1978 Sterling Nova Gets A Much Needed Bath

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Time to get that yuck off…

The 1978 Sterling Nova was an incredibly unique and rare kit car that combined performance and styling from some of the best custom engineers in the world at that time. Today we don’t see many left of them because, as most cars usually do, a lot of them were crashed, scrapped, or parted out for a different project. However this particular vehicle managed to stay alive with the same iconography that it was known for in it’s prime, even though it has a little bit more dirt than you might expect. That’s because it’s been sitting in the garage since 1985, a fate that no automobile could survive in pristine condition. The hope is that the deep detail and clean will restore the car somewhat to its former glory and set it on the right path for a full restoration in the future. So how did the detailer do?

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The first step in the process was to lift the roof off the car as there were no doors to be opened. While it might sound like something that you would consider to be a downside if you were restoring an old vehicle, this kit car was specifically designed to not have side entrance or exit ways.This probably has a lot to do with the fact that it was built off of the Volkswagen chassis of the beetle which is something you probably wouldn’t expect looking at the exterior of the car because if it’s very large body. As soon as they lifted the roof off the car one thing became abundantly clear, this was the home of some ultra creative mice.

Using random fibers and bits of cloth found throughout the interior of the car, the mice had built themselves a nice little home which surely kept them comfortable in this old piece of history. Eventually the mouse’s reign had to be discontinued as the detailer found out when he found the corpse of said rodent before getting to work extensively on the interior. Using tri-clean to fully kill any and all bacteria they might be lurking while also removing dust and grime from the decades of sitting. The interior turned out to be a really stunning piece, even if the mechanical nature of the car is otherwise currently out of working order. Even the exterior looks as good as new after some foaming and deep cleaning proving that there is always potential even when you don’t expect it. When cleaning, the interior and exterior of the vehicle were both heavily treated and revived to as good of condition as you could possibly imagine without getting into repainting and bodywork. Like a good detailer should, the dedicated enthusiasts working on this vehicle decided to refrain from going too heavy in order to keep the paint In really good condition. Despite the obvious constraints of the car's deterioration, this detail was able to do something that seemed possible at the start and for that they should be proud of the incredible work that made this car ready to begin its new life on the road.

Motorious would like to thank FindingOldCars.com for providing a content on vehicles left in fields, barns, wrecking yards, swamps, and backyards are a homage to days gone by. In some cases there is value to the wreckage left in the boneyard for restoration and then in other cases it's simply the artistic value of the photography. Finding Old Cars is on a mission to give these cars a place in the modern world.

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