1969 Baldwin Motion Nova

[stump]

Hey guys, got a start on this the other day.....Shhh.....I still have about a dozen other projects on the go, but had to clear the bench to get this one going......

A BM version of this Nova has been on my "want to do" list since I first read that Revell were going to release a new tool kit for us....Thank you Revell.

I've been some what puzzled whilst researching these beasts.....I know they were rare in the beginning, seems even rarer these days... I guess currant owners can be quite protective of their rides, and I have no disrespect for their secretiveness, but it makes it tough trying to find good reference.....

The couple I did find, are what I'd call....tame......but only in appearance...not saying the performance would be tame.....

I was expecting the big bold triple stripes, L-88 scoops, side pipes......things I'd thought were synonymous with Baldwin Motion.....nup, none of that.......Plain Jane is all I found....

Undeterred, I did the next best thing I could think of....I emailed Joel..........yep, you heard right....Extreme.....maybe, but I wanted to find out, didn't I..........

And Joel was more than helpful, a genuine car nut, not unlike ourselves.....Seems the stripe package was not that sought after for the Nova's, not like the Camaro's and Vette's at least.....not sure why....

Anyway, enough ramble, lets build.......

This will be a replica of what I would have ordered back in 1969.........had I had the $$......( I seriously doubt that.. ..)

The body has had the inner wheel arches shaved at all corners, ready for large M/T's riding on fat Cragars......The L-88 scoop is from a Revell 69 BMCamaro. I removed all the scripts, front fenders and trunk, as well as the vents from the front fenders......It has all received a coat of primer since the pic..

The chassis has the holes for the standard exhaust filled, I re-directed the fuel tank (not something I want to do too often )..The resin 12-bolt is a Perry's item, it will get the finned cover. It adapted to the springs quite easy...The whole shebang got undercoat, then "overspray"......not 100% happy with my rattle can attempt at that......may do it all in black, like sound deadening......

This is where I spent too many hours at......the engine shop.......I really wanted to throw the parts catalog at this one, as I would've in '69......

427BB, again sourced from Revell...from the same Camaro which donated the hood......Rocker covers from Amt BM Camaro, along with the "open element" air cleaner. Only got the base in pic, it has a photo-etch screen waiting to go on too..Headers are from the kit, I separated the middle pipes on both sides to resemble BB style. Hi-twist mount manifold is from my stash, Holley is from Perry's with linkage, fuel lines and spring added. I made the alternator bracket from thin flat sheet and it all "bolted" on to the block. Dizzy is a MCG item (last one I had.. ..) and pulleys from Detail Master.

That's it for now......was hoping to get some colour shot on the body today, but was late getting home.......maybe tomorrow......

Follow along here if ya wish....... BMNova......>>>>

Thanks for dropping by, hope you enjoy this wild ride......

Greg

[george 53]

Stump, If this ride's anything like the Cuda, count me in for the shotgun seat! I like this one already, an I haven't even sent ya parts for it yet! Needin anything? I like it a WHOLE lot since my first "REAL" car was a Nova! (Ahhhh...Memories!)

[stump]

Heya George, thanks man. Ya want the shotgun seat..? You got it mate....first "test" run should be a hoot......

Aye, I'm good for parts so far, thankya George I know I can always count on you if'n I get in a bind tho mate, cheers.

The couple of doner cars, which selflessly gave their parts to this, will still get their time on tha bench......I have plans.............

Did I tellya I now have 5 of these things......is that being greedy......??.......

Thanks George

[george 53]

Only 5? Naw, I don't call it greedy, I call it LIKEIN EM!!!! You dun a hellova job on the Cuda, So, I'm spectin great things for this lil Nova! If'n I can be of ANY help, jos ley me kno!!!!

[novadose71]

Wow Greg, that engine looks great!!! Any idea what kit the intake came from? Just a thought, but how about "sound deadening" just the wheelwells, in between them & up the driveshaft tunnel, it would tone down the yellow and you wouldn't have to blackout the whole thing. I did that on mine to add visual interest but it's pretty subtle against the Fathom green. Keep the pics comin, can't wait to see those big Mickey T's under the quarters.

