68 L78 Nova - resto journey

[DougsL78]

Hi All,

Well here we go- purchased a 68 L78 Nova, M22, born with drivetrain, Sequoia Green and ash gold interior from a member here (Thanks Tom!) and after shipping it up to Canada, the restoration journey begins.

Many of you I’m sure know the car as Tom has posted about it before..I guess I was the right bum for the seat and I am very proud and honoured to be the next caretaker of it. So the restoration begins.

I followed the saga of the Green Bastard Restoration here and loved that documentation, so hoping to do the same here for anyone who is interested.

First pictures here are not too different from when it was down in Tom’s garage- but we’ve started the cataloguing and restoration of the parts that came with the car, bought up 15k of NOS parts (so far, a long way to go still…. ) and have the right body and paint men lined up to make it perfect. It is one of 167 produced with the M22 so it’s a special car. Will make it as original as possible- only day 2 items will be headers and exhaust (as I’m not ready to give away the horsepower!

Using NOS parts as a first choice, used original as second, and repro as a last choice only if required. This is my “forever car” and restoring it with my father (at 75 is as pumped as I am) is the best part of the journey. That’s him as we pull the engine to prep for body.

Always open to tips, tricks, advice from the experts here- especially on the 68 which seems to have 1000 “one year only parts”, plus being an L78 it is going to be an adventure.

Huge thanks to Tom selling the car to me and more importantly for his knowledge, patience, and digging for parts. Also to Jason (down the street from Tom) for his expertise, willingness to help, and some door jambs that were the first “impossible finds”. Last shout out for this first post is 427King for the 1100814 alternator (the second impossible find).

[69M22Z]

Congratulations!! Ready to follow along.

[Too Many Projects]

Congrats on the purchase. I remember seeing that in Tom's ad and thought "someone is going to get a really nice project". If I recall, didn't it come with a lot of the NOS parts it needed ?

[DougsL78]

Thanks guys,

It came with a 6000 mile granny interior, an NOS grille and rear SS plate, rebuilt carb and starter among some other bits and bobs. So that was a great start. And even though I was prepared to buy a lot of stuff, it continues to make my eyes water as to how many parts I actually needed and how expensive good stuff is.

Members here have been great at helping locate and sell some really hard to find stuff- but I may have to take a 2nd mortgage on my house to finish the car… LOL. Something I would absolutely do before selling other cars if anyone was doubtful…

[Too Many Projects]

I hear ya on the NOS parts. They do get harder to find and the price seems to go up daily.
There is no chance we would be mortgaging our place to restore cars. We are both retired and living on fixed income based on no payments.

[DougsL78]

I hear you.. I was kidding - a wise person once told me “you can’t see the numbers when you are behind the wheel” - that really resonated. I’d like to this one as proper as possible and will do my best to do it without putting myself in financial jeopardy.

[BJCHEV396]

Congrats and good luck Doug from Ottawa!

[RPOLS3]

Glad to see this great car found a new owner - looking forward to following along.

[DougsL78]

Small update- car now moved to body shop… had a little May snow here in Alberta that we had to thread the needle on.

Next update car should be on rotisserie and start the stripping/metal work!

NOS Parts collection continues…. NOS air cleaner and rebuilt 8E voltage regulator added to the ever growing pile….

[chevyman0429]

For sure looking to watch this build!

[DougsL78]

Actually guys, I need help with something.

The project car has early GM replacement quarters and the placement of the rear marker lights I need to verify as they are pretty crudely cut (let alone the Nova emblem placement above it but that will be step 2...)

I have scoured the 68 AIM and Chassis manual and I cannot for the life of me any references on how to locate proper position of the marker and/or emblem … I’m looking to drill appropriate holes on the replacement quarters.

As a starting point I will look to confirm a proper location of the rear marker light. I think the 68 and 69 position should be the same… but want to verify. I have measured the distance (with a soft tape) from the top rear of the bezel to the rear edge of the fender on the project 68 and my completed 69. .

See picture below. On the 68 it is 7” from top bezel edge to edge of fender. On my 69 car it’s 6 1/8”. Seems Like too large of a difference to be left to factory variance.
Can anyone else take a quick measurement on a 68 or 69 like I did in the picture below?

[WILMASBOYL78]

Doug...

Thought I would jump in to try and help.

