turbohf

no, not really. it still has the big *** like 7/16 ford studs, just a solid 15mm aluminum adapter. then some M12 studs (yes, i have 3 different lug nuts on my car, ****) holding the wheels. i dont really see there being issue. so its a small spacer, small wheel, not a huge offset, and not a heavy wheel. light car. also on a solid rear axle.
i did do some searching, and yes. lots of second/third hand info being vomited around. i came up on a thread on stevesnovasite in the drag forum that was asking about them and several people had said they used them for years. then of course others with blahblah. i was watching old *** hotrod garage when they where working on the crusher camaro, it has had wheel spacers like these for YEARS. that car as run 10s, lots of abuse from blown big block, etc.

im way more concerned about the 3" lowering block sitting on top of that shitty 50yo single leaf spring.... caltrac bars can only do so much im sure lol.

OH... and ANY lunch in this car is going to result in 3 gears of tire destruction im sure. lol once i run out of my scrap pile 235s ill be moving to 245-255's. but those still really arent that wide. my G8 has 245s on it and weighs 4000lbs will light them no problem with 440whp...

turbohf

work?



oh ****? where is the Nova?


outside bitchez.

then, obviously some cleaning was in order. and organizing the garage a bit. oh and taking all the **** off the top of the Nova lol.


well, the hood is still up there. but cleaned the garage a bit. make spot for the 4wheeler to go behind the Nova so i dont have to drag the damn thing outside to work on or pull the nova out. also put the rear tires on furniture dollies.

i was swapping front suspension around again. and i still might make some changes. maybe the drop spindles back on, maybe just trim the springs a hair more


oh, couple side notes:


spun the shaft right out the valve?... i was told shortly after posting this on the FB, that i am NOT suppose to be using the impact on shocks to remove the top nut...who knew? yes i did impact the other side after being told this. :

and the other day i thought to myself after putting some grounds on the front core support, and noticing the right rear taillight socket just laying in the trunk to to a light check... right rear blinker was inop.

wait...what? both stop/turns are newer 00ish+ GM sockets... odd. anyway, all working now.



lol, my 'new' steering wheel. stock one had cracks, horn ring broken... bought some blue/aqua muscle car one that i kinda liked. but was big, and wrong color... i still have this from previous project and is probably my favorite wheel of all time (i have had 2 the exact same as this, 1 similar, and one that was a MOMO like this but still felt like cheap chinese knockoff ****)


complete with quick release.

this weekends project was....well several things. but mainly to roll the car outside to see some natural light, and to pull the front bench seat out. after swapping the the smaller steering wheel i felt way more comfortable in the bench, but the springs and whatnot suck. feel like im falling towards the door, etc. so buckets. i picked these up at the JY a month or so back.



wow, sun is ruining my pics.



i put the tabs in a way that they shouldnt interfere with the bench seat mounts if i feel the need to put that back in.
also, with the seating position that i prefer (front a bit higher than the rear) this worked out better. and with the seat in a comfortable spot for me its in mid adjustment on the slides. im 5'7" with short legs. but if you where 4'11" or 6'7" i bet you could find a good spot.... but you cant drive my car, so **** off. oh, and good head room, and elbow out the window no problem. super happy how it turned out.

seats are 94-97 Acura Integra. some of my favs. 90-01 are all pretty similar. later ones had leather, and more adjustment ***** (also sit a bit higher, and firmer foam). they look fine with the headrest left off too... these are mechanical, dont think any where power.


whats stopping her from being drive able? probably some tuning, need to fix/install exhaust crossover. bleed brakes. install shifter (was waiting to place drivers seat for this)... oh and i need to figure out the kickdown, neutral switch, vac modulator.
probably another year or so to go....

turbohf

built that odd looking thing today. pretty much same as seat mounts. bent up some 16g sheet, tacked some nuts to the back side. bent, hammered, welded to the floor.

shifter is from a third gen camaro. and if its not obvious from the height of the shifter, i plan on building a console around it. thats why i mounted it so high. also seemed most comfortable there.

worked on some other stuff, but not pics of completion. broke another vband clamp. got pissed. dont remember where i bought these, but they are obviously ****. and the one replacement that i ordered a while back seems to be too small. so im super excited about all that. maybe ill get the crossover fixed eventually.

