I follow this thread anywhere,lol. Sweet build

 

10: Was out at 7hr 30min. Not too bad. Went pretty smooth. Starting tear down now. Fingers crossed all is well internally

11: Wow what a day... I got everything and a little more accomplished then I thought I would today! Engine is out obviously, I finally got to finish the compression test on the passenger side (both banks have avg of 180 cold), got the trans separated from the engine and was able to look at the clutch and flywheel which are both toast and even had time to pull both valve covers and inspect and install trans and engine on their carts! Everything in this engine looks great! I'm not sure it's the stock 198k mile engine but if it is I have to take my hat off to Chevy. Great engine! All I need to do now is clean up the garage that looks like a bomb went off and inventory parts for sale, I need like a bunch of beers and some aspirin..

12: Finally got the correct horn button for the Nova.. old one was wrong but stayed in with electrical tapes assistance. This one is perfect fit!

13: Took the tint off the nova and it looks like a normal car now! Only took us like an hour with the help of a clothes steamer. Thanks youtube.

14: I don't know how long it's been like this (I assume a while) but the engine in the nova had two holes for a dipstick. One in pan and one in block. The unused one wasn't plugged... With a good sized bolt and some jb-weld it is now

15: Got new tires today and sent the old (one) to tire heaven... The two things posted here aren't exactly unrelated though...In the full video I did a donut first which stressed the front wheel bearing on the passenger side to its breaking point apparently... After tires were replaced, on the way home the wheel started smoking and making a nasty noise.. And a tow was necessary

16: Finally got a glovebox for the Nova! It's the little things in life I swear

17: First cool aftermarket parts for the Nova!!! They are LS brake caliper adapters to fit the nova spindle. Thanks for the quick shipping #churchboysracing and I'll be talking to you soon about bigger boxes #ls4door

18: When 1967 meets 2016... this is for carb tuning for those not in the know...

19: Going to its new home. Had to pay a guy $50 on craiglist! No one would take it for free. Sheesh

 

20: Welllll. It was a long day. And hottest it's been all year by a good margin.... Which led me to keep the garage door closed to keep the heat out while I; wire wheeled, sand blasted, brake cleaned, primer'd and eventually painted the heater core box pieces for the Nova. It apparently smelled so bad in the garage that the wife had to come out from the house and tell me to open the garage door. Of course by that point my nose was filled with chemicals and I was dancing 'round the garage to the music not realizing I was slowly getting high off VOC's lol like I said it's been a long day lol restoration is a SLOW process unless you buy everything new...

21: So the first 95% went like gang busters with the wire wheel! After that i had to worry about the paint around the valve stem. Mostly just got the big crap and then sanded the edges smooth to blend with the new paint as it has beauty rings anyways. Going to take about 6 hours to get the other 3 done to this point tomorrow. But it's needed as the purple HAS TO GO!

22: Well well well.. This may just be too nice for the Nova! For now anyways and as my wife always tells me... "Don't just get the cheapest one get the right one and do it once! "Ok honey if you insist"

23: Alright top or bottom? I think the wheels without the caps look bigger, with the centers it looks incomplete without the rings, and when I hold up the beauty rings with the centers they look even smaller. Granted they are 15's but you don't have to tell everyone lol

24: Together we got the LS mounted up on the stand. Gonna be pressure washing it as soon as the new intake comes in.

25: I sprayed the whole thing down in #wd40. Gonna leave it for a few days. Already seems to be doing the trick on this muck.

26: Oh boy, mr ups man knows just what I like! #brownsanta? We've got the following: aluminum spun drop base air cleaner and cheap filter (cause tight budget for now), gaskets, freeze plug and oil galley plug set, valley pan (with no knock sensor holes), trick flow chain dampener for using ls3 dampener on ls1, and carb lift plate. Much more on its way next week

27: That took some time, but was totally worth it

28: it's all so beautiful.... I even got a SWEET car show t-shirt!!! Can't wait to get it installed. Gonna be a few weeks before its complete though.

29: Well that's definitely the oldest car I have ever done a suspension on. Luckily Chevys leak from ever pore so nothing was stuck on TOO bad... It was an experience for sure... I'm beat and ready for tomorrow when I rip out all the hard brake lines in the car and remake them....oh it's not that bad because after all this the nova is gonna rip around corners (and stop occasionally)

 

30: After much deliberation I went dual plane. Might not look as cool but.... The 44ftlb increase under 5k rpm over the single plane victor Jr. Will sure feel cool!

31: Boy.... What a great time... Got out to do some work tonight...and ended up drilling a hole in my radiator... wasn't aware it needed another hole but apparently it did. Luckily it wasn't so bad it can't be repaired but still took about 30-45min to clean up the mess, remove the radiator and get back to work... Which tonight was drilling out frame rivets for stock suspension mounts... Which consists of marking with punch, pilot drilling, (cause I actually snapped my step bit at the shank ) one size larger then pilot, and then the final size bit to get the rivet just drilled... Then use an air chisel to rip the head off and then work on the next one... I got 5 done tonight... "it's a project car... One project at a time"

32: Tonight was pretty eventful. Used a technique a buddy told me about with cutting a cross in the head of the rivets and then chiseling them off. Worked great! So I took the master cylinder and brake lines off (since I have the wilwood going on), then I started getting into other things like the steering box... Since I'm going to rack and pinion it's not needed anymore... Well in 67 I guess they didn't envision a lot of folks changing their steering box or column (got an ididit column on the way as well) as I can't get the two separated... So I'll have to go rent a ball joint separator/pickle fork to get the two split. Once that's done... All I have left is to remove all the brakes lines and start replacing those and then I can start putting NEW parts on

33: It's not a lot... But it's my first double flair brake line and it came out perfect, and that makes me happy

34: Got a lot done today! The box of parts is all the old ****. I need to weigh it and see if the new stuff weighs less... anyways.. I got 98% of the brakes lines made front to rear and installed, the master cylinder mocked up and pushrod depth set correctly, cleaned the brake parts that need sent to the machinist to fit the Camaro brakes on the Nova spindles and I even had time to lower the car by cutting 1/2 a coil. The coil overs I want don't fit in the budget just yet.. But soon this next week I get to start putting on clean stuff! So excited!

35: Oh what do we have here... Some complications?! Why yes... First problem is the rack and pinion is hitting the front sump oil pan they had to use on SBC's with power steering in the 60's... The oil pan gasket IS leaking anyways but since this is the temporary engine I didn't want to spend anymore money on it. Which means I don't want to buy a new oil pan.. I'm thinking a little "clearancing" with a hammer will fix it. But hammering on an oil pan makes me feel weird... Next potential issue cause I don't have my ididit column yet is the steering shaft path.. Red circle is where it needs to go and the green line is the path it's on. The kit comes with two borgensen joints so maybe.. But they also don't recommend these headers with this suspension setup... Sooooo that LS swap is looking mighty good right about now as none of this is a problem with the LS1

36: Well that took a while; I was supposed to be resting today from the activities of yesterday.... But I found an 8.8 with 4:10's and a limited slip that's gonna really wake up the Nova.. it was the only one out of like 30 explorers I found in 2 different wrecking yards. 4:10's are a rare option usually needed for high capacity towing which not a lot of people do with explorers.

