disconovaman Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 Yep that's right! I have plenty of projects on the workbench but I knew as soon as these kits were in my hands I would be Sweeping the Bench off to focus my efforts on getting one of these Awesome 78 4 door sedans built. I plan on making some changes to the chassis and engine bay so it will look less like the MPC kit. I'm really excited to get it started. So much so that I don't even have a plan for it. ? One will become an LA Black and White... later on, but I want to build a civilian/general public car... maybe a Driver's Ed or Pizza delivery driver from the 70's early 80's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted November 25, 2020 Share Posted November 25, 2020 I need to get one of those! I have the 89 Vic. Back in the Day the Aberdeen NJ police department drove those Novas! My friend’s father was a cop there and on occasion gave me a ride home from school. Neighbors thought I was in trouble! i could see your second car as a taxi ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted November 25, 2020 Author Share Posted November 25, 2020 13 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said: I have the 89 Vic. Greg's kits are fantastic huh? I want the Crown Vic too...thinking about the Agent K crusier from Men in Black ..Definitely thinking something like a taxi for the Nova... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 17 hours ago, disconovaman said: Greg's kits are fantastic huh? I want the Crown Vic too...thinking about the Agent K crusier from Men in Black ..Definitely thinking something like a taxi for the Nova... Yes his work is amazing, and let’s not forget Dwayne who mastered them! Absolute sculpture with no compromises! My Vic will become the car in the photo. My grandfather’s last car, that I wound up driving over 200,00 miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted November 26, 2020 Author Share Posted November 26, 2020 Oh yeah, Dwyane's the man... the Novas are so Awesome! Ya gotta get you one ? The Caprice is really cool with those Copo Dogdish hubcaps! Digging that! The Crown vic is a close match to the MIB car... I just researched it the movie car is an 86. The resin is an 88? I owned an 85 silver with maroon top, not for long though, accidentally put Kerosene in the tank and it washed the rings and ruined the engine. I sold it for 200 bucks to a demolition derby driver. ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doggie427 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 (edited) Wrong post, sorry Edited November 27, 2020 by doggie427 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted November 30, 2020 Author Share Posted November 30, 2020 Project 4gotten 4Door is on the bench. I'm checking out some options for the chassis and the 69 Nova Revell fits best. I built a Prostreet chassis for a two door it even works for the Resin body! Anyway... I always set out a background display of what I'm working on junkyard for inspiration... I didn't realize I had so many of the unbuilt X body cars... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 I also have three of Greg's fantastic Nova kits. I like your approach so far, Anthony. I, too, identified the Revell '69 Nova chassis as an outstanding donor. ALL the Novas from '62 to the end had the same wheelbase, 2-doors and 4-doors alike. The Revell chassis is somewhat easy-peasy, but several fiddly little adjustments. One of my Novas will ride that undercarriage. Another of them will utilize the recommended MPC Squad Rod chassis - just to expedite a quick(er) build. Jury's still out on the third build. First one will be a replica of my 1:1 Nova patrol cruiser from back in the day. Second one will be in Denver PD livery - the only other sizeable agency in Colorado that ran the Novas to any extent. Third one? Still formulating ideas. Will be following this one. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 11/30/2020 at 12:56 PM, Danno said: have three of Greg's fantastic Nova kits That's Cool! I have more than a few plans for more of the four door cars, so I will buy more when these are built. On the list is converting a 4 door to a Station Wagon and I have a 2 door conversion to a sedan delivery planned also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 On 11/29/2020 at 7:53 PM, disconovaman said: Project 4gotten 4Door is on the bench. I'm checking out some options for the chassis and the 69 Nova Revell fits best. I built a Prostreet chassis for a two door it even works for the Resin body! Anyway... I always set out a background display of what I'm working on junkyard for inspiration... I didn't realize I had so many of the unbuilt X body cars... I am building one of these with the 69 chassis. Very little modifications to fit, and the difference between the steering setup between the generations doesn't bother me a bit. You must really like these, I count 10 in this picture. