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As of tonight the lift is moved back into my work shop and the Nova is now on it. Time to start tearing this one down and fix a few of the issues I found with it, then drop in the new drive line into it. It's gonna be a fun one for sure.
https://i.ibb.co/kxjcwnH/IMG-1926.jpg |
Finally took a day off and decided to start working on the Nova with my 14 year old son Devon. First up was to remove the hood before we started to tear down the front clip. He soon got a good lesson in bumper bolts as we removed the originals after 48 years in use. The first 2 snapped off while he was learning all about leverage and protecting the hands when twisting on 48 year old bolts. I eventually pulled out a persuader and some heat to get the last of couple out. He thought they'd be simple to remove until he saw what it can take. (bahaha) There was a couple *#%&^@'s involved in his first couple bumper bolts. One straggler will need to be cut to remove the bumper since it decided to spin out. (grrr)
https://i.ibb.co/pRct1mD/Lift1.jpg https://i.ibb.co/mDzSm0V/Lift2.jpg https://i.ibb.co/jy0bnyc/IMG-2378.jpg https://i.ibb.co/C9b3WTS/IMG-2383.jpg https://i.ibb.co/d5XKbDT/IMG-2380.jpg |
At least they snapped off and didn't round out the holes.
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Great family project. Keep us posted!!!:laugh:
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Safety glasses a must. Teaching that kid right. looks like a nice little project too. Have fun!
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Graeme, You look like a man on a mission!!
LOL... Nova is looking good... Rich |
Found another day to work on the Nova and finally got that last bumper bolt chopped off. Stripped the front clip and got the motor ready to pull out. It's an 80 Corvette block (2 bolt) that ran like crap but found out why today. Distributor was loose, carb is a turd that someone slapped together, and the fuel was foul (piss yellow). Also found some rust in the front fender corners under the lower belt but the good news today was finding out the heads are unmolested 186's with A-31-9 and B-7-9 dates. I'll see what the bottom end is like once I get it pulled out this week. Maybe I can use this for my kids car.
https://i.ibb.co/k5fYBjR/IMG-2407.jpg https://i.ibb.co/NsRc8cn/IMG-2404.jpg https://i.ibb.co/SvR7b6f/IMG-2408.jpg |
Did my usual parts run to Montana today and picked up a couple early presents. Heater box from Woj and a minty set of Cragar's from Sam (the fronts are dead mint). Have everything I need for the Nova now.
I'll put these parts to good use real soon. :youguysrock: https://i.ibb.co/3zHkrqd/IMG-2422.jpg |
Sweet score Graeme! Woj and Sammy have good stashes to be sure. Keep us posted. We love updates with lots of pix!!!!:biggthumpup::3gears::biggthumpup::3gears:
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The Cragar's are going out tomorrow to be mounted with a set of vintage Firestone 500 slicks that I got from Tony a while back. The front runners will get another set of Firestone pie crusts to be used for shows that are close to home. These should give the car that vintage Day II vibe that I'm looking for. For times that require highway miles, I'll bolt these 15" SS repro wheels on the car to give it better handling. Had these mounted up today with a set of the Wide Oval FR70/15 radials and have to admit, I love the look of these. I'll mount them up when all the other work is finished up over the next month or so.
https://i.ibb.co/SvF0zRN/IMG-2434.jpg https://i.ibb.co/D7qgL1L/IMG-2433.jpg |
Love the Cragars!
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I'm really diggin the Drag 500's mounted up. Now the work begins as I set course on restoring the brakes, wiper, wiring and heater box before dropping in the new drive line. Might repaint the front hood to match the ghosted lines and repair the fenders while they are off. Anyone have a good source for lacquer paint?
https://i.ibb.co/qCMZHSH/IMG-2440.jpg https://i.ibb.co/yQSWVrW/IMG-2438.jpg https://i.ibb.co/b3j79dt/IMG-2439.jpg |
Way cool! Can't wait to see them mounted on the car.
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Those drag 500's are badass! I run those back in the day and would love to find another set.
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Graeme, you can NEVER have too many wheel and tire combos!! Love it... Looking good...
Rich |
cant wait to see the cragars on the car!
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Drag 500s look awesome!
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Pulled the seats and carpet out of the Nova today to get an idea of the work I'll need to do in order to mount the Lakewood roll bar into the Nova. It sits nice in there but I'll need to rework the floor plates before painting the car and getting it fixed into the car.
https://i.ibb.co/Dtqp4GJ/IMG-2484.jpg |
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I've been trying so hard not to bolt them on until I'm done. :JeffSucksToo: |
Morning NorCam!!
