Restarting My '70 Nova Project

[BravoXray]

More wiring today, I got the tail lights and side markers all wired. I was going to wait until it was on the ground, but with it on the rotisserie it was really easy to get to, and I didn't have to lean over into the trunk to do it. I just rolled it up 90° and could sit on a roller seat and get to everything quite easily. When I got the left side done, I just rolled it 180° and worked on the right side. The new sockets fit really tight in the new tail lights, I had to take the left one out to get the socket seated in the housing. I also had to scrape the paint off the metal around a couple of the tail light mounting holes so the light would get a proper ground, I don't want any grounding problems to have to chase down.
I wired the side markers different than is normal, I connected the wire that normally goes to ground to the turn light wire on that side. This makes the side marker flash with the turn signal when the parking lights are off, and they flash alternately to the turn signal when the parking lights are on. A lot of later model cars and trucks are wire this way. How it works is that when the parking lights are off, power goes from the turn light wire, through the side marker to the parking light wire and to ground through the turn signal tail light filament. When the parking lights are on, the power goes from the parking light wire, through the side marker bulb, and to ground through the turn signal main filament. Whe the turn signal is turned on, when power goes to the turn signal wire, it puts 12 volts on moth sides of the side marker ligh bulb and it goes out. Pretty simple really.
The loose connector in the middle of the tail light panel is for the license plate light.
I also installed the fuel tank filler pipe, and after another search found and installed the new fuel cap. The old one would leak gas on acceleration, not good for fuel mileage that was poor as it was..

 

[MossRoad]

That reminded me of a few incidents with my parents' Nova and gas spewing out.

 

[BravoXray]

The carpet came via UPS yesterday, a day early! Imagine that!
So, I worked all afternoon until 6:00PM and got the carpet completely installed. It fits pretty well, just have one area around the accelerator pedal that bulges out, so I may need to use the heat gun on it. I had to massage the sill plates a little bit to get them to fit, but they look pretty good. There are six holes for screws in them, but only four line up to holes in the body. If I get some longer screws, I can put them in those holes. I got it tucked under the kick panels pretty easily, and even found the grommet for the dimmer switch and got it put in too. I had to run a thread chaser over all the seat studs to get the paint off them, and I put nuts and washers on all the seat studs so I can turn it upside down if I need to, and the carpet won't fall down.

I'm going to have to pull up the rear section, as I forgot to mark and cut holes for the front seat belt bolts. The inner ones are easy, I can stick an awl through the bolt hole from the underside, but the outer ones go into the rockers and aren't accessible from underneath.

I got the nylon bushings for the clutch and brake pedals, and assembled them to the support, and I didn't even destroy one in the process this time.

Tomorrow, I think I'll work on installing the rear upholstery panels, and if that goes well, I may work on applying sound deadener on the doors. Once that's done I can install the door cards.

Once the rear panels are in and I get the new package tray, the rear seat can go in. However, the package tray is back ordered and it may be a week or two before it comes.

My fingers ache from all the pulling and pushing, but at least I didn't cut myself with the Stanley knife. I think I'll grab a couple Ibuprofen.

Lots done, still a lot to do, but the list is getting a little shorter.

 

[BravoXray]

I rolled the car upside down and installed the shoulder seat belts, retainer clips, sun visors, rear view mirror and front window trim. I had to use an o-ring pick to find the screw holes. and some weren't where I thought they were, but I got all them installed.
It's starting to look like a car inside now!
Then I rolled it back upright and worked on installing the rear interior panels. I had already fit the left one and cut the hole for the window crank, so it went pretty easy, but I did take the sill plates off to run the trim that goes on the rear of the door opening and also goes over the flap of fabric on the front of the interior panel to hold it in place. Last thing was to install the rear sill plates that go behind the door opening. I think I'm going to replace them though, they're kind of beat up. I still need to install all the rest of the seat belts, but I'm going to have to clean them up first, or if they're too nasty, get a new set. I'm not sure just how easily they are to clean up.
I had thought I had to leave the sail panels off until the vinyl top was installed, but I dug out the trim that goes at the bottom of the vinyl top and the nuts that hold the rear corner pieces on will be accessible from the trunk, so I can go ahead and install the sail panels. Once those are in, I can install all the rest of the trim that goes around each side of the headliner and around the rear window. Then, as soon as the package tray gets here, I can install the rear seats, and then finally the front bucket seats.
Until then I can get the doors finished up and ready to hang.

