Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[BravoXray]

Dropped the wheels off at the powder coat shop today, he thought they'd have them done end of next week. They can't do two colors, so I'll just paint the black areas.
Took some time and cleaned the bench off this afternoon. Also went to the electrical supply in town and bought three 8 foot LED lights to replace the ones in the bay over the Nova. Went to wire them with a power cord, but the wires were in the center of the fixtures, so the 3 foot cords weren't long enough and went back to exchange them for 6 footers.
I did install the springs on the hood hinges, was pretty easy with the bars I installed in them to keep them stretched out part way.
The tap and set screws arrived this evening, so I can work on finishing up the parking brake cables tomorrow.
Now I'm looking at the exhaust X pipe under the car, as it hangs down lower than I like. I may take it off and turn it over as it's got a slight bend ahead of the X that should raise it up a couple of inches. The only problem is that since the engine and transmission are offset towards the passenger side of the car, the right side pipe is pretty close to the driveshaft. I might have to bend it out an inch or so to get more clearance. Then again, it might not work at all. I guess I'll see.

 

[BravoXray]

This weekend, I pulled the X-pipe out of the car and turned it over hoping that would raise the pipe enough, but not too much. But, with it turned over and all the pipes connected, it was right up against the drive shaft. Took it back off and made some cuts in the short pipes ahead of the X so they came out pretty much straight and tacked them in place. Put it back in and after a couple more adjustments, installing and removing it, I got the best position I could. The X-pipe hangs about
1 1/2" below the driveshaft now, so that's acceptable. It's probably a couple of inches higher now than it was, so it looks better too. While the X-pipe and the pipes that connect to the headers were off, I went over them with the Scotchbrite pads and polished them up a little.
Next, I installed the last of the parts on the parking brake cable and that is finished up. They even work pretty well when the pedal is applied.
Today I fixed the wiring on the rear side markers where I had wired them to blink with the turn signals. Problem was, they came on with the brake lights too, since it doesn't have separate turn and brake light bulbs. I just wasn't thinking correctly when I wired them initially, but they're fixed now and I also installed LED bulbs in them.
I also worked on getting the trunk lid to fit better, as the right rear corner was sticking out too far and the side gaps were off. A block of wood wrapped in rags, a dead blow hammer, and some not so gentle persuasion made it line up better, as did some adjustment on the hinges.
After looking over the trim rings for the wheels, I decided to order a new set. Every one either had dents of curb rash, so I decides to replace all of them. I had a coupon for a 15% discount on an order over $100, si I used that to save a few bucks.
I also spent a couple of hours consolidating leftover parts into fewer storage bins, and taking pictures of some parts that I'm going to post for sale on Steve's Nova Site.
A couple of weeks ago, the gentleman that did the glass work for me suddenly passed away, so today I called his phone and talked to his son. Apparently to autopsy showed he had a heart attack, but his son said the family felt he died if a broken heart, as his wife of over 50 years had passed away last year, and he had really taken it hard, and never really recovered from the shock. I explained that he had gotten new glass for the Nova, and hadn't installed it yet, that it was paid for, and could I pick it up come days so I could have another installer put it in. He said no problem, and he's locate it and give me a call so I could pick it up. He even recommended another installer that specializes in classic car glass service. That's good news.

Looks like I'm going to have to mow the grass for the first time this weekend, it's getting pretty tall.

 

[BravoXray]

Got a call from the powder coat shop, said they had a problem with the wheels, and would like me to take a look at them. It seems that sometimes when they powder coat welded rims like these are, they sometimes get bubbling at the seam, and that's what happened. If it would have been on the back side, it wouldn't have been a big deal, but this would be very noticeable. So, they're going to do them over and hope it doesn't happen again. That's another week gone.

 

[TripleS]

They didn't prep or clean them right. I've seen tons of wheels powder coated and things like that only happen when contamination is under the powder.

 

[the old grind]

I've seen tons of wheels powder coated and things like that only happen when contamination is under the powder.

