Bought a kid that isn't mine a 1976 Nova...

[idahovette]

Young unbridled enthusiasm and energy,....I'm wore out from reading about it......Been working in the shop almost all day, I'm done!!! Good job @Catbox

 

[RecklessWOT]

The way the title of this thread gets shortened on the "Recent Threads" block makes me do a double take every time.

"Bought a kid that isn't mine...."

lol true story, that's why I clicked here. "wtf is going on here, gotta be more to it than that"

 

[Raider L]

@Catbox,

No, don't hop it up! Don't do anything to it other than teach him how to be responsible with the privilege of owning a car. Hopping it up will only serve to cause him to do stupid things with it like racing it. Cars are not designed to be raced especially by a young man with his first car. He's to use it to finish school, get a job, and drive it to work every day, not blow the transmission up, wrap it around a phone pole, crash it, and now he's out of a car. He needs to understand that after he's paid his dues then when he's older if he wants to race a car/truck/ Honda Vtec he can use this car to go get parts for his race car.

Call me a wet blanket, but been there done that!! Okay??

 

[Raider L]

Teach him how to change the brakes. Teach him how to keep the engine tuned up. Teach him how to change the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil, trans fluid. Teach him those things and not that hopping it up is a ticket to loosing his only means of transportation. Have him work and buy the vehicle to hop up, not this one. This one is the one he learns how to take care of a car. Once he understands all that then he can work his way up to the other stuff, but on a car he buys!!

 

[Raider L]

@Catbox,

1. Is the rust as bad on the right rear qtr. panel? Brian can learn his welding skills on fixing them up, do the body work and do a little paint on them.

2. Is that oil and dirt on the engine on that right front? Holy smoke! You reckon it's just old on there and not a huge oil leak? Once he gets it hosed off he'll be able to tell. There shouldn't be anything there that would be leaking oil that bad. Maybe valve cover? What does the oil pan look like? The trans?

I've always found that I'm more prone to jump right on fixing an engine if it's clean that if it's a filthy pig!! When it looks like that one, right now, I wouldn't touch it.

 

[Catbox]

@Catbox,

No, don't hop it up! Don't do anything to it other than teach him how to be responsible with the privilege of owning a car.

Good points, although this is his 3rd vehicle and he has already finished high school.
When we talk of hopping it up, that means all mild upgrades.
Not a fire breathing monster that is a terrible item to deal with on its best day.
Under my eyes if he does go out and race it, that will be done on one of the dragstrips or autocross tracks that is nearby. We are lucky here as we have many different legal outlets for those activities.
There are plenty of asshats on the news lately that have been shutting the bridges down and "hooning" on them.

@Catbox,
not blow the transmission up

The car already needs a transmission we are pretty sure.
Some Lucas treatment has been poured into the juicebox and we are going to be looking into adjusting the vacuum modulator to see if that just needs to be tuned up on....

@Catbox,
He's to use it to finish school, get a job, and drive it to work every day

As a matter of fact, he starts his new job next week at the local Auto Parts Store with @Maxwellvis .
They are the place locally that carries all the cool speed parts.

 

[Catbox]

Teach him how to change the brakes. Teach him how to keep the engine tuned up. Teach him how to change the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil, trans fluid. Teach him those things and not that hopping it up is a ticket to loosing his only means of transportation. Have him work and buy the vehicle to hop up, not this one. This one is the one he learns how to take care of a car. Once he understands all that then he can work his way up to the other stuff, but on a car he buys!!

We have begun the tutorials with him.
@Maxwellvis tells him about the whats and whys of what is happening when we are working on it.
This will happen far more coming up as we were simply trying to get it out of my driveway.
I have 6 parking spots and 6 of my own cars plus his....

 

[Catbox]

@Catbox,

1. Is the rust as bad on the right rear qtr. panel? Brian can learn his welding skills on fixing them up, do the body work and do a little paint on them.

2. Is that oil and dirt on the engine on that right front? Holy smoke! You reckon it's just old on there and not a huge oil leak? Once he gets it hosed off he'll be able to tell. There shouldn't be anything there that would be leaking oil that bad. Maybe valve cover? What does the oil pan look like? The trans?

I've always found that I'm more prone to jump right on fixing an engine if it's clean that if it's a filthy pig!! When it looks like that one, right now, I wouldn't touch it.

Yessir it needs lower panel repair.
The great thing about this car is that they make all of the stuff for it.
I have already found the patch panels that he needs.
We have a welder and will be getting a bottle of nitrogen to run on it for better welds.

The engine was sooo grimey.
It looks better now, but is still pretty oily.

 

[idahovette]

@Catbox , I think you got a handle on this, NO need to worry @Raider L

 

[DoubleDingo]

Agreed.

 

[78C10BigTen]

They took it to DEQ on Saturday and it passed the second time through.
The first time it was fat on hydrocarbons at idle.
So they drove down the street into a parking lot and leaned it waaay out.
Second time they were less than half of the maximum.

After that they went directly to the DMV and got the title transferred and a new set of plates for it.

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Yesterday they were over working on it.
I suggested hosing the thing down with the degreaser they had in the back seat before working on it.
Then they set the timing after finding the timing mark on the balancer and remarking it.
Now the car idles at a proper rpm and then they fattened the mixture back up.