 

[BravoXray]

I took a couple of days off, one just to do several domestic tasks like laundry, sweeping and grocery shopping, and yesterday I spent from 12:30PM to 5:00PM installing a new computer for a customer and getting all the software and data either transferred or reinstalled. Have I ever said that this process is a pain in the ass? Well, it is.

Today, I took a little time to rebalance the body on the rotisserie, as it has been getting really bottom heavy, which made it difficult to easily rotate it into another position. I only had to move the body up about an inch on each end to get it into almost perfect balance. Much better now.
I tackled installing the interior sail panels, and it was a slow process, gluing, trimming, fitting to get it just right, or at least close to it. Of course to get them put in I had to remove the rear upholstery panels, which meant removing the rear sill plates, and the front sill plates. I knew there was a reason I didn't install the window cranks yet. But I got the panels installed, which required installing the rear window molding and the moldings that run from the A-pillar to the rear of the quarter window opening because they anchor the front and rear sides in place with flaps of fabric.
After that, I installed the A and B-pillar covers. The A pillar covers went in really easy, but the B-pillar covers were a really tight fit. I thought I was going to have to trim them at first until I figured out how to slip them into place. And surprise, the screw holes even lined up pretty well!
I also installed several rubber plugs in holes in the floor, and one where the cable for a fender mounted antenna runs through the right door jamb.
In looking over the clutch linkage, the holes in the pedal arm and the Z-bar and ends of the push rod are pretty worn, so I either have to weld them up and redrill the holes, drill them out and press in bushings, or drill them out and use a new push rod with Heim ends on it. I think a pair of 3/8" Heim ends would be the best solution at this point.
I dug out the rear seat belts, I will give them a good cleaning and will probably bolt them in tomorrow. I bit the bullet and ordered a set of Morris Concepts three point seat belts for the front seats. They are a direct replacement for the double belt setup and use the same attachment points. I think that's a good upgrade to the safety equipment.
Now if the package tray would just get here, I could get the interior pretty well finished up.

 

[BravoXray]

Didn't do too much today, had some other tasks to work on. I did get a tab made that attaches to the brake pedal and the return spring hooks to it. I also decided to use the clutch push rod I fabbed up years ago to replace the factory piece, so I drilled out the clutch pedal arm to take a 3/8" bolt, and tried to drill out the hole on the Z-bar that takes the other end. Well, a cobalt drill bit would barely do more that rub the paint off of it, apparently the end of the bar is hardened, a file wouldn't touch it either. Hmmmmm.
Just by chance there was a short piece of the 3/8" stainless fuel line I had cut off laying on the bench, and it would press into the hole in the ball of the joint, and a 5/16" bolt would almost fit in it. After 15 minutes of work with a file, the bolt would slide in and fit nicely in the Z-bar arm hole. Problem solved.
At that point the pedal assembly was ready to install, and it slid right in place and I put a couple of nuts on the studs to hold it in place. I found the accelerator pedal and got it installed too.
I had found the rear seat belts, so I cleaned them up, ran a tap through the mounting holes in the floor and bolted them in place.
After another treasure hunt for the bracket that holds the brake line from the the front to the floor next to the pinion snubber, I finally found it at the bottom of a storage crate under a bag containing a set of new u-bolts. I had looked in that crate twice but had missed it hiding there. I had to chase out the two mounting holes with a tap and then bolted it in place. Another mystery missing part installed!
The new 3 point front seat belts will be here tomorrow, so I will probably get them installed, should be really easy.
Now, as soon as the package tray arrives, I can get all the seats installed and the interior will be done, I think.

