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Finally! Starting on my 64SS!

57K views 276 replies 68 participants last post by  64SSOwner 
#1 ·
Just wanted to share pictures of my Nova, had this car over 10 years and am finally able to do it the way I have always wanted!

Got the TCI front clip last weekend from Fed Ex, and am probably going to get the 4-link for the rear too! Ideally with a 9" posi unit. Really want those 8" wides in the back! I'm going to keep the non-factory 327 and T-10, add a vintage air kit to ward off the desert heat. I'm thinking gunmetal grey Americans to quasi-match my Chevelle.

I included a pic of the badge, I was able to decode that it is a real SS, but couldn't figure out the ACC line. I'm pretty sure it's a factory 4 speed. I followed the link in other posts, but did not see a "G" option... Interesting...

It's currently factory Goldwood yellow, but I plan on installing new door skins and quarters, and going with Tuxedo black! Kind of a resto mod theme! The pictures don't show it, but the car is full of mud in the doors quarters... Definitely want to get rid of the nasty vinyl top!

The previous owner raced the car alot, notice the fenderwell headers!

Anyways, enjoy!









 
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#184 ·
Thanks for all the compliments guys! I can't stop opening the door to the garage to take a peek at it. I even caught my wife doing the same thing! :D Like we can't believe it finally happened or something, or just to make sure we didn't just dream it up!

I am still planning on painting the rear cove argent silver, and cutting and polishing the new paint. I also want to shoot the trunk spatter paint and coat the floorboards with POR15. Then it's on to full assembly mode.
 
#190 ·
I painted the rear cove last night, which means I am officially done spraying paint!

I think original cars were a semi-gloss silver, but I decided to spray a bc/cc instead. I think it looks really sharp. I sprayed the paint into the trunk jamb like original, and ended it at the weatherstrip groove, as original.

It was dark by the time I finished, so the pictures are a little dark. I should have some better ones this weekend after sanding and polishing!




 
#193 ·
I started putting trim on the car, and I have to say, the car is turning out really nice. All the trim has gotten me really excited about it again. I'm happy that I sprayed the rear cove argent silver too, I think it just finishes the car off and is interesting. The car screams SS!

Correct hood bar (car came with a 63 diecast)


Got all the SS peak moldings installed




Got the rear cove moldings and trunk diecast installed



I also decided to POR15 the floorboards just to get something on it


Now to get the dash components installed and the dash harness in!
 
#198 ·
Thank you! Your car has been a source of motivation for me! :thumbsup: :D

Stunning! Well done!!! Very inspiring :yes:.
Thank you! One of the great things about this site is how other members are so supportive of others and can inspire each other! For that I am grateful, and appreciate your support! :)

So I was rolling around on my creeper while installing my rocker trim and wheel opening moldings and couldn't help snapping a pic or 3... Thought it was cool with the disc brakes in view. It also reminded me I was going to paint the front rotor centers to match the back... :doh:





Trying to do everything but wiring... but I think I'm going to start to tackle that project this weekend!

Speaking of wiring... I just found out that my stock battery gauge will not work with the AAW classic update kit that I have :( I have a few feelers out to see if I can get it converted to a voltmeter. I really want to use my stock SS cluster, so I'm going to try to stay optimistic. If it doesn't work out though, I have my eyes on the gauges from classic instruments.

 
#200 ·
Excellent! I think the trim is what really makes these old cars special. They just don't make cars like this anymore. I have a friend with a new Camaro SS. Awesome car, and fast, but the only badging I could see was a tiny SS badge on the decklid. What a downer!

I saw the video of your car running, man that sounds good! The quarters aren't too bad if you know what to watch for. Pay particular attention to the part where the quarter window comes through and where the C pillar connects to the new quarter. The factory peak moldings fit the new quarters really well too. I think my quarter install thread is link in here somewhere, but let me know if you have any questions!

Gary
 
#204 ·
Thanks for all the compliments on the trim! I have to say, it's probably the biggest investment I have in the car next to the paint work. It's probably also given me the most headaches... Looks like I made the right decision to put it all back on.

I started to mess around under the dash to try and figure out in what order things need to go back in there. It looks like the steering column is the first order of buisiness followed by the firewall pad, then evaporator. I'm in the process of working on that, and will post up some pics as soon as I get some noteworthy progress. I'm quickly finding out that I'm still missing some parts that I didn't think about until now, too. The plate to secure the bottom of the steering column to the firewall in this case...

I also got my engine bay and firewall all cleaned up, so here are a couple shots.

Enjoy!



 
#205 · (Edited)
It's been a while since my last post! Man time flies...

The Nova has been coming together very slowly, but I was out there last night and got a couple pics with an actual camera instead of my phone!

I got some of the glass installed along with the drip rail moldings and roof rail pieces that hold in the roof rail weatherstrip. I used Mortite under the roof rail trim. The drip rail moldings are a couple GM pieces. They fit very tightly! I was so scared I was going to ruin them putting them on that I ended up sanding the paint off the drip rails to buy a little more room. I stopped at the primer though because I was worried about corrosion.




The glass was a real PITA to install. The Re-Pops brand outside window scrapers do not fit like the originals. Once installed, the rubber is pretty tight against the window. Enough that it will pull the scraper strip right out of the reveal molding. This is because the little tabs that hold it into the molding do not fit nearly as we'll as the originals. To fix the problem, I drilled 1/8" holes through the scraper and molding, then installed 1/8" rivets. The rivets are the kind that sit close to flush on the back of the molding once installed. I didn't get pictures this time, but I have to pull apart my driver's door to fix it, so I will snap some pictures then.

The Re-Pops quarter window molding also does not fit the best. The plastic anti-rattle strips are too fat to fit between the window and glass. I haven't gotten it installed yet, but I think there are a couple ways to fix it. You could either grind down the strip to fit, or remove it and use the original, if its in good shape. I think my originals are decent so I may go that route. I will also use the rivet trick on these too.

In between all the glass troubles, I have been working on the wiring. I decided that I needed to get my firewall pad installed before getting the a/c evaporator hung, which needs to go in to get wired. When I smoothed my firewall, I welded carriage bolts on the inside of the car where the holes for the firewall pad plastic fasteners went. They worked awesome! I just use a washer, and the pad gets held. I also discovered that this was nice when removing the pad a hundred times. I think I would have ruined the plastic rivets removing them so many times. I also got my Ididit column painted and installed using a new install plate from them. I powder coated my pedals! :)





Here are some pics of the wiring mess and the dash/dash pad.








Couple pics of the original style air cleaner I modified to fit over on an Edelbrock carb.



Couple pics of the paint/car.




New hood wind split.


I'm hoping to finish up the glass and scraper issues over the holiday weekend. Stay tuned for more pics!
 
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