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    Results 1 to 10 of 10
    1. #1
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina

      72 Nova - The Booboo Project LS/4L65e

      According to my daughter (2 1/2 eyar old) I have to fix the booboo on the car. Thus the name for the project.





      Bought the 72 Nova in 2010, drove it for that year. It had a 307 with a TH350. It did not run good, very sluggish. Winter of 2010-2011 decided it was time to change the engine to either a 355 or 383 with a 200-4R. That did not go as planned. Floor, wiring, suspension, brakes and more got replaced. A LS2 with LS3 heads and intake and a 4L65e will be going in instead of the 383 combo.

      A lot of more pictures and information here
      So here it goes:


      - Engine -
      LQ9 with LS3 internals, heads and intake with a 4L65e Stage1 harness included
      Hooker Headers 2276-1HKR Silver Ceramic
      Hooker Engine Swap Mounts 12618HKR
      Hooker Transmission Crossmember 12625HKR
      Energy Suspension 3-1130R Kit
      Allstar Performance Motor Mounts ALL38114
      Fast GM LS Big Mouth LT Throttle Body™ (4-bolt) 92mm 54090
      Belt 6PK2025


      Cylinder Head Plug GM #12553191
      PCV tube/hose GM #12594779




      - Fuel - Post #12
      LS filter/regulator Wix 33737 Complete In-Line Fuel Filter
      Russell Fuel Rail Fitting Adapters 640940 (3/8 in. to -6 AN)
      Russell Push-On EFI Fittings 644113 (5/16 in. to -6 AN)
      Russell Push-On EFI Fittings 644123 (3/8 in. to -6 AN)
      Tanks Inc. 1972-72 EFI Gas Tank TM46C-T
      Fuel Tank Sending Unit GM 1965 & UP Type 5 Hole Design - 0-90 Ohms TAN-GML
      High Flow fuel pump Module - 255 Liters Per Hour - Up to 600 hp / kt GPA-4
      Remote Mount Rollover Vent Valve - Aluminum VVR




      - Cooling -
      Steam Line Adapters WA0214 x4
      Earl's Performance 90* Couplers AT935104ERL x2
      Fragola Performance Systems Tee Adapter Fittings 498302-BL x1
      Russell Tee Adapter Fittings 661003 x2
      Fragola Performance Systems Swivels 498102-BL x2
      Fragola Performance Systems AN to Pipe Thread Fittings 481604-BL x2
      Fragola Performance Systems Series 8000 Push-Lite Race Hose Ends 200104-BL x5
      Summit Racing® AN to NPT Adapter Fittings SUM-220455B x2
      Gates 18473 heater delete hose


      - Floors - Post #2 Post #8
      Goodmark Floor Pan Braces 4012-517-681
      Goodmark Floor Pan Braces Left and Right
      Goodmark Floor Panel Patches Full Length Left and Right




      - Suspension -
      Hotchkis Sport Suspension TVS Systems
      Global West Lower Control Arms
      Global West Upper Control Arms




      - Wiring -
      AAW Complete Wiring Kit - 1969-72 Nova


      - Brakes -
      C6 front and rear calipers from eBay
      Kore3 Rear Big brake kit with parking brake
      Kore3 Front Big brake kit for short spindle


      - Wheels -
      Center Line Wheels Legend Series Lazer II - 18x8 with 5" Backspacing
      Center Line Wheels Legend Series Lazer II - 18x9.5 with 6" Backspacing
      Nitto NT 555 Tires - 245 /45R18
      Nitto NT 555 Tires - 275 /40R18


      I will keep updating this post as I go.


    2. #2
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      This was the interior back then. The wiring under the dash was pathetic, so a AAW was ordered.




      I changed the wheels to Centerline Legend Series, 245/45/18 fronts 275/40/18 rear. Wrapped in Nitto 555 tires. This is when I was hawling the car to have the floors done. I did not feel confident in doing it myself, so I decided to have somebody that does this for a living do it. Did not want to be driving the Flintstone's car on the highway.



      New floors were added



      Firewall need to be fixed due to the lazy hammer use for a large distributor with HEI









      I know the smoothing of the firewall was not 100% perfect, but this is not a trailer queen car nor a show car. But I have respect to the body restoration people, that firewall smoothing BS is very time consuming. I used metal 2 metal to fill it. Then lots of elbow sanding. After that I used Eastwood primer and Chassis Black.

    3. #3
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      Started collecting the item for the swap.





      The Hooker LS swap parts, Hooker Engine Mounts #12618HKR and Crossmember #12625HKR







      CuNiFer lines were used for brake lines, THANK YOU TOBIN www.kore3.com for this suggestion. 100x better than SS lines.



      I also finished the rear lines. I went to Home Depot Motorsports to get 2 3-4" hose clamps to hold the brake line bracket in place. I was going to weld them to the carrier, but if I need to move anything it is a matter of unbolting the clamp or spending $1.20 for a new clamp rather than dealing with the grinder and such to adjust it in the future.



      The rear brake hose bracket got misplaced and some measurements were taken, 1.5" up from the carrier and 1" for the hose T. Bend it on the vise and drill the holes needed.



