[BBC71Nova]

Got some time Sunday to plug away a little more at it. Managed to get the Speedtech arms, Qa1 coilover conversion and Wilwood brakes mocked up. Went fairly smooth as you'd expect.

Really impressed with the quality of the Speedtech arms and specifically the powder coat. Very nice pieces. Embarrassed to say how long I've had those without taking them out of the packaging . I apologize that you can't appreciate the coating due to the masking job I put on them to protect them during this phase . I've been known to drop things here and there.

I'm not thrilled with the brakes but I've had these on the shelf so they'll have to do for a while. These are probably border line for any serious street duty.

The lower arms were a little bit of a challenge to get worked into place. I was prepared with the 1/2" X 4.5" all-thread and a couple nuts and washers though from having seen that mentioned on the forum. Works like a champ to spread the mounting locations on the subframe enough to work the arms in.

I've got a set of 10" Ridetech springs on order for the rear along with what I hope to be the correct Energy Suspension motor mounts. I'm thinking by early February I might have it sitting on wheels and tires :wow: . That's been a few years in the making. Then shortly after than I think the engine and trans will be back in place so I can get stuff setup under the hood.

Had these on the shelf too from previous build plan. Awesome wheels for the strip and don't weigh anything. Couldn't help but throw them on for a pic .

 

[Tarantula]

What springs did you go with on the Qa1's?

With me having a BB454 i thought about getting the 550's as right now have 385 springs (not Qa1's, just regular springs meant for a BB) and it drops to the bumpstops like if it didn't have springs.

Nice setup!

 

[BBC71Nova]

What springs did you go with on the Qa1's?

With me having a BB454 i thought about getting the 550's as right now have 385 springs (not Qa1's, just regular springs meant for a BB) and it drops to the bumpstops like if it didn't have springs.

Nice setup!

This is the double adjustable QA1 Pro-Coil setup with the 550lb springs. I purchased these from [email protected] and he helped me with the spring selection. I was concerned they'd be too stiff but everyone says not.

I'm pretty interested in seeing what it looks like with weight on those springs. I'm hoping I can get the ride height where I want it without taking the springs out of their safe range. I need to call QA1 and find out what the ride height shock length needs to be. The Varishocks I have in the rear had that listed in the instructions. I haven't been able to find it for the QA1 shock though. With the problems mentioned online with this conversion setup I want to make sure and do whatever I can to make them work.

Oh, if you are looking for a non-coilover spring you might be interested in this. I've got a buddy with a set of 2" drop Hotchkis springs for a big block for sale. Only used for mockup and he decided he needed a 3" drop. Pretty cheap IIRC.

 

[johnny 68]

very nice john glad to see you used blakes stuff really great guy and crew he has. Oh guys dont forget you cant go by a rate of spring coil over vs standard spring im saying if a coil over spring is 500 that rate will be different in a stock spring config.
john

 

[Tarantula]

This is the double adjustable QA1 Pro-Coil setup with the 550lb springs. I purchased these from [email protected] and he helped me with the spring selection. I was concerned they'd be too stiff but everyone says not.

I'm pretty interested in seeing what it looks like with weight on those springs. I'm hoping I can get the ride height where I want it without taking the springs out of their safe range. I need to call QA1 and find out what the ride height shock length needs to be. The Varishocks I have in the rear had that listed in the instructions. I haven't been able to find it for the QA1 shock though. With the problems mentioned online with this conversion setup I want to make sure and do whatever I can to make them work.

Oh, if you are looking for a non-coilover spring you might be interested in this. I've got a buddy with a set of 2" drop Hotchkis springs for a big block for sale. Only used for mockup and he decided he needed a 3" drop. Pretty cheap IIRC.

I'm definately looking into the adjustable as I like my car to ride low. (but not too low) I want the flexability. Here are the figures that pertains to spring rates from Qa1's

Spring Rate --- Front End Weight
•350 -- 1700-1900 lb.
•450 -- 1900-2100 lb.
•550 -- 2100-2300 lb.