[stump]

Thankya George, I don't feel so bad now...... I'll certainly holla if I need anything mate.

Cheers Rob. Mate, I think the manifold was in some of the old Amt "Stockers"...(??) The one's which had the older bodies, 30's Ford's, Chevy's...tube frames, etc......I believe Best Resin also offered them in resin.

Hey. I like the idea of just blackening the wheel wells and tunnel.....I shall give that a go, thanks mate.

[Raul_Perez]

Greg,

The engine details look GREAT!!

Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!!

Later,

[Lyle Willits]

Your model is coming along great. Really nice engine work.

The "problem" with replicating a B-M car is that almost all of the 1:1 cars were different. Rosen would modify your Chevy any way you wanted and was only limited to the money one wanted to spend. There was no cookie-cutter formula to building Novas, Chevelles, Camaros, etc. He put together certain pakages with varying prices and called them Phase I, II and III. But, as I understand it, you could mix and match many of the performance and visual items to your own liking.

In addition, one could buy or mail order any Motion parts and do the work themselves. This was not an option with Yenko cars.

The B-M hood you are using was referred to as a "Green Meanie" fiberglass hood. I never knew why that was - maybe the name of the company that made them or maybe because the unpainted raw fiberglass hood had a green tint to it. The other hood style was the L88.

I don't know if it was mandatory or not, but every B-M car I have ever seen used the Crager "fly eye" air cleaner. Apparently the valve covers were optional - either stock chromed or ribbed with the MOTION emblem.

Bottom line is, there is no ONE WAY to replicate a B-M car.

Yours looks just great so far.

[bsoder]

Lookin' good so far!..the motor looks great...aftermarket acces. or are you Uber-scratch-builder?

[stump]

Thank you Raul.

Cheers Lyle....yes, that's the kind of opinion I'm drawing on these cars...."what ever ya want, as long as the pocket is deep enough....."..

Lets see....1969, nah..I was only 10, and def'nitly would not have had enough money on me....but I woulda thrown the chequebook into it........ ....( I wish...) That's why I want to create this one, as I would've done back then.....all the best parts and options available......

Brian,

A small amount of scratching with parts, but mostly p/etch etc.....I messed about with the "fly eye" air cleaner, hogged it out and made the small bracket from aluminium strip. There's a p/e mesh to go on it. And I messed with my own alternator bracket, till I got it looking "right"....then used ground down dress making pins to bolt it to the block..

Cheers guys.

[stump]

Small update....

Got some paint rattle canned on this morning. This is Tamiya yellow, not their Chrome yellow..sprayed over Tamiya fine white primer. No clear as yet.....I'll leave it a couple of weeks, as I want to add the stripes before clearing, make it all nice and smooth....

Follow along here if you wish.....

More soon guys..

[Modellpularn]

Hi Greg, your Nova is coming along fine! You didn't go for subtle with that yellow color.... "A screaming yellow honker"

Keep up the good work, mate!

Cheers, someday I have to make the trip to Aussie land..... in that case, I'll let you know.

[stump]

Cheers Hans.

Mate, if and when you do get to visit down here.....I wanna know, alright.. ....I'd be disappointed to find you've been, and we not got a chance to catch up man.

Hey, I just realised my pics didn't work..... , so to save everyone from searching for them.....here they is.....

[stump]

Ok, she's back from the GraphixGarage, all dolled up and ready for clean up before clearing.....

This is how I've envisioned one may have looked, had I gone full tilt and ordered it with the works......The only way to fly......( IMHO... )

Decals are from Revell's recent Chevelle kit, the MOTION SS 427 decals on the front fenders are a mix of Revell and Keith Marks. The indicator decals are Keith's also.

Anyone care to share their trusted method of cleaning up residue left from decals and decal set....?

I'll still need to do some touch ups with the black paint once I get it all cleaned, then lotsa clear coat...

