The Restoration of Rally Rat

Lyle Reene's "Rally Rat" was born a 1972 Rally Nova at the Willow Run Plant of Chevrolet. It was tagged with the VIN# of 1X27H2W355101, and delivered to a small dealership in central Michigan.

After many years of single family ownership, it was purchased by Lyle Reene for the sole purpose of restoration because it was the twin sister to the first new vehicle he had ever owned. What follows is the pictoral history of this restoration from start to finsih.

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	Rally Rat as purchased in March of 1992, complete with rust and all. Not a bad vehicle to look at on the outside, but a lot of surprises were in store once gotten into. Note: The kitty didn't come with the car, she is a permanent fixture in the Reene family
	The Original Engine Compartment, What a nightmare.

March 1992

Son Jared in all his glory

	The Beginnings of the Restoration. Front clip was removed and pieces were stored

	Frame and Firewall were Sandblasted, Primed, and Painted for later reassembly, as well as all other front end parts and steering components.

April 1992 - August 1993

	Firewall was repainted Semi-Gloss Black and rear under carriage was stripped.
	During this time period, the rear quarter panels were also removed, the front part of the undercarriage was sandblasted and primed, and individual pieces and parts were completely refurbished.

In August of 1993, being out of room completely in the family garage, a new 30x40 garage was built to house the restoration activities. While this brought a halt completely to the restoration of Rally Rat, the additional room and facilities would be much appreciated once completed

October 1993

	With the completion of the new adjacent garage, Rally Rat was moved to its new home. (by means of an 8x8 beam and a not-so-sturdy floor jack)

November 1993 - November 1994

	Quarter panels were replaced along with rear panel, drivers side floor pan, and inner wheel wells, and the blocking and sanding was started.
	Rear half of undercarriage at that time was also completely sandblasted and primed

November 1994

Undercarriage was painted along with all other suspension components. The reinstallation was about to begin.

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	A 375 HP - 396 was assembled from scratch for Rally Rat boasting a 11:1 compression.
	During this period of time, the remainder of the body was completely stripped of paint using sand paper and good old fashioned "elbow grease", and the remainder of the body was prepared for paint
	Note: Having became antsy for some verification that things were really going to work, a few test "burnouts" were conducted in the driveway on Christmas Eve of 1994

January - March 1995

	Seeing the end in sight, every evening, weekend, and spare moment available was spent installing the engine, Muncie 4-speed transmission, 4:10 Posi rear end, and remainder of the drive train components.
	Once this was completed, the body was blocked and sanded over again until imperfections were eliminated.

March 1995 Having finsihed the blocking, along with the replacement of all interior parts, it was ready to paint. A full THREE years after initial disassembly.

	March 1995
	After a seal coat, Rally Rat was painted its original "Spring Green Metalic" color, in the original Dupont Lacquer

The Finished Product

Many thanks need to go out to a host of friends for helping me on this project, including my cousin Lee McCormick of Backwoods Products, Dave Jans and Bob Oleniczak from the Manistee Customs 'N' Classics Car Club, Dick Hoffman my favorite bodyman, Don Holmes from Urka Chevrolet, and last but most important, my sons Jason, Jonathan, and Jared, without whom this project would never have been undertaken, much less completed. Oh yes, and my wife Kris who put up with 3 years of dust, grease, and paint smell.

For those of you that are contemplating a restoration of this nature, the following speciality houses should be on your list. They carry many of the items you will need to complete such a venture. Also, if it's a Chevrolet you are restoring, don't forget your local Chevy Dealer. He can be a great source for many NOS parts, and a general wealth of information.

	Classic Industries 17832 Gothard St. Huntington Beach, CA 92647 800-854-1280
	J&W Nova Parts Rt2, Box 2165 Danville, VA 24540 804-685-4310
	National Nostalgic Nova PO Box 2344 York, PA 17405 717-252-4192
	The Paddock 221 W. Main St., Box 30 Knightstown, IN 46148 800-428-4319
	Year One, Inc. P.O. Box 129 Tucker, GA 30085 800-950-9503

Thanks For Visiting Rally Rat
And
Keep Cranking Up Those RPM