I'd want them acid-etched as if to be plated before I'd count on powder coating to fill those nooks and crannies and adhere properly once they go in to bake. That said, IMO it wouldn't be much different to prep for paint.

 

[BravoXray]

My fall back plan is to do that if they can't get the powder coating right. He said that usually recoating them works a lot better, as anything om the crevices gets baked out the first time. I'll wait and see.
Also, The color really isn't what Argent Silver is supposed to look like, too bright, so I ordered more powder from Eastwood that is specifically designed to replicate it.

 

[BravoXray]

Haven't been making much progress on the Nova lately, too many other things to do and work on, like my Troy-Bilt string trimmer that ran for 30 seconds and died, to run no more, and resurrecting a Snapper push mower that has sat in my garage unused for 7 years.
I also replaced three of the florescent lights over the side of the shop where the Nova sets with LEDs, converted the old fixtures to use LED bulbs, and hung two of those in the center of the rafters. I have one more converted fixture left to hang near the front, just waiting on my niece's husband to get a free hour or so the climb the ladder and put it up. The amount of light in the shop with all those lights is great, never been that bright before. I'm also going to convert the three remaining fixtures on the north side of the shop to LEDs as soon as I can move some items on the upper deck so I can set up a step ladder and take them down.
Also, last Wednesday I had carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand, as it's been making my fingers go numb and hand ache, especially at night. That went fine, in and out in 2 hours, done with a local anesthetic.

The powder coat shop called last Friday and said that after blasting and recoating the wheels, they looked worse that the first try. Well, bah! So they are going to blast them again, and I just have to paint them. I checked on just buying new wheels, but they want $250 apiece for the bare wheels, no trim rings or center caps, so that's not going to happen.
I've been putting off installing the side molding, as I hated the idea of drilling all those holes in all that new metal, but I finally decided to get it over with and go it.
After studying a lot of pictures of Novas with the molding and getting the location pretty well nailed down, I tried laying out a tape line where the molding will go, as 1" masking take is about the same width as the molding. Try as I might, between the compound curves of the body panels and my macular degeneration that makes things in my central vision appear squiggy I couldn't get it as straight as I wanted. Then I came up with the idea of using a contractor's laser level to get a dead straight line. I picked on up on Amazon, a Klein unit for $30, that did the job. The molding passes about 3/8" under the door lock, and is pretty much centered with the top portion of the headlight eyebrow trim, so that gives me two fixed points to define the trim line. I stuck the laser level to the side of a tool box with the beam at the same height as the molding centerline under the door lock, 41 1/2", and adjusted the beam to the desired height on the front fender. I stuck tape centered on the beam at the rear of the door, and ran it to the front of the fender, keeping the laser beam centered on the tape, then did the same, running it back to the rear of the read quarter panel. There, it came out at virtually the same location as seen on the other Novas, so that's good to see.
For each piece of trim, I laid out the points where I would drill holes for either the plastic retainer clips or the wing bolts, with a spacing of about 9" and centered on the tape. I center punched and drilled all the holes, then attached the plastic clips with the supplied screws, dipped in undercoating to seal the threads and holes. I had to modify the wing bolts to get the threaded stud to be centered in the trim, not sure why they're made so they are offset in the molding.
The front molding came with only the wing bolts, I would have to take the fender off to get to some of those, so I used one only at the front and used the plastic clips on the rest of the piece. The rear piece came with two bolts, but I only used one at the rear, with clips on the rest of the piece. I can't see that it should be a problem, as the clips seem to hold the molding pretty securely.
I think the molding makes a huge difference in the looks of the car, glad I decided to put them on.

