Hi Mitch, You have to cut them to mimic what the originals did to allow the gasket to form and flow around the corners. You just have to be careful and use a razor blade or xacto knife. Based on what I can see of the originals, they already had the relief cuts in them for a production setting.

OK, that is what I did and they look OK, I think I needed to cut just a little deeper as they still wanted to buckle. I have to take them off again sometime, so I'll make a slight "adjustment". Yours lay very flat and look original.

My 72 Nova SS built in Van Nuys Cali has the front bumper marked on the inside too.

Engine Bay Complete
 

Alot of final assembly work lately. Steering column, Brakes, Wire Harnessing, wiper/washer lines and jar, Radiator, Battery Tray, Heater hose, and Front Valence. Its interesting learn each year and see how they changed the designs from 66 up thru 72. My thoughts on 66 are they used alot of small pieces for the headlights and valence area. ALOT of screws hold everything together. Its also interesting to note that in 66 and maybe earlier the inner fenders ride below the core support and not above as with the 67 and up. I learned this the hard way before going back to my pictures and seeing I was putting things together wrong. I hope it shows in the pictures I spend alot of time trying to protect painted surfaces from scraps, scuffs and scratches to look perfect or as close to it as I can get.

Looking good my friend. Get the Details Right and they Will Come

Come a circling around it and asking questions…. They always ask questions:)

That's a pretty sob. Well done thus far!

Wow! Looks GREAAT!:cool2:

Headliner
 

Installed the headliner. I go the traditional route of gluing the seams as I go. Ive done a couple now and the early chevelles are the easiest as they dont have holes in the material like the later years. Pretty simple just start at the front, work down each side and the go to the rear middle and work your way out to the sides one at a time.

Package Tray and Speaker
 

Package tray isnt too hard. I like to spend some time putting in extra foam on the sides so it fill outs nicely where the seat meets the metal. I also never feel the reproduction panel cardboard is truly wide enough. The factory option extra speaker is installed too. I had original screws that cleaned up nicely, along with the factory grille. Found the reproduction box is pretty nice too. I did divert some here. I grabbed a new speaker which wasn't built like the originals in the magnet area. I had to do some bracket fabrication and speaker modifications to make it all look factory once installed.

Sail Panels
 

These can be a real PIA. I find the reproduction sail panels to be a good start. I take the old ones and trim the new to match the old. I do some steaming and pre bending of the cardboard to make sure they have the shape I want to fill the gap with the package tray. Ive never been fond of anything pre assembled. Its best to get the cardboards where you want them in shape and then glue the material on. I always reposition the strip in the back that holds the clips. If done right they are very smooth and fit tightly.