Frodo- 72 Nova daily driver project

[medbali76]

How it would sound a daily driver matte black worn looking 72 Nova in the Hungarian traffic? I bet it would get more attention and thumbs up than those german and japanese sportcars that hit the roads on daily bases. :)
And how it would be with a modern drivetrain, suspension and brake components that make it capable to keep up with those cars on the straight line and on the curves as well? Definitely it would make some surprises...
There is only one way to find out :)


Here Frodo comes.
https://www.pro-touring.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=117863&stc=1

He arrived from Germany and was already used and registrated in Netherland (EU). This fact is very important as we can not bring old cars from the USA directly to Hungary and perform modification as we want. No way. We can get license plate for those old cars only if they are at excellent factory or restorated to the factory specs without performance mods. Stupid rules...and means stupid historical license plate that does not allow any mods legally that we like so much.
However if they have EU license plate already we can legalize them and get license plate as a "normal" car. That makes the "door" a little open which is good enough for us. Let's get the project roll!

Actually he is pretty set up for the task as he looks like a homeless. Little dents here and there rusty bumpers etc. No, He wont be a showcar by any means. This car will be set up to frustrate people who drive high dollar sportcars that supposed to be the best on the streets. :)

The plan:

Speedtech front control arms and Ridetech SA coil overs with C5 type tall spindles using the factory subframe
Speedtech swaybar
Ridetech rear 4 link
14" Baer Pro+ all around
LEE steering box
upgraded 10 bolt rear

2013 L96 6.0 Vortec with 6L90E automatic tranny
- BTR stage II cam ( deleted factory VVT system) strong enough for street
- Ported/polished LS3 heads, milled to have 10:1 compression
- Stainless Works headers and SW Turbo S-tube mufflers
- LS3 intake

Dakota Digital VHX instrument
Recaro seats from a Lancer EVO IX
5th gen Camaro center consol

ZX3R Forgeline wheels
9x18- 255/40-18
10x18- 275/40-18
Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires

[medbali76]

Finally in the workshop. I really like these 17" REV wheels but they are small for the huge 14" brake.
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Well, it really needs some changes here. It came with 307ci and 3 speed automatic.
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New engine is waiting
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New tranny vs old. This 6L90E is a huge heavy beast
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[medbali76]

Started with the front suspension
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Test fit engine and tranny
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No way to fit this tranny without cutting the floor
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Engine and tranny in final position
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[sixgunsuperman99]

Tough looking Nova! subscribing. Curious to see how that 6L90 fits in there and how it turns out - I was tempted to go with that transmission on mine (ended up going T56 Magnum).

Have you already sourced your Lee box? Word is they've shut down and are no longer in business. Are you sticking with the truck accessories? I bought my Lee box and had it matched to the truck power steering pump... when I looked into switching over to car accessories, I found out that the car and truck pumps are setup at different PSI and flow rates. I'm sure it'd work "fine" if I ever switch, but that was something I wasn't aware of at the time.

Looking forward to the next update!

[medbali76]

Tough looking Nova! subscribing. Curious to see how that 6L90 fits in there and how it turns out - I was tempted to go with that transmission on mine (ended up going T56 Magnum).

Have you already sourced your Lee box? Word is they've shut down and are no longer in business. Are you sticking with the truck accessories? I bought my Lee box and had it matched to the truck power steering pump... when I looked into switching over to car accessories, I found out that the car and truck pumps are setup at different PSI and flow rates. I'm sure it'd work "fine" if I ever switch, but that was something I wasn't aware of at the time.

Looking forward to the next update!
Thanks :)
These guys who put together this Nova are professional in LS swaps. One of the guy has a 2nd gen Camaro and he use an LS7 with 6L90E. That combo never used in production cars as far as I know. They set up to work together and believe me it is awesome with the paddle shifter.

I heard about Lee.
I got the steering box long time ago. It was an ebay purchase from a "nascar" shop. It supposed to be a rebuilt/upgraded G Body steering box with 14:1 ratio. I don't know how it will work but it is good to know that flow rate thing. Thanks.

[medbali76]

Dakota instrument. This unit is awesome.
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Front Baer brake installed and test fit Forgline with 255 tires. It seems ok. Front ride height will be somewhere here we don't want to go very deep on a street car.
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[Z06killinSBF]

Awesome, I love a well built street beater

[medbali76]

10bolt rear upgrade with Moser axles, 3.42:1 Yukon positraction and the Baer brakes
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Ridetech rear suspension in place
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Finally on the rims at the final rideheight
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[wfo guy]

I like your plan!

