'70 Nova LY6/TH400 6.0VVT
10-28-2013, 01:51 PM
#901
Hi guys, sorry for the long absence. After my last update, my wife's nesting instinct kicked in and we went full throttle on cleaning up our house and clearing our office to remodel for the new baby. I still had a little time for the car, but didn't use it to do updates here so I can't remember everything I've done, but it did involve stripping one of the exhaust bolt holes, removing the head, and having a Timesert put in. I fabbed most of the exhaust from cut u-bends, but still need to make the H pipe. Some other stuff happened too but I honestly can't remember because I'm currently in the hospital. The baby decided to come early at 35weeks (5weeks premature) so she is staying in NICU. She is expected to do okay but has normal complications of prematurity like jaundice, apnea, feeding problems, temperature regulation issues, etc. We've been here for two weeks now with no end in sight.
I am really disappointed about missing my target date for starting the car, but life happens. The new baby will make progress difficult. Fortunately everyone is healthy and that is all that matters.
Don't expect any real updates for a while.
I am really disappointed about missing my target date for starting the car, but life happens. The new baby will make progress difficult. Fortunately everyone is healthy and that is all that matters.
Don't expect any real updates for a while.
10-28-2013, 02:20 PM
#902
Clint, Sorry to hear that the baby is having complications, hopefully the baby will develop completely and be able to come home soon..
Don't worry about the updates.. you can alway have a new target date to you can meet once life settles down... besides the rest of us are slacking off too !.
Take care of the family first..
BC
Don't worry about the updates.. you can alway have a new target date to you can meet once life settles down... besides the rest of us are slacking off too !.
Take care of the family first..
BC
10-28-2013, 03:32 PM
#904
I understand about premature babies as my son was 8 weeks early. It is amazing at how strong these little babies are. My wife was adjusting to the NICU until the day she had to leave the hospital and her baby didn't come home with her. Hopefully everyone will be home safe and sound soon!Prayers for your family are on the way. Take care Clint.
10-28-2013, 07:06 PM
#907
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Congratulations!! My youngest was born @35 weeks too. She spent about a month in NICU. She is almost 9 years old now and doing fine. I was forever changed and humbled by other babies that I saw there. Even though Hannah was premature, each day when I'd visit I knew that she would be alright and I'd get to take her home soon. I also knew that several of the babies that were in the room with her would not. (They were all in one big open room in the little cribs.) My memory is haunted by one baby who had a blood infection and was swollen so badly that she looked like a water balloon. It was so hard to see the parents of those precious little ones. I'm literally tearing up just thinking about it now...and I don't care what anyone would think about that.
God bless and you'll make it back to the car before long.
God bless and you'll make it back to the car before long.
11-11-2013, 04:08 PM
#911
Thank you all for the well wishes. After 17 days in the NICU, we finally took our baby girl home. She has had a few breathing episodes at home, but nothing serious and so far she is gaining weight like a sumo wrestler.
Not much of an update on the car, but I wanted to post some progress photos since I am dying to work on it again. Expectedly it isn't getting much attention. The photos below document the tiny bit of work I did prior to the baby arriving so I am going from memory.
First, here is the new Corvette electronic throttle pedal next to the original Nova mechanical pedal. GM hasn't changed this design in at least 30 years it appears - why mess with a good thing? They did, however omit the chrome trim from the newer pedal and I was thankful to be able to swap it over. It will look right at home next to the original brake pedal.
While the wiring isn't complete, most of the on-engine stuff is done and I wanted to get the exhaust started so I could add the O2s and VSS. I was inspired by another forum member who assembled the exhaust on his Toyota using mandrel bends. I laid out the angle I wanted on the welding table and marked the tube with a laser in as many places as I could see, from both sides. Then I wrapped tie wraps around it and marked it. Finally I took it to the my crappy Harbor Freight portable bandsaw and did my best to make a straight cut. It turned out pretty good and required very little massaging to make a tight fittup.
