1973 Nova LS BUDGET swap
01-16-2015, 12:04 PM
#222
The EFI will be based on the truck system. Red/Blue ECU. Truck harness, intake and DBC throttle body. I cannot afford one of the fancy aftermarket systems. I was hoping to buy HPtuners for all my EFI tuning needs, but we are in the process of FINALLY getting out of rentals any buying a house! So we are pinching all the pennies and tightening the belts. If you would be up for it, perhaps I could reimburse you for a couple credits on your HPtuners and we could build a tune for it.
P.S. I tip in beer and pizza
Ryan, oh boy, it has been a few years since I installed the solid mounts…I do not honestly remember what brand they were. I can tell you that the solid mounts made a HUGE different in the feel and handling. It was a sacrifice of ride comfort, but you get more road feel and more crisp feedback from the car. I love it!
P.S. I tip in beer and pizza
Ryan, oh boy, it has been a few years since I installed the solid mounts…I do not honestly remember what brand they were. I can tell you that the solid mounts made a HUGE different in the feel and handling. It was a sacrifice of ride comfort, but you get more road feel and more crisp feedback from the car. I love it!
01-17-2015, 10:58 PM
#223
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Congratulations on both your marriage and new son! I've seen your posts for a long time in the Carb'd section, but just read your thread tonight. Do you still have your old alternator bracket and home made spacer? Jason
01-18-2015, 09:41 PM
#224
Thank you! Life has been busy, but I'm loving it! I am afraid I sold my original non PS steering alt bracket. I sold it several months ago on here. But it wouldn't be to hard to make one yourself if you are up for a little fabrication challenge!
01-20-2015, 09:29 AM
#227
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ECU and Harness If you need an unlocked '99 Silverado ECU and harness I have one. It was the one I was using before I put my turbo on and ran it that way for a year just fine. I will give you a steal of a deal if you need it.
01-21-2015, 03:43 PM
#228
Thanks! I’m pretty much in love with her! But I recently got to go for a ride in a ’11 SS Camaro and ’04 Vette and was reminded how smooth, polite and yet powerful EFI can feel! Both just confirmed that I am moving the right direction with my EFI swap!
Howdy boss! Thank you for the offer, I already have a harness and ECU that SHOULD be in working order. I will be working with ol’ Mcdonald77 to throw a tune at it! How is the Red Rocket Camaro coming along? ;-)
Howdy boss! Thank you for the offer, I already have a harness and ECU that SHOULD be in working order. I will be working with ol’ Mcdonald77 to throw a tune at it! How is the Red Rocket Camaro coming along? ;-)
01-22-2015, 09:31 AM
#229
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[QUOTE= How is the Red Rocket Camaro coming along? ;-)[/QUOTE]
The winter blues have me doing nothing with the car right now. I did fire it up a couple of weeks ago in -10 degree weather and it started on the first crank over. I had not started it since October, that just makes me smile when that happens. You have to feel the pain of having a carb car for a long time to appreciate computerized fuel injection, it is well worth the effort once it is set up properly.
The winter blues have me doing nothing with the car right now. I did fire it up a couple of weeks ago in -10 degree weather and it started on the first crank over. I had not started it since October, that just makes me smile when that happens. You have to feel the pain of having a carb car for a long time to appreciate computerized fuel injection, it is well worth the effort once it is set up properly.
02-18-2015, 04:34 PM
#230
EFI Time Well our little dude is almost 7 months old, and life has been CRAZY, exciting and we love it! But it doesn’t leave a lot of time for the Nova HAHA! But I have been making some progress. Heres a pic from our company car show with a couple of our trucks in the background. Damn I need some more modern wheels and tires!
Time to move the Nova into the 20th century and ditch the carb! Several months back I picked up a near complete 5.3L engine on CL and sold off all the parts except the intake, PCM and harness! Some side by side comparison of the carb VS the truck intake stuff. The EFI intake fits pretty well, but will need a little clearancing for the firewall.
