Project Scope Creep - '74 Nova Spirit of America

[68Formula]

When you said Guldstrand mod the hard way, you really meant it! Never seen anyone do it by moving the lower as well.



Did you move the frame horns in a little, to avoid lots of shimming when trying to get a decent amount of static camber with the factory frame?

[cornfedbill]

I have not moved the upper control arm mounts. I hope not to have to move them. Because the lower control arms will be flat and not canted upward, I see that risk as small.

[cornfedbill]

Got a new job working as an application engineer at Federal Mogul and am headed back to Motor City. I'm excited. But I have to move both projects.

I married the subframe to the body on the Nova. It turned out great. I still have not cut the channels in the floors so it sits about 1-1/2 inches higher than it will when I'm done. It will be about 49-1/2 inches tall at the top of the roof.

The frame sits about 4 inches off the ground as planned. I put a 2X4 under the crossmember for reference.


The control arms sit about level.


I like the way it sits.


I have 1-1/2 inches of spacers until I can measure and cut the floor for clearance.


You can see how much I moved the frame by the space between the steering column and steering box.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Good to see it back on the ground Bill!

[cornfedbill]

A lot has happened, but not to my project. I changed jobs and relocated back to Michigan. I am just getting back into the Nova.

I just received the final parts to reassemble the Muncie. It is my next task. Then I need to mate it to the engine, put them in the subframe offset 2" to the right and 4" to 6" rearward, and make the steering work around the new engine location. I will be using taller outer tie rods, adding a lot of caster and then modifying the drag link to eliminate the bump steer.

This will be an interesting undertaking.

[cornfedbill]

A new jigsaw puzzle.

My new Auto Gear Super case should be here tomorrow so I can get this mess back together.

[cornfedbill]

This book is a lifesaver. The author even autographed it for me.

[cornfedbill]

I finished disassembling and cleaning my Muncie this weekend. It had been abused more than I thought.

New M22 wide ratio gears, main shaft and one synchronizer hub are on their way. I will soon be the proud owner of an M22 complete with tale tell gear whine.

The good news is that it will hold up better to the rigors of open road racing.

If all goes well, it will be at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge in August of 2018.

[cornfedbill]

Spent a little time Saturday assembling my Muncie. It is looking good with the new M22w gears from Paul Cangialosi at www.5speeds.com. They have a deeper first to help pull the 3.08:1 rear end gears, but still have relatively close ratios between 2nd, 3rd and 4th. I added a rollerized first gear to reduce friction and the possibility of galling between the gear and bushing on the main shaft. Paul cut some reliefs in the new hollow main shaft to ensure better flow to the 3rd gear ID. The old gear had tried to weld itself to my old shaft. That won't happen again.

I am very confident that this transmission will work well for open road racing and high speed track events. The overall gearing is good for 173 mph at redline. I think my engine should push the car to about 160 mph based on all my calculations. The goal is 160 mph in this configuration. Not bad for an old Nova.

[cornfedbill]

My new Muncie is coming along. Those are the new M22w gears that will give me a bit wider gear spread, but not as much as an M20.

I added the billet mid-plate. They can be a weak link.

[cornfedbill]

The Muncie is complete with M22w gears that give me a deeper first so I can get off the line with a 3.08:1 rear end. It will redline at just over 170 mph. The goal is 160 mph, so it will be good.

I have been overbooked for the past 4 months, but should be able to get moving again.

[cornfedbill]

Moving forward again. I have my flywheel and clutch installed. I installed the Speedway front engine mount and have marked up the rear Speedway engine mounts for trimming to fit the cast OEM bellhousing. I pulled the subframe from the body again in order to mount the engine 6 inches rearward and 2 inches to the right. Once it is mounted on the subframe, I can fit it to the body and cut the sheet metal to fit the assembly up through the floor.

I looked at a lot of aftermarket pedal and master cylinder assemblies. I decided to try using the stock pedals with aftermarket master cylinders.

[craigs73]

Looking good bill...

[cornfedbill]

I started placing the motor into the subframe. It’s sitting in the OEM location and will move back 6 inches and right 2 inches. But I can see the oil pan and bellhousing will hand well below the frame rails. My goal is to tuck everything at least 1/4” above the bottom of the frame. I will build pedestal mounts for the engine next. The mating mounts on the engine are from Speedway Motors and bolt to the front of the engine and to the bellhousing mounting bolts. They needed s bit of massaging with my side grinder to clear the ribs on the steak cast aluminum bellhousing.

[Ben@SpeedTech]

Glad to see progress rolling along!

[cornfedbill]

It’s moving at a snail’s pace. I need to spend a lot of next week during work shutdown to get caught up. I have a deadline of the beginning of August to get it safely o the road so we can run it at the Sandhills Open Road Challenge.

[cornfedbill]

I got the engine and transmission mated together after some unexpected issues. First the ID of the pilot bushing was tight in the transmission input shaft. I honed it out to fit.

I built a new transmission crossmember and pedestal mounts for the front of the engine. Instill need to finish the mounts at the bellhousing. The mount on the front of the engine is from Speedway Motors. It fits very well.

The engine is now rearward 6 inches, to the right 2 inches and upwards 1inch. Because the subframe is moved forward 2 inches the total setback is 4 inches. This allows minimal changes to the wiper plenum.



The engine now sits behind the front axle centerline making it a mid-engine car.

[cornfedbill]

I picked up some 1.75" X 0.095" DOM tubing and a JD Squared bender. I've been studying roll cage construction. I built a couple of cages in college for the SAE Mini-Baja competitions. This is a step more difficult and critical.

I hope to be able to drop the seats a bit to give more clearance between our helmets and the roll cage.

I have the center engine mounts mocked up and ready to cut and weld together.

Slow and steady...

[CSG]

There are some great threads on cages on corner-carvers. I have learned a lot over there that I have incorporated into my cage designs.

[cornfedbill]

There are some great threads on cages on corner-carvers. I have learned a lot over there that I have incorporated into my cage designs.

Thanks