Once I had the method down, I assembled the first side of the exhaust from end to end. Remind me to never do this again with a car on jackstands! My back hurts thinking back on this work. The tube is 3" aluminized steel and the mufflers are Dynomax VT. The VT mufflers are a gimic of sorts with a spring-loaded flapper valve that opens at higher flow rates. The idea is to reduce noise and drone at cruising speeds. I was very close to buying Super Turbos for this reason, but didn't want the car to be too quiet so we'll see what happens with these. I am going to miss the old Flowmaster sound, but it's time to try something new.
Things were moving along well until I installed the passenger side headers. I went from the Doug's headers instructions and started torquing the bolts to the specified 35ft-lb when... ruh roh... I stripped the threads! AGH!
That made for a very bad day and set the project back a few weeks while I steamed about it. As it turns out, the header instructions had the wrong torque specified. When I previously installed the driver's side headers months prior I used my "How to rebuild GM LS engines" SA design book and used their specified torque of 15-18ft-lb. I should have known better when I saw the Doug's instructions - 35ft-lb is way too much for this size bolt going into aluminum. Anyway, I called Dougs to express my frustration. They were nice about the situation but there wasn't a lot they could do. In the end they sent me money to have a local shop put Timserts into the threads - of course it wasn't enough to cover my labor to R&R the heads, but it's better than I've gotten from other manufacturers.
Oh and did I mention that I was dumb enough to strip more than one set of threads before I realized what I was doing wrong? Ugh. Well at least they are better than new now.
Sadly that's all the update I have on the car, but I will be making time here and there to work on it soon so stay tuned.
Not much of an update on the car, but I wanted to post some progress photos since I am dying to work on it again. Expectedly it isn't getting much attention. The photos below document the tiny bit of work I did prior to the baby arriving so I am going from memory.
First, here is the new Corvette electronic throttle pedal next to the original Nova mechanical pedal. GM hasn't changed this design in at least 30 years it appears - why mess with a good thing? They did, however omit the chrome trim from the newer pedal and I was thankful to be able to swap it over. It will look right at home next to the original brake pedal.
While the wiring isn't complete, most of the on-engine stuff is done and I wanted to get the exhaust started so I could add the O2s and VSS. I was inspired by another forum member who assembled the exhaust on his Toyota using mandrel bends. I laid out the angle I wanted on the welding table and marked the tube with a laser in as many places as I could see, from both sides. Then I wrapped tie wraps around it and marked it. Finally I took it to the my crappy Harbor Freight portable bandsaw and did my best to make a straight cut. It turned out pretty good and required very little massaging to make a tight fittup.
Once I had the method down, I assembled the first side of the exhaust from end to end. Remind me to never do this again with a car on jackstands! My back hurts thinking back on this work. The tube is 3" aluminized steel and the mufflers are Dynomax VT. The VT mufflers are a gimic of sorts with a spring-loaded flapper valve that opens at higher flow rates. The idea is to reduce noise and drone at cruising speeds. I was very close to buying Super Turbos for this reason, but didn't want the car to be too quiet so we'll see what happens with these. I am going to miss the old Flowmaster sound, but it's time to try something new.
Things were moving along well until I installed the passenger side headers. I went from the Doug's headers instructions and started torquing the bolts to the specified 35ft-lb when... ruh roh... I stripped the threads! AGH!
That made for a very bad day and set the project back a few weeks while I steamed about it. As it turns out, the header instructions had the wrong torque specified. When I previously installed the driver's side headers months prior I used my "How to rebuild GM LS engines" SA design book and used their specified torque of 15-18ft-lb. I should have known better when I saw the Doug's instructions - 35ft-lb is way too much for this size bolt going into aluminum. Anyway, I called Dougs to express my frustration. They were nice about the situation but there wasn't a lot they could do. In the end they sent me money to have a local shop put Timserts into the threads - of course it wasn't enough to cover my labor to R&R the heads, but it's better than I've gotten from other manufacturers.
Oh and did I mention that I was dumb enough to strip more than one set of threads before I realized what I was doing wrong? Ugh. Well at least they are better than new now.