Re-working the complete 2000 harness for standalone duty. I was very meticulous in removing, labelling and saving every connector and wire I removed. I also spent time untangling the remaining wires. Then mock-up and routing in the car. I am now working on cutting down the wire length and hiding the harness. Terminals seals and a few misc electrical parts are on order from Mouser.com
The 2000 truck intake came with small 24lb/hr injectors, which I wanted to swap out for a set of larger 32lb/hr flexfuel injectors I had from a 2003ish truck intake I had spare. But the 24lb/hr injectors are Multec2 connectors and the flexfuel injectors are EV6 connectors. A quick trip to the junkyard found a couple V6 Chrysler Pacificas with the correct pigtails. I also ran into an issue with the height of the injectors and had to use the fuel rails from the flexfuel 2003 truck intake to fit the taller flexfuel injectors. Pics for comparison.
Ordered up a couple 180*mandrels. One 3” that I will use to make a X-pipe for the exhaust, and a 4” that will be used for the air intake. The 4” is MASSIVE in comparison to the 3” tube. I used a clothes hanger and 4” cardboard cutouts to mockup the intake tube routing. A handy little trick I picked up from FroJoes turbo Nova build thread. I also bought a massive K&N air filter. Anybody have a good source for 4” silicone couplers and T-bolts?
Time to move the Nova into the 20th century and ditch the carb! Several months back I picked up a near complete 5.3L engine on CL and sold off all the parts except the intake, PCM and harness! Some side by side comparison of the carb VS the truck intake stuff. The EFI intake fits pretty well, but will need a little clearancing for the firewall.
Re-working the complete 2000 harness for standalone duty. I was very meticulous in removing, labelling and saving every connector and wire I removed. I also spent time untangling the remaining wires. Then mock-up and routing in the car. I am now working on cutting down the wire length and hiding the harness. Terminals seals and a few misc electrical parts are on order from Mouser.com
The 2000 truck intake came with small 24lb/hr injectors, which I wanted to swap out for a set of larger 32lb/hr flexfuel injectors I had from a 2003ish truck intake I had spare. But the 24lb/hr injectors are Multec2 connectors and the flexfuel injectors are EV6 connectors. A quick trip to the junkyard found a couple V6 Chrysler Pacificas with the correct pigtails. I also ran into an issue with the height of the injectors and had to use the fuel rails from the flexfuel 2003 truck intake to fit the taller flexfuel injectors. Pics for comparison.
Ordered up a couple 180*mandrels. One 3” that I will use to make a X-pipe for the exhaust, and a 4” that will be used for the air intake. The 4” is MASSIVE in comparison to the 3” tube. I used a clothes hanger and 4” cardboard cutouts to mockup the intake tube routing. A handy little trick I picked up from FroJoes turbo Nova build thread. I also bought a massive K&N air filter. Anybody have a good source for 4” silicone couplers and T-bolts?
02-18-2015, 05:51 PM
#231
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Looking nice....I did find my issue. The trans range selector switch was misaligned so power was not flowing to the proper places. I turned it over, but have not fired it up yet.
02-19-2015, 09:50 AM
#233
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The throttle body actually likes a little less than 4" to be nice and snug tight, I use the 3.75" and it works awesome. When you get your turbo on there it will help with it not wanting to blow off. Below is an Ebay link to the brand that I got (JDM). Mine was 3.75" to 3", but I see they sell a 4" also.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-75-TO-4-TURBO-INTAKE-PIPING-SILICONE-HOSE-45-DEGREE-REDUCER-COUPLER-BLACK-/310906099424?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item48637296e0&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-75-TO-4-TURBO-INTAKE-PIPING-SILICONE-HOSE-45-DEGREE-REDUCER-COUPLER-BLACK-/310906099424?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item48637296e0&vxp=mtr
02-23-2015, 11:06 AM
#236
The throttle body actually likes a little less than 4" to be nice and snug tight, I use the 3.75" and it works awesome. When you get your turbo on there it will help with it not wanting to blow off. Below is an Ebay link to the brand that I got (JDM). Mine was 3.75" to 3", but I see they sell a 4" also.