 

[BravoXray]

Yesterday was a short day in the shop, had to help a friend install a new bumper he had built, a 200lb monster made out of 6"X6" 1/4" wall tubing, 1/4" plate and checker plate on his 1995 Dodge 3500 dualie with a Cummins engine. But, I did get the brake line to the rear brakes and the bracket I finally found on Saturday, routed and clamped in place at three points. It will connect to the line that is attached to the subframe and runs to the master cylinder. The rest of the afternoon I continued sorting through the slowly dwindling supply of parts and pieces, pulling out parts I'll need soon, like rear spring shackles and bushings, and putting parts that were mixed in with unrelated parts into the crates and bins where they should be. That took a couple of hours, and found a few items I had forgotten about. My pile of empty zip-lock bags is growing every day. I also blasted and painted several parts for the parking brakes and a few other miscellaneous parts.
Today, I installed the new 3-point seat belts. Would have been really easy, except when I bolted down the anchor/retractors, it pulled the carpet out from under the sill plates. Well, crap! So, I managed to pull the carpet out towards the sills, glue it in place and then bolt the units down. Bolted the inner belts to the drive shaft tunnel, and replaced the old shoulder belts with the new ones. These will be a lot nicer to use that the old double belt system.
Next, I dug out the new power brake booster and the master cylinder that have been sitting on the shelf for about 10 years. When you assemble the master cylinder to the booster, you have to make sure the pushrod from the booster doesn't protrude too far and depress the plunger in the master cylinder. Well, this one did, about 3/8", which isn't acceptable. The pushrod is 3/8" in diameter and about 2 1/2" long, with a 3/16" diameter pin protruding from the end that goes into the booster. Looking into the bore, I could see a hole that the protrusion should go into but it was off center so the pushrod wouldn't seat in all the way. After trying to get it centered, I ended up grinding a point on a piece of 3/8" rod that centered it up when I pushed it into the bore. Then the pushrod seated in all the way. But, when I installed the master cylinder, it still compressed the plunder about 3/16". BAH!
The master cylinder has an adapter the fits inside the plunder and easily slides out, so I chucked it up in the lathe and trimmed 3/16" off the end. Fits perfect now! Took the booster to the car, slid it over the mounting studs and ran the nuts up by hand. Under the dash, I had to maneuver the clevis onto the brake pedal arm, but even with it adjusted to where the pushrod was hitting the pedal arm inside the clevis, it still needed to be adjusted a little shorter. So, I'll have to pull the booster off tomorrow and cut the pushrod and inch or so shorter and it should be fine.
Not a lot done today, but progress nonetheless.
Also, yesterday my friend Brian stopped by and gave me a hand turning the doors over so I can apply the sound deadener to them and get the door cards, arm rests and handles installed. Then, after the seats are in, I can hang the doors again.

 

[BleedingOrange]

Awesome work. I love your attention on every detail. I would have zero problems about buying something from you, after seeing how much you like to get everything back together as good as possible. Great quality, and progress is moving along nicely.

 

[BravoXray]

