The work begins

03/05/2000. I decided that it would be nice to have a sorta presentable car even before the major mechanical stuff starts. And this was the place to get started.

I masked off the primered fender (that sucker has to be from a 62 or 64 cuz the trim holes all line up wrong) and began prep sanding with 400 grit.

A little spot putty on the few chips that I found...and the rust bubble.

And in keeping with the hippy theme of the car, I HAD to use a tie-dyed towel to mask the tire and wheel.

Then a quick spray (several coats actually) from a rattle can of Grape Super lacquer that I had custom mixed to match the existing paint.

It didn't turn out too badly. Now to deep clean and wax the rest of the car so it sorta matches.... just as soon as the weather warms and the wind dies down somewhat (high of 42 and 20-30 mph winds in Utah.)

03/12/00. Well, spring is trying to sproing and the Grape finally got out of the garage. The fender seems to match the rest of the paint fairly well, but the oxidized paint (especially on the upper surfaces) is gonna take some work to polish. But a touch-up bottle helps the scratches and the "Moon Eyes" on the fender kinda adds to the nostalgic look.

Well, whaddya know? There's one o' them Moon Eye thingies on this side, too. You'd almost think we were back in the 60s. You can't see it (nor hear it) but the single Cherry Bomb Glass Pack muffler helps the nostalgia thing, too.
Speakin of hot rod nostalgia, here's a pic of me and "Big Daddy" Ed Roth. I'm wearing my "Rat Fink" t-shirt.

A little work inside didn't hurt, either. I blocked off the kickpanel vents until I can get all the hardware to redo them correctly. That really helped with the comfort level in the car, since "Hurricane Moby" isn't blowing thru onto my feet anymore. And I replaced the steering wheel with one of the same Cal Custom type, but with a deeper dish and a rim that isn't flaking apart in my hands.

I don't think a stereo would hurt, and a set of matching gauges and....and....well, all in good time.

The gas gauge didn't work, so I pulled the sending unit. Seems there was this hole in the float...a little solder fixed that.

The idler arm was pretty loose. So I pulled it out. Doesn't quite look like a 63 Nova idler arm.

This is what a 63 Nova idler looks like...at least the one that took 3 weeks to arrive from Chevy2Only. It was the wrong one.

As you can see it doesn't look like the press-fit bushing is gonna fit in the screw-in fitting.

It turns out that my Nova is one of the ten percent of 63s that has 62-style steering gear. So I had to re-order the idler arm.

While I was at it, I packed the wheel bearings, replaced the wheel studs and painted the brake drums with POR-15.

(04/11/00) Finally! The idler arm arrived. It looks a little different than the other style.

It only took a few minutes to install it. Now to give it a test drive. Man. What a difference that part made...well, that and tightening up the wheel bearings. It drives like a...uhhhh....63 Nova. But a good one.

Next page: More fix-ups.

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