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1978 Chevy Nova 4dr POLICE


DEL

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On 9/13/2018 at 12:23 PM, Repstock said:

Is there any difference between the 1977 and 1978 Novas?

Yes, there are minor differences but one major change between the civilian cars was the steering wheel, that's how you can tell a 78 from a 77. The 78 wheel was "truck like" too me, never cared for it. Dwayne has the correct 9c1 wheel for this application and the Dash turned out nicely as well. Great attention to detail...

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6 hours ago, camaro69 said:

Dwayne you´re doing very impressive work again.

So much scratchbuilding. Would be glad to have time and skills to do something like this. Maybe I can can ask you for help when time has come...

First thank you again Anthony I appreciate that.  c69 I don't mind helping anyone, but what I need to do is a better job of documenting my process from start to finish. I'll try to remember to do that on one of the upcoming ones.  Usually I dive in and I'm a good third of the way in before I remember to take the first photograph. that's not very helpful.  I will say this; practice helps a lot and one needs to learn how to work with styrene  strip and sheets much more than finding another car that has a part on it that you can cut off and graft.. At least, that's never really worked well for me. Look up the car you doing and get the specs on it,  it's wheel base, dimensions, things of that nature see if anything has to be changed from your donor kit. And then get you a ton of pictures of it from every angle.  That is my basic starting point. like I said the next one I start from scratch I will try and be more photographically sensitive and document each step along the way. other than that if you're doing it yourself and have any questions, please feel free to p.m. me and ask.. I'm happy to help.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I got this in the mail today, a Sunday to boot.  The doorbell rings.  I open the door in time to see the USPS mail truck pull away.  I looked down, and there was a box that was due to be delivered tomorrow.  SHOCKING!  It was a day early and a Sunday too.  And we have the nerve to talk bad about a government agency doing crappy work.

78 Nova C 91 2.JPG

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Wow!  A SUNDAY?!?

They must be in terror for their very existence!  Funny to see a (nicer) pic of something you looked at for a year from another locale.

Thanks, John.  That was a very interesting article about the 74 Nova 9C1.  Maybe I will get to that one day, or at least I will keep my eye peeled for a donor kit. It may be rare. A quick search of eBay showed no styrene versions active or complete, and only one resin kit.

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7 hours ago, DEL said:

Thanks, John.  That was a very interesting article about the 74 Nova 9C1.  Maybe I will get to that one day, or at least I will keep my eye peeled for a donor kit. It may be rare. A quick search of eBay showed no styrene versions active or complete, and only one resin kit.

I was surprised to see that '74 9C1 as well  . LASO tested -- in 1976 -- the (ill-fated-at-least-in-California) Dart and Valiant 'A38' models . What killed them in California was that the 200hp 360 was choked-down to 175hp  with a retarded cam , single exhaust , and a stupid catalytic converter --- whereas 49 state emissions models were free from the restrictive exhaust , providing a true , cat-free , dual exhaust , and a "normally-phased" cam .

But , I digress ...

LASO used those Novas for years ! They also held onto them for as long as possible . The 9C1 Malibu ( "A-Special" body ) replaced it until its demise in c.1984 .

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  • 1 month later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Back to work on this project after being away for a few days in the Lafayette, Indiana area.  My wife flew her parents back with us to visit family on her side.  We did Thanksgiving.  We did repairs on a couple of houses we own and got someone to rent the house.  Also went to my parents estate sale.  It was a bit depressing seeing their belongings being sold on a farm auction.  My parents collected lots of stuff including glassware items.  My brother told me and I did not know this but people were buying boxes of stuff for a couple of bucks, taking what they really wanted and putting unwanted items in a dumpster on site.  That was the really sad part.  Some items went for a surprising amount of money.  I took what I wanted when I had the chance.  So, here is the Nova body, seat and dash molds in progress.

78 Nova C 91 5.JPG

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Sorry to hear about the estate sale Greg. I sadly know your pain. My neighbor passed away and he left his belongings to his good friend and the guy could've cared less about the little things and trashed most of his stuff. Just cared about the house and land. I tried to buy his model collection but I was turned down. 

Awesome work on the Police Nova... thanks for the hard work and dedication to making one of my dreams a reality.

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On ‎11‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 3:49 PM, disconovaman said:

YAAAAYY!

Screenshot_20181112-174632.jpg

I am excited too!  I made the first body today.  It came out very nice.  A name and a good mailing address will get a list started.  Most purchase with Paypal and a mailing address does not always show up with the payment notification.  I don't know why but it is very irritating that it is not always there.  I have mostly mastered the post office kiosk but the Youngtown PO does not have one.  I have used the Tempe PO after work.  Getting anywhere in Tempe after 5 is a real PITA!  Getting home to Sun City is too.  Of course, this one will go to Dwayne.

Greg

mastercaster1@cox.net

78 Nova C91 6.JPG

78 Nova C 91 8.JPG

78 Nova C 91 7.JPG

Edited by Greg Wann
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 12/1/2018 at 9:15 PM, Greg Wann said:

Of course, this one will go to Dwayne.

Oye Como Va!

lovely to return to the land of the living (don't ask don't tell) and find this one moving along nicely!  I too add my regrets on the outcome of your parent's estate Greg, I also dealt with much the same when my father passed.

As always when I build one I find that the final resin cast incorporates all the sometimes delicate aspects of the original styrene donor plus the fabricated conversion into one strong solid unit that makes it solid, whole, strong and final.

I too can't wait to attack this one. I know that due to oil crunches of the 70'sthe LSP's Fleet Research here experimented with almost every form of mid-size replacement to take the place of full-sized units, but their only foray under that was with about five of these at HQ.  Something of a pink dinosaur.

Thanks as always to Greg & Mike for all their hard work, and to all others for the compliments of our efforts so far.

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22 hours ago, DEL said:

lovely to return to the land of the living (don't ask don't tell) and find this one moving along nicely! 

Hmmmm, Dwayne Sounds like an interesting story...

like when Hal gets trapped in the elevator with Tony Robins in Shallow Hal, in the scene where Hal says "You must do well with the ladies?" and Tony  answers "Well, just one" and Hal replies "She Sounds Hot!" It's just that awkward banter between the two characters that make it Hilarious!

Pretty nice surprise to see the updates though huh?

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