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

[NorCam]

Very cool car Gary. Love those story's that go along with the cars too.

I agree, Bob Chubala is a great guy. I met him when I brought one of my cars to the show in 2013 and had some great conversations with him. I used to frequent that show when it was the Piston Ring Autorama when I was a kid in the early 80's. I remember all those commercials they used to run when the show was coming to town.

[67since67]

Hey Gary, what's the story on the Minneapolis Moline UB tractor parked beside your Nova in the building, Yours??

[L78_Nova]

Originally Posted by 67since67

Hey Gary, what's the story on the Minneapolis Moline UB tractor parked beside your Nova in the building, Yours??

It's my friend's brother's where I store cars, just south of Winnipeg. Can't recall if it is still in there, those pics are from some time ago.
G

[L78_Nova]

The Saga of the Green Bastard (1970 L-78 Nova Restoration Thread)

PART THREE; Left Quarter; Here we really go!
Well actually, according to my pictures, I started on the Right Quarter !!! and it was 2018
(I think I stripped out the Sub-Frame and did the suspension and rack kit on my 72 Nova in 2017)

I am just a hobbyist and not a professional bodyman, so by no means do I claim this is the correct way to do things… but this is my way. I do have a pretty good support group of friends in the industry that TRY to keep me close to the correct path. This is the age old lesson of toe bone connected to foot bone and on and on….

First step rebuilding hinges, strip and hanging doors easy peasy right ? Maybe not. I had purchased a VERY nice pair of 69 doors out of Nebraska hella years ago to use for this car. Somewhere along the way a friend needed hinges for his Nova restoration so I offered up (no problem Green Bastard has it’s own hinges). Here’s where things become a little more complicated. 69 Nova hinges bolt on, 70 hinges weld on (body and door). I had fully intended to use the bolt on half for the doors to provide some adjustability but… gave away one of the parts I needed. Long story, had to source some pieces and section in the tab for the spring lever (which was broken off on both originals) to repair the hinges. Sorry no real hinge pics.






Rough hang the door which really exposes the previous poor ¼ panel repair I had mentioned




This really wasn't a Green bastard issue because I did know about this going in.

[bigsixman]

That's my orange 69 Camaro in the BIR photo back in the 90s when I raced Kenny.

[L78_Nova]

Originally Posted by bigsixman

That's my orange 69 Camaro in the BIR photo back in the 90s when I raced Kenny.

That explains the 69 Camaro pic in the negatives I got from Ken !!
When I get a chance I will get that print made and share.
Gary

[L78_Nova]

Peeling The Onion

Hanging the replacement door provided reference for where the jamb and pillar (and replacement quarter) should be, clearly there was a lot more investigation required here! Removal of the old panels could now begin.



The Nova doors can be easily hung and removed by just pulling the pins without having to realign each time.




I suspect the replacement panel was trimmed below the sail panel to simplify/shortcut the repair. The entire bodyline was formed in Bondo.




Inside Panel was obviously damaged as well.

[L78_Nova]

[Too Many Projects]

Looks like the body person that did yours, learned from the guy that did my '67 Camaro, except my quarter was brazed on the entire length from the tail light to the door pillar. And then the body line was formed from filler too.

[L78_Nova]

Cutting this open uncovered a couple significant (Green Bastard) issues.
The replacement 1/4 was only welded to the rocker at the front and rear edges. The seam at the roccker was essentially loose. The inside of the panel was then filled with an entire caulking tube (or two) of silicone type sealant. This plugged the drain holes into the rocker, trapping water and rusting through both the lower edge of the inside door panel and the top of the ROCKER




There is enough left that this could be covered over but that's not me !!

So.... A piece of rocker will have to be repaired and an inner panel will be required.