ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.พ. 2025
- Replacing the Tail Light panel on the Budget Chevy nova Build.
I wanted to patch the old one but it was too far gone. My buddy had a new tail panel I could grab so I made it happen. Budget is almost gone but I should be able to get it done without going over by too much.
These are awesome vids! Very helpful, informative and inspiring for those wanting to restore their dream car
Thank you!!
No doubt you know alot about fixing these cars, But, protect your EARS
Looks good. Good call leaving those unattached for easier quarters. Take care John
Enjoying this build
Like always exellent work my friend... Cant wait to see that nova back on the road. Keep up the great work bud, big shout out to you from México.
Thanks Juan. I appreciate you.
🤘 keep up the great work man. There will be one more nova back on the road Way to go man
nice how are the trunk gaps looking? My 74 tail pan was terrible.
Not sure. Haven’t mounted trunk lid yet. The 73/74 tail panels don’t fit well at all. My 73 took a ton of work to just be ok.
@@Shop209 yeah I had to slice n dice mine. ai am happy with it now but it was a ton of work
Nice work on the Tail panel John! Coming along nicely! You have a great skillset brother! I need the tail panel on my 69 done also,…looks like they all rust out on that lower lip area. You’re motivating me to finish up on my 70’s brakes and get it road worthy again! Keep and the good work and keep us posted,,.. be safe,..ttyl
Thanks!! Working on the car right now!!
Sucks that you had to replaced the whole piece but glad you did I have an idea now what I’m gonna see when I do mine
As a '68 Nova owner I TRULY appreciate seeing these videos and I continue to learn something new all the time. My '68 was (and still is) my first full project car and I'd love to hear how you might go about repairing/replacing that trunk gutter for the weather stripping?
Actually I tried making a piece but couldn’t get it just right without a TON of work. So I cut a piece off of a quarter panel that was replaced on another car. I’ll have a video of the deck filler and trunk rail in next week or so
@@Shop209 Yeah, I had purchased some stand alone channels, but they're straight pieces and like you said would require a TON of work to get it right. I think the only 'good' option would be to get decent replacement metal with the gutter and then square cut it out and weld in. Anyways, looking forward to the videos... keep 'em coming.
She's gonna be a shaweet nova. I'm diggin the build.
Awesome job!! Thanks for giving me the confidence to tackle my nova!!!
You’re welcome!!
How sweet it must be to have a clamp style spot welder.
I am doing rosette or plug welds on all of it.
Good work....nice video.
Thanks. It has its limitations but I’m building some more tongs to make it more versatile.
Coming along great John!!!
You are very talented!…love your show…….
The Tail panel install came out great !! Good job! New Sub!
I put 71 nova tail lights in My 76 Nova just to confuse people LOL
That’ll do it. Lol
One more step done ✅ keep at it your doing great! What’s next?
Engine video is next then probably the last bit of rust repair. Then subframe build
This video very informative for me. The trick with cutting the gutter rails saves me time and dough. One question is you said you had to melt brass/lead out of the lower outer corners. Is that just patience with propane bottle ? I just don’t want to damage or distort good metal. Good vids.
Yeah. It doesn’t take much heat to melt the lead. Don’t boil it. That releases poison gas. Just barely get it hot enough to melt and scrape with wire brush. It will mostly fall off when it gets hot.
Love the vids I am restoring a 70. I’m keeping the exterior factory looking but going with a cammed ls2/ t56 set up. By any chance do you do any work on the side ? I noticed my tail panel has had a small fender bender incident in the past. I’d rather replace it.
Can`t seem to get an answer to this qustion so i am now reaching out to the Nova God lol. The center roof brace how is the sckin connected to the center brace. I have a little oil canning going on there when i sand. Mine has a gap across the whole thing . ty Merry Christmas.
Lol. It isn’t connected. There’s some flexible foam that is between them. You can find it at auto body suppliers. Have a great Christmas!
The part where the taillight panel is, do you use a wire wheel to clean it up, and get rid of must of the rust then use Cor15 to protect the part to be welded on?.
I use rustoleum rust converter. I have used weld thru primer in past and I don’t like it plus it really hasn’t worked well for me.
5 hrs of work!!! This would take me a solid 20 haha
Thanks for the info I've got to do mine!
Great vid
Thanks!
Is the spot welder worth it or would it be just as well to plug weld with a MIG?
Great video
I'm starting to think that wire wheel in your drill is your favorite tool! ;-)
Lol
NOVA 's AWESOME !! btw i sent you a facebook message .. about these ol'chevy nova's
When you put the tail panel in is there any kind of sealant that goes between panels to keep water out
You should be putting seam sealer on the joints unless you fully weld them. Factory used seam sealer on those joints.
@@Shop209 does the seam sealer go on after they are welded together what keeps water from seeping under the panel and laying there and eventually rusting I'm talking from the outside
@@bblacklin8890 I put it on after it is welded and primed. It is basically caulking the joint.
@@Shop209 thank you I really like the videos
I have a74 nova it was born with a6 cylinder I have replaced everything on the front end except Springs front end is still soft do I need bigger springs? For a v8
Probably not unless you’re running a big block. I have bought several sets of new small block springs and they sit too high and are stiff.
Then something is wrong with front its to soft I have replaced everything any suggestions would be helpful ps I don't want it to sit low in the front
Is this the same mounting points as a 73 nova? I found one that I'd have to do a lot of work on the body, because Pennsylvania. But, I'm figuring that the72 and 73 have a decent amount of interchangeable parts.
The tail light panel is different but changing the 73 is pretty much just like changing the 68-72. It is mounted the same. Just not straight across bottom.
use weld thru primer
I have used it before and it always makes it aggravating to weld. Maybe I’m doing it wrong.
Why cut everything out like that? It’s much easier to drill the spot welds in the first place, whether it’s a tail panel, floor pan, or roof skin. And ALWAYS fit your trunk lid before welding a tail light panel in. The quarter can relax and move even 1/8 of an inch when the panel is removed, and you’ll never get your panel gaps right.
First, thanks for watching.
Second, to me, it’s easier to get to all the spot welds with the large parts of the panel out of the way.
Third, As far as the panels all moving, this obviously isn’t the kind of build where I’m worried about perfect panel alignment and gaps. Whoever ends up with this car will either enjoy it as is or will replace quarters and whole trunk. Therefore making it not a big deal if the tail light panel is off a little at this point. I appreciate your input though.
How far are we away from Daytona now ?
350 miles and two weeks. Lol. Gonna be a long weekend.
Where are you located
Georgia
I'm in South Carolina. I have a 72 nova that needs body work like floor pans lower rear quarters with me eyes I think the work isn't bad or you taking clients
For insurance reasons I can’t work on anyone else’s stuff. I’d love to but I can’t get cars that I don’t own covered by my policy if something happens while on my property.
@Shop209 understand thank for your honesty
.