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New Project - NOVACAM!


BDSchindler

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I was watching Motor Trend and one show had Steve Strope's crew at Pure Vision building a NovaĀ  with a twist for Joe Rogan.Ā  They had put Camaro side panels on Rogan's Nova and I thought it was a cool idea...

rogan-nova-1-768x576.jpg.119b1b443f864ac757d5ff28929c4ab1.jpg

I had Revell's 69 Nova and a 69 Camaro I bought for parts at a MAMA's club meeting and set to work.Ā  Note, I'm not replicating Rogan's car, just inspired by it.

I removed the Camaro side panels and grafted them directly to the Nova pitching them just a tad lower.Ā  This will give the illusion of the car being lowered without having to adjust the suspension (Shown below with "ZWHEELZ")...

Novacam.jpg.27251f6160733f6b3d71a7f4937355b0.jpg

Then came the tedious job of attaching plastic stock, shaping, filling, sanding, priming, fixing the rough spots, priming, more sanding, priming and...you get the picture!

After the final primer, fixing what amounts to a pinhole in the front 1/4 panel and a bit of light wet sanding, well it looks pretty good to me...

840939407_NOVACAM1.JPG.0d9b0ae8c7926750e54e82f433c9a792.JPG

I left the Camaro gills in the rear 1/4's to give a subtle hint to what I did to the body as the average person will look at this and go "why does this look different?".Ā  The gills will be a huge clue.

Since the fenders are a bit flared out now where the bumpers meet the body, I had to adjust the bumpers a bit to fit.Ā  I really disliked the overall shape and bulkiness of the bumpers so I made quick work of shaping and smoothing them to bring them in tighter to the body and remove the sharp curves.Ā  The grill also had to be smoothed ad tapered just a tad at outter edges. The bumpers and grill trim will also be color matched to the body so I was not concerned about the chrome.

Once done and an overnight stay in Windex to remove the chrome, the bumpers fit right and tight and look sharp.Ā  The grill and hood trim also went into the Windex bath.

22643249_NOVACAM2.jpg.526d4c70754e2c64f1c458658a0e1420.jpg

1500226012_NOVACAM3.JPG.a3345962f6c9de6dbcbfbedca40285e0.JPG

I also took care of the interior somewhere in there...Ferrari seats with "SS" badging (who da thunk it) and a flocked floor.Ā  I was out of semi-gloss paint (both brush and spray) and being impatient since local hobby shops are all pandemically closed, used Krylon black semi-gloss warmed up purchased at Home Depot (note to self, develop more patience)...

602719223_NOVACAM5.jpg.8622219400c073668d7d51c6a2aaa38e.jpg

1717667518_NOVACAM4.jpg.8c8df1256505e324d7ca7e052a3d1277.jpg

I should have mail ordered the right paint but I went with it as it won't be seen too clearly anyway in the long run.

So that's where I'm at for now.Ā  Still deciding on color and if I want to do the stock engine or swap it out...who knows what I may do next with it.

Edited by BDSchindler
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7 hours ago, BDSchindler said:

I was watching Motor Trend and one show had Steve Strope's crew at Pure Vision building a NovaĀ  with a twist for Joe Rogan.Ā  They had put Camaro side panels on Rogan's Nova and I thought it was a cool idea...

rogan-nova-1-768x576.jpg.119b1b443f864ac757d5ff28929c4ab1.jpg

I had Revell's 69 Nova and a 69 Camaro I bought for parts at a MAMA's club meeting and set to work.Ā  Note, I'm not replicating Rogan's car, just inspired by it.

I removed the Camaro side panels and grafted them directly to the Nova pitching them just a tad lower.Ā  This will give the illusion of the car being lowered without having to adjust the suspension (Shown below with "ZWHEELZ")...

Novacam.jpg.27251f6160733f6b3d71a7f4937355b0.jpg

Then came the tedious job of attaching plastic stock, shaping, filling, sanding, priming, fixing the rough spots, priming, more sanding, priming and...you get the picture!

After the final primer, fixing what amounts to a pinhole in the front 1/4 panel and a bit of light wet sanding, well it looks pretty good to me...

840939407_NOVACAM1.JPG.0d9b0ae8c7926750e54e82f433c9a792.JPG

I left the Camaro gills in the rear 1/4's to give a subtle hint to what I did to the body as the average person will look at this and go "why does this look different?".Ā  The gills will be a huge clue.

Since the fenders are a bit flared out now where the bumpers meet the body, I had to adjust the bumpers a bit to fit.Ā  I really disliked the overall shape and bulkiness of the bumpers so I made quick work of shaping and smoothing them to bring them in tighter to the body and remove the sharp curves.Ā  The grill also had to be smoothed ad tapered just a tad at outter edges. The bumpers and grill trim will also be color matched to the body so I was not concerned about the chrome.

