Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[dodge man]

Glad to hear your surgery went well, I hope to hear your are back working on your car.

 

[BravoXray]

Takes a lot of time and money to redo classic cars. Had a 74 nova in my early twenties then about my 45th birthday came across this 67 Camaro always wanted one still needs some interior work but fun to drive.

Really nice looking Camaro you have there. A Camaro would have been my second choice after the Nova when I was looking for a car.

 

[BravoXray]

Glad to hear your surgery went well, I hope to hear your are back working on your car.

Yes, the surgery went well, ended up staying for five nights instead of three because of the pain being so bad. The surgeon said he had to do a lot more work that he had planned, and it took over six hours instead of four or five.
I'm now a week and a day post-op, and the pain, for the most part is getting better. For some reason, almost every night around 4-5:00AM it decides to have a hissy-fit and hurt like hell, even though I'm taking my meds on schedule. Not sure why this happens, but if I do, I'll going to correct it.
Last three days, I have walked, with a walker, out to the end of the driveway and back 2-4 times each day.
Here's it the oddest thing that happens on a nearly regular basis: when I swallow food, it sends shooting pains down my torso and legs. Talk about an incentive to diet! The doc had no explanation, said none of his patients had ever had that side effect before. Hopefully as all the trauma and swelling subsides, that will abate also.

As for the Nova, the painter said "any day now" it will be done. That's fine, it's going to be a while until I can do any serious work on it at this point.

Thanks all for your concerns and wishes.

 

[Lko67]

Went to a spaghetti dinner for a friend that has cancer last night and ran into the guy that bought my old nova. Wanted to know if I wanted it back. Was surprised he still had it. Got some issues though his garage roof caved in and kinked the roof. I'm gonna go look at it if he calls. Was the car I had on our first date 38 years ago this year

 

[BravoXray]

Went to a spaghetti dinner for a friend that has cancer last night and ran into the guy that bought my old nova. Wanted to know if I wanted it back. Was surprised he still had it. Got some issues though his garage roof caved in and kinked the roof. I'm gonna go look at it if he calls. Was the car I had on our first date 38 years ago this year

Not sure what generation it is, but you can new roof panels for 3rd gen Novas, so that might ben an option if there isn't too much damage.

 

[BravoXray]

So after just over two months in paint shop jail, the Nova was finally released today. I realized that when the painter said he'd probably have it done in a couple of weeks, there was no way that was going to happen. In his defense, he did have to do some additional body work on some areas that just didn't suit him, but that's okay, I told him to fix any areas that needed attention.
I must say, the paint looks absolutely gorgeous, even better than I had hoped. When we picked up the hood and trunk lid last Thursday, and the front fenders yesterday, even my two friends that were professional painters were impressed. That day they had wet sanded the body and doors with 2000 grit, and were going to buff it out on Wednesday, which they did.
So today, I had the towing company pick it up and bring it home, thankfully it wasn't pouring rain like it had been yesterday. The even had the same operator that took it to the shop, pick it up today, and he did a great job.
Now, as I am able, as I recover from my back surgery one month ago today, I'l start the long process of getting the Nova put back together. I've been mentally making a list of the sequence for the reassembly, lots of things to consider in establishing the order of events.
Sorry I didn't get pictures of the trunk lid or hood before we wrapped them ip in shipping blankets for transport, but I did get a couple of the fenders.
I'm estimating for it to take a year for me to get it finished, so we'll see how it goes.

The young fellow on the left in the first picture is the painter/shop owner. Great guy.

 

[MossRoad]

Man, that's gonna look great! Keep up that rehab for the back.

 

[dodge man]

It’s looking good, hope the reassembly goes well.

 

[BravoXray]

Been kind of cold to work in the shop for very long lately, but I have made a little progress. Over the weekend I got both trunk hinges in and the torsion rods that hold the lid open installed. Of course I couldn't find the pivot pins, so after searching many boxes of parts, it dawned on me that I may have attached themk to the torsion rods, and sure enough, that's where they were. The torsion rods are a royal PITA to install, and I even have a specially made tool to aid in their installation. First, I had to find a video online that showed how they are installed, and I could only fine one video for a 3rd generation Nova, as it's been eight years since I removed them, and I didn't take pictures or make a drawing of how they go in. Once I watched the video, it was simple, but certainly not easy to install them. It takes a lot of torque to get them installed in the proper adjustment notches. And of course I got the first one in the wrong notch, and had to do it over again. The second one was easier, as I figured out that I could push sideways on the rod while twisting it to make it a little shorter and easier to get in the proper notches in the fixed end bracket.
Yesterday and today, I dug out, cleaned up, and installed the tail lights and rear side marker lights, so, I'm making a little progress. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get the door handles installed, and maybe the actuators for the keyless entry system I bought for it. It also has the actuator for the trunk latch, so maybe I'll get that installed too. Once that's installd, I want to get the trunk lid installed and aligned, then install the trunk seal.
After that, I need to remove the doors so I can get the insulation put in the roof and then get the headliner installed. That should be a lot simpler with it upside down on the rotisserie than iit was putting the one in a friends '70 Charger.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice to see you working on it again.