Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[BravoXray]

Went to a spaghetti dinner for a friend that has cancer last night and ran into the guy that bought my old nova. Wanted to know if I wanted it back. Was surprised he still had it. Got some issues though his garage roof caved in and kinked the roof. I'm gonna go look at it if he calls. Was the car I had on our first date 38 years ago this year

Not sure what generation it is, but you can new roof panels for 3rd gen Novas, so that might ben an option if there isn't too much damage.

 

[BravoXray]

So after just over two months in paint shop jail, the Nova was finally released today. I realized that when the painter said he'd probably have it done in a couple of weeks, there was no way that was going to happen. In his defense, he did have to do some additional body work on some areas that just didn't suit him, but that's okay, I told him to fix any areas that needed attention.
I must say, the paint looks absolutely gorgeous, even better than I had hoped. When we picked up the hood and trunk lid last Thursday, and the front fenders yesterday, even my two friends that were professional painters were impressed. That day they had wet sanded the body and doors with 2000 grit, and were going to buff it out on Wednesday, which they did.
So today, I had the towing company pick it up and bring it home, thankfully it wasn't pouring rain like it had been yesterday. The even had the same operator that took it to the shop, pick it up today, and he did a great job.
Now, as I am able, as I recover from my back surgery one month ago today, I'l start the long process of getting the Nova put back together. I've been mentally making a list of the sequence for the reassembly, lots of things to consider in establishing the order of events.
Sorry I didn't get pictures of the trunk lid or hood before we wrapped them ip in shipping blankets for transport, but I did get a couple of the fenders.
I'm estimating for it to take a year for me to get it finished, so we'll see how it goes.

The young fellow on the left in the first picture is the painter/shop owner. Great guy.

 

[MossRoad]

Man, that's gonna look great! Keep up that rehab for the back.

 

[dodge man]

It’s looking good, hope the reassembly goes well.

 

[BravoXray]

Been kind of cold to work in the shop for very long lately, but I have made a little progress. Over the weekend I got both trunk hinges in and the torsion rods that hold the lid open installed. Of course I couldn't find the pivot pins, so after searching many boxes of parts, it dawned on me that I may have attached themk to the torsion rods, and sure enough, that's where they were. The torsion rods are a royal PITA to install, and I even have a specially made tool to aid in their installation. First, I had to find a video online that showed how they are installed, and I could only fine one video for a 3rd generation Nova, as it's been eight years since I removed them, and I didn't take pictures or make a drawing of how they go in. Once I watched the video, it was simple, but certainly not easy to install them. It takes a lot of torque to get them installed in the proper adjustment notches. And of course I got the first one in the wrong notch, and had to do it over again. The second one was easier, as I figured out that I could push sideways on the rod while twisting it to make it a little shorter and easier to get in the proper notches in the fixed end bracket.
Yesterday and today, I dug out, cleaned up, and installed the tail lights and rear side marker lights, so, I'm making a little progress. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get the door handles installed, and maybe the actuators for the keyless entry system I bought for it. It also has the actuator for the trunk latch, so maybe I'll get that installed too. Once that's installd, I want to get the trunk lid installed and aligned, then install the trunk seal.
After that, I need to remove the doors so I can get the insulation put in the roof and then get the headliner installed. That should be a lot simpler with it upside down on the rotisserie than iit was putting the one in a friends '70 Charger.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice to see you working on it again.

 

[BravoXray]

I took a break from working on the Nova for a few days, had to help a friend with some computer problems, and had another friend that needed an extension for the ram on a hydraulic jack used on a homemade cherry picker. I gave him an unused air operated 8 ton tall jack that was one of a pair I had bought years ago to make aircraft jacks for my Debonair, but it was about six inches shorter than the old one, and wouldn't lift as high. I used a piece of 2" hot rolled bar stock and was able to turn it down, bore one end to fit over the jack's ram, and drilled a couple holes to secure each end.
This afternoon, I got the actuators installed in both doors of the Nova so I'll have remote/keyless locks in the doors, They were easy to install, screw the actuators to the mounting brackets, remove the latches from the doors, drill out a hole on the locking lever and install a retainer clip for the link from the actuator. Reinstalled the the door latches with the actuators and was done. Was a pretty easy job.
Still need to run the wires and install the ducts from the door to the body that they run through, but I need to mount the control unit first.
I'm also mulling over putting a connector in the wires so the door can be removed without cutting the wires. I have several types that will work, just need to decide which one to use.
I think I'll have a couple of friends come over and get the trunk lid mounted tomorrow, it's ready to go.

 

[BravoXray]

My friends came over this afternoon and we got the trunk lid put on the Nova. It took a little adjusting, but it seems to fit pretty well. The torsion springs seem to be adjusted just right, as from closed to open about a foot or so, the lid will stay where you put it. I have to repaint the catch that the lid latch locks onto, because the paint wrinkled up on it, and it looks like crap. I'll blast it and paint it again to morrow, if we don't get blown away, some nasty storms are predicted tomorrow.

 

[MossRoad]

That last picture of the trunk open reminds me of throwing three of my friends in the trunk of my 70 before heading into the drive-in theatre.

Great memories of a great car. Thanks and appreciate the photos.

 

[civilian]

That last picture of the trunk open reminds me of throwing three of my friends in the trunk of my 70 before heading into the drive-in theatre.

Great memories of a great car. Thanks and appreciate the photos.

Moss, were you nice and let them out for the movie? Jon