75 Nova

A number of firsts for me on this one.
First domestic worth mentioning
Oldest car I've owned, beating out my 83 Starlet
Second V8 car.

Picked her up for a goodly amount under challenge money, haven't had any surprises yet.
PO put a 305 in her, with "$2k in Summit parts in it"...
I'm certainly enjoying the cam, those noises please me. Hopefully he'll email me back with some more specifics
(it's not that I wasn't listening, I was just excited and... don't know anything about domestics)

Initial list of things to do:
Replace or reupholster front seat. (ladies won't dig the bedsheet I reckon)
Replace front right blinker bulb
Sort out the idle, she dies without gas sometimes.
(this is the interesting one, as I've never so much as touched a carb before)
Whatever you guys recommend.

Longer term list:
Question mark.

Something along these lines would be nice.

I'm not a fan of that style of wheel
(though it would appear that puts me in the minority, no news there though)
but am on-board with the rest of what I'm seeing.
Calling it a hunch that that car has consumed quite a bit more budget than mine will though.

Haven't done anything with her today, aside from taking advantage of the bench seat to give two young ladies a ride.
Nice perk over my miata, room for multiple (female) passengers!

I would look into the Diso Nova project for some inspiration.

http://www.carcraft.com/projectbuild/ccrp_0508_1977_chevy_nova/

I wouldn't spend much money on the 305 to make it go. There are some junkyard hope-ups that could help but if you are going to spend much money finding a 350 makes more sense.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/305-v8-performance/15039/page1/

Don't be afraid of the carb. Get the manual and a rebuild kit (if the car has been sitting) and tear it apart. They are not that bad. You might also replace the closed fuel filter (and move off the exhaust manifold) and add a wire filter before the fuel pump and a cloth filter after, both in clear housings. This will let you enjoy seeing all the parts flaking off the inside of your tank (or fuel lines).

My $0.02, find a replacement black interior and swap, black out all the chrome, paint the stock wheels and spend $50 at Jegs/Summit/etc. for new valve covers and air filter cover. That and a powerwash will clean up that engine bay quickly.

I always say "more tire. more hood, more motor"

but the sleeper look is also cool: 1160 HP

F-body suspension goodies bolt right on. You'll have to use the proper combination of 1st and second gen parts.

My father in law had one of these. Beloved it but sold when they had their second kid, my wife. We still watch the ads to check for them from time to time. They're cool cars.

to the OP: is that the fuel filter practically laying on top of the passenger side exhaust manifold? you're gonna want to relocate that ASAP. could have performance and health implications....

Thanks guys!

93Civic: I've seen that thread and was not planning on anything under the hood but cleaning and maintenance until there's something different in there.

Hobie: Cool cool, being back up to two cars means that I can leave one in pieces without having to put everything back together every night, makes for much more relaxing wrenching...
much more conducive to taking my time learning black arts like carburation
Blacking everything out has crossed my mind (looks over at box of plastidip spray cans)

GHO: That's what I've been reading, though I haven't found a comprehensive guide just yet.

Angry: Yeah, that hasn't escaped my notice, simply escaped my posted list of things to do.

Progress so far: Replaced the burnt out blinker bulb.
May have sorta resorted to pulverizing the old bulb since the damn thing wouldn't come out, but got it done.

Do you know what kind of carb it has?

Its likely an edelbrock or carter afb from where the fuel inlet is.

Nice!

Wrong body style, but you're just some paint and a hood ornament away from the Death Proof Nova.

Just try not to drill holes for the rubber duck

Nicksta and TravK: I'm (just) savvy enough to read serial numbers, it's an Edelbrock 1406
Seems like a lot of parts.

Junkyard: The thought had crossed my mind. Several times.
Might send the wrong message, though it could lend me just the air of danger I need.

Edelbrocks are pretty easy carbs to work with. I had a 1406 on my 86 GMC. If your planning on rebuilding it just take your time and be organized in a nice clean workspace when pulling it apart.

I have a 1406 on my Bronco. Great carb and they are not that difficult to rebuild. Nicksta is right, just have a good clean area and plenty of room to lay out the parts. Some carb cleaner and compressed air and you will be in good shape. Advance Auto normally has the rebuild kits in stock.

One thing you definitely want to look at is what jets are currently installed. HERE is a link to the manual. You will want to review page 23 to see how you are currently jetted. 1406's come stock with very fat jets. I'm running a non-bored 302 with higher than stock compression heads, a torquey cam and a performer intake manifold and I backed down both my main and secondary jets and changed the metering rods and springs to get it to idle and run the best. Edelbrock sells a jet kit with all the jets/metering rods you would want if you need to make any changes. You may not but if you have the carb apart, make notes of what your current setup is so you know what changes you could easily make.

Thanks Hobie!
I will admit, I'm not entirely sure how to decipher the chart...
including the part where it looks like '1' is on there twice.
I'm guessing it'd be worth my while to buy a full jet kit rather than guessing and buying a couple combinations and trying to mix and match?

Luckily, my roommate seems to be spending all her time at work or her BF's place these days, she might not even notice if I take over the dining room table for a while.

Progress update the second:
Started cleaning up the interior, am pleasantly surprised at how nice the back seat is, especially considering how torn up the front bench is.
Also, possibly the nicest condition headliner I've owned.

Thumbs up for the 70s GM Project

My first car was a '75 Nova. Strangely, I think I miss it for reasons even beyond associating it with the dear, departed friend from whom I bought it and to whom I traded it back for a pair of Rock Shox...

I do not miss the three on the tree, but you don't have that problem

Tig: Thanks! I'm hoping to keep the progress coming with as much grassroots as possible, so apologize in advance for some inevitable swearing and rants.

Ransom: still undecided if I want to undergo a trans swap when I get around to replacing the engine...
the auto is MUCH less of a dealbreaker than it would be on something like my miata, and having to shift between the legs of any hypothetical person riding in the middle isn't so terrible to me.

On the topic of the auto, is there anything that can/should be done to keep it going or improve it at all?
This is the first time I've had a non-appliance with an auto, new territory for me.

Progress for the day: Got her registered! Got her on my insurance! Almost got around to diagnosing a rattle from the left rear, then rugby practice happened.
I'll get her off the ground and take a look tomorrow.

SnowMongoose wrote: On the topic of the auto, is there anything that can/should be done to keep it going or improve it at all? This is the first time I've had a non-appliance with an auto, new territory for me.

Shift kit, basically a set of valve body mods that firm up the shifts and helps the transmission handle more power. Not sure who makes the best one for GM; in the Mopar world,Trans-Go has a good reputation.

Nice car, I like it.

I'd first clean or paint the wheels. Then I would take your time and find a 4 speed and a 5.3 or 4.8 LSx truck motor. Then megasquirt or carb it.

In reply to MadScientistMatt:

Would you put a shift kit in the factory trans, or would you go looking for a four-speed automatic donor like a late-80's Caprice and work on a swap? If he gets the right trans, it should be a drop in as far as the crossmember and driveshaft are concerned, right?