I am working on getting a car I had in in college back on the road to replace my Lebaron (see my Economic Recovery Vehiclepage for more information.) The car is a 1978 Chevrolet Nova Custom.
Update May 22, 2011: More work completed!
Update May 30, 2011: It's Alive!
Update June 5, 2011: Ready for inspection!
Update June 26, 2011: One color again.
Update June 30, 2011: Clean Pics, driving, and cleaning up interior.
Update July 5, 2011: Compression test and driving
Update July 17, 2011: Electric Fan and removed carpet
Update July 24, 2011: Exhaust, differencial, and bench seat.
Back in 2003 an older gentleman tried to make a left turn in my path and the front of the Nova got up close and personal with his driver's side door. That resulted in a crumpled fender and a bent bumper. Since it was so old, the guy's insurance company totaled it out. I kept it but never got around to fixing it up and getting it inspected to get it titled. Well this year I am serious about the ordeal and I want to make a 30+mpg car out of it. My car was equipped with the base 250ci inline six and a single barrel with a three speed automatic which was good for about 25mpg when it was running good.
This is the only pic I have of my Nova the way it looked when I first got it. It looks pretty nice but I found out later the rear quarter panels were full of bondo (live & learn.)
Dig those white wall tires!
Here's the aftermath of the accident.
It looks nasty but all that was really damaged was the bumper, the hood, the front fender, and the plastic chrome headlight bezel. Since this is a Nova Custom, the grille and headlight bezels are chrome instead of gray. The Custom (originally the Nova Concurs in 1976) is a limited model that only saw a few thousand units built over four model years (1976-1979.) This made finding the correct replacement bezel & grille difficult and expensive. Ebay was to the rescue but it was pricey. I saw a NOS (New-Old Stock) grille and headlight bezels sell as a set for over $500! Remember by the 70's grilles were made out of plastic instead of metal! Sorry but that is too much money for a piece of plastic. I found a used set that looked ok for daily driver use that had minor damaged that I won for about $200 on Ebay. I drove over to Pennsylvania to get a rust free hood then I had a clean fender and bumper shipped to me from the west coast. All the cars I find in the midwest where I live are rust buckets containing parts that are barely usable.
I made one large mistake while sourcing parts and that was not collecting receipts with VIN numbers. The State frowns upon rebuilding a car with random parts – like a rusted 1978 nova is worth insurance fraud! Gimme a break. That's the real reason it's been sitting so long. This year I am serious about getting on the road. I went up to a salvage yard and picked up another fender and got a receipt with a VIN to make the State happy. I am going to use my bent up hood by pounding out the dents and adding some bondo.
Here's the Nova in my garage before getting it on jack stands. ALWAYS USE JACKSTANDS! A car buddy of mine was crushed to death a few years ago when his car fell off a jack while he was working under it.
Aren't the factory rally wheels ugly without their chrome center caps and beauty rings?
The Nova is up on jack stands and has the hood, front bumper, and driver's side fender removed.
Next is replacing all the brakes. The lines are rusted from sitting and the rubber hoses are dry rotted. It is also a good idea to replace the calipers & wheel cylinders as well. They will be corroded inside from all the moisture of sitting around. Brake parts are cheap, for about $200 I have a solid brake system I won't have to worry about for years.
After several hours I have the rear brakes finished. New lines, hoses, and cylinders.
That tiny line from the master cylinder to the distribution block was a PITA to bend. I will say one thing it is a lot easier to work on the brakes with the fender removed!
Next weekend the plan is to get the front brakes replaced. I have new lines, calipers, and brake pads. The rotors are fine and don't need replacement. Check back in, I'll have more pics and info up!
Update: May 22, 2011
Doesn't that look better? All new lines, caliper, & pads.
(Other than the rust the rotors are fine, there is no wear lip.
Also the master cylinder was new before the wreck.)
This weekend I got the brake and fuel systems in working order. The new calipers, metal lines, and hydrolic hoses are connected and the brakes bled. I also ran a new metal fuel line and replaced the old dry-rotting lines with new. The parking brake was being a pain but I got the cables freed up and it applies now. Unfortunately while bleeding the brake lines I found I have one seeping connection, the tiny line I had a pain bending. I am going to form a new, longer, line to make it eaiser to bend.
I also took the opportunity while I had the front calipers removed to take the wheel hubs off and check/grease the bearings. Older cars had user serviceable wheel bearings and life long rotors. Nowadays integrated rotor/hub cheap sealed bearing hubs often go bad and they also must be replaced at high cost at every brake job. Does anyone turn rotors anymore?
New fuel line running to gas tank. The rubber line is neccessary to be able to remove the tank.
To test the fuel system I fired up the beast in the garage while still on jack stands. At first it didn't want to start, deciding instead to stumble and stall, then it cleared its throat and roared to life - I'm assuming bad old gas. The good news: no fuel leaks!
Front passenger side with new fuel line and brake line.
Next weekend it's onto bodywork! Be sure to check back as I am going to put the front together again!
Update May 30, 2011
A lot more done with the Nova this weekend! I got it all back together with only a few odds and ends to clean up. Sorry no pics of work in progress, I forgot to take any, mostly because my hands were filthy most of the time!
The old hood is pounded back into a reasonable shape. The old bumper is decent after beating it back into shape. The salvage yard fender installed without too much hassle, but there is a nasty gap between it and the door that did not exist before, this new fender has a dent in it on the side. That's ok because as soon as it passes inspection my nice panels are going on. My younger brother helped me get the fender & hood back on, the misses helped me hold the bumper in place while bolting it on, so a shot out to them!
I also gave the engine a tune up. Checked & cleaned the plugs, set the timing to 10* base, replaced vacuum lines, set the idle speed, and set the idle fuel mixture.
Today I had it out of the garage testing it's stop and go abilities. I'm happy to report it not only goes just fine, but it stops just fine too.
Made it outside under its own power!
Next weekend I have to fix the wiper motor, fix the hood striker, and do some quick bondo work.