genIII70novaSS

this winter i will be swaping a genIII small block into my 70 nova ss. i have pretty much decided on the s&p mounts. i know that early camaros and novas share a very similar frame... does this mean that 67-69 camaro ls1 swap headers will fit the 68-74 nova? the stainless works headers i have been looking at require a rack and pinion conversion. would the year one camaro rack and pinion setup work on my nova? if not, do any of you guys know where i could get some kind of steering setup that will work with these headers. if not i can have sunset racecraft fabricate some locally for me. the other major delimma is that i want to retain my stock muncie m21 and current clutch for the time being (5/6 speed swap later on). how can i do this? i assume it would take a modified bellhousing and some kind of bearing spacer. any help would be greatly appreciated. if anyone has better ideas on how to accompish any part of this project please share!

genIII70novaSS

i think i have all of this down besides the transmission issue. what exactly is needed to hook an ls1 up to an older 4 speed trans like my muncie m21?

Scooter70

iTrader: (1)

Did you try Lakewood? I think it's been done but I'm not sure of the details. It would probably be easier to just find a used T56 from Billy Graham's or eBay.

Nine Ball

iTrader: (38)

your front subframe should be identical to a 69 Camaro subframe. So, the headers and rack, etc... used on the Year One camaro will work. The only thing I'm not sure about is if the S&P engine mounts will work with those headers and steering setup. The S&P mounts move the engine back further than the BRP mounts, and I know the Year One car (and mine) have the BRP mounts, tranny mount, etc...

The tranny should bolt right up to the engine, minus one mounting bolt. Not sure on how you would get the clutch to work, probably just a custom or modified flywheel and some spacers.

genIII70novaSS

it seems like finding the motor and trans together is the best way to do this. will the viper t56 directly interchange with the stock t56?

sssuch

This is the easy part just use the Lakewood bellhousing no. 15005 just for a ls1 and early transmissions. It comes with a brass adapter to use the early style pilot bushing.Instead of the adapter and bronze pilot bushing I used a GM pilot bearing #12557583 which is a sealed ball bearing , everything fits perfectly and it cost less than $10.00 . Much less than some dealers want for the adapter to use the old-style bushing. This bellhousing even has a bracket on it so I can mount a bracket for my clutch cross shaft. For the clutch I used one from a LS6 Corvette I got for a good price off e-bay, the splines were a perfect match for mt fine spline T-10. Do NOT get the s&p mounts they space the motor to far forward and the trans mount, driveshaft,and shifter won't line up. Check my earlier post for pics of this " 70 Corvette 4-Speed with LQ4 6 liter " Stan

genIII70novaSS

thanks stan! just when i thought it wasnt gonna work out there is a light at the end of the tunnel. ok now the only other major delimma is figuring out the steering setup. my understanding of the ls1 swap into a first gen camaro or second gen nova is that the stock steering must be converted to rack and pinion. year one used a kit from brp to adapt a 98 z28 rack and pinion onto their camaro project car. they had to weld brackets on the subframe. my ss is a numbers matching car so i dont want to do anything to it that i cant undo later. thus welding on the stock subframe is something i dont really want to do. i know that the steeroids setup is a bolt on steering conversion for first gen camaros. this is the sort of setup i would be interested in since it does not require permenant modifications to the stock subframe. the question is... is it possible to convert my car to rack and pinion steering using the steeroids kit and still fit the gen3 motor into my car?

sssuch

It will fit with your stock steering use the Camaro oil pan you might have to notch the front of the sump for clearance still way less money than steeroids. And the money saved will pay for a set of custom built hedders. I used the Corvette pan on mine and had so much room that I lowered the motor a extra half inch for more hood clearance. Attached is a pic of one of the motor mounts that I made. Stan

genIII70novaSS

can you fabricate more of those brackets?

genIII70novaSS

a local ls1 camaro buddy of mine just got some headers and gave me his old manifolds to use with the 6.0 in my car until i get a rack and pinion and headers. sssuch, do you think this exhaust setup will clear the stock steering and everything else important?

sssuch

There is a good chance it will fit, Speartech used stock manifolds in a 3rd generation Camaro and they are TIGHT on the exhaust room. The only way to know for sure is to bolt it in. Remember if a smallblock came out a LS1 will fit and your car also came with a bigblock. Yes I can fab a set of motor mounts there made out of 3/16 stainless and can be polished to look like chrome. Stan

genIII70novaSS

how much do you want for a set of polished mounts? i think the manifolds will work too but like you said there is no way to tell until i put it all together. you know any good sources for an LQ9 longblock?

HotRod68Camaro

iTrader: (29)

so are you planning on putting in the rack and pinion? thats what i did, it completely changes your frame.

Kyle

sssuch

Polished mounts are $250.00 I know it sounds hi but there is a lot of hand work getting the welds smooth and stainless steel aint cheap either. Try e-bay for the motor I got a complete new LQ4 for $2700.00 from Arielperformance last Dec.

genIII70novaSS

hotrod, i plan on using the stock steering with stock f body exhaust manifolds initially if it will fit. on your car, did you use the steeroids kit or the brp kit? how does it completely change your frame? let me know.

stan, on the polished mounts that sounds like a pretty good price. they look great and im all about paying for quality. of course i must ask, are you 100% sure that these will properly position the ls1 in my nova? if so ill definately purchase a set from you this summer.

everyone... does anybody have any hurst shifter/muncie m21 experience? my car has gotten completely stuck in second gear twice now. what i think is happening is that the 30 year old shifter has some slop in it and is somehow allowing the shift handle to slide past the side of the stop. when i adjust the stops i can always get it to feel really good but it wont go into 4th. when i finally get 4th to engage it feels a little sloppier. any ideas?

68ragtopLS1

Why do you think you ned a rack and pinion to run headers? I'm using the S&P mounts and S&P headers and it fits great. I had to do some minor fab work on the motor mounts because they did not line up perfectly but I am real happy with their headers. From what I've read the BRP mounts set the motor quite a bit futher forward than the S&P mounts. I have maybe an inch between my motor and firewall. I would not want it any further forward myself.
I would not even think about the Steeroids. I've heard nothing but bad things about it. It hangs down below the frame so if your car is lowered it is going to scrape. John

genIII70novaSS

stan, your mounts place the motor even closer to the firewall, correct?

sssuch

Correct, my mounts will place the bellhousing mount flange in the exact position as the original smallblock , that way your trans is in the same position as before and there is no issues with shifter location or driveshaft length.
On your shifter problems are the bushings on the linkage worn out ? if so any good speed shop will have them along with new clips for the arms also be sure its adjusted correctly , remove all 3 arms from the shifter and run a 3/16 ( I think ) drill bit thru the alignment hole in the shifter it will hold all 3 arms in neutral now make sure the trans is in neutral then adjust each arm to fit . Also make sure that none of the linkage binds on each other and youre all set. Stan

robert4940

iTrader: (3)

is it true you cant run headers with t-10 4 speed...linkage problems?