Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[MossRoad]

I hope that you took pictures... and still know where those are.

Who needs pictures?

I have the gift of recall.

(have you seen my car keys? )

In all seriousness, those things aren't that complicated. No electronics. The hardest part will be doing things in the proper order.

 

[BravoXray]

I finally got the window runs for the door glass last Friday, and attacked it on Saturday afternoon. The first side (right) was the typical learning experience on getting the lengths cut just right and getting it seated in the channel all the way. The run for the front track by the vent window is different from the top and rear tracks, as it is not symmetrical, and has to be installed with a little ridge to the outside of the track. Once those were in, it was time to put the glass in, and it was a bit of a struggle, but finally got it in and in the tracks. I fits really snugly but not that bad. Got the regulator in and all the rollers in their channels and everything tightened down, put the window crank on and viola!, it goes up and down. Found the fuzzy seal that goes on the inside top of the outer door skin and had to trim it to get a good fit at the rear, but it looks good.
This morning, I picked up a can of spray silicone lube and applied some of it the the runs, and the window moves much easier now.
This afternoon I did the driver's side door, and it went much faster, only about an hour including drilling a new hole for the upper forward regulator bolt. The door is a NOS door for a '68 Nova, and there are a couple of minor differences. including the mounting holes for the regulator. The window moves a lot more freely in this door, but I still lubed the runs with the silicone. Next, I need to put the door seals on and see how those fit.
Now I'm waiting on the runs for the rear quarter windows, and according to a USPS notification, they should be here on Monday.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice! I used to really like those rear roll down windows. Don't know why. But I recall sitting in the back seat of my dad's '70 and having the ability to roll down my own window if I wanted to.

 

[BravoXray]

Tuesday and today I managed to get both quarter windows and their tracks installed. The replacement tracks that go in the B-pillar leave a lot to be desired, the channel is fairly soft aluminum, where the originals are steel, and making the detents for the mounting screws is real iffy, and doesn't work that well. The window has a plastic guide on the upper forward corner that keeps it captive in the forward track. The original track has depressions that the mounting screws set in, so the guide slides past the screws, after a couple of tries with the new tracks, I gave up trying to get the screw heads properly recessed. I'm mulling over making a thin, .020" or so, strip to slide into and glue to the bottom of the track so the guide will ride up over the screws. I'm going to cogitate on that for a while....
The aluminum trim that runs up and over the windows was a bit of a challenge to get to fit properly also, I had to do a little gentle work with a small hammer to get them the fit back far enough that the front end doesn't interfere with the back edge of the door frame. As the pictures show, there are pretty close. I still have to put the vertical pieces on the B-pillars, the rear door frames and the tops of the doors. Hopefully those will not be a huge challenge.
But, after a few adjustments, both windows work pretty well, so I'm pretty pleased.

 

[BravoXray]

Finally got back to work on the Nova after building the JD to Kubota blade adapter. I got all the trim pieces installed on the doors an quarter windows, The originals were in bad shape, and the repops don't fit the best, but I did the beat I could with them, and they look pretty good.
Today I installed all the pieces that the headliner attaches to. There are nine pieces and it takes about 40 screws to do the job. As usual, I couldn't find the original screws, but I had some left over from the bucket seat restoration that were just the right size for the job. After I got all the pieces installed, I was looking got the plastic pieces that the roof bows snap into, that attach to the roof braces, and in the same bag were the missing screws. Amazingly, there were identical to the ones I used, except dirty and rusty.
I think I'll get a couple of friends give me a hand tomorrow and take the doors off, so I can roll the body upside down to install the headliner.

 

[mike69440]

Just started a project:

 

[BravoXray]

Just started a project:

Year, make, model, CCs?

 

[BravoXray]

Got the doors off, and decided to do a little preliminary fitting of some of the wiring. I'm using an American Auto Wire Classic Update kit and it is very well made and seems to be able to accommodate a lot of optional circuits for upgrades that are common on classic cars, like EFI and electronic dash clusters.
The dash harness with the fuse block has most of the connectors for switches and controls preinstalled, but the rear, front and engine harnesses require trimming wires to length and crimping the connectors on the wires. And of course, some of the connectors are too thick for my crimpers to handle, so I had to order a new set from AAW.
I'm going to putt it back out, as I have some insulation/sound deadener to put on the firewall, but I'm going to need a friend to do that.
Onward and upward.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Awesome job. I really admire your perseverance, attention to detail, and will to do it right. I hope you get to enjoy the finished car for many, many years. Yours is the type of vehicle I would love to buy, if I were in the market.

 

[dodge man]

I’ve had three older cars in the past, two 1970 and one 1972. The wiring was an issue on 2 of the 3. New wiring is the way to go.