Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[BravoXray]

I spent all afternoon slowly reassembling things today. It doesn't seem like I get much done, but there are so many little things to do, and some of the bigger things end up taking two or three times as long as they should. For instance the distributor. Normally it takes a few minutes to get it set so the rotor points at #1 cylinder and it drops in and engages the oil pump drive shaft. Not this time, after about a dozen tries taking over half an hour, it finally dropped in in the correct position. That shaft is REALLY picky about just how it's turned to for it to drop in, but I finally got it.
Yesterday I pulled all the plugs and cleaned them up in the bead blaster, as they were pretty sooted up from the initial running before the EFI got the A/F ratio adjusted. The first half hour of running, it was really rich, smelled really bad.
Today, I got both headers, steering box, clutch linkage, distributor cap and wires, fan, pulley and fan on, heater hoses connected and also did some more wire and cable management as it's pretty crowded around the steering column and clutch linkage. I also spent a while looking for the bolt the goes in the rag joint to clamp it on the steering box shaft. Searched all over, even sifted through all the oil-dri I had put down when the gear lube and coolant got spilled. Never found it, so I stole the one out of the old rag joint. Good thing I keep a lot of the old parts.
Tomorrow, I'll get the radiator, hoses and coolant installed, the engine dipstick put back in, fill it with oil, put on the air cleaner and then wrestle the exhaust pipes back on. I'll save the worst for last.
Oh, and I have to put the stick back on the trans and install the shifter boot, and other than putting the hood on, it should be pretty well wrapped up.

I might even get to drive it to the Essen Haus cruise-in next Thursday.

 

[civilian]

You have to be pretty proud of your work there because it sure shows. Enjoy it. Jon

 

[IH3444]

This is by far the best, highest quality, and most attention paid to detail restoration of an automobile I have ever seen.

 

[BravoXray]

You have to be pretty proud of your work there because it sure shows. Enjoy it. Jon

Yes, I am pretty proud of it. It's been WAY more of a project than I thought it would be when I started, but then you never know what kind of hidden surprises you may find!

This is by far the best, highest quality, and most attention paid to detail restoration of an automobile I have ever seen.

Thanks, but it has a few things I wish I would have done differently. Some it the gaps aren't as consistent as I would like, but it would have required a lot of work to get then all the same. But then, when these cars were built, the fit and finish weren't nearly as good as most cars today. Besides, the Nova wasn't exactly a top end car like a Buick or Caddy. As I said, it turned out to be a lot more work than I expected initially, but that's okay, I'm retired and need something to occupy my time.

 

[BravoXray]

Well, it's done, again.
I got the last items finished up yesterday, radiator, hoses, engine oil, set the timing and hang the exhaust. Today, Brian came over and gave me a hand putting the hood back on. That lined up just like it did before no problem.

Tomorrow, I'll take it for a test drive and make sure the leak is fixed.

The only item that still need attention is the drip rail trim. The trim will not fit over the edge of the vinyl top and snap into place, without some modification. I may take it to a trim shop in Elkhart and have them look at it to see if they can do it, or suggest an optional fix. I went to a local cruise-in yesterday at a local church, and there were a few Novas there, but none with a vinyl top, so no help there.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Looks awesome ! Nice to see you are getting a chance to drive it and enjoy it. I,m betting you will get many compliments every time you have it out and about. Beautiful car. You did a fantastic job on it.

 

[Rockbadchild]

=


Thanks, but it has a few things I wish I would have done differently. Some it the gaps aren't as consistent as I would like, but it would have required a lot of work to get then all the same. But then, when these cars were built, the fit and finish weren't nearly as good as most cars today. Besides, the Nova wasn't exactly a top end car like a Buick or Caddy. As I said, it turned out to be a lot more work than I expected initially, but that's okay, I'm retired and need something to occupy my time.

Cars back then weren't perfect and even hand built or factory cars today are not perfect ether if you look long enough you will find these kind of imperfection you simply have looked at your car for too long now... you know the idiom ''don't try to be more catholic then the pope'' that apply in this case. Awesome work its something to be proud of!!

 

[NoTrespassing]

Well, it's done, again.
I got the last items finished up yesterday, radiator, hoses, engine oil, set the timing and hang the exhaust. Today, Brian came over and gave me a hand putting the hood back on. That lined up just like it did before no problem.

Tomorrow, I'll take it for a test drive and make sure the leak is fixed.

The only item that still need attention is the drip rail trim. The trim will not fit over the edge of the vinyl top and snap into place, without some modification. I may take it to a trim shop in Elkhart and have them look at it to see if they can do it, or suggest an optional fix. I went to a local cruise-in yesterday at a local church, and there were a few Novas there, but none with a vinyl top, so no help there.

View attachment 919533View attachment 919534

What kind of feedback did you get from the other Nova owners?

 

[tradosaurus]

I went to a local car show. Really enjoyed the different styles of classic cars.

 

[MossRoad]

Well, it's done, again.
I got the last items finished up yesterday, radiator, hoses, engine oil, set the timing and hang the exhaust. Today, Brian came over and gave me a hand putting the hood back on. That lined up just like it did before no problem.

Tomorrow, I'll take it for a test drive and make sure the leak is fixed.

The only item that still need attention is the drip rail trim. The trim will not fit over the edge of the vinyl top and snap into place, without some modification. I may take it to a trim shop in Elkhart and have them look at it to see if they can do it, or suggest an optional fix. I went to a local cruise-in yesterday at a local church, and there were a few Novas there, but none with a vinyl top, so no help there.

View attachment 919533View attachment 919534