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 Yeah, I guess it's fair to say I like em... ? I've owned 18 reaI 4th generation Novas (tagged and insured) since 95. I've got a small hoard of these kits stashed away. I'm saving them for a rainy day I guess... ? Here are some of the Novas that I've bought fixed up and sold... the all silver 76 Hatchback at the end is the one I currently own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Very impressive looking collection of Nova's. Most don't realize that these are based on the same chassis as the Camaro and they are great handling cars. When this body style came out I was working at a Chevrolet dealership and the Sales Manager put me in one of the first ones that came in as a Demo. I was the newest salesman at the time so this was an upgrade from the Vega GT I had been driving. Later when I was in a position to drive pretty much what ever I wanted I would often take a Nova LN, SS, or Rally Sport. With the 350 and the F41 Suspension they were great drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 Amen, Anthony and David. The 1:1s were GREAT cars! And whether a 9C1 or a well-optioned 350 with the F41 suspension, they were awesome handling hot rods. Literally a Z28 with four doors. LOVED mine. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
espo Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 minute ago, Danno said: Amen, Anthony and David. The 1:1s were GREAT cars! And whether a 9C1 or a well-optioned 350 with the F41 suspension, they were awesome handling hot rods. Literally a Z28 with four doors. LOVED mine. ?? The dealership I was working at made a TV commercial at one time with a 9C1 on loan from Chevrolet from the Zone Office. This was a full on Black and White and of course you can guess who got to drive the 9C1. The TV crew were all hanging on in the bed of a pickup filming the car and they wanted a lot of back and forth action for the commercial. We were only going around 40 MPH but I did get the tires to screech a little at their direction. The car was a four door but seemed a little tighter to me than the SS I was driving at the time. Your correct about these cars, they were always overlooked by most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam I Am Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I owned a 77 4Door for a few years. 350/auto. Nice car until we outgrew it. The model I am building is a replica of my old Bosses daughters 75. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 hour ago, espo said: The car was a four door but seemed a little tighter to me than the SS I was driving at the time. Yeah you probably know that the 9c1 package had thicker sway bars, heavier sub frames, and quicker ratio steering boxes... so if it felt tighter, then it was probably a good difference than the civilian counterpart. Carl was this guy I worked with in the 90's and he was a security officer for a military base in the 70's. They had 9c1 Novas, he said the H.P. ratings were under rated and that the 9c1 engines actually had 295 H.P. Way more than a stock 350 rated a 185 H.P. He said those 4 door novas would lay some rubber ? 1 hour ago, espo said: they were always overlooked by most. Not by me...? I've loved this style ever since my brother traded his 73 Chevy Luv (400 SB, 2 speed glide) for a 75 Nova (307 4 speed)? As a Salesman, you were probably the best guy to say which cars were better than anything on the lot. I've read your comment on these Novas before. I know you speak highly of them... as do I. It's great to here from someone who knew how they were when the cars were new too. The closest I got to seeing one new was when I called about one for sale in 2006. This guy was selling his 9,000 original mile 75 Nova. The car had sat in storage for 25 years... It was pristine but way over priced (no return on investment) if I'd bought it, I wouldn't want to put miles on it. I did get to drive it though! ? My Concours had 26,000 original miles on it when I bought it now has 32,000, I've owned it for over five years now. 1 hour ago, Sam I Am said: Bosses daughters 75. Start a thread I'm interested in seeing it get built...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Danno said: Literally a Z28 with four doors. Funny you say that because there is an advertising campaign for these Novas that stated they're Z28s in disguise... ? Also the code for Super Sport is Z26 on the Novas. So almost a Z28...