37: Got the Nova/Camaro parts back from the machine shop.. that means front brakes are getting installed this weekend. Or Monday

38: Well I made a couple new friends and a couple new enemies in the neighborhood but my #ls1 is clean as hell! This time just power wash and "super clean" with a scrub brush. I'm a little pissed that I let some dirty water sit on the BRAND NEW out of the box intake manifold and it stained the aluminum, gonna have to google how to get that out... But overall a successful and most importantly stress free day

 

39: Well the mockup phase is complete and as expected everything fit perfectly. #churchboysracing really does make an awesome product. Thinking I will blow it all apart and redo the fender wells since they are pretty bad... Original 67 under there. But that's for another day as I'm relaxing and watching Jon Wick

40: Finally the Nova's new column is here! Super stoked #ididit stuff is really nice. Also will be nice to have tilt wheel

41: Driving dads car on Father's Day - I lost my father suddenly in Feb of 2016 shortly after I purchased the Nova. We had plans on doing power tour together among other awesome events. My mother gave me his Cobra after he passed and I flew home to drive it for a week while visiting. That man taught me everything I know about cars and computers and he will forever be missed...

42: Only took us 4 hours! Wife did great and possibly turned more bolts then me! Glad to have the boat anchor of an engine out. Can't wait to sip that #ls1 in there

43: Well that turned out better then I anticipated! She's for sale btw. 20k miles, complete turn key 350/th350 (everything here plus carb, alternator, etc) for $2250

44: Stoked!! Hopefully the car is done by the time the plates are lol #ls4door

45: Pieces coming together

46: Ah the changing of the guard...

47: It's moments like this that I really miss my dad. He was a true car guy that I could call that would be as excited as I am right now.... Oh well.. He's watching somewhere and cheering me on (although he did say he wanted me to keep an old style SBC in this thing... Weight savings was too hard to pass up) Anyways I'm done for the next week or so as I have plans with my honey. Glad to have gotten this far already. Now I have something at least to look at and drool on #ls4door

48: Saved $20 patching the diff cover that pick a part tried to ruin (that's how tight my budget is and I figured why not?). Later down the road I will get a girdle braced cover for the drag strip but for now I just need the car driving.... I then scrubbed and pressure washed the diff for its date with a shorten'er tomorrow

 

49: While the cat is away.... I got some **** done... Pulled the tank and crossed my fingers that the build sheet was on it and that it wasn't rusty... Only got one of my wishes at least I don't have to buy a new tank though. It's got a little rust but it's just surface and not coming off it doesn't look like. As for the build sheet I assume it was lost long ago as this tank has someone's handwriting "63 nova" and I have a 67.. Anyways I replaced the 5/16 sender with a 3/8 to feed the beast. Got a little more work to do before I collapse of heat stroke lol

50: So we have the drivers side with all the dings... I thought that would be the hardest side since it has the steering shaft... Ohhhh no the side with the truck on it and the clearance issues is the passenger and I have to actually bend the entire first tube out of the way somehow. Taking ideas... I heated it up with my propone torch but I think I need two of them at both ends

51: Just needs a couple coats of paint and reassembly and then it's ready for its meeting with a certain green 4 door nova... #ls4door anyone have recommendations on a good differential spray paint?

52: Everything inside the blue "square" has got to go..

53: A 2001 Camaro radiator now fits in the Nova. My cuts were ugly put I'll fix it in the boxing up of the hole.

54: 1 step forward and 2 steps back sometimes.. fixed the first passenger side pipe and then found that once that's out of the way the 2nd pipe hits the shock towers really hard also...so it needs cut and moved in with a tighter bend.. good thing I bought 8 feet of header tubing and I like a challenge.

55: Found an incredible deal on new seats for the Nova. Forced my hand to buckets. I loved the bench seat but for auto cross and track duty and even safety it didn't make sense. Plus the t56 stock shift location from an fbody Camaro would have put the shifter basically in the middle of the bench seat. At $400 to relocate to the forward shift location on the trans, new seats was a better option for us they are "Scat procar rally"

56: Just when I thought I was having a great day in the garage... I had both of the headers in... The passenger side after MAJOR (for a first timer) modification I got it fitting VERY well. Was riding on cloud 9... So I said alright the exhaust is in let's make sure it all clears with the new suspension. FML... Top pic is the current situation... The steering shaft is trying to go right through the first two pipes.... Even with the bends I have I'm not sure how the hell thats ever gonna work out... may be repositioning everything and still denting the **** out of both of those two tubes

57: Ok it's voting time... Pick a placement for the two turn signals, high beam and parking brake LED's. Also the fake carbon fiber on the surround will be covered over with flat or semi gloss black. oh yea and god damn I'm happy with these gauges!!!!

58: Not mad at that at all thanks everyone for the input on location of lights... ultimately I went with the two center on the bottom because I'll be adding a shift light one day to the top.

 

59: Rebuilt the power steering pump tonight. I hope that saved me $75 #shoestringbudget with #autometer and #speedparts lol

60:Finally! Sbc350 is out and I'm ordering the final parts (I hope) to finish the Nova!!! Now all I have to do is actually do the work and installs lol

61:80mil floor sound and heat insulation ?? hopefully 18sqft is enough. I think it will it's just a tiny nova.

62: One down one to go ?

63:Never did I think I would need 6 bends to get that done ? fits great and the best part is I made that **** myself! That's what I call opening your hood with pride I'll probably upgrade to stainless headers from #churchboysracing years down the road but for now those just don't fit in the budget. Happy to be "done" with the fit up. Gonna tack it all together and check fitment again and then actually move on to a different part of the car ? what a journey

64: And tonight we rebuild a carb. Holley 750cfm vacuum secondary. 3310-10 (4160 series). This is my first rebuild

65: Uhhh wow. It appears as though the zinc coating was coming off of the inside of the secondary float bowl. That **** was bubbled and pretty nasty. Gonna price out a vacuum secondary bowl (since it's different from the 4150's and not drilled for the valve on the bottom of the bowl) and another carb rebuild kit. The one I had was from my dads collection from the 80's and was the stock vacuum secondary style kit that had a single inlet and transfer tube.

66:Oh yes ? more parts have started to arrive...

67: Ok we have...... Weld in subframe connectors, -6 power steering hose and fitting, axle bearing, shift boot, valve springs, battery cut off switch and connectors, firewall battery bulkhead, weld through primer, exhaust paint, and seam sealer. ? there's a lot more coming tomorrow

68: What a day, what a day.. seats made it, clutch made it (all be it with a broken throw out bearing), and I went to industrial metal supply which is always a good time! We're less then 5 pieces away from having literally everything I need to assemble and finish the car. And 4 of those things are wheels/tires

 

69: Fresh out of the bag. They look and feel great. Many weeks till I get to mount them but it's all a process and we just have to be patient ?

