🔧 BUILD 1971 Nova - Work in Progress

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1971 Nova - Insanity in Progress

I bought this Nova last year when I sold my mustang, I was a active member here when this was CSVT so all the info of my old car is still on this site. Some of you know me from other sites as well as some of the old CSVT members who are still around. I apologize in advance for being a little long winded.

I was looking to get back into a classic muscle car that I could restore and modify to my liking. I choose a Nova since they are cheap and my wife wanted it to be a chevy. I enjoy all makes/models domestic or import which is why I enjoy TCG.

Specs:
1971 2 Door Nova factory v8 auto

Engine
350 block 383 stroker
Cam - unknown (I have several cam cards from the previous owners not sure which one is installed)
Rods/pistons - unknown
Heads - stock
Edelbrock intake - unknown which model
Holley 750 double pumper

Trans
700R4
3200 Stall
Shift Kit - Jegs brand

Rearend
10 bolt 8.5
3:56 gears

I knew the car needed some work before I bought it....I just underestimated how bad some of it was going to be. When I got the car the owner I purchased it from had just primer bombed the car and splatter painted the trunk (was still fresh when I went to look at the car). I would have still bought the car but would have negotiated a better price, but hey live and learn. The guy I bought the car from purchased the car from an elderly couple in Ohio who had a binder of documentation which was a huge selling point to me. Unfortunately I didn't look closely to see that the receipts didn't have much specific information. So the documentation only shows dates and what parts were replaced not what they were replaced with (for the most part anyways.) Again no biggie.

The car had 3 paint jobs in it's life plus the primer the guy I bought the car from put on it. Under the primer was a Suzuki gold that was applied in 2002. (what a FUGLY ass color) under the gold was a red. Whenever the red was put on the car it also had extensive body filler applied but no rust or sheet metal repair, more on that later. Under the red was a factory correct blue. The cowl tag says the car should be Sandalwood, while I did find it on a few parts of the car this leads me to believe someone painted the car early on in it's life or worse someone swapped the vin and cowl tag to another car :dunno: . Also there were a few spots where Green was found, I'm assuming a donor car or junk yard parts replacement. To be honest with all the documentation I have it just confuses things even further. The car was also in a few fender benders, the worst being the passenger front fender.

In 2001 the whole suspension was replaced with stock equipment minus air shocks, this was also when the whole drive line was overhauled and the engine was turned into a 383 stroker. I'm just guessing and based on some info I've accumulated from Steves Nova Site SNS, everyone seems to agree this theoretical combo should be around 350-400hp 400+tq.

I drove the car for a few weeks and fixed some legal and safety equipment such as putting on the rear bumper, side mirrors and attaching the seat belts. The car actually drives pretty good, has some good low end torque and the trans shifts firm. These were all the reasons I purchased the car as I didn't want to blow the budget replacing the mechanical's right away while I concentrated on restoring the body and getting it in paint. I was originally hoping to have it in paint in early spring of this year. Currently it may see paint by spring summer of 2015. (crosses fingers)

Goals:
For now I want a nice cruiser that's got some decent hp/tq. I'd like to drive it around town and take it to a few cruises/car shows. During winter I always like to tinker and do upgrades.

My unrealistic dream goal would be to turn it into a pro-touring car. Sitting low on 18x10 or larger wheels. I would also drop in a LS series engine maybe a LQ4 on a tight budget or go wild with a LS3/6 variation. The car will stay an auto, I know some people won't understand that but I love a good auto as much as banging gears in a stick car.

Short term goals that are more realistic is to just restore the vehicle to good quality, I will keep the drivetrain as it is for now as it's in good shape and if anything blows up take it to the next level at that time (budget pending of course). The body will be fully repaired and painted by myself. It will be painted a blue (unsure of which specific color code at this time) but it will be a medium to dark hue.

Bottom line is all work will be done by me, in my garage with whatever tools I currently have or acquire. Hence the whole reason for purchasing this car.

Now to what's happened since I started work along with pics.

As I purchased it, as you can see the body doesn't look bad at all. Looking at it very throughly I could tell there was bondo/mud applied and I did notice some rust in the rear quarters and in the trunk area (which is common for these cars) I also noticed the body bushings were bad again another common problem with age.



