1974 barn find

1030 Views 15 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Allen H., 6 mo ago

Allen H.

Discussion Starter · 6 mo ago (Edited)

3

I just bought a 1974 Nova Custom Hatchback. It is a literally a Barn Find, ALL numbers matching. car I bought it from the son of the original owner, who got it when his mother passed away in 1999 .... it was parked in the barn in 1999 and started once in a while but not driven since. Very straight and zero rust, less than 63,000 miles on it. It was repainted (non original color) but never put back together. I plan on eventually painting it back to the original color, Midnight Blue and White vinyl top. I am sure I will have a few questions as time goes on.

I changed all the fluids the other day and got it running, purrs like a kitten.
When I took it for a shake down drive everything was great.

I hung the bumpers on it today. That definitely helps the looks on it.
New carpet kit and weather seals for the doors and hatch going in in the next couple days
I will try to post some more pictures soon.

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Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #2 · 6 mo ago

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railroaderman

· #3 · 6 mo ago

Sounds like a great find. May want to replace all the rubber lines; radiator / heater hoses, brake / fuel lines, plug wires, vacuum lines, etc. Also bushings.

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Astro BLue

· #4 · 6 mo ago

thats awesome. hows the interior?

Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #5 · 6 mo ago

All in all not to bad. the carpet needs replaced and there is a 6 inch split in the top of the back seat. otherwise it is actually pretty nice.

novamaniac

· #6 · 6 mo ago

Welcome to the site, Great find. Looking forward to some more pictures.

bptactical

· #7 · 6 mo ago

Awesome find, congrats!

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Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #8 · 6 mo ago

3

I started putting the carpet in today. I didn't get that done, but here is what the floor boards look like in it after I got it vacuumed out. Not to bad.

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Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #9 · 6 mo ago

Anyone have a 74 nova with the console shift that they have put a OER carpet kit in? I tried one yesterday that is suppose to be the correct one and it doesn't really want to fit right. If anyone has a part number for one that will fit correctly, please let me know. I would go with another brand also as long as it fits and is decent quality.

Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #10 · 6 mo ago

Well after lots of fighting it, heating it to mold it to a new shape and a fair amount of grumbling to myself.....The carpet is in. It is not perfect, but it is not to bad, all things considered. I still have to anchor the front seat belts and put in the sill plates. So once I get that done I'll post a picture or two.
When and IF I ever find the proper carpet kit I will swap it into the car, but this will have to do for now.

Reactions: 1

Rupertflood

· #11 · 6 mo ago

Allen H. said:
Well after lots of fighting it, heating it to mold it to a new shape and a fair amount of grumbling to myself.....The carpet is in. It is not perfect, but it is not to bad, all things considered. I still have to anchor the front seat belts and put in the sill plates. So once I get that done I'll post a picture or two.
When and IF I ever find the proper carpet kit I will swap it into the car, but this will have to do for now.

When you install the carpet it helps to leave it a bit long where the sill pates go. make sure the sill plate screws go through the carpet. This helps hold the carpet in place.

Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #12 · 6 mo ago

Right. I was sweating it a little on that. By the time I got it formed around things like I needed it, I barely had enough to get it anchored under the sill plates.

Wolvee

· #13 · 6 mo ago

Nice Find. Floors look pretty good. I certainly don't want to volunteer to do floorpans in my cars in place of driving them sooner but if they have to be done I welcome the challenge.

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Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #14 · 6 mo ago

Wolvee said:
Nice Find. Floors look pretty good. I certainly don't want to volunteer to do floorpans in my cars in place of driving them sooner but if they have to be done I welcome the challenge.

Thanks. One thing I was surprised to find out was that even though all the rest of the interior is black, it originally had Blue carpet.
( The original carpet was missing when I got it.)

Ericnova

· #15 · 6 mo ago

You're moving too fast, you're missing out on potential improvements.

Before the carpet went back in would have been a good time to add improved sound deadener on the floor.
Dyna-Mat, Fat-Mat, Lizard Skin, etc.

Looks solid so far.

Allen H.

Discussion Starter · #16 · 6 mo ago

Ericnova said:
You're moving too fast, you're missing out on potential improvements.

Before the carpet went back in would have been a good time to add improved sound deadener on the floor.
Dyna-Mat, Fat-Mat, Lizard Skin, etc.

Looks solid so far.

This carpet is temporary. I hope to find one that fits better than this one does, I plan on doing a new sound deadener then. I should have my shop in by some time this summer, I plan on doing much more to it then. Right now my objective is to make a good daily driver out of it. I have just a few more small things to do to it, (tires, wheels, new A.C. compressor, interior trim and exterior body trim) and that will be it for a while.

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