[mert.celet]

Hi from Turkey.
I have already thrashed 3 10bolts with my LS engines. Let's hope yours may live up long enough :)

[medbali76]

Hi from Turkey.
I have already thrashed 3 10bolts with my LS engines. Let's hope yours may live up long enough :)
Hi,
What happened with those? Where was the failure and why?
I tried to eliminate the problems by quality parts. Well, I hope they are :)

[mert.celet]

Too much power :)
The 3rd members can not last enough. Broke two on my twin turbo 4th gen. And one on my 427ci LS swapped 74 Firebird.
Did i mention too much power? :D

I was never clever enough to go for a 9inch. After the first failure, i should have done that... At least a 12 bolt.
You already have the L96 and 6L90E. 10 bolt is your weakest link. If somewhere's gonna break, it's gonna be the 10 bolt.
And when it breaks, don't ever attempt for a rebuild. Just ditch it and go for a 9 inch. Trust me on this.

[medbali76]

Too much power :)
The 3rd members can not last enough. Broke two on my twin turbo 4th gen. And one on my 427ci LS swapped 74 Firebird.
Did i mention too much power? :D

I was never clever enough to go for a 9inch. After the first failure, i should have done that... At least a 12 bolt.
You already have the L96 and 6L90E. 10 bolt is your weakest link. If somewhere's gonna break, it's gonna be the 10 bolt.
And when it breaks, don't ever attempt for a rebuild. Just ditch it and go for a 9 inch. Trust me on this.

I don't have crazy hp numbers :) It is a little less than 500.
I hope I can survive for a while with these small street tires :) If I brake I will get something stronger for sure. ;)

[bonecrrusher]

That tile floor looks awesome!

Love the Nova -and what has been done so far!

[medbali76]

That tile floor looks awesome!

Yes it is pretty nice ;-)

[medbali76]

Just a little update.
Engine bay done. All wiring, fuel lines, brake hoses done.
Interior modification in progress.
5th camaro center console in place and it turned out great. What do you think? :-)
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[medbali76]

Exhaust system with Stainless Works Turbo-S mufflers. They are pretty loud.
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Recaro seats. Yes, the interior is not nice, too many colors inside. I will redone later.
The seats are pretty nice and comfortable. They came from a Mitsubishi EVO
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And finally the paddle shifter
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The car is in the final stage, testing and tuning. All components work very very well together. Totally different car. A real street beater. Damn fast...
Video coming soon.

[72_Nova]

Cant wait to see the car in action! I want the paddles!!!!

[Z06killinSBF]

So bad ass! it makes me want to paint my Mustang satin black

[RobNoLimit]

coming along great. We have a lot of customers in France, Ireland, Austria,....... and we hear what they have to go to getting parts, and the expense of the import dutys..... That makes your vision that much more impressive.

[Brianstanford]

Awesome build!

[Number1]

Any updates?

[Moabdude]

Whow man, you went a long way!!
From this to what it is now.
Very good job!!!
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/04/1_zpsweqxxecz-1.jpeg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bramrook/media/1_zpsweqxxecz.jpeg.html)
https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2016/04/3_zpsnn7gee0i-1.jpeg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/bramrook/media/3_zpsnn7gee0i.jpeg.html)

[xsboost90]

125970always have a soft spot for the NOVA- i had a 71 when i was 19. Mild cam and heads otherwise stock. Wish i had it still i would build what your building!

[Moabdude]

Whats the status of your Nova Frodo?

[medbali76]

Frodo is on strong steroids now. Complete frame off+ c6 suspension on full frame instead of subframe,widening front and rear fenders for the widened track width. 1850mm front and 1870mm rear.142203142204

[medbali76]

And we will not stop here...
Planning to give a different tail light + bumper combo and also a unique front end with modified bumper and grille. We will see how it goes. There is no exact plan that we follow from this point. You guys hopefully will see the car here next year around may I guess. It will be pretty unique I promise that :)

[medbali76]

It is a little bit similar to that flare that JCG did before on a Nova but my rear fenders will be completely different from that car.
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[Oregon]

I dig it.

What's your plan for the rear flares?

[medbali76]

I dig it.

What's your plan for the rear flares?

