[unstable]

May 14th, 2022
Posted the 10 bolt up on Craigslist for $650 the other day. I logged in last night and changed it to best offer. First email offer I received I accepted and the rear went to fellow SNS member @nhcor who is working on a 1970 Nova.

We loaded it up, chatted for a few and he hit the road.

Now I really forced myself down the path of getting the Ford 9” and Calvert setup installed because there’s no parts to go back to!

 

[nhcor]

May 14th, 2022
Posted the 10 bolt up on Craigslist for $650 the other day. I logged in last night and changed it to best offer. First email offer I received I accepted and the rear went to fellow SNS member @nhcor who is working on a 1970 Nova.

We loaded it up, chatted for a few and he hit the road.

Now I really forced myself down the path of getting the Ford 9” and Calvert setup installed because there’s no parts to go back to!

Nice to meet you good luck on your project!

 

[unstable]

May 16th, 2022
I think I'm in a holding pattern for parts. About the only thing(s) I could do right now is unpackage subframe connectors and see about getting those tacked up and perhaps doing some general cleanup on the undercarriage of the car but I'm not sure I will bother with any of that. I'm currently waiting on a shock relocation kit which was initially supposed to be delivered tomorrow / May 17th but shipping says it was ahead of schedule and should be here today yet it's currently on its' way to Toledo Ohio so I'm not holding my breath that it will be here.

I also ordered new front leaf mounts because I left the old ones on the leaf springs that were attached to the rear that went out the door this weekend. I've got some j-clip nightmare stuff I need to sort out and quite a few miscellaneous tasks like bending brakeline etc. @xxdabroxx I think I'm probably going to buy that kit you referenced. I need the flare tool also.

I'm really not in too much of a rush as anyone following this thread can likely see. While I would love to have this car back together and be capable of cruising around, it's important to remember that part of the joy of all of this is the work it requires. It's about having the car and saying "hey, I'm going to upgrade this" and then you research it and settle on what you're doing, there's all of the feelings and excitement around that along with ordering and waiting for the parts to show and then the highs and lows of installing everything.

 

[xxdabroxx]

May 16th, 2022
I think I'm in a holding pattern for parts. About the only thing(s) I could do right now is unpackage subframe connectors and see about getting those tacked up and perhaps doing some general cleanup on the undercarriage of the car but I'm not sure I will bother with any of that. I'm currently waiting on a shock relocation kit which was initially supposed to be delivered tomorrow / May 17th but shipping says it was ahead of schedule and should be here today yet it's currently on its' way to Toledo Ohio so I'm not holding my breath that it will be here.

I also ordered new front leaf mounts because I left the old ones on the leaf springs that were attached to the rear that went out the door this weekend. I've got some j-clip nightmare stuff I need to sort out and quite a few miscellaneous tasks like bending brakeline etc. @xxdabroxx I think I'm probably going to buy that kit you referenced. I need the flare tool also.

I'm really not in too much of a rush as anyone following this thread can likely see. While I would love to have this car back together and be capable of cruising around, it's important to remember that part of the joy of all of this is the work it requires. It's about having the car and saying "hey, I'm going to upgrade this" and then you research it and settle on what you're doing, there's all of the feelings and excitement around that along with ordering and waiting for the parts to show and then the highs and lows of installing everything.

I'd confirm the sizes of the banjo bolts on your calipers, other than that I think it should work. I'm guessing you've got explorer brakes with your 9", pretty common, and those may be a metric banjo. They may work with the hardware in the kit though.

If you're going to swap to manual brakes it would be a good time to do so as you're re-plumbing everything anyway. Or maybe you just want to do the rear for now and tackle the front lines later. I dunno.

I still can't figure out what the J-clips are that you're having trouble with.

 

[sudden_impulse]

The j-clips that hold the 3 bolts on each side for the leaf spring front mount I would guess.

 

[unstable]

@xxdabroxx if I remember correctly, you said your pops eliminated the front leaf spring mounts / pockets. For most of us, the front eyelet mounts into that plate that is held to the car with 3 bolts which secure through "j-clips". J-clips and similar devices like cage-nuts etc. hold the nut captive in a thin sheetmetal arrangement, usually on body pieces you'll see them. Once the sheetmetal rots out and you try to back the bolt out, the nut will just spin. That's what I'm referring to and yes @sudden_impulse is 100% correct.

1955-1974 Chevrolet Chevy II Nova Parts | 3784845 | J-Type Clip Nut, Fits 5/16-18 bolts, Black Phosphate Coated | Classic Industries

 

[unstable]

May 17th, 2022
Holding pattern for me. Performance Online shock relocation kit was scheduled to be delivered today and a few days back I got a notification it was ahead of schedule and was going to be delivered yesterday at the end of the day...it wasn't. Now, according to tracking it doesn't look like it's even going to make it today. Additionally I'm waiting on those front leaf mounts from speedway and I haven't even received shipping from them so I'm not sure if they shipped or not. Long story short, outside of climbing under this car to get the j-clip situation sorted out, which shouldn't take long or dorking with my subframe connectors or going OCD and trying to clean and spray paint on the undercarriage or bending brake line on the rear end, I'm in a holding pattern.

If Thursday rolls around and I don't have parts, I'll probably find something to do if I feel up to it or if the bug bites me sooner, I'll go out and do something.

Also of note, this Saturday my sons are coming up and we're doing Street Outlaws no prep at New England Dragway. Only thing I'm dreading about this is the weather here went from crappy to crappy on the other side of the spectrum. We skipped spring. It's supposed to be 94 degrees out. This year I'm going prepared with sunscreen, been pushing water, foldout chair and umbrella...oh ear plugs too.
Hoping it's an enjoyable and non-miserable experience.

