63 Nova Convertible Pro Touring Project

[rfe3]

This Thread will be the beginning of my 63 Nova Convertible Pro Touring Project. I'm re-posting my first Post in the New Members Thread with an over view of the Project.

"Hi,
I'm Rick. I'm from N. Central TN and I'm a Caroholic... This is my first foray into building a Pro Tourer. I have several Hot Rods, Classic Cars/Trucks and Motorcycles but I try to keep them "Old School" Classic. They're great for local events <200 miles but I want to get a little Hog Wild and do some long distance touring so I found a nice 63 Nova Convertible that the previous owner tried to build a "Restomod" for lack of a better term. Lots of it was done half-assed (but it made him happy so I'm not going to knock him) and was the perfect candidate IMO to let some of my Freak fly...

I'm putting together a mix of Old School and Modern in this thing. The Project will begin in April when my Schwartz Performance Chassis arrives. I have almost all the Bells & Whistles on the Chassis and it cost me more than I paid for the Car it's self. I have the Currie Spec 9" Rear w/ 3.70 Gears, Detroit TT, Moser Full Floaters, 13" Baer Brakes and the Ride Tech Single Adj. Coil Overs. The Car will be Mini Tubed and I'm going to try to get 11" Tire under the Rear with 18 or 19" Wheels (looking for 28" Dia. minimum), not sure about the Front yet. I have a GearStar Lvl.3 4L80E with a Yank Converter and a US Shift Quick 4 with the Remote controller.

The Engine is a 1964 Chevy 409 Big Block (I grew up with 409's in my Dad's Cars). The Engine has a 4" Stroke (474Ci), H-Beam Con Rods, Ross Forged Pistons, 11:1 CR. This motor is a Torque Build so I had Mike Jones custom make a Cam with a 4/7 Swap. The Engine is about 540hp and 575 Tq. I'm using a Progression Ignition Distributor like I have on my other 3 V-8's. I have an Accusump Kit as a Pre-Oiler, Steffs is making me a Custom Dry Sump Pan for the 409, I don't have my Tank and Pumps yet as I want to do a dry fit of the Motor before ordering them. To top it off I'm going really Old School with an Offy 6x2 Pacesetter Intake and 6 Stromberg 97's. I have 2 Big 97's (250cfm ea.) and 4 Vintage 97's (165cfm ea.) as Secondaries. PITA I know but I love 'em. I'm running the Carbs as a progressive set up with the Big 97's as Primaries.

I plan on customizing the Interior with maybe Procar Rally XL's or Elite Lumbar DLX's,(I need to find some to actually sit in before I make my decision). I'm planning Roll Hoops and a Rear Seat delete as well."

This is my Starting Point...

[badbu68]

Please take a good video once you get that engine running, I bet it'll sound amazing!

[rfe3]

It's got a 327 with 2x4's and a 700R4 in it now. The 409 will be awesome. I have one in my 55. My Dad and all his Buddies had 409's in all their Cars back in the 60's and 70's. I was about 12 before I realized there were other Chevy Big Blocks. I love them and have collected 4 more of them over the last few years including a 1964 NOS Crate Short Block 409/425hp. from and old Gentleman in N. Illinois.

[rfe3]

Got my Offy 6 Deuce Intake back from Rob Walden yesterday. He added on some "Ears" to the Intake Ports to modify it so it will fit the Chevy High Performance "690" Heads. These Intakes were only made for the Low Performance 348 and 409 Heads with the smaller Intakes and Valves.

[rfe3]

Got a question about Brakes... My Schwartz Chassis has 13" Baer Discs with 6 pot front and 4 pot rear calipers. My question is Manual or Power? Personally I like the cleaner look of Manual and I've read in the "Brake" section of the Forum where others have said the brakes feel more responsive as manuals. This is my first "Protourish" build so I don't have any basis to make an informed decision on it. My 64 Impala and 55 Chevy 150 both have Power Brakes but they are very heavy and and I don't drive them very hard. The extra stopping power is welcome. This Nova build will be different though...3000ish Lbs., 540ish Hp and 575ish Tq. I would like to do a little Autocross, and light "Racing" with it but the majority of the usage will be long distance and local Cruising. I hate the Interstates and plan to cruise the Byways with it in the Spring-Fall every year as long as I'm able (I'm only 60 so hopefully for many years...) Thoughts would be appreciated.