BMNova....>>>

Cheers guys

Greg

[cruz]

WOW Greg, this is really turning out awesome my friend, love that color and the graphics are phenomenal. Can't wait to see it with the clear and finally polished!!!! Great job!!!!

[rv1963]

Very nice work on your Nova great engine details, the paint and decals look good also.

[george 53]

I knew it,I knew it, I knew it!!!! This Bad Boy is gonna be a KILLER!!!Not too shabby for a guy who says he ain't never seen one!!! Ya know Greg, they say the 396 Novas were monster sleepers, But I can't even imagine what a ZLX/Phase III 427 Balwin-Motion Nova woulda been like to drive! Yours is lookin like it's pyrt near hit the nail onna head! And I've NEVER seen one one the treet.If I did, I'd bet id look like yours! Great build so far kiddo!!!

[MrObsessive]

Greg, I love your attention to the small things! The chassis work is super (GREAT overspray!), as well as the body and paint!

But I especially like what you did to the engine! If you had the time, you should build another just to display along side it!

It's THAT good!

[novadose71]

WOW Greg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't sure those Chevelle stripes would work on there, but there it is right in front of me lookin' sweet, thanks, 'cause I'm definitely stealing this idea for my next one.I look forward to seeing it up on it's wheels, keep those pics coming...............

BTW, on the decal sludge. I usually try a folded over damp polishing cloth and rub (very) lightly and off the edges so I don't lift any of them, I don't recall ever needing to try anything more than this.

I also Checked my Gremlin modified kit the other day, it's got the twisted intake , that will be used on my next one too, thanks for sending me in the right direction.

[stump]

Hey, thanks a lot for the very kind responses guys..

Bill, aye...I wasn't overly happy with my attempt at overspray to start with, but I'm going to blacken (sound deadening..) the tunnel and wheel wells as Rob suggested and see how it looks.

I like your idea of displaying a motor separate too......may have to piece one together.......

Rob, yep...those little suckers (decals) took some convincing that they belonged on this car... ... I had to cut/shorten/overlap the side stripes just over the wheel opening. Seemed the obvious place to do so, as the bottom edge is the wheel opening....Also, if I do another (and that chance is high... ..) I'll be smoothing the rear deck lid......that pesky little character line that runs down the center.....I really wish I'd shaved it off this time. I guess my decal set may be going off...had it for some time.....but no matter what I did, I still don't think it laid down properly......

Thanks for the heads up on the decal sludge too mate....I'll give that a go..

[stump]

Thankya Dave. Yah, the decals were a bit challenging.....but they're there.....

[stump]

Just a small update on this one, plus a very very easy "how to" lowered front suspension idea...

Did some more paint detailing on the chassis, overspray etc..black and yellow. Run a fuel line from a pair of fuel tank mounted pumps, right to the front where it will join the motor mounted fuel pump.

Have added a small bracket to either side to attach e-brake cables too.

Testing for clearance of those monster M/T's....I do love the look these tyres give....

12-bolt resin rear from Perry's Resin. I drilled it through and made an axle tube from brass tube to allow easy fitment of the wheels/brakes I wanted to use....The brake drums are off an old Amt Stude, I made up the backing plates and added brake lines to it all..

This is all I did to the front end...I simply added new mounting points above the old positions. Also thinned the wheel back, as I'm using slightly wider, 15" tyres....just wanted to be sure the tyres wouldn't rub the guards. The guards have been "lipped" and thinned as well....

By trimming the original wheel mount a little more (or less) the height can be varied quite easily....

This is the stance I've been hoping to get....nose down, slight rake......70's Muscle.......

Should have some more soon guys...Interior is almost all there...need to detail the dash and add belts.....

The build so far......

Thanks for dropping by

cheers

Greg

[Clay]

That thing is wicked!!!!!!!!! I love the color and the graphics. Keep us posted.

[Modellpularn]

Hey stump, it looks really mean now with the stripes! Cool idea for lowering the front.

[juergen]

hi !

great design and very shiny paint job !!!

the lowering front looks good.

greets jürgen