Well we got the Nova running. That was the first step. We have put a lot into so far, but in the grand scheme of things not that much. We have new spark plugs and wires, we have new breather, gas tank, and more. They have all been little things, but we got it running.
It just wasn’t running right. I took it to another shop.
I had been using Z-bad, a shade tree mechanic, that I found while Josiah was looking for a car. He had put a chevy 350 in a Ford mustang. Just for fun. I really like him. He has taken good care of me, and we have had a good relationship. He knows more than I know about cars, and he may have taken advantage of that some, but that is ok with me. I am learning, and I have tried to figure this out along the way. I think I could write a whole book about Z-bad, but so far, I have really liked our relationship. I think he wants to make the Nova what I want the to Nova to be.
That might be a whole nother discussion. What do I want the Nova to be? Right now, I would like the Nova to be something fun for us to drive, and have. I would like for it to be a conversation starter. I want it to be fast, but I do not want to drive it fast. I want to run well. I want it to be cool. I do not want a show car, but I want someone to say, it could be a show car. I want it to crank every time. I want the boys to want to drive it.
Anyway, I thought I was having transmission problems when I brought it home from Z-bad’s. It wasn’t shifting right, so I decided to get another opinion. When Z had finished, he hadn’t even tested it out yet. I called auto electric and told them I was going to bring it over for them to have a look, and I couldn’t get it cranked.
At that point I had a friend come over and take a look. This is the same friend that came over and told me it would run. He started this whole restoration thing.
Anyway, at that point I thought it might be the carburetor. I had had carburetor problems already, and Z had already told me about them. I know enough about carbs from working with lawn mowers that I thought it might be a possibility.
So Clarence came over to have a look. The choke was sticking. He unstuck it, and it cranked right up. Sometimes I feel silly because these are things that I can do, but I do not because if it is not this, I cannot do anything. So, we looked at a couple of vacuum lines and other stuff. It was running OK. Clarence noticed a knock in the engine, suggested that I get the timing checked and “hoped” that that was all it was.
We took it for a spin, and the transmission problems were still there.
So I called Auto Electric again to get that second (third) opinion. I got the car cranked and took it to another mechanic.
This mechanic was not very optimistic.
He put a light in the trunk, and said it had electrical problems. The headlights come on when you touch the breaks. “It’s not just wired correctly.” I’ll take it back to them when the other problems are taken care of.
He also said the transmission was shot. He told me not to get it fixed there. I appreciated that. He told me he couldn’t get a transmission rebuilt or bought and put in for what a transmission place could do it for.
He also told me the engine was going to need to be rebuilt soon.
I will say that all of this was kind of a shock. Everyone has been really optimistic about the car so far. It has been great for a barn find. The engine turned over. It went into gear. Reverse worked. The lights worked. Yes, it has been a money pit, but it has been fun, and it was running.
The transmission was going to cost $2500, so I thought I would just put under a cover and see what to do next. Later a lot later.
But before I did that, I called Z to see what he would charge to rebuild a transmission.
To my surprise he had one there and was willing to put it in for a lot less than $2500.
I got Caleb to drive me out there. Follow me really. The whole way I was thinking about just putting under a cover and thinking about it later. I could manually shift it, if I wanted to drive it. The engine wasn’t going to need rebuilding right now. Etc.
Anyway, there was the transmission, and it was connected to an engine. An engine that had air condition, power steering, a bigger radiator (something that I needed). Z seemed excited about the possibility of putting the whole thing under the hood of the Nova.
It checked a lot of the wish list boxes.
So now I am all in on a new engine and transmission that came out of an SS Monte Carlo.
I think we are on track to make this Nova what I want. It has been a long journey. Not really. But wheeling and dealing. Taking people for a ride. So far, this car has been fun.
I may have found a focus to my writing, or I may have just had a lot to say. There is so much more. Maybe I will look back and tell the story.
I think the Nova needs a name.
Comments
Post a Comment