Projekt NovaQuit

[Snake45]

Couple months ago at the local toy show I bought a box of AMT '63 Nova convertible “project.” A quick but semi-careful look in the box seemed to show everything needed to build a model of some kind, including TWO '63 convertible bodies (actually, a fairly nice '63 and a pretty much roached '62), complete chassis, complete interior tub with molded-in seats, original '63 rear bumper (with possibly usable chrome), resin hood, dashboard and taillights, and resin '63 hood and grille. A baggie of misc. goodies turned out to have most of the 6-cyl engine (missing exhaust manifold, carb, air cleaner, a couple of random (not great) SBC V8s, and a complete set of four kit small tires and matching factory wheel covers.

Now, I don't care a thing for convertibles (except for some Vettes), but my thinking was I could graft on the top from a common AMT '65 Rat Packer AWB FC and make a decent '63 HT. I completely forgot until last week that earlier last year, I'd bought a pretty nice bare AMT '62 HT body off eBay. It occurred to me that I could combine the '62 HT body with the '63 convertible project parts to build a cool '62 HT project of some kind. Just did some checking and it looks like everything will work together, more or less, so I'm gonna try to drive on with it this year. (Heck between the '62 body and the new '63 parts, I'm into the hot mess for $50 or more already anyway.) Maybe in the future I'll graft a Rat Packer roof onto this nice '63 convertible body (the windshield and its pillars are pretty much roached, so that would all have to be removed anyway).

The '62 HT body has what looks like might be a rescue-able paint job on it. I'm gonna see if I can work with it, just for fun. Will remove the decals and see if I can polish out and touch up a few little spots. The paint's probably common Testor Orange, which means it SHOULD be easy to match. If it does, I can paint the hood to match. If it doesn't, I guess I'll have to paint the hood black.

Speaking of the hood, the included resin hood doesn't fit. Seems to be too flat, and doesn't dip down to meet the grille. Gonna see if I can heat and reshape it. If I can't, I'll replace it with a hood from a Rat Packer or Boss Nova wagon. I've checked and flat or stock resin hoods don't seem to be available, only ones with modern “outlaw” type tall cowl induction lumps on them.

Usually when I start a project, I have a clear vision in mind of what it will be. Not this time. All I know is that if I'm able to save the orange paint, it won't be factory stock, so it'll be some kind of modified or “Day Two” car. I'd like to make it look like a '60s-build survivor model, maybe, if possible. There are a number of ways I could go. Here are a few that come to mind:

*Late '60s-early '70s “high school hot rod,” street cruiser, or street freak.

*Early-mid '60s FX (probably B/FX with SBC).

* Late '60s-early '70s Modified Production (perhaps with the 6-cyl engine!).

* Mid-late '60s Gasser.

* Modern street cruiser, street freak, or “gasser tribute.” (This would kinda blow the "60s survivor model" idea, though.)

Any other ideas or suggestions?

First step will be removing the decals and trying to rescue the orange paint. Let's hear those ideas, and wish me luck! 

[Nazz]

 Great project Snake ! My vote is for your first idea. The high school hot rod. I think that color would be great for it.

Good luck and happy modeling.

 

Jerry

[Bullybeef]

@Snake45 I’d go with the high school hot rod with a warmed over 6. Kid inherits grandmas grocery getter and hot rods it up with the money he gets from working part time at the corner gas/service station. 

[Rocking Rodney Rat]

x3 -RRR

[89AKurt]

Looks like you have enough for a limo. ?  Just like restoring the real thing, I'm amazed when something cool is the result.

[Straightliner59]

12 hours ago, Snake45 said:

* Late '60s-early '70s Modified Production (perhaps with the 6-cyl engine!).

We have a winner! ?

[Zippi]

Nice score there Snake.  If it were me I'd go with the "Mid-late '60s Gasser".

Edited December 30, 2021 by Zippi

[Snake45]

22 hours ago, Nazz said:

 Great project Snake ! My vote is for your first idea. The high school hot rod.

Jerry

 

20 hours ago, Bullybeef said:

@Snake45 I’d go with the high school hot rod with a warmed over 6. Kid inherits grandmas grocery getter and hot rods it up with the money he gets from working part time at the corner gas/service station. 

