The Nightmare project thread - 69 SS Clone

2102 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by pinstripe_chuck, Dec 13, 2012

Frankennova69

Discussion Starter · Aug 19, 2012

I've been wanting a classic car for years and the 3rd gen novas have always been in my top 3 'wants' so when I came across one that appeared to need a little tlc but was still in a drive-able state (PO had it plated and on the road) I picked it up.

Lo and behold there were a few more issues than I was expecting. That being said I'm committed now to getting this car to the picture I have in my head.

As you can see car looks decent on the outside, couple of rough spots here and there.

The floor had been patched, and badly, in the past so I pulled the interior with the intention of cutting out the old patches and having some proper panels welded in. Talk about an eye opener, floor areas have more rust than metal and the drivers side seat brace is rusted out and it looks like was only being held on by rivets through rusted metal

On top of that, the trunk the inside of the trunk was covered in duct tape and then painted over to hide any rust holes

And last (I hope) when checking under the trunk it turns out one of the traction bars is broken right in half, so they're going to have to come out. I was intending on replacing the rear leafs at some point anyway, so this just means they get done sooner.

I'm now dubbing this car 'The Nightmare' but, strange as it sounds, I'm still looking forward to 'saving' this old beast.

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Frankennova69

Discussion Starter · #2 · Aug 19, 2012

And for the hell of it, what I sold to pay for the Nova

My 2002 Volusia

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taz3

· #3 · Aug 19, 2012

Wow, you have some work ahead of you, it looks like a typical Ontario car though!

I like it more then the bike!:devil:

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Novaman Oscar

· #4 · Aug 19, 2012

crazy what pictures don't show, looking at the first pic the car looks amazing, but whats hidden isn't so pretty :no: good luck with everything :yes:

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PCPete

· #5 · Aug 20, 2012

Make a detail plan

Remember doing report outlines in school? Do the same thing in a spreadsheet. I did mine with estimated costs of parts and repairs so I could tell the keeper of the budget how much I spent on what and provide a repeatable answer. I also helped me to plan my work. If you are considering really tearing it down and getting to all the rust you can, I suggest media blasting. I sanded, ground, sawed and anything else to get at the rust thinking I was saving money. Well, the dust and crud penetrated everywhere even though I did all the hanging of plastic and masking areas, which helped, but I still tracked crud everywhere.
In addition, I spent as much money on wire wheels and sandpaper as the cost of media blasting by someone else.
Places that were "surprises" for me were The roof, mine was a vinyl top car badly repaired metal after removal; trunk drops, looked fine until hit with wire wheel; tail light panel, 3/8" of filler need I say more; rear glass flange, it wasn't the old vinyl top, it was fiberglass covering rust; both wheelhouses, all around the wheel lip. From there it was bad repairs that had to be corrected.
All that said, I'm happy with the outcome and the work remaining is mostly cleanup & bling. It looks like you have a good base to start with, plan well and go for it. -p-

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Frankennova69

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 13, 2012

Long overdue update. The car's been returned from the local guy who was doing the work on the floors. Suffice to say I'm never letting him lay a hand on a vehicle I own ever again.

So I'm in the process of trying to fix all the stuff he screwed up on top of the stuff that needed fixing already.

one quick question, when it was over there I had the rear leaf springs replaced as they were sagging and the traction bars were beyond salvageable. I was under the car the other night replacing the broken muffler hangers and noticed that the bolts that attach the front leaf spring pockets to the body are missing (there's only the one attaching it to the frame).

Anyone know what type of bolts I need to replace and where I might be able to pick them up?

I can probably get pictures of the area this weekend if necessary.

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pinstripe_chuck

· #7 · Dec 13, 2012

Frankennova69 said:
Anyone know what type of bolts I need to replace and where I might be able to pick them up?

I can probably get pictures of the area this weekend if necessary.

They are 3/8-16 bolts but they are pointed at the end like body bolts are, Im not sure of the grade of body bolts so I dont know if I would use those. But any hardware store will have grade 8, 3/8- 16 bolts that will work. They thread up into the body with clip on captured nuts. If those are gone too, Lowes has them.

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