74 NovaMan’s … Novas

[74NovaMan]

There was some inconsistency in the award lines as some lines were only giving out signs for the driver credential. Unfortunately, I was in one of those lines. With 1,200 miles to cover by Sunday night, we were not going to let that detail slow us down at that point. We hit the road at about 9:00 and made it north of St Louis by 7:00. We averaged 70mph including 2 stops and covered 700 miles.

Sunday morning, I locked both sets of our keys in the trunk as we were loading up. I had to call a locksmith. All i really needed from him was a stubby phillips screwdriver to remove one of the speakers so that I could reach in an get the keys out of the box of tools in the trunk. $50 later and an hour later in the pouring rain we were on the road. We made it home by 6:00.

[pintoboy77]

What's life without a few adventures.

[74NovaMan]

We have the opportunity to get the original high school car and extra body shell back and I have been thinking hard about a project that has been floating around in my head for over 25 years. Not sure we are ready to pull the trigger yet but everything we have does run and drive (though the to do lists are still substantial). We can get them for almost nothing - which is probably close to what they are worth at this point. It would certainly be a long term project. These pics will give you a clue as to what we are considering.

[JOES66FURY]

I always liked the roll back tops you could get on the spirit of america cars. There was one rusting away in a yard back home when I was a kid....it's owner was one of the " I'm gonna fix her up one day" morons

[pintoboy77]

That looks like a good candidate for sub-frame connectors!

[silver_bullet]

...

[Huskinhano]

That looks like a good candidate for sub-frame connectors!

And cross bracing too.

[74NovaMan]

Buying the old Novas back did not happen. I still know where they are and they are not likely to go anywhere soon though.

Over the winter I did fix the speedometer. I had a spare from the old red car so I took them both apart and made one good one that worked. I was going to swap one for the other, but the numbers on the odometer were much better (cleaner) on the blue cars speedo. I also took the opportunity to add the miles that were traveled while the speedo was out.

The before pic:



Here is the backside of the speedo. The odometer set comes out fairly easily and that is what I swapped to the other speedometer. The little white plastic piece behind the numbers cylinders is pretty fragile. On the red car speedo it came off in pieces. Fortunately, the other one came out intact and was in good condition so that I could reuse it. I believe that that piece and the metal tabs that they retain keep the different wheels from just spinning randomly. In my internet research people have said the plastic piece can be recreated using plastic from a pop/soda bottle.



The finished product installed:

[74NovaMan]

We replaced the tires last week. Had them done at the local Chevy dealer. On the invoice there was a note from the service department stating that they inspected the tires and that they were in good condition and did not need replacement at this time. I pointed out to the service writers that they may want to do some training on date codes for tires. The rear tires were 12 years old and the fronts were 16 years old. We got a new spare too (16 years old and never used). With 2 rebates totaling $150 and a price match from Sears ($107.35 ea), the 5 new tires cost us about $550. The car doesn't ride or look any different, but it was certainly time. We got these in a 225/60r14:

[DanStokes]

Smart move on the tars, Chris. My trailer tires turned out to be 7 years old and I shreaded one on the way to the track. I put on the spare (about 2 years old) and bought a new one that I had them put on the ground. So I'll have the other 2 on the ground changed before I head back to Ohio and keep one of the antique tires for a spare. Age catches up with all of us, especially tires.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

My tires up front on the Suburban were getting worn, got a new spare, never used out of a junk yard Sub, and my spare.. My spare did not have a cover, it shredded spectarularily under 100 miles..

[74NovaMan]

Not a lot happening with the Nova other than driving it when weather permits (maybe in April if we are lucky). It does need a new radiator though. Maybe this will make install easier:

[DanStokes]

A hoist is always a winner! I'm too old to crawl around under them anymore.

Dan

[langleylad]

Not a lot happening with the Nova other than driving it when weather permits (maybe in April if we are lucky). It does need a new radiator though. Maybe this will make install easier:

Nice ! and I thought these were a big step up !

[74NovaMan]

Swapped the radiator out last weekend with the old one I still had from when I replaced it in 2013 (see pages 9-11). Took it for a drive and it seems to be working fine. I had patched a crack near the filler neck in 2013 ago but decided to get a new one before Power Tour that year. I'm hoping that it will be good for a while, as the copper brass 3 core seems to be harder to get than it once was.