I pulled the booster off and shortened the pushrod an inch, put it back on and adjusted it as per the instructions. Should be good to go now.
Got to work on the driver's door, applied the Dynamat, retrieved the door card, and started the fitting process. I had to cut holes for the door latch, window regulator and three holes for the screws that attach the armrest. I also had to open up the six holes for the retainer pins that hold the door card to the door at the front and rear. After a session of jostling and adjusting, I finally got all the pieces to line up with their respective receptacles and brackets. I put on the door latch and window crank, then screwed the armrest into place. I even painted the screws black so they blended in with the armrest. Last thing was to drill four holes in the bottom of the door card and door frame for attaching screws. The first one was easy, the other three not so much. The drill bit caught the material between the vinyl cover and the backer board and wound it up in a a knot. After pulling the covering loose and pushing it out of the way, I could drill the holes, move it back into position and install the screws.
That door finished, I got the Dynamat installed on the right side door, cut all the required holes, and installed the retainer pins in the door card. By then it was after 6:00PM, and I was tired, sweaty and hungry. Closed up the shop and went to the house.
I also found a bag of rubber bumpers that go in various places on the car. I installed two on the rear of each door, one at the top and one at the bottom. Then I installed them on each side at the rear of the trunk lid, and put new ones on the two adjuster/stop bolts for the front of the hood. I had already put new bumpers on the glove box door opening, and the only others left are two on each fender, one at the front and one at the rear to keep the hood from possibly rubbing the fender, and two on the rear bumper where the license plate holder would otherwise hit the bumper.
After looking over the old package shelf, it's not in as bad of condition as I thought it was, and I think I'll call the supplier that has the new one on backorder and cancel it. I worked for a few minutes cleaning it up, getting all the dust and cobwebs off it, and I think a coat of satin black paint, or maybe even a piece of black Naugahyde would make it look like new. If I do use it, I'll have to get it fit and installed, remove the speakers, and mark the underside where the speaker openings and mounting screws are located. Once I cut the openings and drill holes for the mounting screws, I can reinstall the speakers with the grilles that came with them on top of the shelf. That should look pretty nice. At least I'm getting pretty good at removing and installing the speakers. With that done, I can install the seats, which would be a great step forward.

Time to watch an episode of Roadworthy Rescues.

 

[BravoXray]

More progress yesterday and today. I cleaned up the old package tray, cut holes for the speakers, and gave it a couple of coats of flat black paint. Got it in the car, got the speaker grilles and speakers screwed fast, but the metal grilles would NOT snap back into place. I messed with them for a half hour and finally gave up and went to the house. A while later it dawned on me that the way the plastic shell are made, tightening the screws down probably deformed them, and that's why the metal grilles wouldn't fit properly. Went back down yesterday, loosened the screws up and the metal grilles snappped in place like they should. I did snug the screws up just enough so they hold everything snugly. I glued the fabric flap that is on the front edge of the package tray to the rear seat bulkhead with that sticky black weather strip glue, and held it in place with some masking tape. I brought the rear seat back down from upstairs, wiped off some dust and put a couple of pieces of 1" heated hose over the rather ragged ears that are on the bottom of the cushion on each side and fit over a tab on the wheel house, so they wouldn't accidently tear the side panels when I put it in place. It fit in pretty easily, and I pulled the protectors off. The tabs easily lined up and I bent them over and installed the two bolts that secure it to the floor. I brought the bottom cushion down and wiped it down, slid it in the door, climbed in and wiggled it almost into place, fished out the seat belts and shoved it into place and into the two retainers on the floor. Done!
I was going to repaint the steering column before I put it in, but looking closer, the column doesn't set next to anything painted hot rod black, and you really can't tell the difference between the two. The paint used on the glove box lid and ash tray must have been from a different manufacturer or batch. Looks good to me. I bolted on the saddle that holds it to the two studs in the dash, and discovered that
I had forgotten to remove the two nuts from the studs before I installed the pedal assembly. Bah! I had to loosen up the four nuts that hold it to the firewall and brake booster until I had enoigh room to get the nuts off. Tightened the the pedal assembly nuts back up again, slid the column into place and put on a couple of nuts to hold it in place.
Now is when the fun started. There is a two piece plate that clamps around the column and bolts to the floor where it goes through the firewall. There is a thin foam gasket under the plate that was a pain to get into place and once I did, the thickness of the gasket and the sound deadener made the bolts nearly impossible to get started in the threaded holes in the firewall. After the better part of an hour of brute force and the use of nearly my entire repertoire of curse words, I gave up and decided I'm going to have to get longer bolts. Actually they're 1/4" hex head sheet metal screws, and of all the shousands of fasteners I have, I have none that size. I'll make a trip to the hardware store in town, one of my favorite places, partly because of the creaky wooden floors that bring back a lot of old memories.

So, some progress was made, it's starting to look like a car that may some day actually hit the road.