Once done and an overnight stay in Windex to remove the chrome, the bumpers fit right and tight and look sharp.Ā  The grill and hood trim also went into the Windex bath.

22643249_NOVACAM2.jpg.526d4c70754e2c64f1c458658a0e1420.jpg

1500226012_NOVACAM3.JPG.a3345962f6c9de6dbcbfbedca40285e0.JPG

I also took care of the interior somewhere in there...Ferrari seats with "SS" badging (who da thunk it) and a flocked floor.Ā  I was out of semi-gloss paint (both brush and spray) and being impatient since local hobby shops are all pandemically closed, used Krylon black semi-gloss warmed up purchased at Home Depot (note to self, develop more patience)...

602719223_NOVACAM5.jpg.8622219400c073668d7d51c6a2aaa38e.jpg

1717667518_NOVACAM4.jpg.8c8df1256505e324d7ca7e052a3d1277.jpg

I should have mail ordered the right paint but I went with it as it won't be seen too clearly anyway in the long run.

So that's where I'm at for now.Ā  Still deciding on color and if I want to do the stock engine or swap it out...who knows what I may do next with it.

That's exactly what my Krylon spray did to me too. Guys here said it was cause of lack of primer. Did you prime first ?

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3 hours ago, Ctmodeler said:

That's exactly what my Krylon spray did to me too. Guys here said it was cause of lack of primer. Did you prime first ?

Ken...I always prime...everything!

Thanks for the comments, guys.Ā  BTW...mine won't have the rear spoiler on it.Ā  I think it detracts from the subtle coolness of the body lines.

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4 hours ago, Ctmodeler said:

That's exactly what my Krylon spray did to me too. Guys here said it was cause of lack of primer. Did you prime first ?

Ā I prime everything even what I brush paint. Learned that from my buddy Roger Hayes aka Plowboy...

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  • 1 month later...

So I had a few issues with uneven body lines and paint blisters after laying down a base coat. So I grabbed the dremel and dug the seam where I had issues and layedĀ down some USC Icing (I love this body filler!) and finally some primer.Ā 
So, hereā€™s the result...

C2391AD0-B874-464B-8646-ABD8200D231D.jpeg.485ab1351348a4de78b8de9f1aa1f339.jpeg

DF03D0FF-1897-46E5-A09F-3594F81B631B.jpeg.c572d64e707911c2b888e3a85123d8ec.jpeg

68A7238B-750A-445D-8F3B-7FF310E92475.jpeg.375326b2441c42e3f9bfba64c4ee5834.jpeg

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  • 5 weeks later...

Well, itā€™s been a minute or 2 since any updates were made.Ā 
I looked at the grill and wondered if I could open it. Ā 5 hours later (after a ton light sanding) here we are...73D2D0D8-B9DA-47FC-84F1-393FF4E649AB.jpeg.21a34bc0ee486315ad985373272a8b2d.jpeg

back side...this was seriously thick plastic. The resulting grill work is paper thin. Not perfect, but after a black wash, I think itā€™ll be fine.B3A5A28D-27C5-4FCF-96B6-48E0CD4BF420.jpeg.cf6db511501b1adcbfad0cf0bff0ac07.jpeg

Next up, paint. 3 coats of rattle can Testerā€™s Extreme Lacquer deep blue (I forget the name of the color).Ā 
091D7D96-8324-4ABC-A563-FF963207425F.jpeg.b67584635a1beaabe15d87e20b584a2a.jpegH27E514D9-656F-4DC6-8ED9-4723BDB3A23E.jpeg.bfe2313be1f0adc26ea604df263960ca.jpegD7974611-5F04-4101-A2CA-C6D009A999C2.jpeg.aadcd5b2c8c5c5fa2e21a483d6ba8a09.jpeg

Set it up in my Dr. Dry Booth for a couple of rounds ofĀ drying, then a little wet sanding and clear it. Iā€™mĀ thinkingĀ of doing the trim work in black BMF as opposed to chrome.

Thats it,Ā so far.

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On 5/31/2020 at 6:47 PM, BDSchindler said:

Ken...I always prime...everything!

Thanks for the comments, guys.Ā  BTW...mine won't have the rear spoiler on it.Ā  I think it detracts from the subtle coolness of the body lines.

I agree, skip the spoiler. I like what you are doing.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Been a minute or 2 since I posted an update on Project Novacam. Still have a way to go but I put the interior in and mounted the chassis to get a look at it. The grill and from bumper are not permanent installed yet nor is the rear one...

...nor the glass

... very dusty

...a few odds and ends to tidy up

but here are some mocked up pics. The exhaust is aluminum pipe, ā€œZā€ wheels...

778175DB-D60E-4251-8822-F327765B851D.jpeg.1611e7fec3113e1d5e3b7a28b9b247be.jpeg

more later!

3282458E-7CD1-477D-AC3F-9C17932E946C.jpeg

Edited by BDSchindler
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