When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hello, I am Clint, and I wanted to share some of my build progress with you. I have seen a few of these that have really inspired me to start my own log (crusin73 and the bandit [same first name]). I saw a bunch of people give them suggestions and such so hopefully people can do the same with me.
I have a 1974 Nova Sedan that I love. I call it the four door dinosaur. I am thinking of calling it Frank for short (four door dinosaur = fdr = Franklin Delano Roosevelt). Anyway, I got this car when I was 15, and I blew up the 250 when I was 17. My brother in law, for my 18th birthday, put a 307 (full headers), rims, and beat in it for me and surprised me with it. Well, now I am 28 and ready for my LSx swap. I am doing a pretty much full restoration. I cannot remember who said it, but I saw this on the forms "this was my first car and it will be my last", but big facts. My wife is super supportive and tells me I can spend whatever I want to make it right. She loves me. I know the car will never be worth it, but I still love it. It is a hobby, not an investment.
So my progress so far,
I have pulled the front clip off
pulled the interior (working on the headliner and tar matts)
bought a 2010 Chevy Express Van with 222k on it (l96 and 6l90e) for 2500 shipped. I was able to drive it and hear it, good oil pressure. I am having a local shop rebuild and cam it for me.
I do have some rot
in the rear that I am pretty sure was caused by junk getting in between the quarters and the trunk (I pulled out mega blocks, newspapers, forks, radiator hoses, and brake lines from there that I know were before me because I play with legos not mega blocks).
dime sized spots near under the front windsheiled on either size. Looks like the previous owner "fixed" these because there is no rust near these holes, just the holes.
and on either side of the rear window. Again, no rust, just holes that look like they were caused by rust.
then I just have a bunch of surface rust.
Plans:
While, my wife did give me all the money, I still want to keep it some what budget. I do not want to go above 40k. There is a lot of stuff I still need to figure out:
Brakes: I have disks on the front, do I want them on the rear too. Do I want a smaller booster, what master cylinder will work.
Steering: it is pretty bad, but I am not sure what is wrong yet, so once I pull the motor I can see
Suspension: It creaks when you get into it (I am a small guy 5'7 120LBs). So I am going to get Hotkins full package and A-arms.
Seats/Interior- The thing with a 4 door is not being able to find certain parts, interior is one of those parts. So I am hoping I can use paint to paint my green interior black. I think I found some seats, but I need to get my rear to match.
Electronics: I am a software engineer so naturally I am going to put a computer in it (raspberry pi) and I am going to use that for auto start, fingerprint recognition, tracking, and gauges. I am also making the wiring harness for the car (not the engine, that is coming from the van)
Color: It is dark green now, but it was light green. I am thinking a baby blue, white, or flat black. Idk yet.
Well that is all for now. I am hopefully going to get the 307/th350 pulled this weekend. Then as the engine is being rebuilt I want to get the steering, brakes, fuel, and transmission installed. Then I want to get the wiring figured out.
Oh also, I am a full time cyclist. I ride my bike everywhere. This car will be for funzies and road trips. My baby. L96 pulled no seats going fast. before the 307 comes out I made a mess it is not a problem, it is a project Pre-307 pull L96 waiting patiently to be rebuilt.
What oil pan and mounts are you going to use? Holley makes probably the best fitting oil pan for these cars, wish they had been around when I did mine!
So a little update on the Nova. I have not done too much, I have been doing a lot of research on certain things.
I have all of the carpet and trim pulled from the inside. For the most part there is not too much rust anywhere. I have a lot of surface rust I need to deal with. I am trying to find the best way of dealing with the surface rust in the hard to reach places (inside the door and in the b pillar). I have also started to remove the cardboard insulation from the roof. I am picking up some abrasive discs from HF so I can finish it up this weekend. Then I will paint everything I can with Rust Encapulator Platinum from Eastwood. My goal for this weekend is to get the roof done and painted. I would also like to get the dash tackled. I have it mostly taken apart, but just some cables to remove and the heater box. I have made a trello board to keep everything organized. https://trello.com/b/moxC1bBj/nova. I need to paint some of my garage with chalkboard paint so I can really get a todo list set up.
Oh the guy from the speed shop came and took the engine to be rebuilt. He said it should be about 3,000 for everything which I thought was pretty good.
I ended up wire wheeling the whole roof to remove that glue stuff. It turned out pretty good. I am going to go over it once more (I missed some pieces and it flash rusted). I then will paint it all with the Eastwood Rust Encapulator Platinum. Then for the hard to reach areas I will use the internal frame coating from Eastwood. I will hopefully have that part done by tommorrow. Then I need to work on the floors. I am thinking of trying the dry ice method for the tar mats. My plan is to get the internal surfaces all coated and re-seam sealed by this Friday.
I am thinking about going all BRP stuff. They are the only place I have been able to find a crossmember for the 6l90e.
Please don't ..
I would also consider posting this built on pro-touring.com. I think you'll get a broader perspective there on non swap related questions.
Please don't ..