Hole drilled in Lakewood near the top of the hoop not correct as "original". Not being a smart-A$$ .. Ted in Mtl |
Likely put there from someone who had a harness bolted in? It can stay there...matters not to me. :beers:
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Probably for a head pad. It would be easy to weld closed and smoothed.
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Drag 500s and Cragar SSs look killer!!!!!! :worship:
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Not a whole lot of time working on the car the last week or so, but got the motor pulled yesterday, removed the aluminum fuel lines and drained the old fuel. I started removing of the old brake lines last night I'll finish that up today before dropping the tank. Gotta go through the back brakes, pull the Lakewood bars off and treat them to correct paint and some new decals. Also need to decide on some shocks for the back of this car before bolting it back up. While I'm at it, I'm going to do some tunnel work as a previous owner patched it up from the old Super Shifter and the tin work is weak at best. I'm going to reinstall the Super Shifter in this car and run it with an M22 Supercase I have here. Also found a few holes I want to weld up under the car as it must of had a bolt in roll bar at some point in it's street life.
Any of you Ohio guys remember seeing a 3 or 4 point cage in it? Plan is coming together and it will be ready for early spring with some clean up of the rough edges I've found. https://i.ibb.co/FXhZ7WL/IMG-2568.jpg https://i.ibb.co/BL5vWJR/IMG-2592.jpg https://i.ibb.co/CvJBdJW/IMG-2594.jpg |
Rear brakes are cleaned up and serviced with new e-brake cables installed. Hope to get the brake lines finished this week and then I'm onto the front disks and booster. Also planning to hide a vacuum pump in behind the battery so I have enough stopping power. Car still has original outer drums.
Nice to be working on a car again. :-) https://i.ibb.co/vj53d2Y/IMG-2633.jpg https://i.ibb.co/ns0pC7r/IMG-2634.jpg https://i.ibb.co/SxHYsZ0/IMG-2635.jpg https://i.ibb.co/vmjr03M/IMG-2610.jpg |
Looking real good NorCam.
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Graeme, there was never a roll cage in the car the times I saw it.
Rich |
Here's an update after spending a couple solid days working on the Nova. First off, the PO of the car decided to spray the entire underside in flat black prior to listing it for sale. They coated everything under the car in flat black, and I mean everything. I had most of it apart so I decided to cover the car and pulled the diff to repaint it while the trac bars were off. Once painted I added all new hard lines for the brakes. Also cleaned up the frame rails and ran new fuel and brake lines from the rear to the front of the car which cleaned it up nicely. I'll tweak and straighten up the hard lines once I get ahead of the main work.
https://i.ibb.co/7VC5MhV/IMG-2747.jpg https://i.ibb.co/fNY9v1j/IMG-2744.jpg https://i.ibb.co/P1yz10V/IMG-2761.jpg https://i.ibb.co/K92h8v9/IMG-2764.jpg https://i.ibb.co/hFMbzRR/IMG-2765.jpg |
Next up I sand blasted the slapper bars to get all the paint off, primed the bare metal and restored them back to yellow. These bars have been on the car since the early 70's and were in real nice shape. I soaked the hardware for a day to remove the old paint and then wire wheeled all the hardware before thread chasing everything. They are now freshly restored with new decals added, and the bars are being reinstalled later today.
https://i.ibb.co/844GsCF/IMG-2762.jpg https://i.ibb.co/yS5PDks/IMG-2772.jpg https://i.ibb.co/DfHXVB2/IMG-2773.jpg |
Once I finish installing the rear end and trial fitting some Cragar's, I'll probably do the front sub frame and restore the brake lines and power booster setup. Next to that I'll have to figure out what to do with the tunnel. P/O added this aluminum tin to close up the holes from the previous Ramrod shifter and popped this aluminum cover on with a bunch of pop rivets. Not exactly my style so last night...off it came.
If I run a factory shifter I'll section in some sheet metal and and weld in in nicely. I'm not really sure what shifter I'm going to run quite yet, and may go back to the Ramrod if I can get it rebuilt first. In either case this area will require some cleanup as a minimum. That could include welding up a bunch of drilled holes from many different shift boots having been installed. It's moving along nicely now. https://i.ibb.co/XDTVbXs/IMG-2767.jpg https://i.ibb.co/B3GXqmR/IMG-2769.jpg |
Thanks for the update! I love watching your progress with this car.