IMG_1489 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr

IMG_1490 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr


Engine Bay, looks can be decieving, the whole front accessory system is a redneck engineer mess along with the fan and rad shroud.
IMG_1487 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr

IMG_1503 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr


IMG_1504 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr

Pics of the interior, the seats are trashed and the carpet doesn't fit right as it's either a universal or not the correct for this make/model/year.
IMG_1499 by Chris Watkins, on Flickr





I'll break this up into a few posts.
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cap42

Restoration Hell
Mar 22, 2005
2,763
2,429
Bolingbrook IL
Finally getting back at it, still sanding some areas prepping for paint. I'm also recreating the patches that tie in the drop off pan to the rear of the wheel wells. 2nd pic is the patch I made to close up the charcoal canister holes that lead into the back seat area of the car. Also running around and weld filling any pinholes from previous welded areas.

GOPR0035 (2).JPG


GOPR0036 (2).JPG

GOPR0037 (2).JPG

And if you care made another video log going over most of it.

 

cap42

Restoration Hell
Mar 22, 2005
2,763
2,429
Bolingbrook IL
Getting close to being done underneath this fucking thing. Made new closeout panels for the wheel tubs to drop off pans, both sides are made and the passenger side is all done and welded up. The first pic here is the driver's side which is all ready to be burned in... more on that below.


IMG_0945.JPG

Here is the passenger side all burned in, it looks like hell at the moment as I didn't metal finish it yet.
IMG_0944.JPG

This is the forward of the wheel tubs, DSE has this in their instructions to tie both wheel tubs together. Not sure why as it's spot welded in a dozen + locations but I said fuck it why not.
IMG_0943.JPG


This was all over the past two weekends, I was soooo close to saying the welding/rust replacement etc was done and the next step would be prepping for paint. The reason the drivers side isn't finished is because my Eastwood welder took a shit.

Not sure what's wrong with it, but it has constant full amperage to the torch. No pulling of the trigger and as soon as you touch grounded metal it basically blows through sheet metal. I took the welder apart looking for something contacting the board or obvious signs of burnout but it looks perfectly fine. I've had this thing 7+ years so the warranty is long gone but I called Eastwood up and they said bring it into their store and they will look at it. So I'll be running to the Alsip location and hopefully get this thing fixed quickly. Depending on what they say I may ditch this welder and buy a better MIG. While this welder has done some real work over the years it's not the best welder. It was one of the better units for the cost at the time I got this thing but there are much better welders out there now for the same price or better. I'll only keep this thing if it's a quick turnaround and relatively low cost to repair it.
 

cap42

Restoration Hell
Mar 22, 2005
2,763
2,429
Bolingbrook IL
I called up the local Eastwood store and they said bring it in and they will look at it. The contactor was bad along with the electronics board one took out the other I just don't recall which one they said started the damage. It doesn't matter since this was the first generation 175 and they stopped making parts for it back in 2017. I bought this welder so long ago it didn't even show up in their records, I have no idea of the hours on the machine but I do know I've run through 3 10pound spools along with a bunch of 2pd'ers and half a dozen tanks so I think I got my money's worth out of it.

Now I'm debating on what to buy as it's replacement since this is just a 80pd paperweight. Eastwood tried to sell me their new MIG 180 which has all the new bells and whistles but I wanted to do some research first. That and while I do like Eastwood stuff I know the 175 wasn't the best machine but for the price you *almost* can't beat it.

So now I'm looking at the Eastwood 180, the Everlast Cyclone 140E or the Hobart 140.

The eastwood is the only 220v in the mix, I have the setup for it so why not get something in that voltage range? Plus I've needed the extra amperage from time to time, 95% of what I weld I don't need that amperage but it is nice to have the extra oomph when I do. Anything else in the 220v range is well over $1,000.... It is also inverter technology so it's a much lighter unit than the old 175. Plus I know I've got some coupons to make it even cheaper. Probably be around $550 with tax and I can pick it up today and save shipping.

The Everlast is the most appealing, since it's the cheapest of the ones that have caught my eye. The negatives are it's only 110v and there aren't a whole lot of reviews for this model. Their older models have lots of positive reviews but they are also completely different products. $419 (need to buy the correct drive rollers as an add on) that is without tax and shipping.

The hobart is the hands down best of the 3 based on just about anyone who has done reviews. It's a well known brand and you know it's quality. The downside is this is still transformer technology so it weighs 67 pds, it is also 110v and it's over $800 when you include all the tax and shipping
 

Intel

TCG Elite Member
Oct 28, 2009
5,889
3,357
Palatine
I called up the local Eastwood store and they said bring it in and they will look at it. The contactor was bad along with the electronics board one took out the other I just don't recall which one they said started the damage. It doesn't matter since this was the first generation 175 and they stopped making parts for it back in 2017. I bought this welder so long ago it didn't even show up in their records, I have no idea of the hours on the machine but I do know I've run through 3 10pound spools along with a bunch of 2pd'ers and half a dozen tanks so I think I got my money's worth out of it.

