who said he owns a 1973 “Milwaukee Classic” Nova that was originally sold by Jim Wangers Chevrolet, Inc. Muschinski was told that it was one of only four such cars made.
Muschinski’s Nova was unrestored and showing 34,981 miles when he contacted us. The car is actually a Nova Custom two-door coupe with a 350-cid V-8 topped with a Rochester four-barrel carburetor and backed by a four-speed manual transmission. The car was equipped with front bucket seats, a floor console with a full array of gauges, a tachometer fitted to the left side of the speedometer, a clock, an AM radio, full carpet, heavy-duty suspension and a Positraction rear axle. The car was built with power-assisted front disc brakes and rear drums.
The car was finished in black with black vinyl seats, headliner and door panels. A red “Milwaukee Classic” graphic was installed on the left corner of the trunk lid. Stored inside the trunk was apparently one of the original tires, which were raised white-letter Tiger Paws (size E-70/14). They were mounted on Chevy Rally rims with center caps and beauty rings. Muschinski said he had “upgraded to 215/70/14 Tiger Paw radials on February 18, 2009.”
Muschinski said the car handles much better than an ordinary Nova.
“The outside sport mirrors must have been added at the dealership,” he adds. “The driver’s side remote-control mirror was originally blue paint and the passenger side mirror shows gold paint underneath the black topcoat.” Muschinski said he would try to get more information about the car from its original owner."
While waiting to hear more from Muschinski, we contacted Jim Wangers by phone.
“The Milwaukee Classic was a special package I put together as a new dealer entering the Milwaukee market in 1971,” he explained. “The Monte Carlo was in its second year of a cycle and was a little stale. The Milwaukee Classic was a statement for our dealership and was successful.”
According to a promotional sheet for the Milwaukee Classic Monte Carlo, the package included Firemist Gold side accent stripes and a similar finish on the center of the hood panel and rear deck lid panel. Wide side stripes ran from the front bottom edge of the front wheel opening to the front bumper, up around and then over both front fender tips, and back along the fender tops and belt line. The stripes dipped down to form a scallop behind the door handles and continued to the rear. The gold accents were trimmed in Candy Apple Red or Green that was softly blended into the gold pigment. A formal landau-style vinyl roof covering was also part of the Monte Carlo’s package and could be ordered in Antique White or Rawhide.
According to a April 18, 1972, Milwaukee Sentinel article, the 1972 Milwaukee Classic Monte Carlo also had a radiator-type grille shell, B.F. Goodrich Lifesaver radial tires, Koni shock absorbers, a heavy-duty rear stabilizer shaft and “Classic” emblems on the wheel centers and panels. The radiator grille shell was actually a chrome cap that fit on the front edge of the hood, above the normal Monte Carlo grille.
Wangers said he sold about 100 Milwaukee Classic Monte Carlos.
“Since it was really a successful package, I decided to take the Milwaukee Classic concept into the [rest of the] Chevy lineup. We had a good value car with the Nova at that time, so I picked the Nova and Chevelle as the next cars to get the Milwaukee Classic treatment. However, the Nova wasn’t successful. We only sold four of them. The Nova didn’t lend itself to customizing. We could not add a classic radiator or a landau top. The Nova Milwaukee Classic package was mostly a custom paint job. I stopped efforts to make a Milwaukee Classic Chevelle.”
Up to this point, everything Wangers said matched up with Muschinski’s black car. Then, Wangers stated that all four of the Milwaukee Classic Novas he built were white cars with Candy Apple paint treatments and special wheels. “We changed things. In those days we could do that; the government wasn’t involved.” And he insisted that all four cars left the dealership with a white finish.
After we conveyed this to Muschinski, he checked to see if his car had ever been repainted. As stated above, the Sport mirrors were re-sprayed, but the black paint on the rest of car was original, as was the dealership sticker on the deck lid. Muschinski checked with a man named Doug, who was the original buyer of his Nova. Doug stated he had ordered a Camaro, but delivery was delayed, so instead he bought the Nova directly off the lot. Doug said the car was just as it is today — black on black with the stated features.
“When he bought it, he was told there were only three others like it sold in Wisconsin,” said Muschinski. “He never saw the others so he couldn’t say what color they were, but this one is black and was never repainted.”
To add more mystery, Muschinski sent a photo of the Nova’s Fisher Body plate. It was not an entirely standard plate. It carried the symbols ST73 for 1973 and the VIN number 1XY27W292550 that de-codes as: 1=Chevy; XY=Nova Custom; 27=Coupe; W=Made at Willow Run, Ohio; and 292550=sequential production number. On the trim plate was code A51 and the color code area on it had just two dashes rather than a color designation.
Next, we contacted Wayne Bushey at the National Nostalgic Nova Club (www.nnnova.com) who promptly called back and said, “That car’s color code is a COPO (Central Office Production Order) thing, so your car was ordered like a police car or taxi with special features. So, at least we know that!”
Muschinski had another conversation with the original owner and his brother, Jim, who had gone with Doug to pickup the car in 1973.
“There were four identical black Novas on the lot when we picked up the car,” Jim told Muschinski.
This information did not match up with Wangers’ recollections.
Our next step was to contact Ross Obermeyer, a vintage car and truck restorer who operates Obermeyer’s “41” Auto Body in Allenton, Wis. Obermeyer had been the body shop manager at Jim Wangers Chevrolet. We asked Obermeyer if he had any memories of the Milwaukee Classic Monte Carlo or Nova.
“Enclosed is a copy of a Jim Wangers book I saved since those days,” Obermeyer wrote. “It was written shortly before I took over as body shop manager in ’73. I was the assistant manager before that. I well remember the cars being done in the shop. My painter, Vince DeBella, was the guy that did the painting, laying out the stripes by hand and using House of Kolor candy colors to do the ‘fade’ from the color to gold. I believe the available (stripe) colors were red, blue or green. Vince was a really great painter.”
The book showed pictures of Milwaukee Classic versions of a Camaro, a Corvette, a Chevelle Sport Coupe, a Nova and a Vega. All of the cars in the pictures were white with stripes. From the copies, it was hard to determine if the pictures show actual cars or were touched-up photos. Due to the reflections and shading, they look like photos of actual prototype cars. The book also includes clippings of articles in various car magazines about the Milwaukee Classic Monte Carlo, pictures of other special models Wangers proposed or made, a promotion for Jim Wangers Chevrolet’s LS-W 454-cid engine package and a list of performance parts that the dealership sold for 265- through 400-cid Chevrolet engines.
“As you can see there were plans for Camaros, Vegas, ’Vettes and Chevelles besides the Monte Carlos,” Obermeyer said. “I recall seeing one Milwaukee Classic Impala and a black Chevelle. The Chevelle may be the one Jim Wangers told you about. There may have been other cars, too. It was a long time ago, and some special cars were probably done before I worked there. It was a high-pressure job, but I learned a lot and have happy memories of the place — but I am much happier working for myself on classics.”
Although some information about the Milwaukee Classic program has turned up, we still haven’t sorted out the question of black COPO Novas with Milwaukee Classic decals versus white Novas with candy apple stripes. So, hopefully someone who lived in Milwaukee at that time and saw or worked on the cars — or maybe even bought one — can provide additional information.
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