 

[xxdabroxx]

Nice! NPK should be fun, lots of fast cars to check out.

You might pick up a flaring tool and tubing cutter. Try trimming back some of the spiral on the brake line and re-flare it, may be a PITA under the car but could save you from reworking the whole line for now.

 

[patman]

Holy crap, last I looked it was going to be in the 60s and 70s this week, then it spikes to 90+ for the weekend? Guess I put the window AC's in this week, thanks for the heads-up.
😬

 

[unstable]

@patman are you going to NPK?

 

[patman]

No, but I was planning on doing some work around the house outside, so...that kinda sucks.

 

[unstable]

May 18th, 2022
Shock relocation kit finally landed and I'm about 2 hours away from doing some wrenching. I have other problems though...the GF is really quite resistant to me taking any time to do anything that I want to do. For awhile it was cute and now it's really beginning to frustrate me.

Plan for tonight is going to be fitting this kit onto the car, handling the j-clip situation, I have one that the bolt head is cut off that is going to need a little more pain applied and maybe I can look at what's going on with the subframe connectors. That's about as much as I will be able to do because I'm still waiting on the mounts from Speedway since I was too lazy to take my other ones off before I sold the 10 bolt to nhcor.

 

[xxdabroxx]

Women seem to have this crazy ability to be jealous of the time we spend on our hobbies. My wife doesn't appreciate the time I spend on the car either.

 

[Dirty Joe]

Women seem to have this crazy ability to be jealous of the time we spend on our hobbies. My wife doesn't appreciate the time I spend on the car either.

That would be an interesting thread to start.
Unstable, What else would you be doing if not working on the nova? The winter is long when it's cold out. The weather just got better out. It's time to get outside I say. So get out there and work on the nova. Just gotta hang out with her a couple times a week too.

 

[lwlevens]

Also make sure you take them out for dinner and shopping on the weekend, then your golden.

 

[railroaderman]

These Nova's can be quite resistance about sharing their time also. They demand significant time and $$. Your just going to have to share your valuable self around. Some for the Nova and some for the GF. Be mindful not to talk or think about one when your with the other one.

 

[unstable]

@xxdabroxx @Dirty Joe @lwlevens @railroaderman
Gentlemen, thank you for the advice regarding the GF. I was married for a fair amount of time and it's an interesting dynamic with women. It's almost as if they demand control of the man in their life, his time, his money and so on...at least that's been my experience with the opposite sex. Usually if you get a woman who doesn't care about your time, she still cares about your money and wants to control your time to some extent. Having a woman that understands you have your own interests and tries to support them, is pretty rare.

Anyhow, May 18th 2022 update.
Shock relocation kit landed. By the time I got home from work I wasn't really super enthusiastic about working on the Nova. I unboxed the kit and eyeballed it. Removed the bumpstops and rear bushings from the rear frame. Tried to match up the bushings to the E.S. stuff I got and I'm lost. I'm not sure if I have those. Need to dig through the Calvert stuff to see if maybe they included them. I may just order a set today to make sure that base is covered.

What I did find about the Performance Online shock relocation kit is online with what youtube SS396RAT said. The kit is located using the bump stop holes. The instructions do not call for welding but the amount of thread in the frame rails is really not very substantial. SS396RAT welded the brackets after locating them and replaced the Performance Online hardware with grade 8 stuff.

Part of me is like...how much abuse would one expect this upper shock mount to incur? Isn't the stock location basically carved out of the sheetmetal? I just cannot imagine that a shock would be under a ton of tension. Online it says a Monroe nitrogen shock is 100-150 PSI. Two shocks would be 200-300PSI. I just don't know.

Another minor issue I have is that it looks like my exhaust routing may interfere. I'll mock it all up. I'm leaning towards just getting some grade 8 hardware and bolting everything up, assuming it will fit with my exhaust. If it doesn't fit I'll get the sawzall out. I'll worry about getting it welded later.

Also of note: the mobile welding guy I spoke with said he didn't want to weld on a car due to liability. I'm thinking of calling him back with hopes of getting him on the phone to explain what I actually want welded to see if he understands and is less intimidated by it. The only plan B I have is to maybe tack everything up myself and find somewhere I can drive this to for finish welding (think xxdabroxx recommended this).

That's it for now guys. Thanks for listening to me rant and for the support. Hope everyone has a great day.

 

[RifRaf]

I was referring just to those bushings that were left on the rear frame section where the shackle bolts up: I wasn’t sure if that’s considered a bushing or part of the suspension shackles or whatever

Sorry for the late reply (I've got some house remodel projects going on).
I installed the Global West Del-a-Lum rear shackle kit onto the rear leaf springs. They are working great. These shackles are very heavy duty and the delrin bushings lets the rear suspension operate without any binding.

Global West produces this shackle kit for Novas with caltrac bars (both with and without the caltrac leaf springs).
1968-74 Rear Springs, Shocks, Bushings

 

[lwlevens]

My 72 is the same way without the shocks relocated just 3" pipes.

 

[unstable]

Sorry for the late reply (I've got some house remodel projects going on).
I installed the Global West Del-a-Lum rear shackle kit onto the rear leaf springs. They are working great. These shackles are very heavy duty and the delrin bushings lets the rear suspension operate without any binding.
Global West produces this shackle kit for Novas with caltrac bars (both with and without the caltrac leaf springs).

@RifRaf I'd love to say "great minds" but that's a pretty heavy claim to make of myself. Oddly, I was doing some research on bushings because it doesn't look like I have the necessary bushings on hand, I stumbled upon the Global West stuff and put an order in this morning.

The instructions say that you have to drop the gas tank to install their bushings, did you find that to be true? Looking at the installation video, it doesn't appear to be necessary. I ordered the bushing installation tool as well. If you used that, definitely let me know how it went sir.