Barn Find 1978 Sterling Nova Gets A Deep Clean

Mar 14, 2022 2 min read
Barn Find 1978 Sterling Nova Gets A Deep Clean

Sit back and watch the dirt get washed away…


Since 1985, this 1978 Sterling Nova kit car has been sitting. As would happen with anything that just sits that long, it’s become absolutely filthy. Now, some would say it’s best to just haul it off to the junkyard and be done with it. Instead, WD Detailing was called in to clean up the beauty, showing why so many fell in love with the radical design during the last oil crisis.

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Watching any car that’s incredibly dirty get thoroughly detailed is extremely satisfying. These sorts of videos are the kind of thing we can watch before going to bed, they’re so relaxing. You get to see that curvaceous body get pressure washed, a lot of the dirt almost falling off. That’s followed up by a hand washing, clay bar, then a nice polishing to bring that shine all the way back.

From there they move to the interior, which might be worse. Mold has taken hold, making the space so disgusting nobody in their right mind would want to sit in the car. However, by the time WD Detailing is done, this Sterling Nova looks amazing.

Developed by two young unknowns in the auto industry, the Sterling Nova turned plenty of heads with its dramatic and surprisingly well-balanced design. Nobody really expected much from kit cars back in the early 70s, so to see one which arguably rivaled some production cars was jarring in a good way. The fact it uses a lifting canopy was just the icing on the cake and makes the Sterling Nova memorable even today.

While the it looks like an exotic supercar, the Sterling Nova wasn’t hot at all when it came to performance. Each one was made using a donor Volkswagen Beetle, meaning acceleration was tepid. Understandably, some people still blow these kit cars off as wannabe rides. However, they still have a cult following today and it’s easy to see the appeal, at least when it comes to the aesthetics.

Check out the video for yourself.

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