also i put brake fluid in it a week or two ago in hopes of bleeding the system, but with it being completely empty system it was being a bitch, so i just put it aside. the right front has been leaking since. tried again to tighten the fittings. seems to be not leaking, but i guessing it all needs redone on the right front.


anyway. drivers seat, steering wheel, shifter all setup. big win to me. as thats where ill be spending my time.

turbohf

PROGRESS!

turbohf

OK... so i have been working. well i have done some work.

i had to re-read me thread some to remember where i left off, and what i did lol.


i got another cylinder head... YES, as in ONE. and swapped over the valve springs, cleaned it a little bit. then threw it on. think i did that like a week or 2 after last post.

i messed with the shifter for way to long trying to over complicate a bracket... did i ever say where i got the shifter? its a 3rd gen camaro unit. those are 4 speed 700r4's.
anyway. i just drilled a hole in the floor about where it looked like it should go. cable wants to hit the kickdown switch in trans. but got it squared up, marked. railed a hole in the bracket. and now its bolted down. yeah with one bolt. but there is a lip on the pan so its not like the bracket is going to twist/move.
works great after a little adjustment. its ALL THE DETENTS of the trans on the shifter dead square. reverse/park lockouts work. etc. its solid.
it obviously doesnt go into "1st" gear. just 4-3-2...if you had the factory indicator. so now its just P-R-N-3-2-1... bonus is that if i ever get a 80e in here, im set.... also i should probably wire in the neutral safety switch.

i got motivated about a center console. so i started mocking up my vision...

then i got hungry or cold...

oh speaking of no attention span



i bought a solid engine mount for the drivers side. i noticed on my first start that the engine was kinda flopping around. this should firm it up, but still not rattle the paint off the car.
this was kinda a bitch to put in.





oh yeah, fixed the crossover. it fits again, mostly. this makes me hate v-band clamps btw. doing this pipe requires 3 hands.


i dont remember if i said i couldnt get the brakes to bleed AT ALL. but i got a hand vacuum pump and got fluid to the calipers. got some pressure. after a while i got full pressure. then a HUGE leak. all seems fixed. rears are bled.
i nut/bolt checked all the rear... all is set back that for now (still need to put swaybar on). just needs lug nuts tight. *on list* and caltrac's adjusted.

after finishing up the crossover i started nut/bolt check at the front. put some cotter pins in. a couple zerks, put some grease in the ball joints/tie rods.

i monkeyed with the engine cover for a while trying to get it to sit as low as possible, because for some reason i find that intake manifold cover amusing and i want it on my car. lol.
threw the downpipe on for temp, also checked and hooked up the rest of the charge piping for the turbo.


now if i would have worked on it more this weekend or last like i was planning i might have driven it around the block (hopefully it goes that well). and put a shake down mile on her to inspire more motivation and confidence (im scared this is just going to fall apart now). but didnt work out. maybe soon...

PLAN on buttoning this up quickly. maybe getting exhaust of some kind to exit at least behind the door. put a couple around town miles, get it to work for an alignment. then i think the plan is to (tow) her to Ross Performance Group for a tune!!!

LQ4-E39

iTrader: (7)

I remember reading this thread years ago, good to see it's finally getting buttoned up! Maybe I missed it but how in the world did the one head get cracked so badly?

turbohf

yeah im getting excited again. i hate cars that dont run, so then they sit longer because i loose motivation. viscous cycle.
i bought the engine from a rolled Tahoe. and thinking back the exhaust manifold on that side was loose from the head. not sure what it hit. but every bolt on that side was bent. also had a bent PS pulley (like 15bucks at parts store), cracked oil pan (never planned on using it), and a bung on intake manifold broken off (glued in a rubber plug).

turbohf

OMG ITS MELTING!!!.... :


anyway. i went back through the relay box and now i have mapped the damn thing so i know where everything goes and what they all do. want to make one that i didnt handwrite (my penmanship is ****) to stick on the inside of the lid OE style.

ITS LOUD! my dB meter shows 99db... my G8 fires off with a 84 then settles to 75, for reference.

idea was to get her to move under her own power, verify the trans works.... well after several tries and about a gallon of fluid she warmed up enough to where she didnt want to idle. so i 2 foot her out the garage, make a U turn, and back into the garage so that the passenger side is next to the bench with more room.. the exhaust is on that side. or the exhaust i need to build will be lol.

it was only like 4pm, but im sure my neighbors LOVE ME NOW

turbohf

lol... "that barn find look"...