You can see straight comparing the 2 pics on which area we want to improve the look of the body line.
I tried to show on the 2.nd pic how my fender will be prepared. It needs to start streching from that nice curved body line that runs on the top of the fender and the lower fender part will turn back again the same way ( at least) as on the original. JCG's lower fender part comes straight down without any angle. I don't like that.

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[medbali76]

That upper part modification is really important because that will give the car a pretty muscular look together with the fender stretching. You will see the difference between this car and my car.

[medbali76]

That upper part modification is really important because that will give the car a pretty muscular look together with the fender stretching. You will see the difference between this car and my car.

Btw, JCG's front fender flare is an awesome job on their Nova I looove it. The rear is not really my taste but that car is still badass. I am a big fan of JCG cars 🙂

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Cool Nova! looking forward to more pics!

[Oregon]

Totally agree with you about the execution of the rear quarter. Looking forward to more updates!

[medbali76]

Fit test new front wheel that just arrived. It is a 2pc Work Wheel Japan M1R
We will not go crazy wide on the front as this car will be mainly for street use. 18x 8.5 255/40 18
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[medbali76]

Plan for the rear quarter143142

[813Demon340]

Cool build! Love the direction you took the build, I look forward to new updates!!

[medbali76]

Little update
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It looks pretty factory from this view :D

[medbali76]

instead of the old recaros...
These are from a Evo X
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[jarebear]

awesome build! can i ask how youre mounting the evo seats? custom rails?

[medbali76]

awesome build! can i ask how youre mounting the evo seats? custom rails?
Thank you ;)
Yes, custom rails.

[TheBandit]

Any updates on this project?

[662door]

^^^^what he said!!!^^^^

[medbali76]

Not much update. I was at the workshop 1 week ago and found some areas where they have to modify the sheet metal again to give exactly that look I am looking for. They cut up the rear fender wheel well 2" higher than the factory stock and it does not look as good as I thought before the cut . I told them to try it but it seems like it was not a good idea. They have to try less cut up.
This project is not easy at all. It is so much easier to widen the 67-68 Camaro/Firebird body because they had nice curved body lines already from the factory.
The Nova is far away from the Camaro.
Honestly I am not 100% sure that this car will be / can be as perfect as JCG's Blu Balz Camaro. The workshop is professional but the car is simply not the best candidate for this kind of modification. By the way the pictures don't even give back the real appearance. It looks awesome ( at least to me) compared to a factory Nova.

[medbali76]

Update:
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[Oregon]

Yes. Yes. Yes.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Thumbs up!

[cornfedbill]

I love the gently flared fenders. That is exactly what I want to do with my Nova. Excellent work.

[medbali76]

Little touch on the front bumper.
Passenger side ready.
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[JayinMI]

Those back fender mods look great. I wasn't sure at first, but the last couple of pics (including the 1/4 angle) really show how it works with the body lines. I assume they will eventually trim (or roll) the rear fender lips?

Jay

[1968CamaroSS_Sam]

Very nice looking. Great work.

[medbali76]

Yup, this is how the rear fender looks now
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Those back fender mods look great. I wasn't sure at first, but the last couple of pics (including the 1/4 angle) really show how it works with the body lines. I assume they will eventually trim (or roll) the rear fender lips?

Jay

[cornfedbill]

Looking good.

[medbali76]

Very nice looking. Great work.

Thank you :)

[medbali76]

Thank you :)

Front modification is in progress
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[medbali76]

What do you guys think about the turn signal lights? Which one do you like? The smaller 68-69 or the bigger 70+?
I am thinking to replace them to the smaller lights...
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[TheBandit]

Neither. Delete them and get some Argentina Nova ("Chevy SS") headlight bezel/marker lights to use as turn signals.

Alternatively see if you can adapt some other kind of OEM signal housing in there to fit the custom look of the car. Round or more rectangular or oblong... the possibilities are endless.

[medbali76]

Neither. Delete them and get some Argentina Nova ("Chevy SS") headlight bezel/marker lights to use as turn signals.

Alternatively see if you can adapt some other kind of OEM signal housing in there to fit the custom look of the car. Round or more rectangular or oblong... the possibilities are endless.

Wow...I have never heard of that Chevy SS before.
This headlight bezel would be pretty hard to get I think.
I was thinking on the 69 Dodge Coronet turn signal lights too. Those are pretty small and round. I like those.

[Motown 454]

Damn those quarters look great!! Nice work. I love the front it's coming out nice.