      I also got my engine,




    4. #4
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      Got the new frame, OER K44718 and managed to drop the old frame and put it away in the shed.





      Here is the old frame,



      Placed the frame in the garage as it was 24* outside, and with the wire wheel on the grinder I cleaned the area around the frame in order to weld it. I was amazed at how the finishing was on the frame. I mean they did it as if it was done back in those days. Frame had gaps of close to 0.25" in some areas between the plates. The welding was ok, and in certain areas they missed the spot completely.



      So I fired up the welder, and closed the gaps around the frame.



      Not my best welding, was still trying to find the correct setting but







      I did both sides, will grind it down a bit to make it neat and then apply some Eastwood Rust Encapsulator with Chassis black, which believe it or not it matches perfectly. The paint on the frame is not the best comming from OER, not sure why, but it pealed off pretty easy and some areas got all scratched up from shipping which is bound to happen.

    5. #5
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      After going through a full spool of 0.030" of wire and seam welding the frame, i finished painting the frame with Eastwood Extreme Chassis Black.



      Dragged the frame and bolted it up to the body. Then used the frame to body bolt to align it as well as the tape measure.





      Here I use the tape measure to make sure it is square with the body.



      Driver side



      Passenger side



      I then moved over to working with the sub frame connectors, Heidts RN-055. They come with no instructions, I email Heidts and the reply back was "they are pretty straight forward for installation". I was really? So why do i have a spacer that I have no clue where it goes?





      Either way, I found the instructions for the 67-69 Camaro, same basic thing here. That spacer still made no sense (bottom two washers on the bottom of the above picture). I did not care much as I was going to weld the back fo the frame connectors to the rear frame rails. But first I had to fix a few things.

      The Energy Suspension bushing did not fit on the connector. It was off by a hair of an inch but enough in order not to sit right.



      Using my "trusted" digital caliper these were the differences





      After going deaf from the air compressor filling its empty tank, I went to look for my air grinder. For the life of me I could not find it and I usually put everything back away after a days work in the garage. I guess that day I did not for unknown reasons. It must have taken me about 10 minutes to find it. It was inside the electric angle grinder under all the discs. Protip #542523521 make sure to put things away nor matter what the situation is.






    6. #6
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      So here are the connectors installed. Here is placing the connector in order to get the front holes drilled on the frame.



      Once I did both sides, I went to my private painting booth and coted the connectors with some black paint. At the same time i cleaned the rear frame rails as to where I was going to weld.





      So once all done with welding and such, I covered the area with some Rust Encapsulator and then the 3M rubberized undercoat that I used for the floor.


      At the same time I got my grease guns, and the different grease for the bushings and ball joints. The Red Line is for ball joints and the ES is for the polyurethane bushings.

      Performance Tool Pistol Grip Grease Guns W54204
      Red Line Synthetic Grease 80402
      Energy Suspension Formula Five Prelubes 9-11104




      The Red Line comes in its own tube, so just inserted in the gun and presto. The ES poly grease comes in a tub, so you need to transfer it to the gun.



      Then mark each gun with the respected grease in order to prevent mistakes.


    7. #7
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      Here are some quick pictures of the tank. It is a very nice piece. Quality is very good, paint is outstanding, nice and thick. Tank and straps are made in Taiwan, fuel sender made in India and the pump is made in the US.









      Here is a picture of the inside.



      Tank all set and ready to be mounted.





      It is finally here! Took some time to get some $$$ going to purchase this, Holley 302-2



      I finished the installation of the Holley 302-2 oil pan as well. I bought a new oil gasket and the LS3 oil tube and dip stick from the dealer. I paid $60 for everything.

      A quick picture next to the LH8 oil pan.



      I had the GM #12611129 windage tray so I had to cut 1/4 of the tray. I think i measured 4.5" for what had to be cut.



      Here is everything torqued back to specs. Remember that the bolt that holds the windage tray under the pickp tube will need to be torqued down first before you do the rest. So make sure you start from there outwards.





      I ended up making a tube straightener for the front to rear brake and fuel lines.

      I bought 3 packs of Prime-Line Products D 1503 Steel Ball Bearing Sliding Door Roller, 1-1/2-Inch and a steel 'L' bar as well. I spaced them out at 3" each on one side and on the other in between the 3 rollers.



      Then I used some extra tube i had to correct the spacing by washers and i tightened it down on the vise. Then slide the tube and done.



      Credits go to Total Performance Post#334

    8. #8
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      I bought the Flowmaster 815801 tailpipes to test fit and see if they would clear the Hotchkis rear sway bar. [JamesMay voice]GOOOD NEEWSSS[/JamesMay voice] it clears!



      I am hoping that the Hooker 42505HKR will clear the dog bones that hold the Hotchkis rear sway bar. From all the pictures I have seen posted from Toddoky it seems it could work.





      At the same time I bought the Hooker 42505HKR from Summit. If they do not fit the rear section I will return it and build my own exhaust.

    9. #9
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      The long wait was worth it.



      Dakota Digital VHX black alloy gauge cluster.