SHE'S BLEEDING!


why do cork gaskets even still exist? i assume thats what is leaking, i really didnt look that hard. car wasnt leaking until it sat for 2 days...


ordered this on a suggestion. great reviews on amazon. steel reinforced rubber gasket. i hate the fact its blue. it reminds me of felpro gaskets...and i hate that its blue. but also under the car, so ehh.


big *** muffler i bought on amazon...yes before measuring anything under the car. looks like a magnaflow inside and out. but little less than half the price. totalflow or something. 3" center in/out. perforated core, straight through.


little test fitting of the muffler. think its going to go about around there somewhere... while it does fit slightly better inside the subframe connectors, the exhaust pipe isnt getting past the trans crossmember without rebuilding it, then the pipe still needs to come over the subconnectors to exit out the side or over and around the gas tank.
it will be painted black. pipe will be painted back and header wrapped... and i will probably get some of that stick on DEI shielding too.
plan is to exit exhaust right before back tire.


while i am semi motivated, im feeling lazy... sure i could have driven it today (assuming all was running/tuned/etc) but its cold out (40-45) with no heater, and damp out...and thats the good weather for the next 3-4months...

yes i still would have driven her to go get lunch anyway... lol.

turbohf

hey, look, that ugly bastard is in there....

....AND STARTED LEAKING INSTANTLY... gallon of atf came out, so i poured it back in. i clean up some tools, peak back under. and i got a 2.5" spot already... its leaking from the left rear bolt.

i didnt rattle them down with my gun...maybe i should have? i put them on, oh lets call it 15ft tight. i went around the pan like 3 times making sure they where all the same.... so once leaking i gave her and the ones on each side a good crank. ill check in hour or so when checking laundry


more of what i was spending too much time working on...









its all tacked in. ill pull it off tomorrow and weld it all up... i am short about 2ft and a 45* (to exit from under the car) from finishing... i may just go to the autoparts store and get a slash cut tail pipe piece and clamp it on for now.
oh i have 2 hangers i am going to put in also. got them sorted. just need to bolt them in and weld them too.

turbohf

ok. so i dont know **** about tuning with HPTuners. but she fires straight away with the key, after a bit of running she gets to little over 100*F and just doesnt want to idle anymore. will stall. wont run unless pedaled.
i mobbed through the settings with some youtube help to make sure it was stuck in open loop (i dont have stock O2's hooked up). but doesnt seem to be a fueling issue.... idk.
also was kinda getting the feeling it had a missfire on 1-2 cylinders??








<~~ why the **** wont it embed this video?

turbohf

oh, now it does it... 10mins of trying...

turbohf

start right with the good stuff...


HOOD IS ON... making this pretty damn complete. more than it has been in forever...


checking old posts... yup, 3 years...


other happenings....

i had a bit of confusion a bit back. made a little fuse box map...



made a better version, and stuck it in the fuse box. solid now. almost OEM lol.


car on all 4 wheels... added the longest scrap of pipe i had, and an autoparts store turn down. all black it just blends away...


boost controller.



test fit of WOT switch (well about 80% throttle) for the TH400 kickdown.


umm...maybe we will get to that stuff eventually...


little money shot of the engine bay with the hood on... turbo fits, my fancy Vortec cover fits. really kinda surprised this 14lbs of **** fit in the 8lbs Nova engine bay.


roadkill style pre-dyno list... just some non-important crap left it looks like. maybe ill dig out the safety checklist again for giggles.


plan is to tow this pile to dyno next week to get the tune all fixed up!!!

turbohf

I DROVE THE NOVA!!!!

i went to the corner store and back...yeah, probably 3 blocks in total... but found a potentially big issue. right rear tire rubs BAD. thought i heard the right front and left rear too. but could just be the car falling apart too. my road is a bit crap, so kinda seemed wondery, but needs alignment, as i have proven many times to be cross eyed when doing garage alignments LOL.
got her to probably 25-30ish on the return. guessing its got 1st and second gear at least?

went and got a fender roller from a buddy. he looked over my tune, we are both confused. **** just doesnt seem right. but i am no tuner (but amazing have tuned a car or two enough not to explode lol), and he has tuned a couple cars on many systems (1-2 HPT cars)... anyway i had another map i had queued up, and he liked that one much better, as **** made since. anyway, going to give that a try tomorrow.

oh and a buddy in town i have known for years has a dyno, and has it setup now. and works right next door. so. we might just throw my pile on his dyno and make a hit.... have to see how this other tune works out, maybe some street hits... maybe still just tow the ****** to get tuned elsewhere... oh, buddies shop just tunes Honda and i think Nissan they have barely looked at HPT.


