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76 nova 1/ 25 replica


disconovaman

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I've decided to build a version of my real car to display at shows and cruise ins. I hope to hurry it along. So it's gonna be a pretty simple build. Here are some very early stages photos and a pic of how it will look when completed. Thanks and Stick around for updates.

 

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Edited by disconovaman
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Your 1:1 Nova looks to be a Concourse model which replaced the LN from '75. The only real problem might be making a rear package tray for the interior. Your car looks to be a coupe and the model you have to work with is a hatchback. They style Rally Wheels on your car I think can be found in some of the later Camaro models unless you already have some.  

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Your 1:1 Nova looks to be a Concourse model which replaced the LN from '75. The only real problem might be making a rear package tray for the interior. Your car looks to be a coupe and the model you have to work with is a hatchback. They style Rally Wheels on your car I think can be found in some of the later Camaro models unless you already have some.  

mine is the Concours Hatchback,  the rally wheels I plan to use are in the kit. The Mpc version kept the same interior all the way to 79 (square lights) which is the Squad Rod. In reality the nova's dash was redesigned in 1977 so the interior is accurate to my 76. So my idea is to have the hatchback opened at shows with the hatchback up on the model also, all while displaying the model in the hatchback. Hope that don't sound confusing  I'm  using  a folding arm rest seat form the batman joker goon car, it's close enough. In order to make that fit l had to remove the molded console from the nova's tub and add the transmission hump from the Amt version. 

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Here is some modifications I have made so far... I removed the hatchback from the car. Sanded the door handles (I like the 3D handles from the Revell 69 camaro convertible) and the NOVA script from the fenders (too large and also not on my real car.) I removed the floor shift console to accurately portray the inside of my car which has the Concours only folding arm rest bench seat. I hope this one doesn't snowball, l'm  trying to keep it simple but you guys know how that goes. 

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Edited by disconovaman
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Cool stuff - I like these kind of builds.

I've always liked the less popular Nova body style too!

Thanks, I hope it goes smoothly, l love them all but my favorite is the disco era 75-79 novas. I'm kinda a Corky, offbeat, weirdo...  so it matches me. 

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Welcome Anthony! Your 1:1 looks great!

Cool project! I had a '76 coupe back in the day, should have never sold it. Have everything to duplicate it in scale as you are doing.

I'll be watching! B)

Edited by jeffs396
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I'm working on building up the hatch area, I cut and fit a peice of clear styrene. I like using clear because it makes it easy for an accurate cut and a nice fit because you can see through it to make the stencil. Also I'm working on shaping and smoothing the body. I've decided now that I want the hatchback to open and close on hinges so my next step is to fab some hinges for the hatchback. 

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Great idea on the front seat. There was a build here some time ago that was a street rod type build. The builder provided a very detailed explanation on how he created a folding arm rest that could be folded up and down. Just a thought if you wanted to go that way. I have to say I have a great appreciation of this era of Nova. At that time I was working at a Chevrolet dealership in central California and often drove Nova's as demos. As I'm sure you know by now the chassis is shared with the Camaro and all of the chassis and suspension inter changes between them. I would always order mine with the F-41 suspension that added stiffer shocks and larger sway bars and added a rear sway bar this was basically the same suspension as the Z28 Camaros at that time. With the 350 engine they were fun drivers.   

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Cool! It's nice to meet someone who knows these cars. It's pretty Awesome that you seen them when they were brand new. I seen an advertising  for the 77 Rally in an old magazine that read... The All New Nova Rally, A Wolf in sheep's clothing. Using driveline from the Camaro, they'll never see you coming! After owning 18 of these novas I just don't feel right driving anything else. To me it's the best handling and most confortable of all the novas. Here is a pic of the last one I owned.

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Cool! It's nice to meet someone who knows these cars. It's pretty Awesome that you seen them when they were brand new. I seen an advertising  for the 77 Rally in an old magazine that read... The All New Nova Rally, A Wolf in sheep's clothing. Using driveline from the Camaro, they'll never see you coming! After owning 18 of these novas I just don't feel right driving anything else. To me it's the best handling and most confortable of all the novas. Here is a pic of the last one I owned.

