Nova Deck Lid Mounting

This weekend I finally got the mounts done for the deck lid. Of course I couldn’t do it the “easy” way and use the store bought dzus mounts, I had to make my own when turned in to a longer than expected project. One of the main reasons I used dzus rails instead of the store bought brackets was because the typical brackets you can buy would have placed the dzus fasteners on top of lip on the deck lid making them sit at an angle. I wanted to move the Dzus’s in a little so they could sit flat instead.

The dzus rails were made out of .060 thick mild steel and I bent the radius in them using an Eastwood Shrinker/Stretcher tool that Chris got me for Christmas (lucky me!). The shrinker tool is pretty cool and the making the first dzus rail wasn’t hard at all. Making the second one an exact duplicate of the first turned out to be a bit tougher! I also used a dimple die set from Jerry Bickle Race Cars to dimple the large holes, and made my own die to dimple the rivet holes so the deck lid would lay flat on the mount without rubbing on the rivets.

Due to the poor quality of the Advantage Fiberglass deck lid, I ended up using a few more Dzus’s than I wanted to just to make it sit down flat… you get what you pay for when it comes to fiberglass, so I can’t complain much. If I had it to do over again, I’d go ahead and spend a little more and get a Harwood, VFN or other better brand. In the end, it’s good enough for a race car, but not something I’d want to use on a street or show type car.

Next project is to build a rear wing which will hopefully help hook the Nova up a little better downtrack, and maybe make it a little more aerodynamic. Already got a full sheet of aluminum to work with, so put your ear plugs in – it’s time to start cutting!