Project Scope Creep - '74 Nova Spirit of America

[Zspoiler]

My Nova started to rust around the hatch and the tail light. So I decided to part it out .Then I got my Camaro.If I knew then what know now .I would of probably kept it. And I believe I have a picture of it .I just have to find it.

[cornfedbill]

My Nova started to rust around the hatch and the tail light. So I decided to part it out .Then I got my Camaro.If I knew then what know now .I would of probably kept it. And I believe I have a picture of it .I just have to find it.

I remember those air dams for the late 2nd gen Camaros. I always wanted one, so I made a copy to fit my 1974 Vega. It didn't have much power, but handled well.

We have lost a lot of good Novas to rust. I have a bit of rust around the rear wheel openings, but not too bad. It was garaged most of its life and has been in storage for years as I was occupied raising 5 little ones into adulthood.

[cornfedbill]

I got up the guts to cut my nearly pristine floor. It took a while to talk myself into doing it.

There’s still a lot of work ahead of me. However this was a milestone for me. Now I can work on the structural transmission tunnel and the new firewall.

I also decided to go with an aftermarket circle track style steering column, quick release and steering wheel. It will force me to use a self-canceling blinker module with push button controls. However, it will save weight and give me more space for the brake master cylinder assembly.

[68Formula]

Are you making the firewall from scratch, or doing the wheelbarrow trick?

[cornfedbill]

Are you making the firewall from scratch, or doing the wheelbarrow trick?

I’m going to make it from scratch. I’m building a structural transmission tunnel like the “Full fram AMX” that will extend high into the firewall. We’ll see how it turns out.

[cornfedbill]

The frame is in place now. It is 2 inches higher than stock relative to the body. With the body channeled over the frame I can have a low car and 4 inches of ground clearance.

Next I need to place the engine in its mounts and start to mock up the transmission tunnel, pedals and steering.

[cornfedbill]

By the way, I measured up the transmission relative to the stock tunnel. It will no longer fit even if I wanted to use it. I need to lift the tunnel up about 5 or 6 inches in order to make everything fit properly.

[cornfedbill]

New steering wheel arrived from Speedway Motors.

Cool and very light.





I will be replacing the stock steering column with a collapsible circle track style shaft. It saves weight and gives me more room for my brake and clutch master cylinders under the dash.

[cornfedbill]

I am looking at self-cancelling blinker modules like would be used on a motorcycle. It means using momentary switches instead of the factory blinker stalk. But since the column now will have no place for a blinker stalk, this seems to be the best option. I notice that this is used on some of the Locost Seven builds. It does mean that I will need to learn to push a button to signal instead of using a stalk. Or I could just do like the average Joe and not use blinkers at all.

There are lots of little details that I am running into now.

[cornfedbill]

I got the motor in place. It sits pretty high relative to the body now.

[vette427-sbc]

There are some pretty cheap timer relays out there if you wanted to make a self cancelling blinker setup yourself... I made one for a Caterham7 (similar to the Lotus) with a simple 3 position toggle switch and 2 adjustable timer relays. Worked very well and was easy to put together.
Progress looking good!

[cornfedbill]

There are some pretty cheap timer relays out there if you wanted to make a self cancelling blinker setup yourself... I made one for a Caterham7 (similar to the Lotus) with a simple 3 position toggle switch and 2 adjustable timer relays. Worked very well and was easy to put together.
Progress looking good!

Chris,

Thanks for the ideas. I searched the Locost Seven forums and found a slick box from Signal Dynamics that controls the blinkers and hazards, and also interfaces with the brake lights. Your idea may have been less expensive. However, with my time constraints, the cost was worth it.

It should arrive in a few days. I'm eager to see if it works as well as advertised.

[JayinMI]

I am looking at self-cancelling blinker modules like would be used on a motorcycle. It means using momentary switches instead of the factory blinker stalk. But since the column now will have no place for a blinker stalk, this seems to be the best option. I notice that this is used on some of the Locost Seven builds. It does mean that I will need to learn to push a button to signal instead of using a stalk. Or I could just do like the average Joe and not use blinkers at all.

There are lots of little details that I am running into now.

Pretend you're driving a BMW. Then you don't need turn signals at all! lol

I seem to remember seeing turn signal stalks that mounted to a collar that bolted around the steering column on some older cars.
Would that be an option, as well?

Wow. Just realized you were in South Lyon. A friend's mom lived out there and I used to work in Novi. Small world.

[cornfedbill]

Pretend you're driving a BMW. Then you don't need turn signals at all! lol

I seem to remember seeing turn signal stalks that mounted to a collar that bolted around the steering column on some older cars.
Would that be an option, as well?

Wow. Just realized you were in South Lyon. A friend's mom lived out there and I used to work in Novi. Small world.

Ha ha. That's a good idea. I just need to glue a Rondol on the trunk.

It is a small world.

[cornfedbill]

I spent some time in the garage over the weekend. I got the steering installed, and the radiator support and one fender mocked up. It is beginning to look like a car again. I need to get the spindles on and articulate the suspension to check for clearance issues.

The fender on the car now is a junk fender I bought with the intent to cut out the internal structure. I will be mounting a fiberglass fender on the internal fender structure.

Because the body has been lowered so much, the fender opening will need to be raised about 5 inches to clear the tire. I will also have to modify the internal structure of the fender so the tire does not contact it.

Unfortunately, it looks like I need to raise the front leaf spring mount significantly and rebuild the rear inner fender. One thing leads to another.

[Wraith]

Love this Nova, wish I had pics of mine back in the day, this is the only one I have, horrible as it is.

[cornfedbill]

Love this Nova, wish I had pics of mine back in the day, this is the only one I have, horrible as it is.

So you also had one of the rare Spirit of America Novas. There are not many left. I really like the original styling. I bought mine in 1978 when it still looked like new.

I think I have offended some Nova purists with all of my cutting and welding on such a rare car.

[cornfedbill]

I ordered up some custom gauges from Speedhut. I really like what I have seen in my research of their products. I also like the GPS speedometer for tracking speed for open road events where I need to know my speed accurately.

I added a flag to match the patriotic theme of the car. I also chose a fun font for the numbers just because I could. I like the design and am eager to see the finished product.

[Wraith]

So you also had one of the rare Spirit of America Novas. There are not many left. I really like the original styling. I bought mine in 1978 when it still looked like new.

I think I have offended some Nova purists with all of my cutting and welding on such a rare car.

At one point I owned two of them. Wish I had kept both although I'm sure I would have cut one or both up.

[cornfedbill]

At one point I owned two of them. Wish I had kept both although I'm sure I would have cut one or both up.

I think cutting them up is the manly thing to do. But that's just me.

When I am done, it will be less than one inch taller than a C7 Corvette. It got just a bit out of hand.