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The Nova SS was not a common in stock model. I had two for demos and bought one used in '86. I had high hopes and little money when I bought the Nova SS as our '66 El Camino had been stolen from the parking lot at UC Cal. Sacramento. The Rally Nova was a budget model offered to attract a buyer on a budget. It was more about stripes and black grills than anything else. That said it could be ordered with anything from a 250 six to a 350. That is when this became a really great car, but it had to be ordered with the right options. I ordered four Rally Novas in '77 for stock and equipped them as if they were SS's. As you may know in California we were limited on engines and transmissions we could order. A manual transmission was next to imposable to order on anything but a Z-28 or a Corvette. This had to do with the certification process for California Emissions ( smog test). Some how for a short time GM got around the certification for 4 speed Novas. When I saw this I ordered the Rally Novas and several Nova SS with the 4 speed. The GM and the Dealer owner both jumped my on this and my job was literally on the line. Amazing, they all sold and at a good profit  in less than 60 days. It was a fun time for a car guy in the business and I was always amazed at how little some of these owners really knew what would sell if they would have to sell on the lot.   

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Wow, I'll bet those buyers were sure glad to see the 4speed when they looked inside. You should've gotten a Promotion/Raise/ bonus for ordering those. I'm envious l was only 3 in 76. I had 3 manual floorshift Novas 1 75 SS 4 speed with console gauges, 1 75 SS with 6cyl 3 speed, bench seat, and a 77 Rally with 4 speed I live in Va. 4speeds are more common on the east coast.  I did have a 78 Nova Rally also with 4speed but It was just a parts car (windows were shot out and the engine was gone) I took off what was good and threw the rest away.

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Cool build and a cool 1/1.

I had a '79 coupe years ago. Strange car. Base model 6 auto,  No options at all except for the suspension upgrade. So plain, no light in the glovebox or even a place for the dome light switch in the passenger side door jam. Looked pretty cool though in it's silver-blue paint with 8" wide Magnum 500s and white letter tires. Not the fastest car off the light but handled like it was on rails. I miss it but it rusted out from under me. 

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That one brings back memories. When I started selling Chevrolets in 1978, my first demonstrator was a '78 Nova Sedan, in Silver with a Carmine Red interior. It was pretty basic, but it did have A/C and the 305 V8. It was a decent car, but the interior looked like it belonged in a taxicab or a squad car.

I like where your build is headed, and it is getting me thinking about another project.  I would like to try my hand at a 9C1 Nova Police Car from that era. One of the Police Department in my area used them in their fleet.

By the way, I have one suggestion, if you can get your hands on an AMT '72 Nova Kit, The rally wheels that were in that kit are a dead ringer for the wheels on your car, and would look much better than the MPC units.

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I've got a few sets of those amt 72 nova rallys but my car has 14X6 wheels and I think the Amt wheels are supposed to be 14X7 wheels. They seem to be a little too wide. I may be able to cut the trim rings off and glue thinner rings on. I can alter them no problem  but I don't think I need to if I use the wheels from the kit.

I wish a resin company would tool a 77 9C1 nova I'd build a fleet of them. 

How would you go about transforming a 2 door coupe into a 4 door sedan? I'd like to do it also.

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Now I've desided that I want the upholstery on both the seats to match so I'm using half round styrene to achieve a tuck&roll look on the seats. It wont match my 1:1 but aleast it wont look like two different seats were used on the build. Once I get some flat red on it I think it'll look ok.

A quick shout out to all who have commented, Thanks for the stories and I hope I've jogged some fond memories of the cars you've owned. 

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It doesn't look like much but the tuck and roll seats on the back are complete. I'm taking a break from the interior and moving on to the engine using a revell 69 camaro small block and the turbo automatic from the amt 72 nova. And l also trimmed down the interior tub to fit better with the body. 

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