1972 Nova Project: Repairing The New Roof… Still.

Two weeks ago, I repaired the rear section of the “new” roof on the 1972 Nova project. This past weekend, I focused on the front passenger A-pillar, because like the rear, it was also trash. I began by cutting the rotted metal out with the cut off wheel.  I then bent a piece of steel at a 90 degree angle with a hammer & vice.  From there, I shrank the metal, which caused it to beautifully curve.  Then it was just a matter of MIG welding it to the existing roof and a-pillar, and grinding it smooth.  Once I am totally happy with it, I’ll soak the inside of it with some type of coating to prevent rust. After all, that’s what got us here in the first place.

Also – If you are enjoying this build, hating this build, have a question, or want to just shoot the breeze with us, leave a comment below. Without comments, we never know if this sort of topic is loved or hated!

Thanks,

-Jeremy

Jeremy Nutt

Hi, I'm Jeremy.

8 thoughts to “1972 Nova Project: Repairing The New Roof… Still.”

  1. Jeremy,

    Great information and nice nwork. I bought my son a 1970 Chevy Nova with quite a bit of rot in it. We are goinng to build it together and anmd hopefully have it ready for his 16th birthday. Where do you get your sheet metal and how much does it run? Thanks,John

    1. Hi John,
      My friend that owns the Nova bought all of the sheetmetal years ago, and I’m pretty sure that it came from a variety of places. If you have to replace the quarter panels on yours (hopefully you don’t), I would highly recommend the FULL quarter panel that goes right up to the roof skin. It would have been 1000x easier to do, and it would have come out much nicer. Good luck with the project, and make sure you document it so other people like me can follow along! 🙂
      -Jeremy

  2. Gotta ask where you found the car. It looks a lot like the condition of my dads 72 nova. Quarters were trashed and so was the floor and trunk pan. Had 70 fenders and made me wonder how the back window stayed in with all the rust around it. He sold it in 2002 in Minnesota. Moorhead to be exact. Hundred dollar car then. Been looking for it ever since.

    1. Hi Justin!
      This car has been in Massachusetts for a very long time. My friend has owned this car since 1997 I believe, and I was driving around in this car around 2001-02, so I’m confident that it isn’t the same one that you are after. Good luck in your search though! Old cars are tough to track down, I’ve tried it too!

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