Sadly that's all the update I have on the car, but I will be making time here and there to work on it soon so stay tuned.
11-11-2013, 04:33 PM
#913
So glad to hear the little Sumo is home and healthy!
you know, now that you have a family and all you'll have to get a car that can seat more then 2, but its OK, I have you covered, once you finish your Nova WE CAN TRADE! Since mines a 4 door and all! Just looking out for ya man
Bum deal on the threads, but at least you got them fixed. I ws reading through another build thread recently where a guy had stripped those little 10mm bolts. But instead of an insert he just drilled and tapped them for 14mm!
Keep up the progress and CONGRATS!
you know, now that you have a family and all you'll have to get a car that can seat more then 2, but its OK, I have you covered, once you finish your Nova WE CAN TRADE! Since mines a 4 door and all! Just looking out for ya man
Bum deal on the threads, but at least you got them fixed. I ws reading through another build thread recently where a guy had stripped those little 10mm bolts. But instead of an insert he just drilled and tapped them for 14mm!
Keep up the progress and CONGRATS!
12-01-2013, 05:33 PM
#917
As stated by everyone else, glad to hear the baby/family is doing well. I thought the doug's headers torque sounded high too. (I have them too). I also read that some people recommend ARP's SS headers studs for this very reason. Glad you figured out why the bolts stripped out Clint.
It seems like I say this a lot in your thread, but, I really like your (latest) idea. I will have to use(steal) laser/ziptie idea. LOL.
Best luck to you and your family
It seems like I say this a lot in your thread, but, I really like your (latest) idea. I will have to use(steal) laser/ziptie idea. LOL.
Best luck to you and your family
12-19-2013, 11:36 AM
#918
Glad to hear is all well with Mom and Baby, and to see you back at this build. I too am the proud father of a 2 year old NICU graduate. Reading about everyone's experiences here definitely took me back I couldn't agree more with many of them especially about how humbling the experience seeing what other parents were going through, and the day we had to leave the hospital without the baby has to be one of the worst of my life. Prepare to be changed for the rest of your life my friend. Not to take anything away from any parents that did not have the NICU experience but I think that really helps cement what a miracle children are.
12-19-2013, 01:41 PM
#919
Thanks everyone for the kind words! We have had a tough couple of months but we're finally transitioning into normal infant care without the premature complications to breathing, feeding, etc. She is nearly 8.5lbs now and doing well.
Only progress on the car of late was to swap the LY6 valley cover for an LS3 cover with integrated PCV baffle. I also spent some time sorting through parts and found a lot of things I had lost, like the oil cooler bypass plate I bought over a year ago that I have been pulling my hair out trying to find. There's a ton of stuff on the list for the holiday break so hopefully I'll make progress soon.
LOL. Mighty kind of you to offer sir! Fortunately the coupe still has a back seat with plenty of space; I just need to add the LATCH system and we'll be good to go. Of course by the time the car is running, the kids will probably have their own cars.
Only progress on the car of late was to swap the LY6 valley cover for an LS3 cover with integrated PCV baffle. I also spent some time sorting through parts and found a lot of things I had lost, like the oil cooler bypass plate I bought over a year ago that I have been pulling my hair out trying to find. There's a ton of stuff on the list for the holiday break so hopefully I'll make progress soon.
LOL. Mighty kind of you to offer sir! Fortunately the coupe still has a back seat with plenty of space; I just need to add the LATCH system and we'll be good to go. Of course by the time the car is running, the kids will probably have their own cars.
12-24-2013, 11:32 AM
#920
TECH Apprentice
Clint, I am very happy to hear you and the family are doing well. There is nothing better than the father/daughter relationship that will grow in the years to come, my baby girl is now 9 and that flew by too fast. As you already know, every day we have on this earth is a gift, enjoy my friend!
You will have that car running in no time and the baby seat will fit perfect in the back seat, no need for a four door yet, lol...
You will have that car running in no time and the baby seat will fit perfect in the back seat, no need for a four door yet, lol...