Success!
I got more out of the fender than I initially thought I would.. Initial weight was 25.59 lbs, after removing the hood spring mount pieces, trimming the fender lip, removing the lip where the inner fender bolts on the front half, and drilling about a dozen lightening holes I ended up at 19.060 lbs, a savings of 6.53 lbs per side!
At this point I really don't see where I could get much more than a few more ounces out of it, unless I removed the rear brace completely. I thought about that one a while, if I removed it I would have to add a support for the fender to keep it from flopping around more than likely, which would very likely be a wash weight wise. So I'm going to stop here and be happy to have found 13.06 lbs of weight reduction for basically free!
Before I send the Nova off to the body shop to have last years guardrail rash fixed, I wanted to get the firewall all cleaned up. In addition to the heater holes, there are a bunch of small holes - both factory and other holes from things I've added and removed over the last 8 years messing with this ol' car.
First thing I did was strip all the wiring out of the car behind the dash, and everything off the firewall that didn't need to be there. I've been doing some wire brushing, sanding, etc. All the factory wiring harness is now out (that stuffs heavy!) and I'll be filling in all the excess holes with patch panels.
Next step I'm going to be removing the air boxes on the sides of the firewall to save a little bit of weight. They are no longer needed and hopefully will knock off 10 lbs or more. If possible I'm going to try and find a location for the dry sump tank somewhere behind the left front tire so I can move that weight rearward a little bit.