70: Hmm what could this be for?

71: That was easier than it should have been lol

72: Ok great ? cut more then I needed but I had a rust hole to remove... We have the driveshaft angle at 3* and gonna start working on the cross member now ? #ls4door is going well today so far

73: screenshot from video Continued to be a nice productive day in the garage to the end got the cross member made and welded. Gonna clean it up and paint it tomorrow. It's the center from the ls1 Camaro cross member, and the body mount side from the 67 extended and then mated together with 1/4 plate

74: Diff going in today... Strange thing though the location where the spring perches mount to the axle tube tapers down on one edge. Should I just fill that in with some bent plate and then weld the spring perch to the plate? Never seen that issue before.

75:First have to start out by saying thank you to my wife... I don't normally get two days a weekend to work on the car and I got a lot accomplished and I'm very thankful for her watching the boy..... So I started with fitting the differential cause I was going to weld on the spring mounts... Well as you see in the top right photo the axle tube tapers at the end on both sides and one of those sides is where I need to mount to. Soooo brother Jason and I decided best idea was to fill in space with a curved hunk of 1/4 plate. Only issue is I don't have any curbed 1/4 plate lol but I have to curbed piece of flat stock now so I make those only to realize I can't set the pinion angle and burn in the mounts until I have all the weight on the suspension ? so that brings us to the top left photo...since I have to have custom wheels made and I'm not ready to measure for them yet this is the next best thing Also I REALLY need to get the damn garage cleaned out, I can't be opening an engine with all the metal grit everywhere like there is currently... Gonna make the rest of the wheels this week and then hopefully at some point next weekend get the car on the ground ??

76: Got my custom length msd 8.5mm wires ? these are needed on an LS when relocating the coil packs from the valve covers

77: Well the boxes of parts for #ls4door shouldn't be getting any bigger then this... Which IF you listen to my wife it's already too much. ?

78: Picked up some new wheels from home depot!

 

79: some good words here

80: Testing fitting dad's wrench I plan to use for the shifter. It's a little tall currently.. I'm thinking maybe 1/2 to 3/4 that height. It's a 1" craftsman. You know cause if you're not first... you're last..

81: I think the last time I fit the radiator I had a little more room.. engine must have been angled cause the floor wasn't cut... Good news is I think it'll be just fine. All be it a little tight

82: Got some cushion for the pushin today

83: When you don't have a metal workbench or a proper welding fixture and you wanna prevent warpage...

84:While the headers are off mr ups man dropped me some stuff. My new power steering pulley as the old one was cracked and res cap cause the old one didn't even have a gasket... Gee I wonder why it leaked everywhere onto the alternator

85: Cleaning diff and preping for paint. Shop that shortened the tubes welded them for me and did a GREAT job!

86: Didn't need more then one but they only print in sheets once I get the mount made and welded up I'll post a pic of the whole thing together should look sweet (literally) with coolant in the bottle.

87: Got my $25 eBay oil separator today. Gonna be adding some baffling to the inside with a few tricks to keep it on level with the expensive stuff

88: Made my coil relocation setup. Not going to be able to put them where I wanted (tucked in a nook by the firewall on either side) because of the proximity to the headers.. But luckily I have enough wire to put them almost anywhere lol. So seeing as how I got black wires I think they will hardly be noticeable on either side of the radiator on the frame rails...

 

89: if anyone is even a little hesitant to buy a #Holley please don't be. They just warrantied an 11 year old carb because it had a defect! they sent me the brand new 4160 series 750cfm hotness for the #ls4door super excited!!

90: The start of my wire frame mockup for trans tunnel; #ls4door I didn't have tig wire so I improvised and used house wiring that I had a large roll of. Mig doesn't stick to solid copper unless it's very hot.

91:Well that's probably pretty hard to see but I think it came out great for my first wire frame... I'm gonna make the paper template and call it a night but I'm very pleased

92: Ok this is confusing... I feel like when transferred to metal I'm not gonna have those contours easily or without a lot of hammering....Someone good with sheet metal tell me what's gonna happen when I transfer that. Will it just bind in those "corners"?

93: There will be another post later with more pics but this is a two stage oil catch can now, where it was just a can with two inlets previously. The inlet gets a tube that points down to an angled piece in the bottom so that oil vapor can accumulate on the surface. The air is then forced up into the second chamber where it meets a stainless substrate that will force the air passing through, to accumulate its remaining oil into the filter. From that filter is goes to a 2nd less effective outlet filter that will keep the 1st filters particles from reaching the engine if it comes apart. Super technical stuff here

94: And there it is complete.. I blew through it and didn't notice and obstruction... haha I'm very happy with how it turned out.. Now just have to mount it and plumb it..

95: 2nd clutch shipment at least had all the parts.. Though the pilot bearing is a little worse for wear, it will work.

96: Used my #por15 trial kit tonight. Must say other then the provided brush laying bristles in my paint this stuff is sweet! Goes on like hot butter, auto leveling works great, and has awesome coverage. Gonna give it a 2nd coat and let it dry all night and see how she looks tomorrow

97: Wow.... Highly impressed with por15! This stuff is smooth as glass

98: And there we have it, a shortened, tube welded, painted, lubed and tightened 8.8.. Going to get it under the car today and get her back on the ground and rolled out of the garage I hope!

 

99: Alright. Some progress yesterday and today. I spent maybe 6 hours removing old leaf spring bushings yesterday (there is 12 in my defense and the upper rear are a REAL pain in the ass to get out) that I have to assume we're originals as the bolts actually had rubber vulcanized on them... Once I got those out they were replaced with poly bushings and lubed up. Install was also a * since the spring pockets were used to warn out rubber and not fat correct size poly. Once those were done I got the diff installed and the car is ready to be dropped onto the ground. I am mostly done with engine part mock ups so out came the engine/trans for some upgrades. Found that the oil pump was an original 02 build meaning the engine may have been replaced since it was from a 2001 Camaro so that was good to see.. Upgrades are new high volume oil pump, timing chain, tfs timing chain guide, ls6 springs, valve seals, 7.425 pushrods, and new gaskets all around. Then today we picked up a new trunk for $120 as mine was caved and filled with bondo.

100: So I did a ton of cleaning as the oil pan was absolutely disgusting. Lots of gunk and junk in there. So a couple hours went to that and the wind age tray. But I also got the tensioner on, ls2 chain, and oil pump installed. I was tempted to throw the pump on without shimming to center it but glad I cut up a couple feeler gauges to do it right. I then made the spring compressor tool out of some left over 1/4" plate from the cross member install. Once that was done the spring swapping went pretty damn easy!