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, disconovaman said: Also the code for Super Sport is Z26 on the Novas. So almost a Z28...? LOL. That's an interesting little tidbit. Quite so. Allllmost a Z28. I drove a lot of police cars in my day . . . and a lot of purpose-engineered police package cars . . . Some were good, a few were great, but the NOVA was hands-down the BEST all-around package (at least in my humble opinion). Its only drawback was also one of its great attributes: it was smaller, but also tighter, than most of the traditional police cars of that era and earlier. (Remember, this was before anybody used Camaros or Mustangs for patrol work.) It was fast . . . not as fast as the huge Plymouth Fury and Dodge Monaco 440 Magnums. It handled superbly . . . not a big floating, wallowing boat like most of the large police cars (Fords were horrid and frightening). It didn't have the roominess of the mid-size Furys, Monacos, and Diplomats, but getting into it felt like pulling on a well-fitted leather driving glove. The biggest bad-rap the Novas got . . . and the reason they didn't take the police car biz by storm, was the smallness. It really wasn't THAT small, but remember you have to compare it to the BIG Plymos and Dodges and the Caprices and the Crown Victoria Inn-and-Suites police cars that were out there. The top cops (chiefs) liked to buy luxo-barges and were not sold on the "little" Novas. I had a ton of fun with mine. I outran most of the big Furys and Monacos. On a long over-the-highway chase I could often start at the end of the pursuit string and pick off the fellow coppers one by one until I had worked my way up to the front. There were a lot of "perps" who were surprised to realize it was "that little toy police car" that caught them. Then the county struck a marketing deal with a certain manufacturer and replaced all our cars with turds. I kept the Nova. Okay. You guys got me going. Enough romancing the 9C1. I have a compelling drive to sweep the bench, dig out my Nova builds, and finish 'em up! ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howard Cohen Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I owned two different '75 Nova coupes. The first one was a trade in at the dealership where I was service manager in 1980. Part of my job was to test drive each used car. I had a 68HP Fiat that I rallied at the time. I took the Nova home and bought it the next morning. It was a 350 with lots of guts once it started moving. I think it had a police package but I am not sure. I think the gear were 2:73. I installed a tach and at 3000RPM, the speedometer read 100MPH...it would run to about 4500RPM before it ran out of power . I once drove from Toronto to the race track in Shannonville, about 120 miles in about an 1:30, ran out of gas pulling into the parking lot My second '75 Nova had the 265. It needed valves, so I took the heads to a local engine builder I know and got a set on exchange, slightly done up. That engine was almost as fast as the 350. Sadly, both cars died due to rust Who makes the resin Nova 4 door body you have? Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doorsovdoon Posted December 3, 2020 Share Posted December 3, 2020 I do like these later Novas, for something that was built in the 70's they are pretty cool looking cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 3, 2020 Author Share Posted December 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Howard Cohen said: Who makes the resin Nova 4 door body you have? That would be Greg Wann Mastercaster1... he's a member on here also his work is superb too! Thanks for the stories guys... seems I've jogged some memories and Inspired some builds here...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 4, 2020 Author Share Posted December 4, 2020 Hey Guys? Just a reminder... I acted as the moderator for the 2020 Cannonball Run Community build Challenge, I would really appreciate (If you haven't done so already), Please take a minute and Vote for your favorite Cannonballer. PLEASE Vote Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 Been busy lately but slowly been able do some flash trimming, with very little effort. Also, I mocked up the Revell chassis to get an idea on how it will look... I hate to say but the front sits too high and it looks like a rolling body... So that will have to be re-evaluated. The more I look at this kit, it's even more accurate than the MPC original... Really cool kit. As you all know by now, I'm really interested in this bodystyle and I've been around them for many years...I found a real nice 4 door for sale a few years ago, original bucket seat/floor shift 350 car... wished I would've got it now ? Anyway, slowly making progress more later... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disconovaman Posted December 14, 2020 Author Share Posted December 14, 2020 Here is that 76 I was looking at... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spottedlaurel Posted December 15, 2020 Share Posted December 15, 2020 A very red interior! Really interesting to read the stories and memories of the Nova, it's not one I know much about. I look forward to seeing this build progress. Still got mine lurking at the edge of the bench..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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