[medbali76]

The whole plan with the bumper mods is to get more air to keep the radiator cool and get some fresh air to the engine bay. You can see how the air will be directed to it.
However I don't know how it will work. It might give more problems than good things. Will see.
I have Trackspecmotorsports 1st gen Camaro hood vent kit that will be installed behind the radiator so the air should find the way out from the engine compartment.
I am planning to blind the whole grille assy later so that is the second reason for the bumper mods.
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More details. Eyebrows were added. These guys at the workshop are AWESOME they do exactly what I need sometimes even more. :)
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[medbali76]

Updates:
The front bumper mods are almost ready I am waiting for the new turn signal lights to arrive.
I will use the smaller 69 nova lights with a little mods around the lights to get “deep” look.
The hood vents are ready. It looks simple from the top but they have pretty nice pocket design underneath the hood.
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[JRANGER]

wow that bumper mod really makes it aggressive. Very nice

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Very cool, looks fantastic!

[CSG]

I kind of hate checking this thread, I feel pretty inadequate after I look at that fab work.

[medbali76]

I kind of hate checking this thread, I feel pretty inadequate after I look at that fab work.
Don't feel like that.
These guys are very professionals and working on classic rare European cars all the time. They are happy if they get American Muscle to work on time by time.
This is one of their project I really like:
From this wrecked junk:
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Created this Beauty:
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And this is ALL steel/sheetmetal no plastic no bondo. 4000+hrs of professional work in 22 months as far as I heard.

[medbali76]

Rear bumper mods:
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This is a very short exhaust tip because did not want to cut behind the bumper to get more space.
That horizontal piece in the tip is a necessary thing there to cover the round cut out for the exhaust pipe.
However I am not sure we need that there. Once the car is running everything inside the tip will be black due to the soot and that cut out would not be so visible.

I am still thinking what color to choose for this project. That is my hardest decision on this entire project...
Should I go classic black? I really like this.
Or custom grey that is so popular lately? There are so many awesome grey project out there. White? Green? Gold? Blue? Flat paint? matte? Shiny? :help::help::help:

[medbali76]

The next step is to modify the rear bumper corners identical to the front bumper corners and put the 67-68 Firebird tail lights into the rear tail light panel.
There will be a special SS rear panel also that will be mated to those new lights.
I am trying to create a new look but keep all the Nova marks that are special to Novas. Will see how it goes...

[cornfedbill]

Looking good!

[JRANGER]

Very nice, keep up the good work

[medbali76]

Thank you!

Positioning the rear lights:
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[medbali76]

Few steps closer to the end:
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[medbali76]

What do you guys think about harley’s olive gold color?
Does it worth to consider it?
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[NoNo]

Wow, great work on the rear, it looks killer !

I love this shade of gold, but maybe the flakes would be a little much for the car. The same shade, but metallic instead of big flakes would be awesome. (Just my 2 cents...)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/00315-1.jpg

[medbali76]

Thank you NoNo
I was in a Harley shop yesterday and there was a bike there with this color.
To be honest those flakes did not seem to much at all. It might look good on the Nova also.
It is pretty dark olive color when there is no direct sunlight on it and it is awesome strong gold and olive color when the sun hits it.
That pic above doesnt give back the real view.

This pic is from the Harley shop late afternoon with not much light.
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Wow, great work on the rear, it looks killer !

I love this shade of gold, but maybe the flakes would be a little much for the car. The same shade, but metallic instead of big flakes would be awesome. (Just my 2 cents...)

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/03/00315-1.jpg

[JayinMI]

Those Firebird tail lights remind me of an early Ventura. I like it. Great work so far!

Jay

[medbali76]

Thank you!

Yes, the 73 ventura/gto had these tail lights.
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Those Firebird tail lights remind me of an early Ventura. I like it. Great work so far!

Jay

[JayinMI]

I like Venturas because you almost never see them. Is that one yours?

[medbali76]

No, but the idea for the tail light came from those cars.