101: So I'm getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth taken out in a couple days. I'm not excited about it but its certainly time. Anyways I'm adding that info because that probably means I won't be able to, or won't want to do anything to the car. So I'm busting my hump to get all the components painted and reassembled. I got eaten up twice by the wire wheel in a drill and after like 1-2 hours of taping I was ready to paint. Started with some etching primer and moved to the enamel with ceramic Chevy orange. It will need another coat tomorrow before assembly because it was just too cold tonight for painting the final coat. I'm loving everything so far but I wish the "aluminum" colored paint I have wasn't so silver :/ I'm sure over time it will dull and that means it'll be perfect when its old. I'm tired and it's late

102: Well...The things I thought would be easy were hard and the things I thought would be hard were easy. When I put the rear main seal cover with new seals/gaskets on I lined it up flush with the oil pan mating surface, then I put on the front timing cover loosely with the new gasket/seal and left it loose. Spun the motor over and installed the oil pan... I know the pan must not sit further back then the back of the block...However upon putting a straight edge to it as far forward as I could push the pan it wouldn't go far enough forward. After much Internet looking I used a longer straight edge to the actual bell bolt location on the block to the bell bolt on the oil pan and that showed the pan was good to bolt down. So I did. All the while leaving the front cover loose till I got the balancer on. I rented an autozone balancer installer but it of course wouldn't work. So option two was to heat the collar of the balancer with a propane torch and then install it. Funny thing is.. I put oil on the crank snout and then heated the balancer to about 300* and it literally slid on by hand... I've heard guys jacking threads out of the crank by pulling on with the bolt... I will have to rent a torque wrench that goes to 235 lbs as mine only went to 150 and that made it feel like I was gonna break the engine stand.. once the balancer was on I tightened the timing cover. This ensures it's center and the seal won't wear unevenly on the balancer collar. Next project is smoothing the valve covers and painting them orange and then cleaning up the heads.... all for another day

103: Made some progress and made some good food. Wife had a rough day at work so some tomato soup from scratch and white cheddar and pimento grilled cheese. We're stuffed currently ��. Earlier today I woke up at 10am because yesterday I had my wisdom teeth removed... and I did some painting, some assembly, and some tapping for my auto meter oil pressure fitting. Gonna assembly my heater box tonight and I hope that goes well as it's been apart for about 5 months now lol

104: Got the gauge bezel painted and finalized. Wiring is managed with about 400 zip ties and all that's left is to connect the chassis side to the gauge cluster side and bing bang boom the gauges are done and hopefully they work lol

105: It's a family car I swear!!! �� I've got a couple small things left to address on the engine but right now I'm sitting in garage and just looking at it ��. Later I'll make the trans tunnel which I'm not excited about for some reason..

106: I went against my better judgement and advice and took what I thought was the "easy route" and tried to make it in one piece. First problem is after I traced and cut it out. I bent the god damn thing in the wrong direction making the left the right and the right the left. Okkkkkkkkk I'll just bend it back the other direction compromising the beauty and strength... but moving on... I cut it to where my template was and somehow I'm short on the other side in the front. So I think now what I'm gonna do is put in a piece on the drivers side that essentially pushes the whole piece up and fills in the shortcomings. I am apparently not a tin man.... very frustrated and a little demotivated... but I'll get it sooner or later ?

107: Ok the hump where the rear piece and the two fronts meet it a little more pronounced then I'd like but for the most part I'm happy with how that turned out. I cut the hump I had already made in two and then fit one side at a time. Surprisingly with about 2" cut out of the center it fit together ? I put the trans in the car and it still fit. Sounds like all is well to me. I'll tack it up tomorrow, remove, cut some more floorboard, spray it with weld through primer, fit it up, tack it up and then final weld it and seam seal it ?

108: Justtttt started getting into it andddddd ran out of shielding gas ?... god damnit

 

109: Hole cut, template made, converted to metal and tacked. Wasn't tooo bad

110: Shifter install complete. Feeling pretty damn good about it considering this is my first time welding sheet metal and about a month ago this was just a hole in the floor board.

111: Well... that could have gone better. These seats have a vertical mounting pad unlike stock and most seats which are horizontal. No biggie I'll weld a strap to the floor, then a riser from that to meet the mount. I test fit first and it looked like the inside mount would drop into the cavity between the trans tunnel and seat plateau... and sure enough it did. So now I get to box that area in really well and then add the riser.... I am going to ride the bike to work tomorrow and have been waiting to install my clear oil filter cover. I decided to tip the bike on its side and install it before the oil change cause I'm impatient ?

112: Well it took a while but I'm very happy with the results ??just have to make the stand offs and mount the seat, make sure the rear is correct and then burn it in ??

113: Got a fair amount done today considering it was only half a days work. Drivers side seat is burned in, level, and feels great. I got the passenger side 50% done and hope to finish it tomorrow. Thinking of adding a gusset to each of the uprights that the seats bolt to as an extra measure...

114: 'Twas a good day. Seat mounts are done. Added gussets and wire wheeled a small section of the floor so I could prime and leave that area alone. Need to brake clean and remove the surface rust from the trans tunnel then I can primer it as well. Baby steps and I'll be done ??

115: Granted the sheet metal looks a bit like a fat butt... it's primered and seam sealed (btw SEM 29392 is great stuff!) Tonight I'll give it a spray with flat black and then undercoating and that is done ?? now I just have to figure out these damn subframe connectors

116: Ok fabrication buddies... a little assistance is needed. These subframe connectors we're originally supposed to move the entire front leaf spring mount inboard about 6 inches. I didn't like that and don't need them moved so I modified them to just go from front to rear subframe. Unfortunately as you can see in the pic the front and rear subframe isn't a straight shot and the 2x2 tubing is straight as an arrow. So my question... do I cut a notch through the side of tubing and give it a bend to get it to that extra 1/2"? I have a U piece that sits around the front subframe that gives me some flexability on angles when I cap the tubing. I'm just worried the angle won't be enough... any other ideas? Also note the tubing is about 1/2" too long in its current form... Thanks guys/gals!

117: I know a professional who would have done it differently but I think this will work just fine ??? later down the road ill tie them into the rockers and seats for full stiffness but right now I just wanted to get these in. Later down the road I'll be getting rid of the leaf springs so that's why I didn't use them as they came as moving the leaf spring inboard will just put a leaf pocket in my way once the leafs are gone. #ls4door a piece at a time. The BEST news about this being done is now I can finish the differential and get it put in and done for good ?

 

118: 3/16 24"x24" $30... making me some caltrac bars ???

119: As our son says... holy tamoly! It was one hell of a day on the garage. Got the sub frame connectors burned in and the filler plates made... my little 110v Lincoln does pretty damn good work! even if it trips the circuit breaker when you weld longer then about 30 seconds ? so after the connectors I got the diff remounted up and after fighting the front leaf bushings (since the spring pocket is smaller now) I finally ground down the poly bushings about a 1/4" total and I still had to hammer them damn things in ? then I cleaned the top of the car off and got her down on her temporary feet. Feels like I'm getting close and that feels great!!