 

13 hours ago, Rocking Rodney Rat said:

x3 -RRR

Believe it or not, I have a second '62 Nova project slated to follow almost exactly Bullybeef's "story arc." Got it a couple years ago off eBay. The body has some glue damage around the left rear wheel opening due to use of the kit fender skirts that's gonna be tricky to repair--if not for that, I'd have already gotten that one finished two years ago.  It even has a 2-carb setup for the 6-cyl! I have the color, wheels/tires, etc. all picked out for it. 

Only hood I've found so far for Nova Quit has a big hole in it, which I don't feel like filling, so I'll need to find some kind of scoop to cover it, or build a Grumpy Lump, or something. 

[Snake45]

10 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

We have a winner! ?

See my note above about the hood. Looks like I'll be going the MP route with it, more or less--or a dual purpose street bomb/MP deal. A Weber-carbed 6 would be cool, but a Grumpy lump wouldn't make sense for that, so it's looking like a SBC with tunnel ram 2X4s. 

Actually, youse guys have given me an idea. Thinking now about doing the old one as a high school hot rod circa '66-'68, and this orange one as the same car a couple years later, maybe '69-'71. The kid has graduated, gotten a job, painted the car orange, and set it up with a little more serious muscle. 

Did a spoon test last night with a rattlecan of Testor Orange I have on hand. Seems to be exactly the same color, but the new stuff dried with an eggshell finish, no gloss at all like the paint on the body. I have doubts about being able to polish the touch-up spots to blend in with the old paint. Looks like I'll be airbrushing some "little bottle" Testor Orange and polishing that out--pretty sure I can pull that off. I wonder why the new stuff has no shine? Maybe the old stuff had lead in it, and the new product doesn't? 

[Scott8950]

High school hot rod or drag car but imo I'd toss the 6.

[Straightliner59]

I'll be checking it out, for sure. Sounds like a very cool project! Is that orange good ol' Competition Orange? I always liked that color.

[Snake45]

On 12/31/2021 at 9:10 AM, Scott8950 said:

...drag car but imo I'd toss the 6.

Looks like it's going that way! 

On 12/31/2021 at 10:28 AM, Straightliner59 said:

Is that orange good ol' Competition Orange? I always liked that color.

Seems to be. I'll be using current issue Testor orange to touch it up and paint the hood. 

Decals off. The checkerboard stripe and the Horsepower Heaven and B/FX decals came off with little problem using the hot water and thumbnail method, leaving behind a little glue or some kind of rough areas that will need to be polished out. The Maltese crosses on the lower quarters were another matter. They did NOT want to come off at all. Repeated attempts with hot water and thumbnail removed much less than 10 percent of them. I gave up and tried using a chisel-tipped Xacto blade, which got about half of them off, but left some minor but noticeable damage to the paint, which will have to be repaired one way or another. Finally I tried soaking each one in Solvaset for about 30 seconds and then hitting them with the thumbnail. Took two or three repetitions but did finally get the stupid things all off.

Notice also the roof areas right above the drip rail, about in the middle. The model had obviously been handled by picking it up in this area—apparently, a LOT. These spots on both sides were dirty, and even after cleaning, the paint was thin and a bit darkened. These areas will need to be repainted. Haven't yet decided if I'll try to do it with a brush, or mask them off and spray them.

Last year I also bought a “Nova Junkyard” off eBay that contained the promise of several interesting projects. I went through that and found glass and a hood, probably from a Rat Packer. Those were plucked for use on Nova Quit, and are seen in these pics.

Edited January 1, 2022 by Snake45

[Snake45]

A milestone! Nova Quit sits on wheels and tires for the first time, just for an “attitude check.” I was worried about how wide a slick I could get in the wheel wells, but that wasn't a problem at all—the problem is diameter. These common AMT solid vinyls are right up against the forward wall of the well. I'll look for something just slightly smaller in diameter, or maybe I can just sand the offending spot on the chassis a little. I'm happy with the front end ride height but want to raise the rear a bit. I have a couple tricks in mind that should get me up 1/8” or so (three scale inches). Right after I took these pics, I lucked into finding a pair of 13” Cragars on tires on a glue bomb Opel GT gasser that's on my bench. Pretty sure I'll use 'em on this—what else am I ever gonna be able to use 13” Cragars on?

The hole in the Rat Packer hood is enormous—quite long. I don't feel like filling it, so I have to work with or cover it. Did a search in the Snakepit last night and couldn't find a scoop that would cover it, so looks like I'll have to scratchbuild a “Grumpy lump” of some kind.

[Bullybeef]

That’s coming along rapidly, nicely done.