Here is the info I provided previously...I had the 68 car out the other day and re-checked.

5 5/8” from bottom of the Nova emblem to the top of the marker lite bezel

5 ¾ “ form the edge of the ‘A’ in Nova to rear edge of the quarter….

6 .5 “ top of the ‘N’ to the top edge of the quarter…

photos attached....

68 and 69 position is the same. I know there are some members here with 69's...Sammy and Joe come to mind. Maybe they can confirm measurements.

Another option would be to check with one of the sheet metal suppliers and ask them if they would give you some measurements...might help.

Hope this helps.

Tom

[DougsL78]

Thanks Tom, appreciate it…. It’s that one measurement from the marker bezel to the edge of the quarter that I need to verify - if it’s in the right spot I can triangulate with your measurements of the emblem.

I’d hate to finish the car and have the marker light nearly an inch forward of where it should be (note, I will be weirdly relieved nearly but still annoyed if my marker light on my 69 is an inch further back than it should be.. )

[DougsL78]

Car looks great by the way Tom. Hoping to make its Butternut brother proud with this one….

[WILMASBOYL78]

Thanks Tom, appreciate it…. It’s that one measurement from the marker bezel to the edge of the quarter that I need to verify - if it’s in the right spot I can triangulate with your measurements of the emblem.

I’d hate to finish the car and have the marker light nearly an inch forward of where it should be (note, I will be weirdly relieved nearly but still annoyed if my marker light on my 69 is an inch further back than it should be.. )

Just so I understand...

you want the measurement from the rear edge of the bezel to the edge of the quarter...correct..?? I will try to get it this weekend.

I still think it would be good to get a comparison from a couple of other places. I'm sure one of the sheet metal providers would help with the measurements...the image below is a Goodmark part...lots of folks sell them. That way you get the exact dimensions for the hole.

tew

[fastco]

I've got 2 68's with OG quarters on them. one is a project so the rear bumper could easily come off for more ease of measuring. PM me and I'll send you my phone #

[DougsL78]

Thanks Tom,

Correct - in the photo above is the exact place I'm trying to get a measurement for.

Rear edge of the bezel (at the top of the rear edge of bezel - its just easier to get a measuring tape on) to the rear edge of the fender.

I am trying to do as much homework as possible as well - being in western Canada there isnt a warehouse of aftermarket Nova fenders hanging around... Ive called OER and they thought I was crazy... There are a few 69's around town so when I catch them I will take some measurements there too.

[Zman1969]

looks like another cool build, L78s IMO are the bomb!

[DougsL78]

On the rotisserie! We are on the way!!

['69Novajoe]

Hey Doug, I just saw this thread. I went out, did a quick measurement and came up with 6 1/8" (plus or minus 1/64":grin:). I couldn't find my wife's "soft tape" but used a piece of paper to do it! This is on an original rear quarter panel by the way. Hope that helps. (Oh, and it's for a '69!!)

[DougsL78]

Thanks Joe for the confirmation, and thanks Paul for the work on the measurements and templates from your 68's. I'm super appreciative.

[DougsL78]

Slow but sure…. Correct “full telephone” door jambs welded in. Working on it after hours so progress on body has been slow to date… will pick up this fall….

[jasonL78]

They look great! Glad they went to good use. I still have my original 68 L79 nova quarter panels. I could cut them so you can use them for a template for nova emblem and marker light if you haven't figured them out yet.

[DougsL78]

Thanks Jason, they’re great and you’ve been a huge help! Another Canadian member here Paul made some awesome templates for the emblems and solved that problem.
Moving along more slowly than I figured so far- but will accelerate in the winter when it’s easier to hunker down in the workshop.

More updates to come…

[1crossram]

Looks great
Nice to see another Canadian building a car

[DougsL78]

Slow but sure is the name of the game this winter…. This week’s task is cleaning up subframe parts and window regulators. Anyone have suggestions on “natural steel” paint brand/color (or, does anyone restoring these ever “clear” them)? I’d be frustrated if my hours of wire wheel ended up wasted with surface rust immediately starting to form!

The parts purchased list is 310 items long to date - near all being NOS and I’m still not done… it’s incredible what you think you have is “complete” until you get into the details and realize how much you need. I’m loving every step but it is NOT for the faint of heart… LOL