"Plain Jane" 1970 Nova Build

[Arrowsmith]

Thanks for the compliment. I’m not using a converter and/or trans shield. They can be a royal pain on a race car, and this certainly isn’t a race car. The car wouldn’t pass NHRA or IHRA tech anyway plus I’m not cutting it up to make it “track legal” .

[Arrowsmith]

Here are some added images of the build. You might find some of this interesting or useful.

This is the battery of choice. It's actually a modern AGM (absorbent glass matt) battery from XS Power. XS Power does a lot of race car and sound system batteries. They offer this "vintage" looking job with aged decals. I really dig it and it fits the car I think. By the way, that's the largest battery that fits in the battery tray. Also you can see I use XS Power adapters on the posts (posts are actually screw-on, underneath the reproduction spring ring cables). The reason is, the MSD 7 box is powered directly from the battery. This makes a huge difference in ignition performance.




When I mounted the electric fuel pump out back, I decided to use a doubler on the sheetmetal. I built this piece from composite nylon-plastic. The reason for using a doubler is twofold: It prevents cracking sheetmetal (single layer in this case) due to pump vibration and weight It also dampens the noise from the pump. Doubler is installed with AN (aircraft) hardware and I always make sure there is ample edge margin (distance from the drilled hole to the edge of the doubler plate).



When the spare is installed, most of the doubler is covered up. It also covers up the wiring for the fuel pump. I used a Heyco fastener for the wiring that passes through the sheet metal. This ensures it is sealed tight and doesn't chafe.



I used a huge capacity 25-amp switch from Quick Car Racing Products for the fuel pump. It incorporates a flip style safety cover (easy to turn off) along with screw-in terminals. The body is primarily metal. Great quality switch. I do have a relay on hand, but I don't believe (given the low demand of the pump) it is actually required. BTW, the switch installs in a slightly enlarged OEM hole in the dash structure.



While on the topic of the interior, here's a look at the front, from the passenger side:



Backseat (this car was pretty much phenomenal):



The engine compartment is done...Stick a fork in it...L-O-L...I think the mix of OEM and aftermarket parts came out great -- Exactly the subtle look I wanted:




On the nose of the car, I had these Korean Kumho P205-70R15 tires on the front. To me, they didn't fill up the wheel well sufficiently. It looked a bit goofy and I wanted a bit more header clearance. In this photo, the hood wasn't on and there wasn't any water in the engine/rad. As a result it dropped down even further:



This is the solution: A new set of Toyo P205-75R15 front tires. This provides approximately 5.5 of header clearance. They fill up the wheel well nicely. The same amount of tire is up inside the wheel well front and back and the rubber rake is now 1-inch front to back.



This is an older photo inside my old shop, but it shows the paint. Roughly 70% is original lacquer. Yes, there are a few paint chips that have been fixed, and yes, the rockers and the parts of the front fenders have been re-sprayed in lacquer. There are a couple of light scratches on the roof and deck lid from going through an automatic car wash (way back when) and there is a very (Very!) tiny door dent on the left front fender lip. Because of the age of the paint, I decided to leave this scratches alone. But to bring the original lacquer back to life, I use this mix of products. The big secret is Meguiars #7. I hand apply it, rubbing it into the paint surface and allow it to sit for 24 hours. Then I buff it by hand (not easy...L-O-L). According to folks in the know, #7 restores oils in the lacquer. I can't say that's right or wrong, but check out this photo of the hood:



My wife made this for me....Perfect!



On another note, I'm taking the car to a big local indoor show on Easter weekend. I don't really care if I get any awards. The idea is to see some old friends (I moved back to the prairies after 30+ years on the west coast). After the show, I have a hunch I'll put the car up for sale. I'm kind of set on doing one more car (while I can -- old age is creeping up... ). The Nova won't be cheap...L-O-L. And if it doesn't sell, it can live happily in my garage.

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by BJCHEV396

Great job Wayne,thanks for taking us along for the ride.I'm sure it will get a lot of attention at he show!!

Thank you. But you know what? I think the average person will just walk on by. I'm ok with that, because that's what I built. . FYI, I'm parking it right beside an old friend's silver over red '66 427 Corvette. It's drop dead gorgeous, so I know that will be the show stopper.

[BJCHEV396]

I think you'll be surprised at how much attention it gets.Have you taken the Nova out for a shakedown ride yet?