120: Had a great day. FINALLY got the car out of the garage and power washed underneath and in the engine compartment. Wow was it nasty... tried simple green... worked ok... then tried purple power and holy **** I'm sold! That stuff works great full strength! Found a little more rust near the battery tray then I thought was there but I'm cutting that section out anyways since the battery is going in the trunk ?? #ls4door I also thankfully was able to clean the garage cause DAMN was it nasty... big thanks to @srlarue as always for putting up with me working in the garage. ??

121: By my rough calculations.... I can fit a 275 tire in the back of the nova with a little bang here and a little roll there ? not exactly steam roller out back but considering the **** that came on this car in 67...

122: Well it is a 67... and I knew it had some cancer in the common areas but honestly didn't expect that. Oh well at least it's in an area you'll never see if I screw up the fixes #ls4door is going to be behind schedule ?

123: Well I couldn't very well fix the rust I saw without knowing what was behind the panel. They say rust is like an ice berg... you only see 10% of it on the surface... so I ripped the panel off and found that I'm glad I did. The two pieces in the bottom left need reproduced in clean metal, I was able to do one pretty good. A real issue I have is that there is a golf ball sized hole under the car at the beginning of the rocker. Not sure how to fix that one as it's ? #ls4door oh and I got my swage tubes

124: Ok panels need a little more fitment and are ready to burn in and then por15 the whole area ??

125: Had a pretty successful night tonight cut out the last rusted corner in front of the rocker and roughed in the patch panels. Won't be perfect but when it's done and painted should do the job just as good as before.... ? well better actually as these aren't rusted out ???

126: Lower cowl panels are here

127: They have a brown reflection which I didn't anticipate but otherwise they look great! I ordered in June so that's 5 months wait. #ls4door is finally official!

 

128: Well for family reasons Im hoping to have the car done by Feb 6th. Fingers crossed... I fit those pieces better to the car and then welded em together. I think my argon setting is too low... more tomorrow hopefully when I weld them in permanent...

129: Degreaser, metal prep, dry and paint. Of course I started working on the other side while it dried and me banging on the spot welds caused a bunch of dirt to fall into the wet paint ???? soooo if I do another coat it will be textured forever... sheesh

130: Well... some decent news... the portion under the bottom door hinge is very isolated with good metal around it so it's just an external patch and the lower of the big area is just the bottom 3/4 portion that needs replaced. I did see up into the a pilar is more rust but I'm not ready to cut that up just yet..

131: Well the wife surprised me and gave me some more money for the #ls4door budget and I paid her back by getting a custom vintage air system! No reason we can't live comfortably in a 67! After all it is a "family car" ? lots more details to follow but I'm planning to build a bottom mount bracket that will allow this little sd7 compressor to fit between the frame rails and hide all the hoses from view once installed. I need to hurry up and start knocking big stuff out I am running out of corners in the house to store things ?

132: I could probably stand to google techniques on complex bends and finesse metal working but it's gonna get the job done... I was able to cut away the 3 sections of rust from the drivers side, make one of the 3 panels to replace them and even paint 3/4 of the underside of the car. I had previously taken a wire wheel to the floor pan and then cleaned it with mineral spirits. So today I threw some semigloss rustoleum cause I had a few cans of it. Turned out great! Not that it matters since everything is getting a rubberized coating down the road, but for now it looks nice #ls4door

133: Doesn't look like a whole lot but this piece and the one behind it are done. Just need to make a small square piece for between the two and burn it all in. Hoping to get some more work done tomorrow after work let's me off early

134: Got the right rust area replaced and then moved to piece on the left and ran out of gas ? I should really invest in a bigger bottle...

135: When fedex has to drive up into your drive way to deliver things

136: Finally in! Gonna let it dry overnight and give it another coat of por15.

136.5:Got a lot done tonight. Put 2nd coat on drivers side cowl patch, got the front clip finally pulled off, welded in the bottom section of the passenger side patch and fit up the actual cowl cover panel. Hoping this weekend I can take the clip outside and get all the insulation off of it so I clean clean and repaint it

 

137: Removing battery tray and rust ������

138: It was a very eventful day... pissed off my neighbors for about an hour while I wire wheeled the inner fenders in the driveway to get the old sound deadening off.... boy that was a mess, then I finished up the patch panel for the battery tray, final welded in the cowl panel for the passenger side as painted it, and then finished the lower portion of the drivers side inner cowl so I can burn in the cowl panel on that side. Slowly but surely I'm knocking things out... hope I can keep up this motivation till feb!

139: What a difference a day makes... I'm filthy, I found a crack in the housing of my new angle grinder (noticed cause of the really bad vibration), and my hands are absolutely numb from the vibration....but the firewall is taken down to bare metal. I'm pleased with the lack of rust and looking forward to patching holes and smoothing out the bumps

140: Fairly happy with all of that. Bit of a slow process though :/ I did get the #vintageair evap fit in so I can see about how much space I will have... or not have. It's gonna be a pretty tight in there..

141: Well since I ran out of gas I decided to finish stripping paint off the passenger inner fender. It's ready for pressure wash and then por15 and then the glazing, sanding and painting portion... The stripping turned out good but damn those harbor freight untwisted wire wheels for angle grinders are unbalanced! Trying to hold onto the grinder is a holy **** Batman moment. I also decided to give myself a little motivation I'll see every time I'm out here

142: It's really nice when you get to the point that you enjoy your work and what you're making. Tonight went extremely well and i'm stoked to get this section completed tomorrow. It's gonna look a ton different then it did before

143: Well it's gonna need some putty for the dimples but there is the before and after. tonight was a little more challenging but in the end more rewarding ?? tomorrow I get to weld on the DSE clutch plate and setup a pedal or two hopefully

144: Got a lot done tonight. Decided I did want to move the wiring into the fenderwell so I did that, welded up a few small pin holes here and there, and then ran out of welding wire ?, so i started on non welding items or things I could do with flux core. Like pedal fitment. Clutch is all setup, I just need to get a new through bolt or clevis pin, spacers, and a pedal stop bumper. Lastly I mocked up the clutch cylinder plate and got it all ready for tomorrow after I get more wire. If all goes will I'll be flinging some paint on this firewall tomorrow!

145: Oh boy! We've reached a milestone!! The firewall is done and I was able to clean the garage and actually SEE the floor lol tomorrow I am taping off the bottom of the firewall and she's getting por15'd ??? #ls4door there is more to post after this

146: So we have a lot to see here... top left is pre weld to firewall with sheet metal fill in panel, top middle is my new bulkhead fitting for engine bay to fender well, top right is my firewall side turnbuckle mount to keep from firewall flex, bottom is dashboard side with the turnbuckle installed. Hard to weld 1/4 thick metal to sheet metal, but it's on there and I'm confident it isn't going anywhere so the story goes, with manual brakes you can push so hard on the brakes at times that the firewall will bow out and cause inconsistencies... so the turn buckle keeps everything tied together and bow free

 

147: Super happy with the progress today... got the drivers side cowl panel installed and painted, then the firewall was degreased, metal prepped, and then por15'd. I think I made a mistake using denatured alcohol on a blue paper towel before painting as it left tiny balls under the paint. Will wait for it to dry and then sand it and hope for the best before the next coat...