[Snake45]

Got the body prepped out for the touchups. While polishing off the decal scum on the right side door, I came close to burning through on both upper and lower sections--the paint was thin. turned out it was also very thin on the lower body (rocker panel), so I'll lay some new paint on all that too.  

Here's the body masked off for the touchup. Everything that's taped here will stay original paint; what's orange here will get a new coat of orange. Also have to paint the hood. Altogether, the body will be about 30-35% new paint, 65-70% original. (It would have been a lot easier to just strip the body and shoot all-new paint, but I like to preserve old survivor stuff whenever I can.)

[chris chabre]

always liked this era Chevy 2/nova

 

Nice work as usual!!!

Edited January 12, 2022 by chris chabre

[Snake45]

Yesterday I airbrushed the orange touchup areas. I'd planned on having to lay on a second coat today or tomorrow, but it looks like it went on very smooth and will look very much like the original paint in finish. It was a little chilly in my paint shop yesterday--I wonder if the lower temp helped the paint flow out better? Last night I brought it upstairs and let it sit in the warm bathroom with the dehumidifier running, for a faster cure. I'm doing my best to leave it alone today, as it still smells like paint--gotta let it dry at least two or three days before I drive on. Would hate to ruin things now with a stupid fingerprint. 

[Bullybeef]

I’m sure the results will be worth the wait

[1972coronet]

Nifty project , Snake ! I've always enjoyed your 'preservation-restoration' projects -- top notch stuff ! 

[Snake45]

The new paint still smells a little, but was dry enough for some careful handling to unmask and do another attitude check. 

The paint match is pretty good on the left side. On the right, it becomes apparent that the original paint was thin on that whole side, which is why I nearly "burned through" polishing to take the decal goo off the door. Oh well, I usually display my cars driver's side out anyway. I'm pretty pleased with the improvement in the  formerly dirty, finger-handled areas of the roof right above the doors on both sides. Also pleased with how the new paint shine matches up with the old rattlecanned stuff. And Kudos to Testor for making the paint the same color for over 50 years!  Still some fine touchup to be done with a brush. 

Did some cleanup and Molotow touchup of the little 13" Cragars that will be going on the front. Also took this time to clean the molding lines off the resin grille and the sides of the back bumper. 

 

2 minutes ago, 1972coronet said:

Nifty project , Snake ! I've always enjoyed your 'preservation-restoration' projects -- top notch stuff ! 

Thanks for the encouraging words. The idea here is to make this look like a model that was built in the '60s and then found and restored today. Trying to use as many vintage parts as possible. 

[Snake45]

Progress...

Painted the resin grille/bumper with one wet coat of Krylon Foil. As I've said before, this isn't perfect, but it does actually look better than SOME chrome I've seen in brand-new kits. It'll do. And it'll look better after I do the fine detail work. 

 

Got the foilwork done on the body. This is cheap generic kitchen foil with Micro Metal Foil Adhesive. I only did the side trim strips and rocker panels, as I thought this would be the best way to do these areas; everything else will be Silver Sharpie or dry-brushed Testor Silver. Still some fine-brush orange touchup to do, too. 

 

Also foiled the rear panel emblem, as that also seemed the best way to do that. 

 

Painted the interior with Krylon Satin Pebble, which was the closest rattlecan I could find to factory interior color Fawn. It's a little dark and a little tan, but it's what I have to work with. I know the dashboard is resin and I suspect the interior tub is too, and it had "64 Nova" written on the underside of it, so it might not be a true '62 gut, but guess what, I don't care, I'm rolling with it (not much choice, really). I'll make it work. 

 

Finally found a pair of open wheels for the rears; they're in the paint shop as we speak. Hope to get this one done this week--wish me luck. 

 

[Snake45]

More progress. Interior is finished except for a shifter which I'll add later. Glass is polished out. All foil is on, and all Silver Sharpie trim; still need to do some small stuff old-school with silver paint. Still need to make the traction bars, and do a lot of touchup of the nearly 60-year-old orange paint. Special thanks to ExoticsBuilder, who graciously donated the "Grumpy lump" from his vintage MPC Vega (I still need to fill in the front end of it). 

I think I've got the "sit" pretty much where I want it. Comments welcome. 

 

[Scott8950]

Stance looks good. I like the scoop on it. Your getting close to the finish line with this one.

[cobraman]

Looks good, sits good !

[Straightliner59]

Looking good! You know I love me an early Chevy II.