I would also consider posting this built on pro-touring.com. I think you'll get a broader perspective there on non swap related questions.
Andrew
What is wrong with BRP?
I will look into pro-touring. Thanks
What is wrong with BRP?
I will look into pro-touring. Thanks
Most of their kits are centered around the truck pan, which has a sump that hangs too low. Their mounts also put the engine in a higher position than optimal, which creates drive line alignment issues.
Looks up threads started by Toddoky. He is the Holley engineer that developed the various Holley swap kits. You can see the process that goes into making the kits. https://www.holley.com/products/engi...ap_components/
Andrew
Last edited by Project GatTagO; 05-13-2019 at 10:22 AM.
A suggestion , subframe connectors, a high performance steering box , or have it rebuilt to quick ratio standards , or a rack an pinion , as long as your brakes are good , front disc's are plenty enough brake
Most of their kits are centered around the truck pan, which has a sump that hangs too low. Their mounts also put the engine in a higher position than optimal, which creates drive line alignment issues.
Looks up threads started by Toddoky. He is the Holley engineer that developed the various Holley swap kits. You can see the process that goes into making the kits. https://www.holley.com/products/engi...ap_components/
Andrew
I’m not sure where you are with this build, but Andrew is a vast wealth of knowledge. Everything he says about the BRP kit is true. I put it in my ‘69 Firebird and while I didn’t love the results, it was the devil I knew, and I now regret trying to make it work in my ‘70 Chevelle wagon. I’m looking to definitely change the pan and possibly change the mounts, if it’s possible to use the base mount from the BRP kit as screwing with the mounting bolts in the frame is a total PITA.
I’m not sure where you are with this build, but Andrew is a vast wealth of knowledge. Everything he says about the BRP kit is true. I put it in my ‘69 Firebird and while I didn’t love the results, it was the devil I knew, and I now regret trying to make it work in my ‘70 Chevelle wagon. I’m looking to definitely change the pan and possibly change the mounts, if it’s possible to use the base mount from the BRP kit as screwing with the mounting bolts in the frame is a total PITA.
Let us know how this is all going!
Thanks! I try to tell people, but people don't listen...
This car is basically same with first gen camaro for most systems, look there for ideas.
Go with the holley kit, pan and mounts, talk to their tech line on differences for the trans youre using. Headers are pricey, may look around at shorty / block huggers, though Holley/ hooker are designed together.
Brakes / suspension, unless you're going autocross theres not a lot of reason to for tubular a arms other than looks. For a driver, get new poly suspension bushings and a disc brake kit.
Steering. Fast ratio box direct bolt on available, or read up on using an 80s camaro iroc box, just takes an adapter rag joint and power steering hose adapters. Rebuild all the steering components.
Interior, look at avaliable resto kits, look at procar buckets and matching rear seat covers. A bucket seat 4 door would be cool, lots of options on center consoles. Something ive been looking at lately are 1999-2006 Silverado- tahoe seats, they have integrated shoulder harness in the seat. Likely need to shorten the seat frame It may be trial and error to get the rear seat to fit or... ?? Just a random thought.
rear end. Find an 8.8 with limited slip and disc brakes, 3.55-3.73 gear from an explorer or ranger, theres a lot of info on the web to properly identify. Weld leaf spring mounts on, have your axles and a new set of rotors redrilled and youre good to go. Or order a 9" delivered for around $5-6k
Car would look great silver, dark blue, black. I like the dark green actually.
This car is basically same with first gen camaro for most systems, look there for ideas.
Go with the holley kit, pan and mounts, talk to their tech line on differences for the trans youre using. Headers are pricey, may look around at shorty / block huggers, though Holley/ hooker are designed together.
Brakes / suspension, unless you're going autocross theres not a lot of reason to for tubular a arms other than looks. For a driver, get new poly suspension bushings and a disc brake kit.
Steering. Fast ratio box direct bolt on available, or read up on using an 80s camaro iroc box, just takes an adapter rag joint and power steering hose adapters. Rebuild all the steering components.
Interior, look at avaliable resto kits, look at procar buckets and matching rear seat covers. A bucket seat 4 door would be cool, lots of options on center consoles. Something ive been looking at lately are 1999-2006 Silverado- tahoe seats, they have integrated shoulder harness in the seat. Likely need to shorten the seat frame It may be trial and error to get the rear seat to fit or... ?? Just a random thought.
rear end. Find an 8.8 with limited slip and disc brakes, 3.55-3.73 gear from an explorer or ranger, theres a lot of info on the web to properly identify. Weld leaf spring mounts on, have your axles and a new set of rotors redrilled and youre good to go. Or order a 9" delivered for around $5-6k
Car would look great silver, dark blue, black. I like the dark green actually.
If you are going to autocross, it would be wise to purchase at least a 10:1 ratio steering box and an HP1 or HP2 series pump from Turn One. All of our products are built in the USA. Our pumps are designed to reduce fluid temperatures which in turn reduces horsepower consumption.
989.759.4206
04-25-2019, 06:46 AM
1974 L96 6l90E Swap 