148: Ho ho ho! Santa's reindeer lost something! Oh wait those aren't antlers! They are headers for the #ls4door ? my wife does really nice things for me! ?? I would have liked to have attempted to use the one I spent sooooooo many hours on, but realistically I butchered those as much as I could to get them to fit and at the end of the day things still needed clearancing to even maybe work.. this is a better option for sure! Thanks honey!

149: 2nd coat of por15 came out great after it was all 500grit wet sanded flat. Going to start some glazing putty work after the wife and boy leave for a week on Friday :/

150: Wife and boy are gone for Christmas but that doesn't mean I'm not doing my thing! I even got a new tool cart from Santa! Which so far is awesome

151: Let's do this... my first time so I watched some YouTube videos ?

152: Ok that could have gone better... two batches hardened super quick! Third I did half the hardener and was actually able to apply it. ? they make this look easy...

153: Taking some time........ but getting there

154: Build, sand, build, sand, build... replace respirator filter, sand.... I'll be done soon ? I see now why painting cars is so expensive.. you're paying for arm/hand muscles

155: Good god.... glad I took the time, tested my limits and stuck with it but holy **** what a task. I've never sanded so much in my life... and I'm not even done. This is filler primer and I have to sand it once dry.... ?

156: Before and after. It isn't perfect as there is a lot of firewall bashing that took place before me to get the hei disty on the old sbc. But to me it's night and day difference and I'm super pleased ???

 

157: Removed the bump from core support and fitting up a few things... wish I had the energy to work through the night

158: Those headers...ugh so much sexier then my hacked up ones...

159: Step by step... sing it if you must

160: Well I wanted to make sure I had all the t's dotted and eyes crossed so i "threw" the motor in and mocked up all the big stuff today and then blew it all apart once I was content. I found a ton of holes I probably won't need so I plugged em, welded on a few bolts for hose management in the passenger inner fender, and competed the radiator mount. All and all I'm beat but getting a ton done! Tomorrow is por15'ing the inner fenders and core support..

161: True story... #ls4door

162: Mostly what I did today.... made the bottom half of an AC bracket... I had to do lots of precision measurements or the car will eat ac belts like gas.... came out good though..started the top but ran out of brain... will regroup tomorrow. I was able to do the first two steps in the 3 step por15 process to the inner fenders. Hoping to get them painted tomorrow and some bondo on them... maybe even final paint... doubtful... last thing is airgas hooked me up today! Went to swap the bottle and dudes computer was locked up so he says, go ahead and take the new bottle. I was stoked! Very nice of him and I've gotten into disagreements with him in the past... Merry Christmas ??

163: Looks like a damn horror movie back there ? my dog cut a pad last night at 12:30am and is getting stitches and a stay at the animal clinic..

164: Ok it took almost 1/2 a quart (not counting what I lost when I dumped the can over ? ) but I got both inner and out fenders por15'd. Had a lot of set backs in the ole schedule today what with a midnight bloody dog and all...but we persevered and moved on. Going to continue work on the ac mount while those dry #ls4door and #bruce

165: Ok the ac mount is finished. Just needs paint.. should I go silver or black? I made that entire mount out of an $18 piece of 3/16ths plate from Home Depot and the stock tensioner for the ac system. Comparable mounts are about $180-250 so I feel pretty good about spending time to make it.. I was worried 3/16's wasn't thick enough and I do have some 1/4" but my welder is already maxed with 3/16's so I added a few gussets where needed...plus even cutting and shaping 3/16 was a pain with the tools I have... it should hold just fine for many years at 6k rpm though ?

166: 10 internet points for whoever can guess what I'm doing ??

 

167: The answer was seam sealer. You lay out tape on either side so after spreading this nasty **** on, you take the tape off and have a nice clean line and not seam sealer everywhere.

168: Ok then... this side of the engine is done I finished the bracket (went black obviously) put on the header for good and sealed it up (stainless works sends this bomb silver rtv), and I removed the stock heater core fittings and put in some AN fittings.. which is a little preview of what's to come ?? this train is rolling and I'm having fun, gonna fill the fenders with putty sand and paint and then MAYBE I'll get to reseal the trans (something in the trans leaked like crazy in the Camaro) I think and assemble the engine for the final time ?

169: No...

170: Sanding for adhesion and filling pinch we

171: Oh this again.....

172: Slow.... but looks good to me

173: Snuck away during lego xbox time and resealed the trans. Needed it so tomorrow after I finish the fender.. I can put the trans and engine in and hopefully start it up and check gauge operation... and you know makes vroom vroom noises...

174: Damn that drivers side inner fender took some work. The car was in a small fender bender on the drivers side when I bought it and I had to straighten that and fill in the ugly parts. Came out good but took some time... now I get to start the fun stuff ?

175: Motor isn't down where it's supposed to be because of some issue... but last night I threw a couple things on to see where I stand... looks like I stand in a bucket of **** lol gonna be scratching the ole noggin to get this figured out.... and look halfway decent

176: Sure looks like this may fix the issue.. this is how they were installed. Passenger is on the left...

177: We have FIRE!!! And some funny commentary from my son

 

178: And there it will sit for a little while. I need to prioritize the next steps so I don't work myself into a hole and have to back track. It was a big win today and I'm one step closer to driving this baby with the fam!

179: "Old" pic but might be helpful for someone. SEM Trim black on the right which is a matte ish finish and on the left is cheap ole rustoleum flat black.. I used SEM in my engine bay over por15 and rustoleum over por15 on the suspension side of the inner fenders. That was just for UV protection and will be getting sprayed over with 3m under chassis coating to keep road noise down ??. #ls4door note don't mind the brush marks that's from not applying enough por15 on the second coat...

180: I installed the inner and outer seals for the fender well. That was MUCH easier with stainless wire then the staples provided.... I can say a couple things now... 3M Rubberized undercoating smells terrible and for such a big can doesn't go very far. One can per inner fender apparently ?? once this is done I can finish putting the suspension on and get the car on the floor on some wheels I have lined up ?

181: Damn 3 different black paints in this pic lol.. oh well good news! I didn't have to remake the cross member when I changed motor plates to the ones that came with the headers. So I painted it black and put it back ?? #ls4door is getting the suspension put on next and pushed out of the garage so I can por15 the floor pan ?

182: Damn I just need some wheels ?

183: Thinking I will move the wiper switch to the cig port and either remove or move the cig port out to the outside of the heater controls....thoughts?

