Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[BravoXray]

Forgot to mention, I'm considering adding racing stripes to the hood and trunk. I like the looks of them, especially black stripes on the silver body.

 

[MossRoad]

That would look great, especially with the top.

 

[BravoXray]

That would look great, especially with the top.

The grille on the Nova in the picture is not painted correctly, an SS grille has chrome bars only at the top and at the bottom, not all chrome like it has, Same with the headlight doors, and that makes a big difference in the looks.

 

[BravoXray]

Still waiting on the Owner of the paint shop to come and look over the Nova project to see if there is any more that needs to be done. So , figured it was a good time to (Yikes!) drill some holes in the front fender for the simulated louvers and Nova scripts.
Having not had the foresight to make a pattern off the original fenders, I found the information, well sort of, in the assembly manual. It gives the layout pattern referenced to a couple of datum lines, but not what the datum lines are referenced to. So i studied a lot of pictures of Novas and made an educated guess. I made a pattern out of craft paper, taped it to the fenders, marked the hole locations and drilled the holes. No going back now!
They look okay, but it would really have helped for the fenders to be on the car, just to make sure.

 

[BravoXray]

Since I had't heard from him yet, I finally stopped at the paint shop, and fortunately the owner was there. I told him he had said he'd come by and look at the Nova, but after a month, I thought I'd check to see if he was really interested or not. He apologized and said he'd been really busy, and he did have the note right there on his desk. So he came over this evening and looked it all over, said it looked really good to him and that he would look at his schedule to be sure, but thought he could get it in the last week of the month(December). I told him that would be good but if it ran into January more than a week or so it would be a problem as I have back surgery scheduled on the 27th. He didn't think that would be a problem.
He seems to be really interested in the project which is encouraging.
So, maybe I can see the light at the end of the Nova tunnel.

 

[scootr]

Fingers crossed for you on the Nova and the back surgery.

 

[BravoXray]

Fingers crossed for you on the Nova and the back surgery.

I've been putting the back surgery off for 6 or 8 years, and it's getting more chronic, shooting pains in the legs and horrible aching in the lower back and thighs. I'm not looking forward to it, but the surgeon says if I don't do it soon I could end up in a wheel chair.

I made up some spacers and installed them between the rotisserie mounts and the rear bumper mounts, so the painter can get in there with paint. Otherwise there would have been a big area on each side not painted. I also raised the body up about six inches so it can be rotated a full 360° without hitting the crossbar. I may weld a couple of chunks of 1/4" X 2" flat stock to the pivot so I can lock it in place with a couple of bolts for transport to the paint shop.

 

[MossRoad]

Getting close.

Good luck with your back. Only you can tell when it's too much and time to get repaired. About 20+ years ago I was on the verge, but my surgeon talked me into therapy and it made all the difference in quality of life. It'll happen later for me, I'm sure. But he said you'll know when it's time. You won't be able to take the pain. I believe him.

 

[scootr]

I have similar back issues. I'm okay if I stay within my routine and limits. I should do floor exercise but I'd rather do shop projects.
That is quite the project you got there ! My back pains me, my feet go numb, and my legs cramp up... other than that I'm good to go.

 

[goeduck]

I know my SIL put off back surgery and regrets it now. Good luck with whatever decision you make.