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New Project: '76 Nova

67K views 313 replies 36 participants last post by  1977Chad350 
#1 ·
Hey guys. We owned a '76 back when I was a youngster in the 90s, but sold it off to family so they could get around...

I happened to pick up another one yesterday and this is my first project car ever. I was looking for a 90s foxbody Mustang, but this will do! :)

It's got 71,500 original miles on the 250 I6 motor. She's been sitting outside for a few years, but surprisingly, she runs and drives. Not too much rust on her, either. Haven't had her on a lift, but I crawled up under and looked around. She looks good (to me).

Lots of pictures below:
















Second post, I'll update what I've done today.
 
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#35 ·
So, I was trying to figure out the "bad ground" on my tail lights yesterday, trying to get the lights ready to get back on the road. Found them. Yes, them, multiple grounds not even connected. Started a fire yesterday, too.... the ground for my left tail light caught fire, luckily it was turned off fast enough that it didn't hurt the car..

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that this car is a wiring nightmare. I need a new wiring harness for the trunk, as well as the two light assemblies themselves as they are both cracked pretty badly. Under the dash, someone put in a new cigarette lighter, and didn't even bother to splice into the harness. They just plugged it into a 10A fuse in the block. Then looped the ground to the metal on the dash. Sound safe? I ripped all that out.

Tried to figure out why my dome light isn't working. No power getting from the plug to the door switch that knows when the door is open or closed. Have to track that down now...

Needless to say, I'm not good with electricity nor wiring, so this will be a fun battle... Any advice or tips would be helpful! I have the wiring diagram from the electrical section, but I don't know what too much of that means..

Some pictures:

This is a ground that is wrapped around another ground on the trunk latch...



This is the right tail light, note the ground..



This is the left tail light, which caught fire yesterday. Note the ground isn't even in the light..
 
#37 ·
Hi:
Of course the best solution is a fresh trunk harness, but if for some reason you want to work on the one you have, its probably not as bad as it seems. Those extra grounds for the tails are probably an attempt to solve bad bulb holders. You do have to replace the holders by new ones, they are avaialble at big auto parts stores or at classicindustries (be sure to buy the correct one, they are not universal). The original ground was probably rusted. After welding in the new holders just remove the extra wires, the black wire is the ground for all the rear lights.

The wire coming from the door jamb switches only carries ground, you have to remove the jamb switch, carefully disconnect (tape the wire so you dont lose the wire into the body), and carefully sand or file all moving metal parts and contact areas so you have a ground contact again. Also sand the connectors, on both sides. Lubricate and test and replace...

Then go up into the dome light and check bulb/connections for rust, etc. You probably have checked the fuse and fuse holder too... The orange cable is most likely good. The lamp must now work.

In a neglected or unused Nova, most electrical problems in dash, interior, ignition, wiper switches, backup lights etc are due to dirty or rusty contact surfaces. You have to carefully work on all parts, remove, clean, sand, lubricate...
 
#38 ·
Thanks, Philip.

dlezama, I'll try that out now. I'll report back.


I've been looking up parts for the car on www.car-part.com - has anyone had any luck with that? I've found a ton in salvage yards across the country. A lot cheaper than new replicas. I want the car to look great and presentable, but I don't have thousands to put into her at the moment... would that be "cheating" per se? Or am I just over thinking this..
 
#39 ·
salvaged parts are not cheating just check for rust and bondo fixes mine has holes where the bondo fell off in areas such as rear quarter panels both sides and rocker panels both sides and a small tiny hole at the very front of the hood i am currantley trying to get the rear panels replaced but the guy wont touch it unless we can get the outer rear wheel wells but just check for rust and bondo at the stuff your auto salvage yards have and also make sure that the wireing from there is not ratted cause most salvage yards just cut the wires i worked at one around here so i know protocol lol i my self think its bs but its done to get parts out on the shelf faster
 
#41 · (Edited)
Thanks. None of the salvage yards in town have anything for a 4th gen, so this would be out of state searches and phone calls to double check the condition and all that. The body is pretty solid, actually. Some rust in the floor pans, one hole on the drivers side. Haven't been able to check the passenger side yet, as I haven't really ripped out the carpet. Would be mostly interior pieces, such as the Non-AC heater controls, a left side taillight assembly, the two tail lenses... A few pieces here and there that I can't think of at the moment, but..