184: It needs done and no one else is gonna do it. This is how I look and feel after all day in the garage caped with 4 hours of wire wheeling ending at 12:30am.... #ls4door is putting up a fight... I can barely feel my hands ?

184.5: Ok floor is stripped.... face is dirty... game is on..

185: Working in the garage is soooooo much better when you have a woman who loves and takes care of you. I wouldn't be able to work at this pace without my support team ? we have here a no carb version of a BLT being consumed with black 9mil thick gloves slathered in acid wash ? so good! Bottom is before (right) and after aforementioned acid wash... gonna finish rest and then let it dry overnight and paint tomorrow

186: Good news and bad news... por15 session came out great... and then I ran out ? guess I underestimated how much it would need... Amazon overnight to the rescue!

 

187: Believe it or not that's 3 cans worth of 3m rubberized coating... gotta be better then nothing but it looks like it could use 6 more cans to be thick like I was thinking...

188: Anybody see any issues with this? I wanted to meet NHRA regulation for trunk mounted batteries but also didn't want to run more then one power wire fore and aft... apparently that's not possible as the alternator would keep the engine running if alt output is wired to starter lug and battery cut off is tripped... so alt output to battery positive should do it right?

189: Speedway remote bleeder fail!!! ? I even heard they are prone to leaking ? I guess I should be thankful the car wasn't running and more complicated to take apart but at this point it's tough to see the bright side...

190: Found a GREAT idea online today for changing the fitting on the slave cylinder! Didn't even have to take the trans out! Just slid it back and screwed the stock one back in

191: By my estimation that's the safest and coolest place I can mount these damn things without them being an eye sore to me... so we will see how it goes initial testing of wire routes was better then expected...

192: I think it looks a lot better

193: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww yes! 17x8 rally's 4.5 bs rear and 4.875bs front. Let's hope they fit ???

194: Soon ?

195: Coming out good but I ran out ?

196: Extremely happy with how that came out. Now to do the other side ?

 

197: Not as happy with this side but I can adjust it a little later once everything is in

198: Had to put it somewhere.... at least it's somewhat hidden..maybe I'll paint it chevy orange one day..

199: Not super pleased with the setup but options are limited and it's temporary till I go fitech...

200: I could REALLY use a metal brake but I made due just the aluminum box looks like hammered dog **** ? but it works and does exactly what I need/want. Once I prep for the track I will be able to easily install a "pull for off" rod through the tail light and remove it when not at the track ?? it's all coming together the way I envisioned just a little slower then I'd like. What you see there took about 10 hours ? meticulous work is slow work.....

201: It's not a space ship and it's not a spud nick.... it's just heavily insulated... went through two boxes of noico 80mil 18sqft sound deadener and about 3/4 roll of foul tape from harbor freight which I must say is some nice ****. The best part of all of this you ask? Is tomorrow I get to put the interior and firewall bits in!!! Tomorrow is gonna be a fun day in the garage �� #wilwood #vintageair #t56 #autometer

202: Well that really took some time.... found out how big of a mistake not putting the throttle linkage through the firewall prior to engine installation is... took a good two plus hours disassembling, cleaning, painting, attempting to reassemble in a 1" space and then fine tuning and making a throttle return spring bracket. All and all the throttle works great and I did the basics on pedal hanging with some success and some things needing some more adjustments... nice to be able to whack the throttle open though �� I may have made engine sounds ☺

203: Very happy with the powder coat and the tire fitment!

204: Looks like I could have gone bigger in the rear. I'll just have to do that with drag setup ��

205: Front brakes are on (which required a full caliper rebuild on the fronts plus finding and purchasing 1 caliper bracket and pins and then final cleaning and paint), just finishing up lines in the rear to knock them out; the best part is the front wheels fit over the brakes lol it was a bit of an unknown to this point

206: Got a lot done today. Final welded the spring perches on. I put it off as long as I could as I was nervous about getting the angles wrong. Ended up at 3* up off the diff and the 3* down I set into trans mount. Once I get the cal trac bars made those angles shouldn't change much at all, but immediate need is to get the car running and driving... I'll make them later down the road... good news is brake system is completely ready to assemble and bleed tomorrow

 

207: Much much much cursing took place tonight. Not pleased but I THINK (and hope) I can touch that up..... ugh

208: Well not a lot to update as all I feel like I've been doing is swimming in brake fluid trying to fix leaking lines... cutting off flares and trying to double flare under a car while it's leaking brake fluid. Frustrating for sure... I have 2 of 6 that were leaking left... slowly but surely...

209: Got a few things done last night, ran power from alternator to battery box (since it has to be on a separate circuit from starter so battery cut off will work). I found an old fuse holder that I had pulled from the donor Camaro that happened to be exactly what I needed. It even had the right amperage of fuses in it ☺. It's strange sometimes how the universe works out, I didn't have anymore 4awg wire to go from alt to fuse holder, but I had a lot of 8awg... so I doubled it up... by the time I ran it how I wanted in mock up I found that I had EXACTLY the right amount in that one uncut 20 foot section of 8awg... and then this morning I stopped at grainger and got my brake line "gaskets" which I hear should resolve my couple of weeping lines... fingers crossed cause I'm through 3 liter bottle of brake fluid and tired of the smell ?

210: A few things I didn't post cause they are small items... top left: had to remove the slip yoke so I could measure for the new driveshaft.. didn't realize GM made the weirdest ujoints I've ever seen for the Camaro (and other vehicles).. you have to heat the ends till the plastic they injected melts and comes out like a worm.. even then I had to drill AND THEN put it in my 20ton press as the vice even with a cheater bar wouldn't move the joint and even in the press I sprayed it with wd40 and hit it with the torch and it pressed right out... for reference with the yoke out 1" from center of ujoint to 8.8 flange was about 50"... top right: I mounted the clutch reservoir. Not exactly where I wanted it (I wanted it hidden) to go but space was limited and spilling brake fluid while trying to fill it is not an option so high and easy it is. I wish it were as nice as the wilwood master though ? bottom left: got the steering joints setup and shaft cut.. measure 100 times and cut 3 times is how that went since that shaft is over $100...bottom right: sorta proud of this one, wasn't my idea but it worked so well once made its worth sharing! On a 67 nova the ebrake cables are barrel ends.. on a 2001 explorer they are a kind of hook. Well those two don't mix without something in between... which is what you see there ?? took about 30 min to make both out of 1/4" plate (I think it was 1/4") and after some cable adjustment the ebrake works great!

211: Whoever made the exhaust that was on the Nova didn't do me any favors but I was able to hack and weld my way to victory... she will run tonight through mufflers ? #izipizzi

212: I can't believe it's been a year already ? so much has changed in our lives and so much has changed with this car. I was hoping to have her on the road by this day but good things come to those who wait.. also I should point out I never planned within the first year to completely redo the car so I say I'm on a pretty good path ?