 

[BravoXray]

Had a little help yesterday, when my neighbor Rusty and mt friend Brian stopped over in the afternoon, so I had them give me a hand setting the hood on the Nova. No problem getting it bolted to the hinges, but there are definitely some alignment issues. First thing was the fenders were too close together at the front, the hood barely fit between them. Second is the hood sits about 3/8" forward of the fender on the right side, but is pretty well aligned with the left side fender. Third, the hood sits about 3/4" higher than the fenders at the rear, above the hinges.
I also laid out some tape on the area where the trim that goes at the bottom of the vinyl top, and after some careful alignment, drilled five holes on each side, for the stud on the corner piece, and four for the clips that retain the stainless steel trim piece that runs up to the rear of the drip rail. I think that's the last of the holes I have to drill in it, hopefully.
Today I was able to get the fenders moved out about 1/4" on each side after loosening up some bolts and some tweaking of the bracket where the fender attaches to the radiator support. The fender to hood gap, while not exactly the same from front to rear, it is acceptable at about 1/8" to 3/16". About the only way to get the hood and right fender front edges to align would be to move the fender forward and/or the hood to the rear. I'm still studying just what to do on that.
Getting the rear of the hood down to align with the top of the fenders, which it did before I took it apart to be painted, is going to require enlarging the adjustment slots on the hinges. I'm not sure how this happened, as I have pictures of the front end assembled before paint, and they look perfectly aligned. Curious....
Brian also gave me a hand getting the front seats down from up on the deck, so today I installed the headrest catches and headrests, and got them bolted down in the car. They both fit pretty snugly against the trans tunnel, and also lean back a little much for my taste, so I think I'm going to pull them out and install a spacer, probably about 1" tall, between the seat tracks and the rear seat mounting points. That should correct both problems. Putting the spacer in between the seat and slider won't be seen, whereas, if I put it between the slider and floor, it would be very visible.
So, I got to sit in the car, in a seat, for the first time in over 10 years. Felt pretty good.

Now if I can just get the wheels back, get them painted and the tires mounted up.

 

[dlbraly]

That looks great! I've always liked that body style.

I've met a bunch of guys that will say stuff like "I rebuilt .... or I did...."
You ask more questions and find out they actually paid to have it done.
Nothing wrong with paying to have something done, just some reason the wording seems off to me. Not sure how to word it different, I know it is just me. Paying someone gets help and can get stuff done faster. I like doing the work myself - to me that is the fun part.
I Love talking to guys about cars/trucks.

My father-in-law had a 66 Nova when I married my wife (20 years this month). He has a 62 Belair now. He keeps them nice.
His 62 has a 327 with 3 duce setup. Looks cool, and drives well. Garage kept very clean.

I have a 56 long bed, 63 C10 short bed and a 54 DeSoto Firedome - Mine do not look nice. Kept outside since for ever, all 3 need paint. Even our dailies need paint for that matter.

56 runs drives - took the 6cyl out in high school and put a 350 in it from a wrecked 68 I paid $100 for. It sat a long time while I was in the Navy, then some more until I got a good job. Saving up for a new windshield now. I do not drive it because the visibility is not good anymore. I learned to drive in this 56 when I was 9. My Grandfather gave me this truck.

I just got the 63 (350, 4 speed manual) a few months ago. Put new brakes/brake springs/drums all around Needs master cylinder.
Put New wiring harness in - still need to run the wires back to the tail lights. Got it running, but have the carb off now for cleaning and a kit. needs a fuel tank, trying to figure out where to put a fuel tank. Don't want it behind the seat and trying not to put it the rear between the rails. the 63 rear suspension does not leave much room. Also putting a fuel return line / regulator (Have the parts, just not sure where to run it yet).

54 DeSoto (276 hemi)- is a project. It's all there, but everything needs attension. I bought a new wiring harness for it when I bought a new one for the 63. Have not done anything to it.

And why I found this forum - I had bought a Case 480E a few weeks ago. Bought a cylinder rebuild kit and some ball joint ends for one of the steering cylinders. It has been raining weekends. The Forecast says no rain Tomorrow or Sunday - So I should be able to get some stuff done.

Weekend Goal- 63 carb and one or the steering cylinders on the 480.

 

[BravoXray]

Sound like you have a lot of work to do on your vehicles. But, when it's done, you can truly say I did that.
At least in Texas you don't have to problems we have with salt that eats up anything on the roads.