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Good ol 250 covered in oil just the way they like too be! Lol

 

[HotRodPC]

Yup.
@Maxwellvis has a buddy Brian.
Brians home life has not been the best, but he is a good kid.
He currently drives a VTec Honda Civic and is not real fond of it.

The three of us were going to the junkyard yesterday to look for some stuff.
I had no agenda other than finding gold in what ever car I could find.
Max was after a set of seats from a Hyundai Tiburon that he will fit into the '73 VW he now owns.
Brian wanted a front fender for said Honda as he was backed into the other day and it was bent all to hell.

We went in and paid the entry fee and the boys noticed the Nova sitting in the complete cars for sale row just outside of the doors.

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We all oogled it and poured over the whole car, there is some rust and little things that need to be taken care of over time.
But that does not stop it from running and driving.

Pop the hood and there is a greasy but very original 250 straight six backed up by a 3 speed auto (I suspect a TH350).
This car is 100% original and has not been molested at all.
It came with AC but the compressor was long ago removed, that is the biggest change to it that we had found.

It is a Concours level trim package (think Silverado).
Inside there are bucket seats and a console shifter for the transmission.

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The yards asking price was a cool $1999.
The boys were trying to figure out how to find that money.
I told them they are going to let you haggle the price down just like I did on a $200 set of wheels and tires I bought there last year for $120.
So Brian offered $1200 and that was rejected and a counter of $1300 was made.
That was accepted and now I have another car in my driveway until Brian is able to get the title transferred to his name.
He will pay me back when his Honda get sold after the insurance companies do their things due to that lady that backed into him.
Brian in his new to him hotrod.

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We got the car home and it ran and drove just fine all the 5 miles it had to go.
The kids then went up to the auto parts store that Max works at and bought the car all new belts, hoses, and other tune up parts.

After all that was installed, they washed all the grime off the car and this is what we bought...

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I like the bucket seat and console feature. You're right, it's optioned nice. Sure wish is was a 2 door but glad to see Brian likes it's 4 door just the same. You know times haves changed. Now days people are cool with 4 doors like Chargers, Chev SS, Pontiac G8, Cad CTSV's etc. But an 80's car is still worth more as a 3 door. I'd just clean that car up and put the AC back in it and leave it alone since it looks so good. I'd leave the 250 in it too. Do something with the tired rear springs to level it off and replace that missing side molding.

 

[HotRodPC]

Yup.
@Maxwellvis has a buddy Brian.
Brians home life has not been the best, but he is a good kid.
He currently drives a VTec Honda Civic and is not real fond of it.

The three of us were going to the junkyard yesterday to look for some stuff.
I had no agenda other than finding gold in what ever car I could find.
Max was after a set of seats from a Hyundai Tiburon that he will fit into the '73 VW he now owns.
Brian wanted a front fender for said Honda as he was backed into the other day and it was bent all to hell.

We went in and paid the entry fee and the boys noticed the Nova sitting in the complete cars for sale row just outside of the doors.

You must be registered for see images attach

We all oogled it and poured over the whole car, there is some rust and little things that need to be taken care of over time.
But that does not stop it from running and driving.

Pop the hood and there is a greasy but very original 250 straight six backed up by a 3 speed auto (I suspect a TH350).
This car is 100% original and has not been molested at all.
It came with AC but the compressor was long ago removed, that is the biggest change to it that we had found.

It is a Concours level trim package (think Silverado).
Inside there are bucket seats and a console shifter for the transmission.

You must be registered for see images attach

The yards asking price was a cool $1999.
The boys were trying to figure out how to find that money.
I told them they are going to let you haggle the price down just like I did on a $200 set of wheels and tires I bought there last year for $120.
So Brian offered $1200 and that was rejected and a counter of $1300 was made.
That was accepted and now I have another car in my driveway until Brian is able to get the title transferred to his name.
He will pay me back when his Honda get sold after the insurance companies do their things due to that lady that backed into him.
Brian in his new to him hotrod.

You must be registered for see images attach

We got the car home and it ran and drove just fine all the 5 miles it had to go.
The kids then went up to the auto parts store that Max works at and bought the car all new belts, hoses, and other tune up parts.

After all that was installed, they washed all the grime off the car and this is what we bought...

You must be registered for see images attach

I like the bucket seat and console feature. You're right, it's optioned nice. Sure wish is was a 2 door but glad to see Brian likes it's 4 door just the same. You know times haves changed. Now days people are cool with 4 doors like Chargers, Chev SS, Pontiac G8, Cad CTSV's etc. But an 80's car is still worth more as a 3 door. I'd just clean that car up and put the AC back in it and leave it alone since it looks so good. I'd leave the 250 in it too. Do something with the tired rear springs to level it off and replace that missing side molding.

 

[Midnightmoon]

I can't believe I am going to say this, but I'm starting to dig 4-doors more and more lately. If you ever watch Uncle Tony's Garage on YouTube, he does some builds with 4-doors. In addition, one of my coworker's did a really cool Mercury Merauder build for his daily driver (runs consistent 12.60's).

Anyway, I could actually see myself doing something similar at some point.

 

[Catbox]

We here in the Catbox are not afraid of the more doors...

Long have I preached this, but only if the lines of the car are not ruined.

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Thus, my '54 Bel Air...

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Back when @Maxwellvis '55 Bel Air was all in one piece...

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And now Brian has a Nova seen here at Baxters with a new buddy...

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