Alan46
Veteran Member
Great build! We know you went through some tough times with the extra headaches and $$, but you will enjoy it for many years to come!
Restarting My '70 Nova Project
- Thread starter BravoXray
- Start date
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BravoXray
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- Kubota BX2230, John Deere 430 Diesel
There is a local shop that has a chassis dyno, and I plan on taking it to them and let them put a tune on it. If I do, I'll get a video of that.
It'll be interesting to see what the RWHP comes out to be.
dodge man
Super Star Member
I’m not sure what kind of cam and compression you’re running but I’d guess mid 300’s for hp and anything over 400 is pretty exceptional. What are you thinking?
NoTrespassing
Veteran Member
What's the plan for the drip rail?
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BravoXray
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I'm still trying to decide what to do. I have an extra set of trim, and I made a tool out of a bolt that will slide through the underside of the trim and roll the top edge out, so hopefully it will go on over the vinyl. Still working on it though.
At this point, I'm sort of leaning towards trimming the vinyl back just enough for the trim to go on. It wouldn't take removing much to get it to fit.
I'll post my solution when I get it figured out.
I worked on resetting the toe-in on the car, it was a little squirrely on uneven roads, so I got it set to about a 1/16" to 1/8" toe in, and it drives a lot better now.
While I was in the shop this afternoon, a fellow Nova owner stopped by with his '68. It is basically a race car, 400 SBC with twin turbos and Holley EFI, running on E85. He says it runs in the 8s. Sounds really nasty, the exhaust just dumps out behind the front tires.
It had caught fire a couple of years ago, damage wasn't too bad, and he got it rebuilt this spring.
MossRoad
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Very nice!!!! 
Alan46
Veteran Member
Sweet
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BravoXray
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Decided to give the Nova a bath yesterday, I haven't washed a car since I washed it last, about 11 years ago. A wash mitt, some warm water and some Dawn soap got it soaped up good and used the hose to rinse it off. Picked up a large microfiber cloth at O'Reilly's that worked well to dry it off.
Drove over to my niece's house to give her husband a ride, and they were gone, so I went for a 20 mile joyride instead.
The only noise I have on it is the parking brake cable hitting the exhaust pipe, it runs over the top of the pipe, and when it's released, it rattles a lot.
I jacked it up this morning after I got back from breakfast, and I think I'm going to have to make a couple of J-hook shaped pieces of flat stock or maybe eye bolts that I'll fasten to a crossmember to hold the cable up off the pipe. I'll probably drill a couple of holes and install Riv-Nuts to bolt them into. Should be pretty easy to do.
Other than that, it's doing fine.
I had put 190 miles on it since I filled the tank, so n the way back from breakfast I stopped and filled it up. It took 16 gallons, so that works out to about 12 MPG, better than the 350 was getting. The gas gauge was reading 1/2 full, but since it's a 20 gallon tank, it's really a little less than 1/4. Going to have to remember that. I'm still adjusting the AFR in the EFI system, and I think I can get in to do a little better, maybe get it up to 14 MPG, we'll see.
Even with the temps in the mid to high 80s, the Nova is comfortable inside, no heat off the firewall or floors, thanks to all the sound deadener and insulation I put in it. It also helps to have a shutoff valve in a heater hose to keep hot water out of the core. Also, the kick panel vents work great, giving a nice breeze from the floor.
I had to do some maintenance on my F150 last week, the pinion seal and rear transmission seal have been leaking for a while, so I bought the seals, a cover gasket and gear lube for the differential. I got it up on four jackstands pulled the driveshaft off the rear, pulled the pinion flange and after a little struggle got the old seal out. Used a short piece of 2.5" exhaust pipe and a hammer to drive the new seal into place, then put the pinion flange back on. I had a little surprise when I pulled the flange and seal, as about 2/3rds of the lube ran out into the small pan I had under it. It finally stopped when it was about 1/4" from overflowing. I Pulled to cover off and drained the last bit of lube and cleaned out the inside of the housing. That's when I realized NAPA had given me the wrong gasket, and the lube wasn't for the limited slip rear, so I cleaned up and drove the Nova to the store and got the correct stuff.