[79 Camaro]

On my 67 Nova with a 427 cube LS/4l60E combo I used C5 discs and calipers all around. Wilwood master and prop valve speced by Tobin at kore3.com.
Worked great. You just have to push a bit harder compared to power brakes.
Also I like to fab my brake lines using Nicopp brake line. It flares like butter.
Before and after pics.


Good luck with the build.

[Vimes]

I plan on manual brakes for my own project. A typical vacuum brake booster weighs around 14lbs. For something you want to race in the 3000lb range, 14lbs is about 1 percent of the weight on the front wheels, and half a percent of the vehicle's total weight. That is a rather large single item weight drop, and for racing you want to chase those pounds and ounces. As long as the leverage on the brake pedal is correct, you'll be exchanging a little more movement and a little more effort for that drop in weight, but it won't be that bad and you may not even notice the increased effort needed. Plus, you'll never have to worry about an unexpected super hard pedal when the booster fails - one less item to go wrong.

[rfe3]

Very Nice 67, your Engine compartment looks super neat and tidy.

[rfe3]

I plan on manual brakes for my own project. A typical vacuum brake booster weighs around 14lbs. For something you want to race in the 3000lb range, 14lbs is about 1 percent of the weight on the front wheels, and half a percent of the vehicle's total weight. That is a rather large single item weight drop, and for racing you want to chase those pounds and ounces. As long as the leverage on the brake pedal is correct, you'll be exchanging a little more movement and a little more effort for that drop in weight, but it won't be that bad and you may not even notice the increased effort needed. Plus, you'll never have to worry about an unexpected super hard pedal when the booster fails - one less item to go wrong.

Good info, thanks. I'm not so concerned about the Pounds as any "Racing" would be secondary but having one less failure point is a major consideration as well as being able to "Feel" the Brakes better.

[rfe3]

Ok, It's begun... I started tearing the Nova down about 3 weeks ago. I breathed a real sigh of relief when I got the Carpets and Padding out and got the entire Floor Pan exposed and found no Rust except a little surface stuff. I was pleased to see the original Red Oxide Primer and the Tar Paper sound proofing. The only Rust hole I found was just below the Windshield between the Door and Front Fender, got it Welded up.

Stripped the 327 and the 700R4 out as well as all the wiring, I got a new AAW Highway 22 Wiring Harness to replace it. I wire wheeled the entire interior floor pans to remove any loose primer and surface rust then gave the entire interior a good coat of POR-15.

Schwartz Performance sent me a couple of Photos of my Chassis on the Build Table, should be finished in a week or so and be ready for delivery. They have developed a "New & Improved" 1st Gen Nova Chassis and mine is #2 of the new design.

Got the new Alu. Core support in and marked up to widen it for the new Radiator. I got my new Radiator from US Radiator in today...Man that thing is nice. I ordered a Brass/Copper Radiator for a 68 Impala 396/427 with 4 Cores, the optima Core option and the Triple Pass. If you want a good solid Radiator I highly recommend them, all hand made in Gadsden, AL. and the quality is the best I've seen in a long time. The Guys are great to deal with. Not cheap but well made.

[rfe3]

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[rfe3]

Woo Hoo...My Schwartz Performance Chassis it made it today. The thing is beautiful, now the fun begins. Monday we're going to set an old 409 Engine Block and the 4L80e Trans. in it so I can finally get some prelim measurements for the Drive Shaft. I was also able to measure today for a Gas Tank...no problem, I could put a 52Gal in if I wanted. I'll be able to get a 28-30 in no problem. Now the fun begins.



- - - Updated - - -

[rfe3]

Got my 409 Test Block in today as well as the 4L80E, going to throw some Heads on tomorrow so I can look at Header clearance, the Oil Pan as well. Also got the Front Clip removed.


One small thing I found is that the Trans Mount needed to have one more hole rearward for it to be exactly right. The Rubber mount has a small angle in it and is slammed against the rear of the slot. The 409 has the same mounts as a Small Block but is about 1 1/4" longer. I called Schwartz and told them if anyone ever orders a Chassis for a 409/4L80E combo the bracket need to be longer(which I doubt because I'm the only Idiot that would something like that). Justine asked Immediately if they needed to make me a different one but I told her I could make it work.

[rfe3]

Made some progress over the last few weeks. Got the Body fitted to the Chassis relatively pain free. The Convertible Body has a couple differences from the Coupe models like extra braces that had to be removed or trimmed but all in all it is "Plug and Play" like Schwartz promises.

I'm having to raise the Engine 1" and move it back 1 1/4". The Stock Oil Pan on a 409 is 7 qts. and hangs about 1" the Crossmember. The Car is not yet at drive height and the Pan only has 5" of clearance to the ground. By raising it an inch I'll make the Pan even with the Crossmember. I'm moving it back to gain a little more clearance between the WP Pulley and the Elec. Fan.

Got the CPP Alu Core Support, Radiator and the Heidts Inner Fenders test fit and they look pretty good. The Schwartz Chassis looks to be a little narrower in the front than the other Front Clips because the Heidts inners just hang there at the bottom. I'm going to split the arch and lengthen them to butt against the Shock Hoop and Frame Rail, this has the added bonus of giving me a couple more Inches width under the Front Wheel Well.

Got the underside of the body blasted to clean off the 1/4" of sealer that was caked under it. I was again pleasantly surprised to find very few pin holes in the Floor Boards, going to have to put in 2 small patches in the rear Footwell and replace an already patched Drop in the rear Quarter Panel. There were also a few thin spots in the Trunk Floorboard but as I'm going to cut a portion of it out to get about 4" of the tank up into the Trunk and then raise the Trunk floor to make it level on the inside.

Got all the extra "Accessory Holes" in the Floor Boards and Firewall welded up...I think Self Tapping Screws should be outlawed.

Got my Seats test fit and made a Cardboard mock up of my Center Console modeled...plenty of space for "Stuff" and Drink Holders.

I was able to move the Rear End back 1 1/2" so I can fit the 28" Tire in the rear Wheel Well without having to do any mods on the front of the opening. The 62-63 and I think 64 Chevy II's didn't center the wheels in the opening. I need to move the upper Shock mounting points back as well but it's only 2 plates per side.

Spent the day today doing a 12 Pack Jigsaw Puzzle getting the 6 Strombergs and all the 6x2 linkages assembled and test fit. I also got the Core Support modded to accept the much larger 4 Core 68 Impala BB custom Radiator from US Radiator in Alabama. Very nice Radiator, Brass, 4 Core, optima Core and Triple Pass options. It should keep the 409 (474) cool in all scenarios.

Tomorrow the underside gets a coat of Eastwood Bare Metal Epoxy and then I'm going to start on the Mini-Tubs. Still trying to find a place under the Car for my Trans Cooler, I was going to put it under the Passenger Floorboard but with a 3" Exhaust there's no room.

[rfe3]

Got the Eastman's Bare Metal Epoxy on the underside and Firewall today also got the new Engine Mounts done and installed as well. I raised the Engine 1" and back 1 1/4", had to lengthen the slots in the Frame a tad as well. This also gives me way better clearance for #1 and #2 Exhaust Primaries, they clear the Hoop. My Oil Pan is no longer hanging below the Crossmember either...
I also decided to lengthen the Trans Mount on the Frame. It was about 3/4 to 1 " short from Schwartz. They've never had a 409/4L80e combo before so rather than making some janky Off Set Block I cut off the upturned end and added another 6" to the rail. I still have to use a 1" spacer block...but it won't be a janky block.

Got the 4 Link adjusted back about 1 1/2" so the Wheel is more centered in the opening and my 28" Tire will fit without rubbing at the front. Still need to cut and move the rear Shock Brackets.

Got the Body back on the Frame after doing the last couple of little mods and it drops on like a Glove.

[rfe3]

Walked in the Shop today and almost Cried....



I couldn't watch so I worked on the Carbs a little more... I cut the Choke Linkage off the Secondaries because they won't be needed but that also left the Idle Screw without an Anchor point since it fixes on the upper Choke Lever so I drilled and tapped a 6-32 screw between the Idle Screw Arm and the Shaft Bushing to fix them in place.



Tomorrow I have to drill out the Fuel Inlet Float Valves on the Secondaries to accept the improved S-Jet (Grose Jet with 2 Ball Valves) so they match the Big 97's. I need to drill them out to 33/64 and then Tap them with a 9/16-18 thread and then put in a threaded insert for the 5/16 Valve. Ought to be fun...