Now I'm debating on what to buy as it's replacement since this is just a 80pd paperweight. Eastwood tried to sell me their new MIG 180 which has all the new bells and whistles but I wanted to do some research first. That and while I do like Eastwood stuff I know the 175 wasn't the best machine but for the price you *almost* can't beat it.

So now I'm looking at the Eastwood 180, the Everlast Cyclone 140E or the Hobart 140.

The eastwood is the only 220v in the mix, I have the setup for it so why not get something in that voltage range? Plus I've needed the extra amperage from time to time, 95% of what I weld I don't need that amperage but it is nice to have the extra oomph when I do. Anything else in the 220v range is well over $1,000.... It is also inverter technology so it's a much lighter unit than the old 175. Plus I know I've got some coupons to make it even cheaper. Probably be around $550 with tax and I can pick it up today and save shipping.

The Everlast is the most appealing, since it's the cheapest of the ones that have caught my eye. The negatives are it's only 110v and there aren't a whole lot of reviews for this model. Their older models have lots of positive reviews but they are also completely different products. $419 (need to buy the correct drive rollers as an add on) that is without tax and shipping.

The hobart is the hands down best of the 3 based on just about anyone who has done reviews. It's a well known brand and you know it's quality. The downside is this is still transformer technology so it weighs 67 pds, it is also 110v and it's over $800 when you include all the tax and shipping


Not sure if you have looked at this
 

Mr_Roboto

Doing the jobs nobody wants to
TCG Premium
Feb 4, 2012
25,665
30,531
Nashotah, Wisconsin (AKA not Illinois)
I called up the local Eastwood store and they said bring it in and they will look at it. The contactor was bad along with the electronics board one took out the other I just don't recall which one they said started the damage. It doesn't matter since this was the first generation 175 and they stopped making parts for it back in 2017. I bought this welder so long ago it didn't even show up in their records, I have no idea of the hours on the machine but I do know I've run through 3 10pound spools along with a bunch of 2pd'ers and half a dozen tanks so I think I got my money's worth out of it.

Now I'm debating on what to buy as it's replacement since this is just a 80pd paperweight. Eastwood tried to sell me their new MIG 180 which has all the new bells and whistles but I wanted to do some research first. That and while I do like Eastwood stuff I know the 175 wasn't the best machine but for the price you *almost* can't beat it.

So now I'm looking at the Eastwood 180, the Everlast Cyclone 140E or the Hobart 140.

The eastwood is the only 220v in the mix, I have the setup for it so why not get something in that voltage range? Plus I've needed the extra amperage from time to time, 95% of what I weld I don't need that amperage but it is nice to have the extra oomph when I do. Anything else in the 220v range is well over $1,000.... It is also inverter technology so it's a much lighter unit than the old 175. Plus I know I've got some coupons to make it even cheaper. Probably be around $550 with tax and I can pick it up today and save shipping.

The Everlast is the most appealing, since it's the cheapest of the ones that have caught my eye. The negatives are it's only 110v and there aren't a whole lot of reviews for this model. Their older models have lots of positive reviews but they are also completely different products. $419 (need to buy the correct drive rollers as an add on) that is without tax and shipping.

The hobart is the hands down best of the 3 based on just about anyone who has done reviews. It's a well known brand and you know it's quality. The downside is this is still transformer technology so it weighs 67 pds, it is also 110v and it's over $800 when you include all the tax and shipping

You willing to offload it? The boards on these are pretty simple and I could probably play with my soldering iron some if it doesn't have a weird monolithic IC in it.
 

LikeABauce302

TCG Elite Member
Aug 27, 2013
5,873
16,314
South suburbs
Real Name
Matt
The Hobart 140 is really nice. The drive assembly is all metal, the ground clamp is nice, and the torch lead is a little longer than some of the cheaper machines. I have one and am happy with it. It's gotten a lot of use without issue.

I too would probably consider an Everlast inverter machine if I were in the market for a new MIG.
 

Shawn1112

TCG Elite Member
TCG Premium
Aug 4, 2010
34,876
104,489
Streamwood
Wouldn't you fucking know it, I ordered the Everlast last night and get an email this morning that they are backordered for at least 8 weeks. This is directly from Everlast..... I can't wait till August to hopefully get a replacement.
That sucks and welcome to the club. Been dealing with shit like that since December with multiple companies
 

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