1970 L-78 Nova Restoration; Saga of The Green Bastard

[L78_Nova]

Many many trial fits and small tweaks to the panel. Repeated small trimming on edges to sneak up on the fit. Working alone it was a challenge to wrestle this piece on and off. I honestly don't think I would be exaggerating if I guessed at close to 50 times. I made myself lots of tape notes so as not to forget anything when I came back to the project.

You can also see some areas where I did some metal work while the panel was off to have easy access to both sides. The panels had been stored unboxed for many years.



You can see the faux spot weld dimples along the bottom of the panel. These were actually aligned to the pre drilled holes in the trunk drop for plug welds.





Spot weld dimples were also placed along the edge of the sail panel at the drip rail. This section will be panel bonded rather than welded



Some work at the top leading edge of the panel to better align with the door fit



Window corner was tough, needed some persuasion to line up better to the stainless trim. Tried to minimize the filler in the window jamb. I had worked this area further prior to install (no photo).



Looooong road to this point... getting close to install

[L78_Nova]

I mentioned previously the sail panel to drip rail was attached with panel bond. I chose to also use panel bond for the wheel lip/outer tub edge. I had dimpled the wheel lip to replicate factory spot welds and plug welding in between would have created an enormous amount of finishing work. I also liked the idea of having the wheel lip completely sealed as it would be with panel bond. Pleased with how it worked (particularly after body and paint). Many clamps with moderate pressure made a nice tight fit.

[L78_Nova]

SIDEBAR...
April 2018 Winnipeg World of Wheels, Hot Rod Drag Week 2017 Winner Dave Schroeder is originally from Winnipeg. His cousin, mechanic and co-pilot on Drag Week is John Ens from Winnipeg.

Several buddies are friends with John and Dave... The car was currently in Winnipeg and with the promise of our help for the weekend, we twisted John's arm to put the car in the show. Unfortunately Dave was unable to make the trip.

Big John with Ken Murray who does the engine work on the Reher Morrison 872



After the show, we were tearing down the display while John went for the truck and trailer... Next thing I know John says get in you're driving it out!
None of the other guys fit in the car, BONUS !!!
Not only was I driving it out, I had to go about 6-7 Blocks to get to where John left the trailer. He wanted a picture with the Parliament Building.
Holding it back on the brakes almost the whole time, close to freezing temps, no jacket, still sweating.



Another Highlight of the show was a couple of Bob Marvin's cars from "The Shed" collection. Real Yenko 67 427 camaro !! Beautiful !!



Back to the Nova

[L78_Nova]

We're now into late 2018. Recall, I only bring the project car home for winter. Getting started into the LH Quarter.

Doors were home for the summer, stripped, rough body worked and Epoxy primed DP90. Everything was stripped to bare using 8" orbital 36 grit (slow RPM) where it would fit, 6" 36 Grit (slow RPM) where it would fit and a wire wheel on a drill for the tough spots... which was most of the jambs. Slow agonizing work. Doors were VERY solid replacements I had bought many years earlier. A couple small patches on the outer corners but the inners and skin seams were beautiful.

Hinges rebuilt, Door hung and aligned, happy with the rear fit and away we go. Front gap was a little tight but that front corner had evidence of a little bump so we'll fix that with the fenders when I get there.

So.. unlike the RH side, no ugly surprises.

[L78_Nova]

Rocker was in much better condition than the RH side



This is the sneaky little corner reinforcement bracket at the lower rear corner of the rear 1/4 window. The one that was missing from the RH side due to the shoddy original repair work. I don't have to make this side





Rear corner looks rough from drilling out the spot welds and air chiseling apart but... It was actually solid enough to hammer out and with some careful plug welding (with copper backer) I was able to get it back in shape.
No after picture

[Too Many Projects]

Left side is much nicer to work with than what you had on the right.

I know this post is history, but drilling spot welds on a panel that I want to save the substrate on, I now use a 3M grinding disc and grind away the outer layer to leave the inner panel untouched.
Have you been to Bob's Shed to see his other rare cars ? If you haven't and it's on your list, I suggest getting there this year. His health is failing and I don't know how many more years he will be able to see visitors in person. Very nice man to talk with.

[L78_Nova]

Oh sad news about Bob.. He is a great ambassador to our hobby. He has his club guys haul or drive cars to MANY area shows. Have seen his cars in Winnipeg, Grand Forks and Minneapolis countless times. I took my convertible to the last Land of Lakes GTO Musclecar Classics show. Bob was there with a 69 Yenko Nova and a GTO. Sure miss that show.
I have not been to the Shed but hope to make it this year.
Yes I have a 3m file sander now, They are AWESOME !!

[67since67]

Originally Posted by L78_Nova

I took my convertible to the last Land of Lakes GTO Musclecar Classics show. Sure miss that show.

That was a great show! I was a regular until it came into conflict with the Northern Ohio Chevelle Show.

[Too Many Projects]

Originally Posted by L78_Nova

Oh sad news about Bob.. He is a great ambassador to our hobby. He has his club guys haul or drive cars to MANY area shows. Have seen his cars in Winnipeg, Grand Forks and Minneapolis countless times. I took my convertible to the last Land of Lakes GTO Musclecar Classics show. Bob was there with a 69 Yenko Nova and a GTO. Sure miss that show.
I have not been to the Shed but hope to make it this year.
Yes I have a 3m file sander now, They are AWESOME !!

The Northstar Camaro Club goes there every fall for a weekend and helps "exercise" some cars. Bob is pretty much confined to his wheel chair full time and has a full time personal assistant to help with everything. It is sad to watch him lose more of his strength over the years.


The little air filers are cool, but the belts go dull too quick for me. I use the stone wheel grinder. Either one is better than a drill...

[L78_Nova]

While the rear portion of this LH trunk drop was a little better than the RH was;



The front portion was a little worse;





This patch was a little more challenging. I was able to find a piece in my scrap pile with a portion of the round raised shape to begin from. Drilled and slotted it out to match the plug then welded it in to the piece of replacement flange (similar to RH side).



Quite a bit of cutting welding and grinding for such a small patch but I wanted to copy the original shape as closely as possible. I was happy with the result. finished from the underside you cannot tell from factory.