I got the dome light working. Turned out to be my accessory fuse was blown. We had just checked the fuses yesterday and they all checked out, so I'm not sure how it got missed. Oh well, that's working now.

Cut out the bad section of carpet on the drivers side, and cleaned up the floor pan underneath. Found the one hole under there, but not too bad otherwise I don't think. Should replace it, though.

No pictures, but she's a little cleaner looking now that the one section of carpet is out. Probably won't have time to work on it during the week too much as it's usually colder and dark outside when I get home. Can't wait to get a garage built..

Responded to your PM, Philip - will keep in touch there.
 
#43 · (Edited)
Got my cluster finally all lit up tonight. The bulbs that Dave sent arrived, and they all worked wonders. Thanks, Dave!

I also fiddled around with the seat belts, both of them buckled didn't help. Still have the "Fasten Seat Belt" light on constantly. I did take the wire out of the drivers side, and that didn't help. I noticed there isn't one connected to the passenger side, maybe that's the issue? I'll be investigating further this weekend, but for now she's sitting good and getting closer to being road ready. :)

Also, trying to keep things as original as possible, I rather like the steering wheel that's there. Would you guys recommend keeping that one, or moving to an aftermarket? I like parts that say NOVA on it, so... I need to get into the steering column this weekend to take a look at why my turn signals don't always work (and I need a new turn signal lever anyway), so I'll be taking it off sooner or later.

I'm also thinking, when I go to paint it, about removing all the outer emblems from the fenders and such, but keeping the ones on the trunk. It just looks cleaner, to me. What do you guys think?
 
#45 ·
Still haven't figured out the seat belt light yet... Been working on that today. Finally got tired enough to rip the seat out and see what's going on.

The passenger side floorboard was soaked, so I ripped the carpet up and took the wet padding out, to uncover a bit of rust... Poked it with a screwdriver pretty good, and nothing poked through. Still needs to be replaced, though. Ah well, that's pretty good for a car that's sat in a field for a few years!

Got my dome light fixed the other day, too.. but that's not what's providing my light. My dad brought home a light that stretches across the hood when he works in the shop for brighter light. Works pretty damn well!

I did notice on the passenger side buckle, that there is a plug for a wire. I don't know where, or if there is, another wire is - I've looked all over. Hopefully something as simple as a missing wire is creating the issue, but I don't think there's another wire. On the drivers side, everything is checking out as far as a ohming itself out so I know the connections are good. Just can't get that light to turn off. I don't even really need it to work when the seat belts are unbuckled, I would love for it to come on for a few seconds and then dim out, at the least! Working, though, would be better of course.

Have some pics. Happy Thanksgiving! Slowly but surely, she'll come along. Thanks for the encouraging words, guys. :)









 
#46 ·
Im pretty sure someone has an accesory diagram for the year of your car with the seatbelt circuit. If you have a continuity tester you can easily check the driver side retractor switch is working. Disconnect from cable, and check continuity of ground vs. connector end. There should be continuity, and when pulling up the belt the connection should open and the bulb thereby turn off. If this happens, the ground is being contacted elsewhere in the wiring or dash. If there is an extra wire for the passenger side hanging around somewhere it might be touching a ground.

IF the year of your car featured seat switch/es for detecting driver/passenger weight, the circuit has to be closed when the driver/passenger is off the seat.

That, plus the dash part of the circuit, are quite a handful to analyze. How do you clean/repair a retractor or driver weight switch? Dont know...
 
#47 ·
I double checked under the seat and didn't see any sensors. There are two black pads under the carpet padding, though. No wires, and they lead back to the back part of the car. Guessing that's for sound dampening.

Now that the seat is out, I can get in there and figure out what's going on with the buckle. We took the top off the mechanism inside the belt holder and a little plastic piece does move back and forth, but not enough to put more pressure on the metal contact inside. We kind of bent the contact up so it would contact, but I'm not sure that helped too much.

I'll report back after work today, sadly I'm working at 5 in the morning, so I've got to get ready...
 
#48 ·
One cause of the light staying on all the time is a bad timer. If the wires at the seat belt retractor are unplugged the light and buzzer should time out in 4-8 seconds.
The Fisher body manual says to change the timer if the light stays on with the belts buckled. I am not sure what the timer looks like. I will try and locate where it is and take a photo for you.

