I started with disassembly to get a clear view of the work ahead and parts needed. The car has had damage in the rear at some point (probably hit a pole with the middle of the trunk) since the trunk lid was dented pretty bad, the bumper is bent and the trunk floor is pushed in just a little bit in the middle.

The rear quarters have rotted away at the bottom just as the trunk drop-offs and on the passenger side the rear outer wheel housing has rotted at the edge.

Most doors appear to be in decent shape, only the drivers door has a bad repair, a few steel strips have been welded to the bottom.

The front floor panels also have been repaired in the past, someone as cut out the original floor and welded some plates over it. I checked under the car and the braces under the floor appear to be in good condition.

The dash has been covered with something like vinyl in the past as the leading edge shows a lot of pitting/rust and under the edge a lot of holes from screws and nails???! are visible.

Normally the headlight mud caps are bolted to the radiator support but on my car the flange has been removed and they have been welded on.

So now the doors and windows are out and I will continue to further strip the car and clean it up a bit, cut out the bad repairs and see what is left after that. For now I will concentrate on making the body solid again, that will be a big enough job to keep me busy for a long time.

The fenders are decent, some previous repairs here, some not so nice and need to be done properly. I think the left fender is an aftermarket piece and the right still original.

Parts I have found and bought locally are: front and rear window rubbers (new!), an original trunk lid in good condition and an original radiator support. Good chance I will also get a pair of headlight mud caps and a sway bar (which is missing) in a few weeks. I must say I am lucky to have found these parts here since first gen (‘62-‘65) Nova’s are rare here let alone good usable parts. Most of the parts I need will have to come from the USA which is easy nowadays with internet/creditcards, availability of parts and everything. Downside is that getting parts shipped is expensive (especially larger/heavier parts) and we have to pay around 25% tax over the amount+shipping which adds up pretty fast.

Shopping list sofar in regards to bodywork: LF floor panel, RF floor panel, LR quarter panel, RR quarter panel, L+R trunk drop-off panel.

My first thoughts are that the Nova is easy to work on, simpler than the Camaro and more room inside. The outside dimensions are smaller than those of the Camaro but due to the body shape the Nova has loads more space inside and a large usable trunk. The more I work on it the more I start liking it and the more potential I see for it. This car will make an excellent sleeper since the 4door is not a fast or sporty looking car but it is a light car and has plenty of room for a big engine if needed.

I try to update my costs/hours/km’s excel sheet as good as possible to keep an overview of what is involved with a project like this. I will post the list near the end of the project, for now I will keep it to myself. Finally some random pics:

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You can reach me by e-mail at: pro-touring @ hotmail .com