Most Small Blocks have a total front end weight of 1700-1950 lbs. Most Big Blocks have a total front end weight of 1951-2200 lbs. If equipped with Air Conditioning, add 75 lbs.

550's would be the best option as with near 400lb springs that I have right now it does absolutely nothing. I do have plans to add AC so I think the 550's will do just fine.

I can't even fit my GM floor jack under the subframe in the center under the engine I have to manually lift the car up and push the jack under to raise it from the front.

 

[BBC71Nova]

Been a while since I had any updates. Mostly been taking my time and trying to save up some money for parts .

So here's the run down on what's been happening.

-Changed my mind on the WaveTrac and went with the new Strange 35 spline S-Trac and their new aluminum thru-bolted Pro-HD gear case instead. Nice piece and worth the backorder delays. Chose the 3.89 gear set. Due to the difference in spline engagement depth in the diff I did have to swap one of my axles for a different length. Something to keep in mind. Lesson learned: just save yourself some headache and order a complete rear all at once. I ordered everything separately at different times and it was a little stressful with all the measuring, etc but it turned out good.

-Mounted up the 325/50-15 MT Drag Radials on 15"X10" wheels and they fit good. Tight fit but for occasional drag strip outing they'll be fine. No rubbing except the passenger's side very lightly rubs against the outer wheelhouse at full compression. Rear could stand to be 1/8" narrower each side but overall it's about as good as I could hope for.

-I'm still happy with the decision to go with the G-Link setup. Admittedly I was having second thoughts after reading some other threads. I think you have to be honest with what your plans are for the car. My car won't be super low but it will be as low as it could be without committing to replacing the entire transmission tunnel. The only issue I've had thus far is the fill tube for the Fab 9 hits the shock crossmember at full compression. I doubt this would be an issue with a 12 bolt.

-I've now got the trans and a mockup block installed. I need to modify the frame mount on the passengers side so the bolt will go through. This has been a huge pita. Should take just a few minutes to drop the engine in but not my luck. I'm in it for a few hours already. I guess all the repop/aftermarket mounts are to blame. I also had to open up the shifter opening from where the tunnel was replaced at the fab shop. The shifters are tilted to the driver a little but the hole that was fab'ed in was centered.

-I pulled measurements today so I can send my driveshaft off to Denny's Driveshaft to be shortened. It's gonna be real close to hitting the tunnel I'm afraid. I'm really hoping to not have to replace the remainder of the OE tunnel.

-Next up will be taking measurements for a radiator. I'm hoping to pick one up from C&R but if not maybe Ron Davis. I've seen a couple C&R setups and they are really nice.

 

[BBC71Nova]

These wheels I had are only 15". This is at ride height with the shocks at the minimum acceptable ride height of 13.5" eye to eye. This is using all adjust-ability available in the G-link setup. That is, tilted all the way in on the shock crossmember and the lower mounts in the lowest holes. This is a little lower than some I've seen so I assume it is due to the Fab-9 shock mounts having holes lower maybe.

I'm planning to run 18" wheels in the back so I should get a little tuck at ride height I think.


At ride height. Roughly 1" from rim lip to wheel lip.

This is at full compression. Well, about .25" short of full since the fill tube is currently hitting .

 

[BBC71Nova]

Sorry for the crappy pictures. I need another lens. Little tough under the car, on my back, with limited light and a 28-135mm lens . I need one of those fancy lifts .

Here is a shot of the fill tube on the Fab-9 hitting the crossmember. It is just hitting at full compression but enough that it must be addressed. Probably end up bending another crossmember that goes up a little closer to the floor or change the route it takes. I spoke to Chassisworks about it and they are aware of it but it seems to only be an issue with Fab-9 setups.

Notice the non-existent exhaust clearance. Might have to talk to the guys down the street at Goolsby Customs about raising the trunk floor or something .

 

[BBC71Nova]

Here are some pics showing clearance in some other areas at full compression.

There is over 1" of clearance at the frame rail.