Next afternoon, I pulled the drive shaft out of the trans and changed that seal, which was a little more of a challenge, as it's surrounded by the crossmember, exhaust pipe and heat shields. I finally got it out and found an old Speedi-Sleeve install tool that fit the new seal to get it driven back into the housing. That done, I slid the driveshaft back in, bolted up the mid-ship bearing and bolted it back on the pinion flange. When I was cleaning up the rear cover, I decided to blast all the rust off and paint it, as it looked really bad. After it dried, I applied a little gasket maker to the gasket and bolted it back on. The gear lube came in flexible pouches, so you just snip off the spout and squirt (most) of it into the fill hole. It takes a little finesse to get it in without squirting it on the diff, the floor or you. Ah, but that's what Oil-Dri is for. I used a couple of cans of brake cleaner and cleaned up the diff housing and the rear of the trans, to soothe my OCD.
I guess with 267,000 miles on them, that's not too bad for the seals to last.
Well, I've rattled on for too long.
Drove over to my niece's house to give her husband a ride, and they were gone, so I went for a 20 mile joyride instead.
The only noise I have on it is the parking brake cable hitting the exhaust pipe, it runs over the top of the pipe, and when it's released, it rattles a lot.
I jacked it up this morning after I got back from breakfast, and I think I'm going to have to make a couple of J-hook shaped pieces of flat stock or maybe eye bolts that I'll fasten to a crossmember to hold the cable up off the pipe. I'll probably drill a couple of holes and install Riv-Nuts to bolt them into. Should be pretty easy to do.
Other than that, it's doing fine.
I had put 190 miles on it since I filled the tank, so n the way back from breakfast I stopped and filled it up. It took 16 gallons, so that works out to about 12 MPG, better than the 350 was getting. The gas gauge was reading 1/2 full, but since it's a 20 gallon tank, it's really a little less than 1/4. Going to have to remember that. I'm still adjusting the AFR in the EFI system, and I think I can get in to do a little better, maybe get it up to 14 MPG, we'll see.
Even with the temps in the mid to high 80s, the Nova is comfortable inside, no heat off the firewall or floors, thanks to all the sound deadener and insulation I put in it. It also helps to have a shutoff valve in a heater hose to keep hot water out of the core. Also, the kick panel vents work great, giving a nice breeze from the floor.
I had to do some maintenance on my F150 last week, the pinion seal and rear transmission seal have been leaking for a while, so I bought the seals, a cover gasket and gear lube for the differential. I got it up on four jackstands pulled the driveshaft off the rear, pulled the pinion flange and after a little struggle got the old seal out. Used a short piece of 2.5" exhaust pipe and a hammer to drive the new seal into place, then put the pinion flange back on. I had a little surprise when I pulled the flange and seal, as about 2/3rds of the lube ran out into the small pan I had under it. It finally stopped when it was about 1/4" from overflowing. I Pulled to cover off and drained the last bit of lube and cleaned out the inside of the housing. That's when I realized NAPA had given me the wrong gasket, and the lube wasn't for the limited slip rear, so I cleaned up and drove the Nova to the store and got the correct stuff.
Next afternoon, I pulled the drive shaft out of the trans and changed that seal, which was a little more of a challenge, as it's surrounded by the crossmember, exhaust pipe and heat shields. I finally got it out and found an old Speedi-Sleeve install tool that fit the new seal to get it driven back into the housing. That done, I slid the driveshaft back in, bolted up the mid-ship bearing and bolted it back on the pinion flange. When I was cleaning up the rear cover, I decided to blast all the rust off and paint it, as it looked really bad. After it dried, I applied a little gasket maker to the gasket and bolted it back on. The gear lube came in flexible pouches, so you just snip off the spout and squirt (most) of it into the fill hole. It takes a little finesse to get it in without squirting it on the diff, the floor or you. Ah, but that's what Oil-Dri is for. I used a couple of cans of brake cleaner and cleaned up the diff housing and the rear of the trans, to soothe my OCD.
I guess with 267,000 miles on them, that's not too bad for the seals to last.
Well, I've rattled on for too long.
BleedingOrange
Veteran Member
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- Apr 19, 2011
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- Kubota BX 2370
Your friends Nova looks awesome, and it must be producing great amounts of HP to be running in the 8 sec. range. Nice to see you enjoying yours. I,m guessing your motor will produce at least 450 HP at the rear wheels. What would your guess be ?
MossRoad
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Speaking of Nova gas gauges.... as I recall, all 4 of the ones I owned would drive for days above F, gradually get to 1/2, then drop like a rock to E in about what seemed like 10 miles once it hit 1/4.