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since you guys helped me so much with my first ever paint experience I figured id post some pics of the "finished" product.

some befores. (it was in a garage fire with rattle can primer to cover the burn spots to prevent rust...it was a disaster)

and then some afters.... im please with how it turned out especially for my first body work attempt all while using a turbine instead of a traditional compressor... I appreciate yall helping me throughout the process... I love the color difference between sun and shade...looks like 2 different cars. The experience had its ups and downs and fair share of profanity but overall I enjoyed it and may consider doing more projects in the future. THANKS.

Yes Sir, that's one to be proud of!
Did you have a paint booth for the actual painting? And were you running air tools with a turbine?

thanks man!
this was all done in that sketchy garage. as far as im aware you cant run air tools with the turbine. i used the compressor to run a few sanders. most of the sanding was done by block. the compressor was also used for the primer but once i sprayed color it was evident the compressor wasnt gonna get it done. not big enough and loads of junk and moisture in the paint. The turbine worked better for my situation although i wouldve rather learned with the compressor...but at 5hp, 25gal 110v it was just too inconsistent to stick with.

looks great and sweet to see one of the less desired but still sweet cars revived.
funny how my first thought lookin at the pic from the rear( before pick):
that looks like a michigan plate. that bumper doesnt have enough rust orange color on it to be a michigan bumper."

what ya running for a powerplant?

Well, I think it looks great! You too can be a poster child for turbine spraying, I've been told for 37 years now that it can't work on cars, you know........


And, hey, what is under that hood????

haha you are correct! its a Michigan bumper LOL. I am not 100% certain of the history of the car. Its not mine. Its actually my Gf of 7years.
Apparently she bought it in great condition (I seen pics of it before it got toasted.) had it in the garage and her ex was "welding with his eyes closed" on another car that was in the garage.
as you can guess that led to the backseat going up in flames, creating a full blown car fire...lighting the garage on fire. The garage went on to burn up around the Nova. Fire fighters were using the car as a step stool to put the flames out and tear down the smoldering ceiling. Putting even more damage into the car.
fast forward to where I come in the picture. Like you said... this body style nova is kind of an outcast and not really appealing to most.. so it sat and sat and sat in the "before" picture condition. Then I got some free time so I figured id get it going and see how she runs.. turned out it was actually a pretty fun car to drive. She wanted to pay for it to be redone but I couldn't justify spending like 10k for someone to fix THIS particular car. so I decided id give it a shot because I got tired of seeing it sit there in such a sad condition. Probably jumped in way over my head for my first body work experience...and I mean all the way FIRST... never did bondo, primer or anything before this..

As far as the motor all I really know is its a 355 crate engine. Demon carb. With the Borla exhaust system its got a nice deep tone.
idk who built it or installed it....whoever did it put the MSD box inside the car on the passenger floor which I thought was extremely odd. Now that the outside is pretty I will clean up the engine bay next and rearrange some things.


n haha Darrel, well it definitely can work. I cant say much in how it compares to an appropriate compressor set up... but It got the job done for me in my sketchy garage LOL

cool story,d3r and i dont think the car would be the same without it. awesome work for your first time ever.
maybe its my age( 51) but quite a few of them early/mid 70's vehicles i find pretty sweet. i still think a mid 70s plymouth volare could be turned into a pretty sweet ride.
just in case yer thinkin about yer next project.

Hahah idk... I guess its OK.. I kept tryin to talk her into letting me find a older nova or chevy II roller to put the motor in and scrap this body. (now im glad I didn't and got to learn from the process) Im 28 but my Father is a mopar guy. So I enjoy the 60's Dodge n Plymouths the most...those are a little out of my price range to find and tinker on at the moment though so if I do decide to do another project it might just be one of those awkward mid 70's cars like this one! haha.

looks good ! good job

Whats going on with the 55 or 56 behind it in that one picture?
Thats the one I would be looking at doing next