Are all those holes really just from different shifters? |
I can only assume the holes are from different boots, relocation's, and likely a few cover plates added over the years where things were reconfigured.
One thing is certain, I'll be the guy to cleans it up and sets it right once I decide what shifter I'll be running. I have an M22 supercase to run in the car but still unsure if the Ramrod will be used with it. I actually want a Jerico trans but that will wait until another project. |
Great progress Graeme. I vote for the Ramrod!
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Roger that Damien. I'll mock this M-22 up on the bench and connect the Ramrod soon. I can then check it's operations before making the final choice. In the meantime I was banging away at the car again today and finished up the back end. Just need to flush and reinstall the tank here tonight and then I'm onto the front of the car.
https://i.ibb.co/VV2Pc1N/IMG-2777.jpg T-bolts for the front eye holes with J-Bolts in rear holes. https://i.ibb.co/D9Fxqz9/IMG-2780.jpg Original drums were thin so I added some new ones. Old ones are now stored. https://i.ibb.co/NVyST8r/IMG-2782.jpg For those who wanted to see them, Cragar's are now on the car. https://i.ibb.co/6m47QbG/IMG-2786.jpg J-bolts mounted through the inner rear holes (factory position) https://i.ibb.co/VT0NYd5/IMG-2787.jpg Here's the 12 bolt after cleaning it all up and reinstalling it. https://i.ibb.co/V24QRGp/IMG-2788.jpg Added some new Munroe shocks and will try them out. https://i.ibb.co/TqwSTC6/IMG-2789.jpg And there's the money shot. Car sits nice right now and lips are rolled. https://i.ibb.co/bbD98ws/IMG-2791.jpg And here are the Lakewood's before adjusting the the front bumpers. |
Great progress Graeme - looking just great! :3gears::3gears::3gears:
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Thanks Sam. I took a few cues from the work you did on your beautiful Chevelle. It's fun seeing it take shape here, that's for sure.
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Still banging away at the Nova here while it's freezing outside. Stored the front brakes away while adding some after market parts so it passes an upcoming safety inspection. The old booster was removed years ago and I couldn't find an original in time so I mounted the Chinese one for now. I know the cam I have won't make any vacuum but I was after the stock look so this is it for the time being. I'm also going to install a vacuum pump and stash it in behind the battery so I have enough vacuum for power brakes.
Cragar's are mounted up, new hard lines are complete, and I only have a couple short links to make at the hold off valve before bleeding the brakes this week. Installed the new heater core, finished up some work under the dash and started laying out some wiring for the engine bay. I found a new cowl panel since the old one was welded up and also took the fenders to my painter to cut the rust out of the bottom corners. He snuck them in for me and did a decent job of blending the paint, although the camera and lighting make it look more silver in the pictures. I'll get them back today but still have a weeks work left before they go on. Getting close to dropping the engine and trans in before fixing up the tunnel area. Finally, I mounted this NOS green line tach and the converted digital EB-9A box on the firewall. Still need to find a couple green line gauges for oil pressure, vacuum and temp. I'll mount those under dash when I find a set. Because I love pressure, it's entered in for the World of Wheels in 2 weeks so I have to finish it up in two weeks. Thought it might be a fun car to throw into the Calgary show for the locals who appreciate old street cars. Hoping to finish the roll bar, tow tabs amd DS loop before then too. https://i.ibb.co/BGSSndx/IMG-2810.jpg These should help it stop. https://i.ibb.co/7RMsw07/IMG-2822.jpg 4" Cragar's mounted up with Firestone 6.40' up front https://i.ibb.co/Jygddqx/IMG-2837.jpg Cleaned up the sub frame and got all the hard lines ran. Only a couple left to plumb at the master now. https://i.ibb.co/G3R1Rs1/IMG-2829.jpg Anyone have a couple green line gauges for under the dash they'd want to sell? https://i.ibb.co/9tmrfXJ/OJIS4814.jpg Holding up the freshly painted cowl panel to show the color match to fenders. https://i.ibb.co/yyCK7Gz/XBZS6747.jpg At this angle the blow ins look lighter, but he assured me it's closer than the picture appears? |
Yeah Graeme, looking good!!! Keep ‘em coming!! :burnout:
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