[OregonianNova]

The plan:

Speedtech front control arms and Ridetech SA coil overs with C5 type tall spindles using the factory subframe
Speedtech swaybar

ZX3R Forgeline wheels
9x18- 255/40-18
10x18- 275/40-18
Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires

What backspacing were your front and rear wheels? Also were the rear tubs stock? I plan on running speedtech arms up front and a torque arm out back but not sure if I want to shell out the money to have someone else mini tub my car when I could use that for something else

[medbali76]

What backspacing were your front and rear wheels? Also were the rear tubs stock? I plan on running speedtech arms up front and a torque arm out back but not sure if I want to shell out the money to have someone else mini tub my car when I could use that for something else

I used a Ford bolt pattern wheel that was made for the newer 2005+ mustangs so everything was pretty much screwed up from the beginning. Those wheels had high BS. Originally the front had roughly 6.8" BS ( ET44) and the rear had roughly 6.9" BS ( ET36). With the adapter spacers the BS changed on the front to roughly 5.5" and 6" at the rear as far as I remember. It was tight with the 275 tires but it was with stock tubs and did not have any issue.

[OregonianNova]

I used a Ford bolt pattern wheel that was made for the newer 2005+ mustangs so everything was pretty much screwed up from the beginning. Those wheels had high BS. Originally the front had roughly 6.8" BS ( ET44) and the rear had roughly 6.9" BS ( ET36). With the adapter spacers the BS changed on the front to roughly 5.5" and 6" at the rear as far as I remember. It was tight with the 275 tires but it was with stock tubs and did not have any issue.

Well that certainly made things complicated lol

[medbali76]

Well that certainly made things complicated lol

It was complicated and the front side did not work well. We tried and combined different suspension components together but I was not happy with the results mainly for the big loss of the turning radius. RideTech coil overs are awesome that was the best of everything I tried.
Finally I got a c6 corvette based full frame ( using RideTech coilovers of course) to solve all of the issues I tried to live with. No IRS yet. Will see how this works.

[medbali76]

Finally I decided which way I go with the exterior.
We will make a modern version of a 70's Trans Am series road racing car.
The interior will follow the same.

[medbali76]

Hood vent fab :
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[medbali76]

Not so visible but the front and rear wheel wells were cut up a little bit to be able to lower as much as possible.
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We can go a little more lower than this thanks to the wheel well cut up. Will be pretty close to the Corvette height.
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[Oregon]

The car looks awesome. It's gotta feel good having all that metal work done and out of the way.

[70CougarXr7]

Awesome looking car!
Would leave it looking like this ( no paint on it :) )

[662door]

Anything new?!:seizure::seizure: I live vicariously through threads like this one

[medbali76]

Anything new?!:seizure::seizure: I live vicariously through threads like this one
Nothing to share right now actually preparing for the paint job but there will be something soon that will look pretty cool on the car.
I have some good ideas stay tuned :)

[NoNo]

We're tuned... and eager to see it !

[tom091074]

Nice job on the fenders and quarters.

[Motown 454]

Nice job on the hood, and good idea with the inner structure. The car looks great.

[medbali76]

One step closer again 😁159012159013159014

[medbali76]

It is a 69 factory GM color called burnished brown.
It was not popular at all that time.
However I think its one of the best looking color GM ever made.
I am glad I did not choose any modern color that I was thinking on before.

[JRANGER]

well looking great

[cornfedbill]

Looks very good!

[ed1le]

Very cool color. Looking forward to seeing it back together!

[medbali76]

Thank you guys

[medbali76]

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Few more pics under the sun.
The pictures dont really give back the real color though.
It is more like gold and bronze under the sun.
Very cool color.

[CSG]

It looks great. I like the color choice.

[cornfedbill]

I like the color.

You bodywork turned out very smooth after all the reshaping of the panels. Good work!

[medbali76]

I like the color.

You bodywork turned out very smooth after all the reshaping of the panels. Good work!
Thank you.
It was not easy at all. We had no any plan that we followed. I had something in my mind and the guys kept fabricating until I said it is good enough or perfect.
Thanks God everything turned out pretty nicely. I dumped a lot of money into this car.
This fabrication was very expensive.
I am not sure if it is worth for a 3rd gen Nova but that is what it is. I am happy.

[medbali76]

Chassis is waiting for the body to arrive.
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[medbali76]

On wheels again
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[medbali76]

Just ordered the rear wheels to match with the front. Due to my budget is going to the end I had to sacrifice my Forgeline dream. :( Maybe one day...
These are 2 pieces Work Meister M1R from japan. 18x8.5 and 18x11. Tires will be 255/40 and 315/35.

[medbali76]

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Finally on the new wheel+ tire combo

[rchaskin]

The following sentence has never been said until today....

"That Brown Nova is Awesome!!!"

Man, nice job!! Two thumbs up.

[CSG]

Looks fantastic

[70CougarXr7]

Great color!

