The '70 Nova is finished and up FOR SALE!

Over the last few years I have been told by some of the viewers / friends that they would like to see what the cars look like before the restoration is completed.  I have not done this in the past because it takes up a lot of blog space and I am not a "work-in-progress" type of car guy.  Once I select a car for restoration I do not take it to classic car shows or other events until I feel that the car is finished and would be worthy of being viewed.  I have gone to a lot of classic car shows over the years and have frineds that bring their "work-in-progress" cars to the shows.  The only problem I have with this is that some of these "work-in-progress" cars look the same as they did 3 or 4 years ago and will probably look the same two or three years from now.  I am fortunate in that I have never put the GTO up for sale, as it has always been my favorite car, and this allows me to still take a restored car to a show while working on my latest project.  So with the above said this is how I presented my cars on this blog.  With the Nova project I have complied with my friends request and previously posted pictures of the Nova showing its condition on the day of purchase.

This is not discoloration on the cowling vent it is just the reflection of the sun.

When the paint and body work was completed by Mills Bros.(one of the best paint & body shops in the Tampa Bay area) it looked great and four coats of clear coat gave the finish depth.  To bring the finish to even a higher level I hand rubbed the paint with glazing compound in 2ft. x 2ft. sections and then applied a high quality wax.  This brought the paint almost to a glass like finish.

When purchased the trunk lid was yellow with numerous scratches, flaking paint and surface rust.  Mills Bros. Body Shop did a great job of restoring to like new condition.

Detailing and restoring an engine properly, while still in the car, can be one of the most time consuming and frustrating projects in a restoration. I had countless hours on this engine.  The more I worked on it the more I found that needed attention, not uncommon. The engine bay was also sanded and repainted.  A point most people forget is if you drive these cars like I do then there is additional time spent in maintaining the appearance of the engine and car for the next show or buyer. Basically the car has to be in show condition all of the time.

Cleaning and painting the under carriage of a 43 year old car has got to be one of the dirtiest jobs on the planet, everything that comes off falls on you.  It can also be dangerous.

The following is a summary of the features, restoration parts and countless hours of work that changed the" Before" and "After" pictures.

350 cu.in. engine with recent complete rebuild by a professional machine shop. Runs 70 pounds of oil pressure at just 2000 RPMs. 300 Horsepower cam. Holley 650 cfm Double Pumper carburetor.  Holley-Weiand Aluminum High Performance intake manifold. Holley one inch insulating carburetor spacer.  MSD 6AL electronic ignition system;  MSD distributor, MSD Blaster II coil (45,000 volts) , MSD HEL-Core 8mm spark plug wires. High Performance stainless steel fan. Billet air cleaner. New fuel filter. 4-Speed transmission with reverse lock-out. Transmission professionally rebuilt. New clutch and throwout bearing. Flywheel resurfaced. New Bell Crank & Clutch Rods. 3:36 Positive Traction rear gears.  Front suspension has new Ball Joints & "A" arm bushings. New brake drums, cylinders & brake shoes. Recent exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers. Hooker headers. Newer windshield (all tinted glass). New white letter tires on Crager wheels. New front bumper. New door handles.  New door weatherstriping.  New trunk weatherstriping. New hood weatherstriping.  New weatherstriping on side lights and rear tail lights.  New trunk mat. New carpet, floor mats etc.  New SunPro tachometer.  New Viper Red (PPG paint) 2 base coats & 4 clear coats. Power Steering & Power Brakes.  Sound system is an Alpine Pro Model CDA-9855 CD/FM/AM receiver with new Kenwood dual cone front in dash speaker and new 450 watts rated 6in x9in rear speakers.  This is a very advanced receiver with many functions. This car is in excellent overall condition and one of the best driving classic cars I have owned.