'70 Nova LY6/TH400 6.0VVT
02-21-2019, 10:38 AM
#1683
Thanks Steve! They are Rev Wheels 107 rallies, 18x8 and 18x9, but beware I narrowed my rear to make these fit because they aren't available in offsets suitable for the back of a 3rd gen Nova. You can run a narrower wheel & tire combo without narrowing the rear end. Rev Wheels might be able to recommend a size for you that will fit. I seem to recall they wanted to sell me 18x7s. I've seen a few other Novas now with these wheels and they all seem to be running narrower wheels & tires than I am.
02-22-2019, 10:02 AM
#1684
Glad to hear you are driving it between all the other demands in life. I wish you were more obsessive about taking and posting photos because I miss seeing your updates! I take it you skipped Goodguys?
02-22-2019, 04:13 PM
#1685
I must have had the date wrong for GG. Glad to hear you'll still be there! The kids restriction might be part of their event insurance policy. Would be cool if they can ride but I don't know if you'll be able to sneak them in. Did you get setup with Harry's Lap Timer or something similar?
Where did you post this photo of the new shop???
Where did you post this photo of the new shop???
02-25-2019, 04:18 PM
#1686
I dropped it in my IG story last week. I haven't gotten around to snapping photos of the new place, since we've been unpacking and working to upgrade a few things first. But the house has a 2-car garage with attached ~6x10' shop and a detached one-car garage (that's in need of refurb). It's glorious.
Re: GG - I'm still going to ask if I can get them in a ride-along. I realize the liability, but I wouldn't go full-bore anyway. We'll see.
Re: GG - I'm still going to ask if I can get them in a ride-along. I realize the liability, but I wouldn't go full-bore anyway. We'll see.
03-06-2019, 02:52 PM
#1688
It's been about 9 months since I compounded & waxed the car last summer. Since then I've driven the car a lot and really enjoyed the fruits of my labor, but the glossy shine of the wax diminished and with the newly-cleaned-up grill, I could tell it was time to give the paint some attention again. The wax seemed to hide some of the swirling that I never polished out after compounding. The worst areas are on the tops of the fenders and hood where I made a lot of extra passes with compound. Under certain lighting it really shows. Here's a video to highlight the badness:
In case the video doesn't come through, here is a photo. It's funny this swirl is hardly visible in photos of the car and it's not too noticeable in daylight, but my garage really brings it out.
After a strip wash, I pulled out the 6" Lake Country white polishing pad and went to work with Pinnacle Jewling Wax. This is an all-in-one (polish + wax) that I thought I'd try after seeing good results online. I was not sure how much correcting it would do, but I figured it was worth a try since I did not want to spend my time on a dedicated polishing step. Here is what I ended up with after a few passes. It needs more work but it did make a difference.
I spent a few hours going over the whole car. I was very happy with the light correction work this AIO managed to do. The sides of the car turned out great, but the hood needs work. Here is where I ended up.
In the video above and in the photo below you can see the hood still needs some work. I'm thinking about going over it with M205 polish and then coming back with the Pinnacle Jewling Wax to finish it off. The paint has quite a few blotches and some haze still. I think the Meguair's Ultimate Liquid Wax I used last time looked a little better, but of course it didn't do any correcting.
Here is how the car is looking now. You can be sure a few swirls and blotches aren't going to keep me from driving the wheels off it!
I think the C6 brakes will be next and I may pull the trigger on a steering box upgrade at the same time since I may need to route a new hardline in that area.
In case the video doesn't come through, here is a photo. It's funny this swirl is hardly visible in photos of the car and it's not too noticeable in daylight, but my garage really brings it out.
After a strip wash, I pulled out the 6" Lake Country white polishing pad and went to work with Pinnacle Jewling Wax. This is an all-in-one (polish + wax) that I thought I'd try after seeing good results online. I was not sure how much correcting it would do, but I figured it was worth a try since I did not want to spend my time on a dedicated polishing step. Here is what I ended up with after a few passes. It needs more work but it did make a difference.
I spent a few hours going over the whole car. I was very happy with the light correction work this AIO managed to do. The sides of the car turned out great, but the hood needs work. Here is where I ended up.
In the video above and in the photo below you can see the hood still needs some work. I'm thinking about going over it with M205 polish and then coming back with the Pinnacle Jewling Wax to finish it off. The paint has quite a few blotches and some haze still. I think the Meguair's Ultimate Liquid Wax I used last time looked a little better, but of course it didn't do any correcting.
Here is how the car is looking now. You can be sure a few swirls and blotches aren't going to keep me from driving the wheels off it!
I think the C6 brakes will be next and I may pull the trigger on a steering box upgrade at the same time since I may need to route a new hardline in that area.
03-22-2019, 04:45 PM
#1689
I am just about "done" with the transformational efforts to detail my car. So far I have spent a fair amount of time bringing the paint back to life with compound, polish and wax, and freshening up the front of the car by painting the grill and filler panel. I decided to finally give some attention to the vinyl top. I've never really been sure what to do with it. Normal washing doesn't seem to clean it up that well. Here's what it looks like after my last car wash:
I did some research and found all purpose cleaner (APC) might be a good start for lifting the nasties out of the vinyl. I picked up some Chemical Guys Nonsense and an Adam's Cockpit Brush. The brush has soft enough bristles that it shouldn't damage the vinyl even with heavy brushing.
