What if,63 Nova Nomad

[Spruslayer]

This has been one of those fight you everystep of the way projects

This is the AMT 1963 Chevy II Nova Station Wagon

The orginal idea was to make it a genric federal government car that some beurocrat would use to carry out their dutys

In this scenario it was used by the project bluebook due to the ofical UFO search vehicle decals included with the kit

problems raised their ugly head when upon opening the box i found the stering wheel was baddly misformed. The easy solution would be contact Round 2 and they would send a new one,but i have a fairly deep parts box and was able to find a replacement that worked so thats what i went with 

So continuing on i got as far as having the body painted and the rest of the parts in primer   i wanted to put a 6 inline 6 cyl that i had in the parts box but found it was too big.

So after pondering how to continue the idea hit me to turn this into a restomod Nomad with a hot motor in it

So to the parts box to find some wheels/tires and engine that can be seen in the photos

Wanting to paint it a differnt color i striped the body,deleted all the chrome trim and back bumper and turned it into a two door.

Doing some prefitting of the parts i discovered  i lost the sterring wheel replacement, the dashboard, both tail light and one of the headlight lense

so off to ebay and bought another kit so i could replace the parts that i lost which brings me to where im at now

Sorry for the rant and without further adue, heres the What if,63 Nova Nomad

 

Edited December 9, 2024 by Spruslayer
spelling

[johnyrotten]

Always been a fan of two door wagons. This looks great. I've got the more door I mocked up I've got to get working on.

[TopherMcGinnis]

Cool project. I was hoping to see a patina Olive Drab Monsterfied ET Chaser 😁

Back in '86 I worked at a full service Phillips 66 station. A guy came in driving a '63 Chevy II SS car with a 4 cylinder and 3 speed on the floor. He was 6' 8" and I couldn't believe he fit in it! Those are cool cars.

[Old Buckaroo]

I really like this one. 

Having to cruise in a station wagon back in the early 80's would've been a lot cooler with a wagon like this!

[Spruslayer]

21 minutes ago, TopherMcGinnis said:

Cool project. I was hoping to see a patina Olive Drab Monsterfied ET Chaser 😁

Back in '86 I worked at a full service Phillips 66 station. A guy came in driving a '63 Chevy II SS car with a 4 cylinder and 3 speed on the floor. He was 6' 8" and I couldn't believe he fit in it! Those are cool cars.

My fist car was a 63 Nova SS. 230 6cyl powerglyde automatic, about 74 or 75. My vision for color at this moment is pearl purple with a solid Purple on the lower body

 

[Zippi]

Good looking project Mike.  That's a lot of muscle in the business end.  I'm liking this one.  

[dino246gt]

Beautiful conversion to a 2 door, the proportions look SO much better to me than the 4 door!

I like the hot rod version that you've decided to go with, but you can still chase UFOs with it, only faster!

 

[lordairgtar]

I like the V8 Choice. I don't understand how the six would not fit. There seems to be plenty of room for it.

[Spruslayer]

4 hours ago, lordairgtar said:

I like the V8 Choice. I don't understand how the six would not fit. There seems to be plenty of room for it.

The 6 was too long i would have had to remove some of the firewall

It was a ebay buy and the add didn't say what kit it came out of, i think it was the 60 chevy truck with the go kart kit

Should have bought the engine that was in the 63-nova wagon with trailer kit

Edited December 11, 2024 by Spruslayer

[customline]

Yes indeed! I like what you've got so far, Mike. I bought the "Craftsman" kit at Ollie's a while back and I wish I had done what you did; converting to a two door. It's a natural, really. Nice work!

[lordairgtar]

22 hours ago, Spruslayer said:

The 6 was too long i would have had to remove some of the firewall

It was a ebay buy and the add didn't say what kit it came out of, i think it was the 60 chevy truck with the go kart kit

Should have bought the engine that was in the 63-nova wagon with trailer kit

I can see that. When I put an inline six in a 56 Chevy kit, I had to put the radiator on the outer side of the support. I found that that was how Chevy did it too.

[slusher]

Looking good what engine did you use?  I like how it’s going!

[Spruslayer]

2 hours ago, slusher said:

Looking good what engine did you use?  I like how it’s going!

Really don't know where the engine or tires and rims came out of as i found them in my parts stash. The hood scoop is from the 66 Nova Pro Street kit.

The engine is likely a mashup of several kits because the intake and valve cover don't fit real good and the oil pan has a cut out that probably let an axel go through

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks to be a stellar 2-door conversion. Great looking little car.  

[Spruslayer]

Found this wile looking for examples of the wagon

Now that i have another body might give this one a try

[LennyB]

I love the sedan delivery l👀k

[slusher]

Wow that’s pretty sharp!

[GlueGloob]

Nice job on the Tudor conversion. Look’s  fantastic! Like the photo of the delivery as well.

[Keef]

Loose mockup of my eventual 2dr sedan delivery gasser wagon 

[slusher]

Nice mock-up Keith..