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'71 Nova "German Style"

131K views 558 replies 102 participants last post by  BLYOTH 
#1 ·
After getting a lot of response in my introduction, i decided to show some more pics of my Nova here.

As stated i got my car from a very honest guy in Ok. He had a craigslist ad i stumbled over and a few telephone calls later his Nova became mine. We are still in contact and he is very happy that his car is in good hands and gets the attention it deserves.

Here is my Nova still in the States


First inspection after shipping




A few parts were ordered when i bought the car and were shipped in the trunk. Saves on shipping cost.... :devil:
Brakes were in that package as well as Hotchkis 3" Springs front and rear so i started mockup soon.
 
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#2 ·
I cannot have a project and not working on it...i started on the firewall before i even got my work clothes on.

Relocating the wiper motor






Room for the HEI distributor




Bracket for the engine bay downbars


I had a 383 laying around from another car which was sold, Perfect for me!
Here is a pic with the downbars tacked in.
 
#6 ·
As i am a great fan of classic race cars i want the look a bit like that.
Moved the wheel openings 2" up and 1" out to cover wider front tires.







Did the same in the rear but went up a full 4" to get the upper part of the wheel opening more into the body line. I had some more suspension mods on the list so i didn't worry about that. I ended being a bit over 4" lower than stock so the look is near original.

 
#11 ·
I got a C&R NASCAR radiator out of ebay. Sorry couldn't resist. Heater support was already powder coated, but i like that big beautiful welded piece of art so i had to redo it. I had to change some things like the filler cap and plug some holes, but overall it works just fine. Like made for a Nova.


First i had to modify the upper part of the support. This thing is so thick, almost 4", i had to move the rad into the support.


Made some inner brackets to hold the rad in place.




Here is a front view with the coolers installed. The tranny cooler is out of a dodge van. (Ouch. The bad D-word. I wash my mouth with soap, ok?)
But who cares, nobody knows. The engine cooler is a stacked plate type from Setrab i had lying around.
 
#14 ·
aaaaaaaaaahhh:thumbsup: I no longer feel alone, I did'nt think there was anyone else out there that isn't afraid to cut-modifiy-and customize.

Top shelf - I like what I see your doing :yes:
 
#17 ·
Thanks guys! Yes, the radiator will be big enough for everything i will ever do with this car. It is a two row double pass design with an AN-20 upper hose i got as well. I have to modify the thermostat housing with a weld in bung for that hose.
 
#18 ·
Today i will share some pics from the floor board work on my Nova. As said before i only had a couple pics from the Nova and the floors looked ok. But on a closer look many pin holes showed up and i had no chance to get new panels for a reasonable cost here.
Here is like it looked from the inside. I like the use of road signs for patching!





I ended with cutting out almost everything and started with a new trans tunnel.





Then i fabbed some new panels and welded them in. You can see the subframe connectors wich were completely welded in to add strenght.





After finishing the floors i made a shifter housing. The emergency brake moved onto the tunnel.






 
#23 ·
I learned a lot hanging on sites like SNS, Lat-G and Pozzi Racing and use it for my build. My goal is to have a car with the look i like so much and capable to keep up with the modern cars around. The Guldstrand-mod was done by cutting and rewelding the upper A-Arm mounts.

Here is a pic of the line where the mount was cut.



Here is the template with the stock and the lowered holes from the Guldstrand position.



Tacked in place. Final welding was done after blasting the frame.



Here you can see the results of the additional caster.
 
#27 ·
I have to follow some requirements to register the car as "Historic Vehicle" here in Germany. Keeps cost in tax and insurance down to a minimum. :tongue:
Therefore i have to stay stock (appearing) on the suspension. The build is already on the borderline.... :rolleyes: Sheetmetal work is allowed because it could be done 30 years ago too. Ls motors f.e. are a no go because they are younger than these 30 years....
 
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