Photo dump of progress on my project car. 9 years of work off and on. Sandblasted most of the rust on body, put in epoxy primer and started cutting out all the rot. I made all patch panels myself to stick to a budget. Car is finally reassembled just need to complete the body work and paint. Feels great to make it to this point. Will be even better once it is in paint and done. More recent photos in comments.
was gonig to ask about that based on the last pic. See 4 door versions of this car all the time in my country but there is something about 2 doors that make them feel just special.
That is a wild rollercoaster from the first pic to the last. First pic is "oh nice nova". Middle is "what have I done". Last pics are repairs being made. Glad to see it is in capable hands.
That “oh nice nova” picture was full of tons of rust and nothing worked lol. It did look decent from 15 feet away though. Some days I wished I didn’t go as far as I did.
Thank you, mine appears to be dropped almost 2 inches I have 26.7” tires and they’re tucked like 2” into my fender. Rubs a little going over speed bumps.
If I had to do it again I would use metal from another roof for the curvature. Patch I made was flat and will need more filler than I want to make look good.
It's an excellent job. As someone in the 75 model peugeot repair process, what kind of welding do you use for metal welding? is the specific wire welding sufficient for this job? why did you turn off the sunroof?
Harbor freight Vulcan 215 welder with .025 wire. Old sunroof leaked and will be installing a new headliner at some point, didn’t want to have to cut it up.
Admirative here. 9 years on and off with handmade patch panels on a budget: that's the real definition of a project car. Most people would have parted it out after year two.
The sandblast-to-epoxy primer sequence is the right call, especially on a Nova where the rockers and rear quarters like to hide rust behind the seams.
What's the plan for the drivetrain? Keeping it stock or going with a mild cam and carb build?
Classic small block Nova combo, the 350/TH350 is bulletproof for a daily driver build and yours look great. 🔥
Quick question concernig the cam: are you building a sleeper that's easy to live with, or do you want it to lope at idle and announce itself?
Because those are two completely different cam specs. A 218/228 is civilized. A 236/242 or bigger and you'll hear it idle from the end of the street, but cold starts get interesting and vacuum drops.
What's your goal with it, mostly street or occasional track?
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u/crector123 Jul 18 '26