3 75" to 4" Turbo Intake Piping Silicone Hose 45 Degree Reducer Coupler Black | eBay
3 75" to 4" Turbo Intake Piping Silicone Hose 45 Degree Reducer Coupler Black | eBay
More time driving and less time tuning?! That’s full of win in my book. The headers are Ebay SS 4th gen Camaro ching-chong units that cost me $160 and some SS TIG welding to get them to work in the Nova. But its way better then $1K Kooks or custom. Lots of details in the build thread.
The Rad and fan are a matching set from a 96’ish F-body. Junkyard score! They fit perfectly under the stock rad cover, are very thin, cheap to replace, the fans move a ton of air and fan re-build kits are available online for them. Cost me $40 I think. Check the build thread for more details.
03-20-2015, 01:36 PM
#238
Spring is here! Update time:
Ebay interchangeable head crimpers. There was 1 set that was pretty close for the Metripack connectors, but required a little machining to work get a good crimp.
The one of the left is a stock crimp, the 2 in tape are my practice crimps. If not perfect they are very good.
I figured my car buddies would appreciate this one. Our little dude is almost 8 months old, it’s time to start getting him ready for summer races!
The ECU and other additional EFI wiring will be mounted to the heater box inside the cab. It looks a little messy now, but Techflex F6 loom will fix that. One of my sparky buddies at work recommended leaving some extra service length in the wires So I coiled up 8” additional length on each wire.
On the engine side I still need to land the injector wiring along with a few others but all the new wiring is tucking in nicely and will be hidden while still easy to service. This also shows off the air intake I’m putting together. 4” aluminized steel, Ebay silicon couplers, SS T-bolt clamps and 5-pin 85MM MAF. The steel tubing is heavier than AL, but will allow me to weld if necessary . The K&N is larger then necessary, but I want lots of surface area for longer cleaning intervals and minimal restriction. I could have shoved the massive filter further into the fender opening, but I have future plans to install HID projector headlights and do not want to relocate the filter. I’ll be working on a cold-air housing for the filter once the car is up and running.
Once wiring is buttoned up I’ll be moving onto the new in-tank fuel system and plumbing. Then a few loose ends and time to start enjoying this early NW summer! Thanks for looking guys!
Ebay interchangeable head crimpers. There was 1 set that was pretty close for the Metripack connectors, but required a little machining to work get a good crimp.
The one of the left is a stock crimp, the 2 in tape are my practice crimps. If not perfect they are very good.
I figured my car buddies would appreciate this one. Our little dude is almost 8 months old, it’s time to start getting him ready for summer races!
The ECU and other additional EFI wiring will be mounted to the heater box inside the cab. It looks a little messy now, but Techflex F6 loom will fix that. One of my sparky buddies at work recommended leaving some extra service length in the wires So I coiled up 8” additional length on each wire.
On the engine side I still need to land the injector wiring along with a few others but all the new wiring is tucking in nicely and will be hidden while still easy to service. This also shows off the air intake I’m putting together. 4” aluminized steel, Ebay silicon couplers, SS T-bolt clamps and 5-pin 85MM MAF. The steel tubing is heavier than AL, but will allow me to weld if necessary . The K&N is larger then necessary, but I want lots of surface area for longer cleaning intervals and minimal restriction. I could have shoved the massive filter further into the fender opening, but I have future plans to install HID projector headlights and do not want to relocate the filter. I’ll be working on a cold-air housing for the filter once the car is up and running.
Once wiring is buttoned up I’ll be moving onto the new in-tank fuel system and plumbing. Then a few loose ends and time to start enjoying this early NW summer! Thanks for looking guys!
03-20-2015, 07:54 PM
#239
Cute baby pic ! Please keep the progress pics coming and keep up the great work!