      I also ended up buying the Gloabl west #818 body bushings and I received the Vinatage Air system as well. I am hoping to work on the car this weekend.

      Clint, I agree with what you said. I already jacked it up pretty much to create the indentation in the tunnel for those two ears. But as I have to take the engine out to fix the scratches that i did on the firewall at the same time i might add a slightly bigger indentation on that section.

      Harris thank you for the comment, I hope to have it fixed as well.


      Some 1" heat shrink tubing was ordered from amazon, Amazon.com: Amico 25mm Black Heat Shrinkable Tube Shrink Tubing 1M: Home Improvement, and I used this for the gas tank straps.



      I used a heat gun to make sure it was done evenly. Yet there are slight imperfections, but it does not bother as much as the transmission does. lol


      As I mentioned before I ordered the Global West Suspension Interloc Body Mount Bushings 818. They are really nice, and in the picture you can see that 2 of the frame mounts are longer than the other ones. This is to give the extra length needed when using a SFC which slides INSIDE the frame and not over, such as the GW SFC do.



      These were not fun to install, specially after having the SFC welded in the back and squared in the front. Some muscles had to be used with a pry bar, and some pushing and shoving in order to get the frame squared again. Normally it should not happen if you take one bushing at a time, but the SFC was not allowing me to lift the body enough to slide the old bushing out and the new ones in.

      At the same time GW gives you 2 bolts for the body bushings. They suggest using the 4" bolt in the back bushing and the 3.5" under the firewall bushing. The 3.5" was to short for the front bushing specially using the half inch spacer that is required with the Novas. I decided to swap the bolts, use the 4" in the front under the firewall and the 3.5" in the back of the frame. Everything fit fine after that. I guess my theory thinking from post #103 got voided as it really did not change the height of the frame vs body to create the clearance needed between the trans and the tunnel.

      I need to measure the driveline angle, specially that I got my digital angle finder. I bought a compass one from Home Depot, but it is a POS and its accuracy is +/- 2°, while the digital one is 0.5° +/-. The digital angle finder I bought is the iGaging AngleCube Digital Level which I bought on Amazon. You can also find it here which they seem to be a vendor in Amazon, so being a prime member they matched the price and did not have to pay shipping either.

      Before I forget, I test fitted the transmission with the Prothane 7-1604 and I have the same issue at the tunnel. There is no varation what so ever between the Energy Suspension and the Prothane one. Also both measured the same height, the only difference I found is that when you are lowering the transmission back to the crossmember the Prothane had some issues aligning the bolt holes from underneath while the Energy Suspension one I did not have a problem. No idea why, when both bushings are supposed to be the same in dimensions and such. But at this point in the game I just want to get this car running or I will light a match to it if I keep myself going back and forth with things like these.

      As usual I start with something then get side tracked with other things. I wanted to see how the Dakota Digital VHX fit on the bezel. Unfortunately it is not a 100% fit, oh well, nothing that a few washers cannot fix.

      This is the space you get on the top side, the long tabs that the VHX has



      Here is the bottom, almost same gap.



      Once I get this fixed I will take pictures of the bezel and the gauges all together. All I can say it looks great!

    10. #10
      Join Date
      Nov 2009
      Location
      Orlando, FL
      Posts
      250
      Country Flag: Argentina
      So after getting some time back from some personal life issues, I managed to get the exhaust up and bolted on. In all the exhaust system went in pretty straight forward. The only issue I found was that when you have to mount the rear bracket you need to remove the wheels in order to have space to do all the drilling and such. I think this was a bit overkill and once I find the pictures I will update the post.

      The full system was installed with exhaust clamps free. Reason as to why both mufflers are not parallel to the ground yet.







      I also used the Flowmaster 3"-2.5" R3025 reducer with two Summit Racing lap joint clamps SUM-692300. I had to cut the leading pipes to length using a chop saw with a metal disc in it. Once the pipe was cut I cleaned it all up and cleaned the metal shaving inside as well.



      Below we can see how the full system sits under the car. Eventually I will take a picture showing the ground clearance once I roll the car out.




      Time came to put the accessory brackets on the engine plus the new Sanden SD7 I got from Vintage Air for the AC.



      I did find out that the aluminum used on these brackets is not the best in the planet, the top bolt that holds the power steering pump will not tighten. I always put all bolts in by hand till flush. Then use the torque wrench and tighten with half the required torque specs first then apply the correct torque as a second pass. The M8 bolts require 18ft/lbs which is nothing yet for some reason i managed to strip the thread in the bracket. So now i need to find a longer M8 bolt and place a nut behind the bracket or see if I can put a helicoil as a fix.

      The other thing that has me worried is the power steering pump pulley. I have a feeling I might need to swap for a smaller pulley as it is too close to the UCA. Once the alignment shims are added, not sure how much is needed, there will be no room at all.



      I do have an extra smaller pulley, but not sure it will fit with the DSE Power Steering Pump Outlet Fitting and a 90° AN fitting as well. Does anyone have by any chance the GW UCA and how many shims they used? I can use this as a ball park and see what needs to be done to fix or remedy this issue.





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