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by BJCHEV396

I think you'll be surprised at how much attention it gets.Have you taken the Nova out for a shakedown ride yet?

I’d love to go for a rip…I’ve tested everything a couple of times over and it’s all a-ok. But we’re still in the firm grip of Winter here on the prairies. I’ll trailer the car to the show.

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by dykstra

I love everything about this car! Great write up Wayne.

Thank you! I appreciate the kind words. 😀

[Xplantdad]

Awesome build Wayne. I love Novas as my first car was a 1972 version. The effort put into the smallest detail on this build amazes me.


Thanks for taking us along on the build


Have a great time at the show as well....

[Arrowsmith]

Originally Posted by Xplantdad

Awesome build Wayne. I love Novas as my first car was a 1972 version. The effort put into the smallest detail on this build amazes me.


Thanks for taking us along on the build


Have a great time at the show as well....

Thank you Bruce! My pal Jeff and I are sharing a (Very!) simple display at the show (couple of lawn chairs, a pair of car info boards and that's about it). We haven't been together at an indoor car show for ...oh...45 years (Yikes!). I'm pretty sure we'll have a good time -- we both have zero expectations of grandeur...

[Arrowsmith]

The Draggins Car Show came and went this Easter weekend. Getting ready was pretty much a thrash (aren't they all?). Just before the show, I decided I hated the Mopar SS spring suspension setup I had on the car. The fix was to rip everything out and install a set of Calvert split mono leaf springs and Smith Assassin traction bars (the Assassin bars are far more adjustable than Cal Trac bars and they don't bend springs).

Anyway, the first image is of Plain Jane on my pal Jeff Repski's open trailer, on the way to the show. As you can see, Winter is still here in a big way:



Here are two photos of Jane in the show. You can see we had a lavish display...L-O-L:




This is my pal Jeff's '66 Corvette. It's just a good old fashioned high quality hot rod. Jeff built this Vette from what could best be described as a rough project car, doing the body work, paint, mechanical and interior installation himself, in his own home shop. It is stellar.




The next image is courtesy of Jeff's wife Theresa. It's a loose interpretation of an old Instamatic photo we have of us (Jeff, long time buddy Bryon Marion, myself and my wife Cindy) from the same car show, 45 years earlier.



I met all sorts of neat people -- even a couple of very knowledgeable fellow Supercar Registry folks. One of them (and I'm very sorry, I was tired and forgot names...) had -- in the show -- what I believe is the finest 1970 LS6 Chevelle I have ever laid eyes upon -- keeping in mind in my day job I have the opportunity to see more than a few really, really nice cars. I didn't take a photo, but the SS454 was white over black with black stripes. It was done by Rick Nelson and it was absolutely awe-inspiring.

As most of you know, comments from spectators can be funny. One of my fav's was: "I have a Nova just like yours....but mine (his) is better...". L-O-L. One of Jeff's was: "I have a '66 Corvette just like yours....but mine is a (more desirable) split window..."

Even though I never mentioned the car might be for sale, I had several offers on it. When I told them to bring a wheelbarrow full of cash for the car, (north of $100K) most withered. An older (older than us!) gentleman came up to Jeff and offered him a straight across trade with a brand new C8 Corvette. Jeff turned that down too.

When it was all over, I was absolutely shocked to find Plain Jane won Best Street Machine (I'm pretty much wore out here....backstory: There was a good old-fashioned prairie blizzard Friday nite...howling wind and blowing snow. I buried my wife's Honda HRV in the driveway -- and our driveway is almost 1/4 mile long. We had to blow out the snow with our tractor/snowblower, shovel around and under the car, unhook the trailer and pull the car out with our 4X4. The wind finally subsided overnight, and just after daybreak yesterday, I spent several "quality hours: with the tractor and blower cleaning out the driveway again so I could actually get to the show with my pickup truck and Jeff's trailer. I survived...L-O-L...and of course, this coming week, temps are supposed to be near 70-degrees F.)

[ls6owner]

Thx for the comments on the Chevelle, Wayne. Much appreciated. It picked up the award for the Restored class for 1970 and '71. It was great to meet you folks, see your cars and have a visit. Also learnt a few things including that you are a another Saskatchewan fellow and that we were almost neighbors many years ago!
Oliver