[kimrobertson]

Nice work! Unfortunately I waited till after I installed my engine to change out my heater core and then later go with the AC delete. Not much fun with engine in the way...glad you thought ahead better than I did. Also I think with my ac delete I needed to use the non ac blower wheel so it had enough clearance.

 

[76Ponti-X]

I haven't updated in a few months. so I thought I would post up just to re-break the ice. To pick up where i left off; before dropping the engine and trans all the way in, I did, in fact, decide to forgo the ac delete cover and related heater core w blower motor in favor of a very spartan firewall block off plate but, it will do for now until I add aftermarket air (won't ever happen).
I made a template from cardboard just to be sure, then cut the plate from aluminum, used the death wheel to cut the protruding lip from the firewall opening, and attached the plate via black pan head screws!
PICS!

since my last post, I was able to complete the interior except for bolting in the seats and shifter, and i really want newer gauges. the drive train is also down in the car w the hood on. I still have to plumb the fuel system, trans cooler lines, and sort out the pulleys n accessories since the previous engine was an olds. I hope to sort out the pictures and get this thread up to date very soon. Cheers!

 

[railroaderman]

Looks good and progress being made.

 

[kimrobertson]

Hard for me to say this because I'm a Chevy guy but I think the Pontiac Blue engine color is a nice touch given the car is a Pontiac.

 

[76Ponti-X]

Hard for me to say this because I'm a Chevy guy but I think the Pontiac Blue engine color is a nice touch given the car is a Pontiac.

thanks @kimrobertson, I like the way the blue looks w the gold iridite on the grade 8 hardware. i would like to kind of stay with that theme under the hood, teal paint, gold fasteners n black accessories.
I should have thought of that before I got the timing cover. it's a low buck two-piece that was only available in chrome, so I won't have to jack w the oil pan if a cam swap is in order, I guess it'll play off of the headers a bit though. I'll let you in on a little secret about the not-so-official Pontiac engine color...

 

[76Ponti-X]

Headers are summit specials. metallic ceramic coating w 1 5/8 primaries n 3-inch collectors. I cut off the collector flanges and will fab up slip-over pipes and use band clamps when I get to the exhaust.

 

[railroaderman]

Another alternative is to use Marman Flange connector.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?ei=UTF-8&hsimp=yhs-att_001&hspart=att&p=marman+flange#id=1&vid=ea7570dfec89a8e6ee10541672067096&action=click

 

[kimrobertson]

thanks @kimrobertson, I like the way the blue looks w the gold iridite on the grade 8 hardware. i would like to kind of stay with that theme under the hood, teal paint, gold fasteners n black accessories.
I should have thought of that before I got the timing cover. it's a low buck two-piece that was only available in chrome, so I won't have to jack w the oil pan if a cam swap is in order, I guess it'll play off of the headers a bit though. I'll let you in on a little secret about the not-so-official Pontiac engine color...

I like the look! It's different but so is the Pontiac styling on a Nova. Good idea to save $ on paint. I have about 15 or 20 cans of Rustolium or Ace paint on undercarriage & under hood. Much cheaper than specialized chassis or underhood paint. Is that Ace paint high -heat that will stand up to the engine heat?

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[76Ponti-X]

not engine paint but, the color was trick, i had to have it. i plan to bake harden it using gentle engine heat cycles.

 

[76Ponti-X]

To try and even the score a bit since we often post words w no pictures, I thought I'd go with the opposite.

 

[76Ponti-X]

WATCH YOUR FEET!

This patch kit came with a tube of clear and 12 aluminum rivets

red ish... to seal er up

 

[76Ponti-X]

pass door card. The wood grain strips are shot, we'll turn em black along w the door latch bezels. while they're off we'll re glue the perimeter, use fresh black screws, and re dye the carpets.

door insulation with a guest appearance by gorilla tape

 

[76Ponti-X]

The vinyl was pulling away from the bottoms mostly. i got liberal w a can of 3m contact adhesive and applied a little pressure via clamp

 

[76Ponti-X]

updating the wood grain to black

 

[76Ponti-X]

blacked-out latch bezel n wood grain strip, black screws w re dyed carpet

 

[Nova Thug]

Nice work..! These are the little things that people just let go of as a car gets older.. With a little bit of work, and some pretty basic materials a lot of improvement can be achieved..

 

[xxdabroxx]

Car is coming around nicely! Nice firewall patch.

 

[76Ponti-X]

Nice work..! These are the little things that people just let go of as a car gets older.. With a little bit of work, and some pretty basic materials a lot of improvement can be achieved..

thank you, sir! yea, I enjoy keeping the original stuff in service when I can; kind of therapeutic.

 

[76Ponti-X]

Car is coming around nicely! Nice firewall patch.

thanks for stopping in! yes, the firewall patch is def a weight saver, all the big-name drag car guys are doing it!

 

[76Ponti-X]

You may recognize this car from the thread random race-car photos from last year.
it was a small block 4-speed car w a narrowed 8.8 w a spool from an f150.

well, its been retired. literally, put out to pasture...

so the 8.8 was moved over to his wife's 70 nova bracket car to replace an 8.5, 4.11 w a spool which i was able to acquire and add to the parts pile and the to-do list.