[medbali76]

Thank you Guys.
I am glad after this much of time and work invested into this car turned out pretty nicely.
I am just wondering what kind of stripes would look good on it.
Any ideas?

[CSG]

Matte black

[Badhand]

Matte bronze!

Awesome build man. Not easy doing these US cars over this side of the pond is it?

[medbali76]

Matte bronze!

Awesome build man. Not easy doing these US cars over this side of the pond is it?

Thanks Nick

To be honest building something like this over here is suck. :D
Way more expensive to build and we have these stupid governmental regulations.
At least in UK your hand for modifications is more free.
I don't know yet how to push through the next MOT. My car is fully illegal now...

[Badhand]

Thanks Nick

To be honest building something like this over here is suck. :D
Way more expensive to build and we have these stupid governmental regulations.
At least in UK your hand for modifications is more free.
I don't know yet how to push through the next MOT. My car is fully illegal now...

That is balls. Do MOT regs change from year to year then?! I presume it WAS legal at some point?

But its not easy here either. Most mods are OK in the UK (if your insurance will cover them), but ours is SO modified it will be categorised as a new type of vehicle and we will need to have it 'Type Approved' by the government. There's all sorts of regulations to meet, for example; we will have to have new glass made as the original windshield etc does not meet EU standards. It is no longer 'classic' so those rules don't apply...

And its not cheap either. Getting parts from America is tiresome and expensive from the UK too, taxes, shipping, duties... you know the score - look at the price in dollars and double it :(

[medbali76]

That is balls. Do MOT regs change from year to year then?! I presume it WAS legal at some point?

But its not easy here either. Most mods are OK in the UK (if your insurance will cover them), but ours is SO modified it will be categorised as a new type of vehicle and we will need to have it 'Type Approved' by the government. There's all sorts of regulations to meet, for example; we will have to have new glass made as the original windshield etc does not meet EU standards. It is no longer 'classic' so those rules don't apply...

And its not cheap either. Getting parts from America is tiresome and expensive from the UK too, taxes, shipping, duties... you know the score - look at the price in dollars and double it :(

It was legal when I bought it from Germany but I had to remove the sport seats and put factory seats for the first registration and MOT. Basically we have to take the car for inspection every 2 years.
New cars have 4 years as far as I remember but I have never had any new cars in my life. LOL
Unfortunately we do not have any category for these kind of mods they are simply illegal on the roads.
There are some sort of mods they allow but the parts have to have the " TUV" certificate (TUV = Technical Inspection Association ) for all of the parts. Like wheels, steering wheels, recaro seats, fiberglass body parts wings etc. These are all required TUV certs. Engine swaps at this level are forbidden.
US parts does not have these certificates so this car is very risky for me.
If they catch me on the road and the government cancel my licence plate probably I will ship the Nova back to USA and try to sell.

[Badhand]

What a *******.

[medbali76]

What a *******.

Yeah...
But... It is still worth all of the risks
I love this car :)

[medbali76]

Rear side finished and the exhaust system is in place.
I am waiting for the interior now to be ready.
Sport mirrors are also installed. These are not Nova specific mirrors so they are not on the usuall place but it is not really visible.
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[70CougarXr7]

I feel your pain with the high cost of not beeing in the states and then all of those regulations also...
Mine will be tricky over here too, to be road legal...

Great Nova you have there, looks badass as it should!

[medbali76]

I feel your pain with the high cost of not beeing in the states and then all of those regulations also...
Mine will be tricky over here too, to be road legal...

Great Nova you have there, looks badass as it should!

Thank you ;)
Yeah unfortunately that is what we have to deal with over here...
but... I am willing to take the risk for this performance and appearance any time :D

[medbali76]

Tartan interiors are very rare lately , however these interiors were one of the coolest things back in those days.
I love them.
So that is no question how my interior will look like....
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[medbali76]

Finally the interior has finished
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It is time for the exterior.
Emblems, stripes, rear wing, grille and hood went decoration :)

[Timmyboy2]

Love the interior fabric choice! What front seats are you using?

[medbali76]

Love the interior fabric choice! What front seats are you using?

Thank you!
These are Recaro LX seats

[David Sloan]

Cool Build
Love your out of the box thinking. The interior looks great/ nice and clean.
I didn't see it but whose frame is that or did you build it?
Thanks for sharing

[medbali76]

Cool Build
Love your out of the box thinking. The interior looks great/ nice and clean.
I didn't see it but whose frame is that or did you build it?
Thanks for sharing

Thank you.
There are very cool Novas here and it is not easy to create something that is different.
We tried. :)
The frame was built here in Hungary based on the C6 corvette by one of my friend who builds cars.