This picture is a little misleading but there is a little less than 1" of clearance at the tunnel where the pinion is. The G-Link is basically allowing as much of a drop as possible really unless you want to mod the tunnel.

Here is a shot showing the clearance between the gear case and the body/floor structure above it. When I put in a little pinion angle and I remove the old pinion snubber mount there'll be enough clearance. However, again, IMHO this is as low as you could go without committing to modifying more sheetmetal for clearance. At least with a 9" setup like this. I suppose this case is a little beefier so maybe that is taking up a lot of the space.

 

[BBC71Nova]

Here are a couple pics of the center section. Car part pron

 

[craigs73]

any updates on this car??? also i really liked what he did with the dse subframe connectors.....almost the exact thing i was thinking...

 

[BBC71Nova]

HA! Does frustration count?

Actually I've been mocking stuff up here and there. Trying to save up some money for more parts.

Ran into clearance issues with the big block, serpentine setup and radiator/fan/shroud setup I was wanting to run. Just not enough room in there. The solution on the table at the moment is to get one of the Autorad setups. The core support design for those is different enough to yield enough clearance for this to all fit. That of course is more money and leaves me with an unused, brand new AMD radiator support .

These fitment issues have had me seriously considering going with an LS swap of some sort instead. Trying to cost that all out and convince myself one way or another. LS is great if you are gonna drive it a lot, autocross, etc. Just so much more efficient, lighter weight, etc. Then again, I still think big blocks can be awesome. Just a little tough on gas if you are planning on driving it a lot.

 

[scherp69]

Car's looking good John. I'm also debating about running the Autorad set up, but need to save up the pennies for that one.....and it's going to be a lot of pennies. Keep the pics coming.

 

[BBC71Nova]

Some updates...

I'm not sure what the final outcome of this will be but I needed to get some tie-rods on the car. I ordered up some "high strength, extra thick washers" from McMaster-Carr along with some .5" longer hex flat head bolts for the steering arms. The washers measure about .2" each so I went with a stack of 2. The front bolt is the one that came with the Ridetech spindles. It just barely gets into the nylon "lock" after installing the spacers so I'll probably go ahead and replace those with the longer bolts as well. The rear bolts are the new longer ones I ordered.

The above combination achieves much needed clearance between the steering arm and the rim lip. The tie-rod itself is still only 5/16" or so from the tire. Under side loads I could see this rubbing. Adding the spacers also put the limit stops closer to the stops on the control arms thus limiting steering. Not a huge concern of mine at the moment given the tires almost get into the fender lips anyway. I need to install the swaybar to make sure nothing gets into the end-links.

Here are some before and after pics.

 

[BBC71Nova]

Here are some pictures of the engine mocked up. These are Lemon's headers with 2 1/8" primaries. There clear everything fine but it is tight. The steering box and header basically have to go in at the same time. That was a trick .

The headers are nice and tight with great ground clearance. The 3 bolt flanges are about 1/4" or so from the floorpan. I have raised the tailshaft of my trans about 3/4" for driveline angle reasons. That helps get the headers up nice and tight as well.

I have also confirmed they will not clear the TruTurn though without a tube being moved. At least not using a traditional tie-rod on the inside. I'm undecided on this header mod at the moment. If I do this I'm gonna go ahead and switch them to v-band clamps too.

 

[BBC71Nova]

And finally here are pics of the stance. The front is actually slightly lower than this when level. The driveway slope threw it off some.

This is mocked up with the front crossmember 5" off the ground. Down at 4.5" looks much better but the oil pan would be awfully close since it will hang below the crossmember some.

The front fender lip is 24". The rear is 22".

 

[fencepost]

That looks so bad. You nailed the stance

 

[jimys72]

That looks awesome. in the first pic is that rust trailing on the ground from when u rolled it out.:devil: good work.:yes:

 

[BBC71Nova]

Ha. No those are leaves. Not any rust left on this one. Just new surface rust till I get it in for paint.

 

[RatNova71]

KILLER CAR :yes: