72 Nova Pro Touring Look Street driven?

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

I have a 72 nova i am buying from my father i am going to be on a tight budget. The ls swap is gonna cost enough alone, but i still want to have the pro touring look with 315/335 rear tires. I don't wanna autocross i just want the car to drive lets say more like a newer f body or etc Nice ride go around turns for mountain roads nothing extreme or sliding around corners. Can anyone help me with the most poor man approach possible?
I have seen one person put 315's on with a stock rear, I was kinda wanting to narrow the rear for a deeper Lip but we will see if money allows. Just trying to see if i wanna tackle this big of a project the more it cost the longer before i can drive the car and i only have about 5500 to start and still paying on the car to my father also so you can see why i'm trying to be cheap lol.

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

I like the looks of Tru Turn this looks like a good upgrade just not sure if it is needed for what i want hence the question. Wanting to know front and rear Suspension what you would do i want it to be pretty low also.

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

Here is the car!

[Carl @ Chassisworks]

For the rear there's not a requirement to narrow the housing to fit a 315. However, you WILL have to modify the wheel tubs and rear suspension. Adding that much tire in back will start to chew into your budget pretty quick.

Paul's 69 Nova has our g-Link rear suspension with offset lower control arms and double adjustable uppers for added adjustment. It also has our front clip with suspension and g-Link Pivotball rear suspension with VariShock coilovers at all four corners.


On the flip side of the coin, Don's '69 is still on leaf springs, and has our gStreet Anti-Roll Bar and Shock Packages. Don lives in LA but I took this pic when he stopped by our Sacramento facility while on a road trip.

[TheJDMan]

There are so many choices out there now days that you need to spend some time reading and looking at the suspension options from the various manufacturers. I spent the better part of a year just looking at different suspensions. All of our site sponsors can supply you with any number of great suspension packages. You just need to find one that meets your plan. Two pieces of advice. 1. Don't mix and match parts buy all your suspension from one manufacturer. 2. Stay away from ebay suspension parts at all costs. I notice the car has VA plates, are you located in VA? If so where?

[hotrodalex]

If you're just driving on the street, I'd go with a 275 or 285 tire. Less work and money to get it to fit, while still providing lots of grip if you have good tires.

[F-Body International]

Here's my list of suggestions...

1) Swapping in solid subframe mounts and a set of shock absorbers will get you nice handling on the street. For what you're looking to do, I'd stick with a non-adjustable shock absorber from Hotchkis, Alston, or ridetech.

2) 17" wheels and tires get a late model look while keeping cost down.

3) Brakes from a '98-'02 Camaro/Firebird would bolt up to the rear end easily because it shares the GM 10 bolt design. '98-'02 Camaro/Firebird front brakes would also work as well. You can find this on forum "for sale" sections, ebay, craigslist, local junkyards, etc. 16"+ size wheels are needed for this modification.

4) Install a nice fuel system before buying an LS engine or EFI conversion. High pressure fuel line and an electric pump are needed for efi. Having an electric pump and regulator on a carbureted car also improves startup times and provides perfect fuel pressure.

5) You don't need to invest in an LS engine if you already have something running in the car. Assuming you have a running engine and haven't messed with it, simply bolting on a nice TBI (FiTech, MSD Atomic, FAST EZ EFI, Holley Terminator, etc.) will get you a nice running engine and gain fuel economy.

6) Stick with "bolt-on" performance suspension if you simply want it lowered a bit and gained performance. A 1.5" lowering leaf spring and a shorter tire on a 17" wheel can effectively drop your car 3"-4". I think the Hotchkis TVS Stage 1 is right up your alley.

[ryanleiker]

A 275 rear tire will tuck just fine under the stock rear tubs...

Make sure you do your homework on how each piece of suspension modification affects other things, so you're not buying things twice. A front and rear combination system from one manufacturer is the best way to go, but certainly the more expensive route.
If you're on a budget, keep the leaf springs.
Decide the wheel/look you want up front and build your chassis around that. A 275 front tire is a struggle for that front subframe. Not impossible though.

You might start looking into these items:
front upper/lower control arms/tall ball joints/guldstrand mod
spindles - not always required
Front and rear sway bars
Double adjustable shocks/coil-overs front and rear
Stiffer rear leaf springs
Cal-tracs, debatably counterintuitive to cornering, I dig them though if they're set up right.
quick ratio steering box
LS1(f-body) 4-wheel disc brakes

All of these things can be done on a budget with some shopping around and some elbow grease.

Keep asking questions and reading through other threads for Novas/1st gen F-bodies... there is a lot of intuition and other people in your same spot.

Here's my build, in case you're interested:
http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...urbo-nova.html

[frojoe]

How low do you want to go? Things to keep in mind.. sheetmetal modification. Even though a stock rear wheel tub will happily take up to a 275 at a low ride height (or even a 285 with likely some rubbing), you have to think of things like pinion angle relative to driveshaft and transmission.. depending on your pinion angle you'll have to remove the pinion snubber, if you have to shim the rear axle for pinion angle (assuming you use stiff drop leaf springs) then you may have to adjust transmission angle and beat on the transmission tunnel. These Nova's have quite shallow transmission/driveshaft tunnels, may have to pound on it even more if you go bigger than a 3" driveshaft, for good clearance. If you don't shy away from banging on some sheetmetal, and are using a smaller old school auto trans, you could replace your subframe bushings with solid half height ones or even not use them. You would need to modify the core support to correct the subframe being raised up approx 3/4" if I remember correctly, and go to a u-joint to correct steering column alignment to the box.

For reference I've had to cut up just about everything from the front and rear firewalls downwards, I'm running no subframe bushings and the bottom of my subframe rails are about 4.5" off the ground with 18's.

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

Joe i love the way your car sit's! I am now with a differnt 72 nova i decided to buy a different car a roller instead of tearing a running car apart! I am in the process of figuring out lq4 forged rods and pistons ls3 heads and lsa or 408 with forged kit and nice heads for a daily a/c car

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

4 link 275

[ryanleiker]

Joe i love the way your car sit's! I am now with a differnt 72 nova i decided to buy a different car a roller instead of tearing a running car apart! I am in the process of figuring out lq4 forged rods and pistons ls3 heads and lsa or 408 with forged kit and nice heads for a daily a/c car

Keep in the back of your mind: forced induction will need upgrades in all other areas... fuel system, brakes, suspension, drivetrain, rear end, even good seats and seat belts to keep you stationary.

Are you still looking at a "budget" build? "Budget" and "forced induction" rarely go in the same sentence. I've been trying to keep my build under six figures since conception... so you might peek at my build a bit for some ideas... it's not the cleanest build, but it's a joy and beast to drive.

http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...urbo-nova.html

[timmy2times]

Hey u selling those wheels and tires? The new car looks great

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

Hey u selling those wheels and tires? The new car looks great

Thanks man! No probably going to hold on to them for now we have other nova's, camaro's and a Firebird etc! Thank's man i picked it up to get it moving and work on as i go! Have a 408 stroker kit otw engine torn down deciding if i should go with the 4l80e i have or pick up a t56! The rear is a tci 4 link with frame connector's with QP 9 inch 35 spline level 4 extreme axle's it has a spool so gonna change to a posi for now! It's all brand new! I have the complete interior all brand new or recovered only thing i'm missing is a console and i have a Vintage a/c kit and a ton of other parts!

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

Nice build man went high compression N/A 408 for this one still need to completely re-sheetmetal my 68 firebird 400 think i will call it Fire Chicken gonna twin turbo it i have access to a gold mine of parts and can wheel and deal like no other lol! I hope i never have to hit the 6 figure mark right now i am sitting real low on the budget scale if i told you you probably wouldn't believe me HaHa and have lot's to trade so i am not keeping a tally but i know i am getting good deals lol!

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

Maybe i should start a build thread i just hate to disappoint lmao

[MuscleCarEnthusiast]

There are so many choices out there now days that you need to spend some time reading and looking at the suspension options from the various manufacturers. I spent the better part of a year just looking at different suspensions. All of our site sponsors can supply you with any number of great suspension packages. You just need to find one that meets your plan. Two pieces of advice. 1. Don't mix and match parts buy all your suspension from one manufacturer. 2. Stay away from ebay suspension parts at all costs. I notice the car has VA plates, are you located in VA? If so where?

Yes i am from Virginia Madison Heights right outside of Lynchburg! Are you from Virginia?

[OregonianNova]

Maybe i should start a build thread i just hate to disappoint lmao

DO IT! I love the look of the yenko stripes with that color and from the sound of it your build is moving along nicely. I will subscribe if you do.

[BMR Sales]

4 link 275

You couldn't have much suspension with the Coils bound up like that