213: Ok car guys I need some ideas.. I need a 90* turn for a sanden sd7 compressor. The -10 side almost fits and the -8 doesn't fit at all with the ezclip oring fittings... any companies out there that bolt to the compressor and immediately turn towards the pulley or any tighter ezclip fittings without service ports? Thanks ??

214: I don't feel like I do a very good job of documenting things other then car projects.... this isn't a vast improvement as I went to Oceanside to pick up the driveshaft. Which is the last piece to the puzzle of getting to drive the Nova

215: Lots of happy in this picture I got most of the big stuff installed so I can get a feel for the setup and so far I'm extremely pleased with everything but, stock carpet fitment lol it's almost like I added a big hump in the center of the car ? any of you nova guys have carpet recommendations or does it have to be custom fitment cause of the hump?

216: My mom will be in town for a week so I mocked up the car so she could see how it will look when its done (though she already told me she didn't really care lol). It looks like that 150lbs off the front end on stock springs still isn't as low as the rear... ? coilovers would fix that problem @srlarue I will say though in super stoked to see this baby done!

 

217: ? why can't it just be done yet! ?

218: No one is ever going to see this once done (it's the radiator support), but I will so I'm doing it right anyways ? I think it was Steve jobs who said: "..it's not about what you do where people can see it, it's about what you do where people can't...."

219: Well I wouldn't say I'm back in full swing as the wife and I have both been feeling bleh this weekend. However I got a few things progressed.... for example the bottom right clutch master cylinder... I didn't have the pedal stop setup correctly and it was bottoming out in the cylinder and when that happens and you keep pushing it bends the rod. Fearing the rod was weakened by the back and forth I added a little reinforcement as insurance. I then reinstalled it all, bled it, and fixed the pedal stop. FYI Camaro clutch masters have an effective travel of just under an INCH. Never thought it would be that little... bottom left is the wiring I decided to start my brain working on. The car turns 50 this year and the electrical tape from the 60's was a dream.. the newer stuff someone put on was SO sticky and nasty however... thank the car gods for brake cleaner! Top is the finished rad support. Came out great ???

220: It's slow going but all the factory ran wiring is extended and ready to be hooked up. Just need to wire the fan controller and I think that's all that's left for the front end. After that the trans hookups and fuel pump and then I can put the cluster in for REAL! Exciting times ? some great news is my wife surprised me with a late birthday present and the front end is getting coilovers!!! Super stoked thanks honey!

221: It doesn't look like a huge accomplishment but it is

Woop! Dont forget to subscribe to my youtube for more cool stuff.

222: Almost a year exactly between those two pics lol 15x6 on top and 17x8 on bottom.

223: So sexy!!!! This is my first adjustable shock I've ever owned and with 418 possible combinations I imagine in like 10 years I'll have it dialed in lol

224: We're getting somewhere need to bleed brakes and clutch and install the newly painted column and wheel and it's ready to drive down the street! �� can't believe it's all happening lol

225: Nova is getting some bumps

226:Well tonight went ok. Got most of the tail pipes cut and welded. Car used to have duals straight out the back bumper and it just sent the wrong message for a 4 door in my opinion. So I used what I had and bought a couple turn downs and made it work. Looks MUCH better in my opinion and was a total of $15 ����. Which is great as one of the options was taking it to a muffler shop and having them make new axle over pipes, which would have been a couple hundred im sure. I have to weld up the drivers side and attempt to make them symmetrical and then I can work on ripping out the alternator to install the ad244 truck alternator I ordered ��

 

227:Got the pipes done; much quieter but still sounds like a muscle car when revved up so that's nice

228: Rebuilt one door's hinges. Those things were NASTY.... some sandblasting, some brake cleaner and then some paint and they look great; now I get to put the doors on tonight!

229 a,b,c: I got a lot done tonight. Basically all the small parts for assembling the front sheet metal are getting sand blasted and then painted. Tedious work but it'll look nice when you see some of it through the grille

230: Doin some "fun" stuff tonight ??

231: Found a cool way to degrease, clean, preheat and dry before paint

232: Well today was a day of checking little things off the list. Did some carb tuning cause I installed the wideband and it was at like 10 at idle lol unfortunately even after setting float level and setting bleed screws I couldn't get it any leaner then that ?? may add some timing to the msd... either that or the primary jets are too big right? I'm 1 and 1/4 turn from off on the bleeds which is pretty tight I think... it's pulling 24inches of vacuum at idle though which I was super happy to see... only other issue is still lingering is the fuel pump. During the tuning it went from 5.5psi to 2.....?? car never shut off but I'd bet at WOT it's gonna run out of fuel... on going... anyways tomorrow is the scheduled alignment and then hopefully I'll drive it home from there! Super stoked.

233: Things are happening

234: There she goes, alignment time!


235: Video:

 

236: This is what happens when you get in a hurry, remove a header with rtv and reinstall again without resealing.... this aluminum rtv stainless works sends with their headers is the best **** I've ever used too. Even it can't be reused though lol

237: Most people will never have the chance to compare these two side by side.... here you have a super nice set of stainless works 1.75" primaries for an lsx engine vs a set of top fuel headers with a 3" primary stepped down to a paltry 2.5" output 600hp vs 11,000+hp feel free to share this just give me the credit as I carried this 39lb behemoth over a mile back to my car from the last top fuel drags at Pomona. The crew chief gave it to my son (he couldn't even pick it up lol) #ls4door swap?

238: Forgot to cut open the filter that came on the ls1 when I pulled it from the Camaro... after the first 20 miles, a couple 6 grand shifts and countless garage fire ups there was only ONE tiny piece of metal in it. Very happy about that! Will open the next filter at scheduled interval but I'm confident all is well

239: Do not be fooled by the glossy appearance lol it's a driver through and through. And tomorrow if I can get everything done that's exactly what the family and I will do

240: ..and the side that was bashed when I bought it. The new grille and headlight bezels did the trick but that bumper and fender still shows the scars.. it took some bending, hammering, bending and some grunt work but overall I'd absolutely live with it the way it is (for a while)


241: Video:

242: Need opinions... it has come to my attention that were going on power tour this year! That's a huge drive over lots of elevation change and the car still needs some tweaking with this carb. It has a stumble when you nail it under I'd say 2k rpm and at idle and wot it's pretty damn rich..those items are fixable with some dyno tuning time, but at the end of the day it is still a carb and doesn't do well with a lot of elevation change and I could get much better gas mileage for the two week drive to power tour (and save money in the process.) so my question is... should I go fitech (or some other fuel injection) or fix the carb?

243: There are things I expect and things I can live with on this project as it's nearing completion... this is neither of those things.. maybe it was all the torque flexing the inner fender structure that did it. Either way that's gonna have to be added to the ever growing "to fix" list

244: She's a bit of a turd to look at but the first trip to work was a success and I had a smile on my face the whole way

245: hmmm..?

246: Didn't quite get the "caltrac" bars done yet as I ran into a hiccup but I hope to get them in tomorrow.