The weight sensors in the seats were for the starter interlock system used in 74 and 75. The starter would not operate until all front seat passengers were buckled in.
 
#50 ·
There are 5 wires, 2 black, 2 pink, one pink with a white stripe. The GM part number on the timer/buzzer is 1253637, on mine it is a black box hanging from the harness by the fuse panel. Unplugging it should make the light go off.



This was a standard part used across most GM lines in the mid to late 70's and should be easy to find in a junk car.
 
#51 ·
I have the weekend off, so I'll double check for that tomorrow. I didn't happen to see that when I was under the dash before, but I'll check again.

Thanks for all your help, guys! Much appreciated.
 
#52 · (Edited)
I went out for a look this morning, and took pictures of what the wiring looks like. I've never heard any buzzing or beeping when I open the door and the keys are in the ignition, or any buzzing in general.

I stuck the camera under the dash and took some shots. I can't remember the orientation on all of them, but that's what the wiring looks like. With all the electrical tape, it seems someone at some time was in there pretty heavy doing some wiring work...

My dad has talked to the guys at the shop and they are convinced that there is supposed to be another wire looping over to the passenger side to connect the circuit when the belts are buckled. With no wiring in the buckles themselves, not where you pull the belt but where you buckle in, how does that circuit complete...?

With the carpet up, there is no other wires running on the floorboard other than on the drivers side floor running from the trunk under the dash...

I made these pictures a bit bigger so you guys could take a look. Maybe I'm missing something..

EDIT: Looking at the CHILTON manual, it's saying that to disable the starter interlock, if equipped after 75, to take the buzzer out. Maybe that's my whole issue right there, there was an interlock on it and they decided to take it off?















 
#53 ·
Now the guys at the shop are in the same light as I am: I am missing the buzzer/timer. Without spending $100 to get that, is there a way to have the light fade off after a few seconds?
 
#54 ·
How did you determine the timer/buzzer is missing? Did you find the plug at the end of the pink wires? I would think the light would be off if the timer were not there to complete the circuit.
To get timer for free or cheap go to your local wrecking yard and look in GM cars and trucks from mid 70's to late 80's for one. The GM part number on the timer/buzzer is 1253637 and was used in everything, it is not Nova specific. Plug it in and see if the circuit works.

Or click here to go to eBay $30, free shipping
 
#55 ·
Looking at the CHILTON manual, it's saying that to disable the starter interlock, if equipped after 75, to take the buzzer out. Maybe that's my whole issue right there, there was an interlock on it and they decided to take it off?
I do not think 76 had the interlock. If it did there will be a terminal block with many wires, one of them being purple and very large, between the master cylinder and hood hinge.

Your wire harness looks all factory, the tape is what GM used to bundle and protect the wiring.
 
#56 ·
I'm guessing the timer/buzzer is missing - there's no door alarm/buzzing when the door is open, or any noise when the key is in other than if the engine is running. I didn't locate any missing pieces or empty connectors that seemed to match the one shown, but I did not see anything remotely close to the timer/buzzer as pointed out.

If it is needed, and I can't find the one in my Nova, I'll head to the junkyard. I found one of those buzzers on eBay for $100 when looking (glad you found one cheaper if needed!).
 
#73 · (Edited)
Okay. Back from Jersey. That state got tore up during the hurricane for sure! Still a mess 6 weeks later.

Got into the wiring today. Got a buzzer/timer from an old Dodge to see if my wiring was shot or not. The buzzer works.

Opened the glove box to, surprise, find a green buzzer that fits in the three pronged hole where the pink/white and black wire runs from my light. The buzzer in that works, and we've figured out how to disable the buzzer for the seat belt. However, the light still stays on. We took the small silver canister (which I think is a resistor of some sort) out, and neither my buzzer nor light comes on.

So, we've got the seat belt buzzer disabled by pushing the metal prong down at the seat belt itself, which in theory should turn the light off after a few seconds. It does not. However, when looking at the plug for the timer/buzzer deal, there is only two holes with wires. Two pink/white and a black, in two holes. There's 3 holes, but one is "missing" something, which I think is for the timer...

I'll post pics in a little while.


EDIT:

I have the green buzzer plugged in. The middle of the three prongs is missing at the plug, not on the buzzer. Normal?


Unplugging that canister disables the buzzer and light together, as talked about above.
 
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