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Probably! There's room for a crossover tube forward of the front torque arm mount, so in the event that my X pipe doesn't fit I'll go that route. There's more room to go over the axle than with the ladder bars, but routing is ultimately going to depend on the panhard bar. Based on some photos I found on Speedtech's site, after the axle will be tight since I have a stock, non-clipped tank.
From Texas Speed website
Last edited by hookemdevils22; Aug 1, 2018 at 11:51 AM.
So this finally came last Friday. The panhard bar was the last piece I needed to drop the car back on the ground. But you knew all of this if you follow me on Insta.
After getting the pinion angle done and centering(ish) the axle, I dropped her onto the ground for a test run. There, I ran into a couple little issues. I didn't get too far before my trailer called to tell me that my rear passenger-side tire was wobbling. I also noticed a scraping sound that increased with speed. Luckily I was able to identify both issues once back up on jack stands.
First, my rear axles and rotors were redrilled in a Ford (5x4.5) bolt pattern to accomodate my wheels. The BCDs are close enough that I was able to install the rotor in the 5x4.75 holes, but not get it flush with the axle flange. I didn't notice this during the initial install.
Rotor, installed correctly. You can see the holes for the GM bolt pattern.
Second, the driver's side backing plate was bent at some point, just enough to rub on a high point on the rotor. A pair of pliers took care of the issue.
I got it back down last night and took it for a spin. It now seems to be sorted out aside from the temporary exhaust setup that allows the mufflers to scrape the floor pan.
I'll redo ride height and retorque the fasteners once the suspension settles.
What cam is in that thing? It sounds delicious.. just the right amount of snap crackle & pop. Also I totally missed that it was open header... explains the loudness, although I personally would be fine with it only being slightly quieter than that.
It now has the mufflers attached directly to the collectors via ~12" slip pipes, awaiting final exhaust install. It drones like crazy on the highway, as one would expect, and the mufflers scrape around under the floorboards when I drive. The good news it that there is no vibration or other indications that I screwed anything up.
I was going to drop it off for exhaust work earlier this week, but I want to address rear wheel location first. They're still too far back in the wheel wells, but it's super easy to bring them forward - the trailing arms can be screwed in or out to adjust their length. Unfortunately, however, I had the driveshaft made with the wheels this far back, and probably need to have it shortened a couple inches: it just barely fit into the diff yoke when I installed it. I'll then have to double-check thrust angle (topical!) and dial in front alignment.
This photo is with the ladder bars, but they're in essentially the same place with the torque arm.
The plan is Good Guys in November, then a couple longer shakedown cruises before LS Fest West in Vegas next May. There's a great drive called Tortilla Flat, about 45 min away, that I attempted a couple years ago. I've taken most of my other cars up there before, but the bumpy road kept the Nova's rear completely out of sorts and I turned back about halfway in. I'm looking forward to see how she performs with this vastly superior setup.
November is a long ways out to wait for just a few runs at Good Guys. Have you checked into other events through motorsportsreg.com? I think I'd pull my hair out if I only got a few runs in on a small course.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of Good Guys -- they really like to stroke the pros at the expense of the rest of us. But getting a full day to myself is crazy tough, and I can at least get a few days' worth of runs and leave by noon. There's actually another track that's 15 min from me that hosts a myriad of events, including Bondurant. I'm really itching to see how she does, though even just daily driving has been a religious experience.
ETA: I just realized I never updated once I got it back on the ground. I had to reroute the exhaust to the front of the rear wheels due to lack of space (should've clipped those fuel tank corners...). It actually sounds great, though I will reroute over the axle down the road. It's also been running great! I put thinner spacers between the wheels and axles (5mm vs. 1/2" before), which gave me more room to the outside fenders.
I also upgraded the rear brakes while I was in there. The rotors had awful runout anyway, and these better match the C6 Z51 fronts. It's mainly for aesthetics, but I have these pads up front and really like them.
Last edited by hookemdevils22; Sep 11, 2018 at 03:51 PM.
Wow, man the car looks great! That exhaust sounds badass. Would you mind sharing more pictures of the LED tail lights that you built? I saw your thread over at HID Plant, but was more interested to see pictures on the tail lights.
Sure. Some of the LEDs have gone out, so I'm planning to redo them if I ever get time. I still have them in a photobucket album, which I've been slowly transferring to google photos.
I assume broken solder joints. They're not SMD, so the lens squishes them against the housing with thin foam material on the backside. I have a 12v regulator and used an online calculator to determine the appropriate resistors for each string of superflux LEDs that I used.
Rather than fix my home-built superflux LEDs, I instead picked up a set of Digi-Tails front bumper and tail lights as a Christmas present. This necessitated moving the battery cutoff switch to inside the trunk. I plan to eventually install a push-pull rod a la -TheBandit-.
Speaking of Clint, I will say that I like the Easy Performance tails that he installed a little better due to the LEDs filling out the tail light panel, but I'm happy with these; besides, I got the front + rears for less than the Easy rears alone. Install was crazy easy, with just a bit of wire clipping and soldering. They look great; take a look.
Those tail lights turned out awesome! I got the easy performance ones for Christmas but I had no idea the ones you got would look that good.... I could have saved money!
Not a bad way to save money for other upgrades. Those still add a lot of visibility over the stock setup. The way they illuminate reminds me of the 73-74 tail lights.
Did you decide to pass on Goodguys? I want to autocross so bad but I'm afraid to register for anything for fear of rain.
I'm in the process of installing a ZL1 fuel pump to replace the LS3 that's already in my tank. I picked up a PWM controller from Carl at Vaporworx, which is already installed and mostly wired.
Last edited by hookemdevils22; Oct 16, 2019 at 11:01 AM.
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