[David Sloan]

Thank you.
There are very cool Novas here and it is not easy to create something that is different.
We tried. :)
The frame was built here in Hungary based on the C6 corvette by one of my friend who builds cars.

Thank you sir! I'm in for updates:smoke:

[ryeguy2006a]

Very cool car man!

[TheBandit]

Bravo! That looks incredible. I love the carry-over to the door panels. It looks perfectly integrated.

[neongreen]

That interior looks fantastic. The tartan is so cool!

[medbali76]

Thank you Guys :)

[TheBandit]

Just saw some of the beauty shots you posted on Steves Nova Site. The views looking down the side of the car are simply awesome. The whole car is awesome. You gotta post that stuff here too :)

[vince72]

Great build!

[CamSTP]

So you pulled out the bolt-on components and decided to go with a full frame?

[medbali76]

So you pulled out the bolt-on components and decided to go with a full frame?
Yes, the body was in pretty bad shape so I decided start over again and build a wide body from zero but this time with a full frame

[medbali76]

Just saw some of the beauty shots you posted on Steves Nova Site. The views looking down the side of the car are simply awesome. The whole car is awesome. You gotta post that stuff here too :)
Here we go:
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[TheBandit]

I love the last photos you shared. The hips on this car are perfection. The interior is excellent. Big fan here!

Any updates?

[slimjim]

that photography and editing is fantastic

[medbali76]

I love the last photos you shared. The hips on this car are perfection. The interior is excellent. Big fan here!

Any updates?

Nothing yet unfortunately.
1 year gone without progress did not even touch the car.

[Motown 454]

Wow What an awesome job! The car looks great and I love the interior.

[TheBandit]

142394

Years later, I'm still drawn to your fender and quarter modifications - so well done! Can you describe the process on the front fenders? It looks like you cut along the top of the fender and added a curved strip there to create the top view width/profile. Did you then take the original sides of the fenders and stretch/bulge them on an English wheel, before finally fabricating new fender openings/arches/flares?

[Badhand]

Thanks for the compliment. And yes, it's been years!!!

To be honest, I can't take credit for the fabrication, but my talented builder, Mark followed my sketches, used his nous and worked with the wheel/tyre size and drop we were planning. Once the fenders were cut to accommodate the wheel, we cut strips of cardboard, curved them til they looked just right, trimmed and shaved them and stuck them to the car with masking tape til they looked right. This gave him a template to cut from sheet steel. This was then bent by hand around an old oil drum that was in the corner of the workshop, and tack-welded into place for final fit and positioning.

No CAD, no English Wheel (even though we're English!) just flat steel and a nice radius. Same with the back.

[TheBandit]

Thank you for the reply! I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around what you described vs the photos, so I tried color coding things using one of your photos. It looks to me like the top of the fender was widened (as shown in green) and perhaps the original fender (shown in blue) was re-grafted onto it, then new fender arches (pink) were welded on. Did I break it down correctly? Which part of the fender was new sheet metal bent around an oil drum in the shop?

200915

[Badhand]

Ah. Some confusion here... There must be Forum gremlins at work. That's not my car!!!

I did wonder why your comment appeared on that thread.

This is my car. The description will now make sense, but will obviously be of absolutely no help at all. Sorry :(


200927

[medbali76]

Years later, I'm still drawn to your fender and quarter modifications - so well done! Can you describe the process on the front fenders? It looks like you cut along the top of the fender and added a curved strip there to create the top view width/profile. Did you then take the original sides of the fenders and stretch/bulge them on an English wheel, before finally fabricating new fender openings/arches/flares?

These body mods were done by a professional bodyshop. They had a lot of work on the car. Funny but most of the mods are not even visible unless I park next to an original Nova. I wanted more stockish appearance but I could not find here in Hungary any company who could do the bumper rechroming so that is why they were painted black . I have pics of the building process.
If you PM me your email address I can send those pics :)

[TheBandit]

Thank you for the offer - PM sent! I would love to see more of the build process! I found a few photos on the Facebook page for Simon Coachworks and Oldtimer Restoration, but they didn't show much of the front fenders. I could tell what was reused from the original fender vs. made from scratch.