Working in sections, I sprayed and heavily brushed the vinyl. Then I let the APC sit a while so it could lift some of the contaminants out of the vinyl.
It's hard to see in the photo, but I could definitely see the grime coming out of the vinyl.
Once the foamy bubbles dissipated, I mopped up the grime with a microfiber.
Here is what the top looked like after cleaning. Much more sanitary! You can clearly see which side I had cleaned and which side still needed attention.
Next it was time to shine up and protect the vinyl. I decided to try out Chemical Guys Natural Shine dressing. I picked up a 16oz bottle and a foam applicator and went to work
This stuff could probably be smeared on with just about any cloth or applicator. I put a few dabs on at a time and worked it over the top of the car.
Here is a 50/50 shot with one side cleaned and dressed, the other side not.
And here's what it looks like up close right after application. It's a little shinier than I expected for a "matte" / "natural" dressing, but it looks good. It brought a deep black back to the vinyl.
And after a few weeks of rain, I finally found a break in the clouds to get out and see the car in the sun. So nice to see shine in the paint from the recent polish & wax.
The hood looks so much better outside than it does in the garage!
And since this is ls1tech, I can't neglect what's under the hood... yup still there and still going strong!
Looking forward to some new projects and experiences with the car soon. Brakes and steering are still in my sights.
I did some research and found all purpose cleaner (APC) might be a good start for lifting the nasties out of the vinyl. I picked up some Chemical Guys Nonsense and an Adam's Cockpit Brush. The brush has soft enough bristles that it shouldn't damage the vinyl even with heavy brushing.
Working in sections, I sprayed and heavily brushed the vinyl. Then I let the APC sit a while so it could lift some of the contaminants out of the vinyl.
It's hard to see in the photo, but I could definitely see the grime coming out of the vinyl.
Once the foamy bubbles dissipated, I mopped up the grime with a microfiber.
Here is what the top looked like after cleaning. Much more sanitary! You can clearly see which side I had cleaned and which side still needed attention.
Next it was time to shine up and protect the vinyl. I decided to try out Chemical Guys Natural Shine dressing. I picked up a 16oz bottle and a foam applicator and went to work
This stuff could probably be smeared on with just about any cloth or applicator. I put a few dabs on at a time and worked it over the top of the car.
Here is a 50/50 shot with one side cleaned and dressed, the other side not.
And here's what it looks like up close right after application. It's a little shinier than I expected for a "matte" / "natural" dressing, but it looks good. It brought a deep black back to the vinyl.
And after a few weeks of rain, I finally found a break in the clouds to get out and see the car in the sun. So nice to see shine in the paint from the recent polish & wax.
The hood looks so much better outside than it does in the garage!
And since this is ls1tech, I can't neglect what's under the hood... yup still there and still going strong!
Looking forward to some new projects and experiences with the car soon. Brakes and steering are still in my sights.
05-03-2019, 01:32 PM
#1695
Agree! I really want to take my car up the coast through Big Sur, through Oregon & Washington, and all the way up to BC. It would be an epic road trip. I have had my Nova camping at the south end of Big Sur about 15 years ago; I wish I had taken photos of the car from that trip. I had four adults in the car plus our tents and camping equipment, firewood, etc. I remember scaring the crap of them driving threading through the cliffs and corners of highway 1 way too fast for our angels to keep up. Those were good times.
05-03-2019, 09:33 PM
#1697
TECH Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
I drove the PCH from L.A. to San Francisco in my GTO back in spring of 1989. This was when it had a Pontiac 400 and Muncie m22. Good times. Also, a few years back my wife and I made the same drive, but it was in a rental.
Clint, I think a road trip like that would be amazing. I've never really been much further north of San Francisco and have never been to Oregon or Washington or Canada! Would be pretty amazing to do it in a couple of hotrods.
Andrew
Clint, I think a road trip like that would be amazing. I've never really been much further north of San Francisco and have never been to Oregon or Washington or Canada! Would be pretty amazing to do it in a couple of hotrods.
Andrew
05-04-2019, 06:40 AM
#1698
Just catching up on this thread, cant believe I've been looking at it for almost 8 years now!!! The grille looks nice, I prefer the silver grille filler panel to the body colored one, I see people do that a lot and to me it just never looks right. Curious though, why you didnt paint the headlight bezels the same as the grille in the SS style?
As for the road trip, you should definitely do it! The PCH is a great drive, did part of it a few years back, it makes a great back drop for some cool pics.
As for the road trip, you should definitely do it! The PCH is a great drive, did part of it a few years back, it makes a great back drop for some cool pics.
05-06-2019, 11:25 AM
#1700
I've driven PCH from Santa Monica to Monterey. The Nova has been as far as Big Sur. I wish I had the time to do a big trip, but it wont be for a while.