EXCITED...

turbohf

dont remember where i left off... but i took a quick run down the street and back (3 blocks in total)

i clearanced the right rear fender. doesnt seem to rub now.


oh i dont remember if i said that my fuel gauge didnt seem to work?? well it does now!

friends stopped by for some encouragement as i was trying to go for a more legit drive around the block (about a mile)... they took a video, its on my FB if you have that, then well you probably already seen it.

did some more work today.

got the brake light switch hooked up. even though Bryan said i had brake lights, guess he seen the parking lights?


got 2 seats now.. well the passenger is 75% bolted down, muffler is a bit of a bitch and in the way.


LOL. temporary gear position indicator. ill have to figure out something creative when i build the console, or maybe ill have the muscle memory down by then.

drove it over to buddies place, idk 5miles? he wasnt home. but really i just wanted a safe destination. anyway drove it back. has a bit of rotational noise? couple are brake noises (go away under braking) but i have one i think is coming from the right rear that sounds a bit metal/metal..maybe a shield? maybe a **** axle bearing?... she started to get a bit warm (into the 200s with fans on). smoked off some header wrap, all that good stuff... i get back to my place, and she is pissing rust water everywhere...



just pissing out the bleed hole in the bottom of the pump. ok maybe a little dramatic, but it was leaking pretty good...


anyway. i guess ill have some fun trying to pull that damn water pump out... think i might start ordering some interior stuff also.

turbohf

what a pain. not too bad though.


new pump


new thermostat housing. this is cheap ebay swivel unit. obviously didnt get that ugly polished crap. also got a new LS2 style thermostat, 160*


pulled the nipples out the pump... kind a bitch. stole this idea off a post on ls1tech. works well.


cut some threads in the pump... 3/8 NPT and 1/2NPT.


new fittings put in. probably should have put the 1/2 in first, as clearance doesnt exist when spinning it in, it literally touched on last rotation lol.


OH. btw i did this because the factory nipples point right at my turbo manifold/up pipe thing. no way for them to clear. well maybe if you did a 90 rubber hose, but it would be right on the manifold.


i did do a 90 right off the heater core though. still pretty close, but should be ok.


didnt run it or fill it. want the sealant to set on the fittings, and beat from fighting all that crap lol. maybe tomorrow.

350SS

iTrader: (38)

were you just running water? you probably know this but need some coolant to help lubricate the water pump seals

nice progress

turbohf

yeah. just water. im sure that pump had 211k miles on it. i have never had water freeze in my garage, so wasnt too concerned with it, but was a little about lube in the pump and the rust lol. oh well. really it had just over 10miles, and couple hours of idle like that, but like i said, looked like original pump...

turbohf

i ordered some stuff... and not a single "Nova" part...


thats a bitch. i went for a couple hours, only one decent cut, and a big *** blister. better than last time... if you have never used this stuff before its sticky tar on a soda can. fun to work with. ended up ditching the gloves as the tar crap sticks to them more than my fingers...then i got cut after trimming a hole for seat bolt hole...figures.

i have a couple more sheets to do on the left rear... not sure how or if im going to do any on the doors, or roof, probably not the trunk...actually maybe over the rust hole in the trunk lol... i will throw down a couple more sheets in key areas as i have a bit more left.

i bought a pack of 50sqft of 50mil Kilmat off Amazon. like $60 + roller for $7 (press it down with your hands you will get cut)


more coming, updates as i do stuff. as im sure you have seen, this will continue to be junkyard/custom stuff...

turbohf

a little bit more work...


laid down about a yard of jute padding. i doubled it up in some of the corners to make it easier to lay the carpet down. put spray glue on it to hold it in place....sure it will be a bitch to do anything with later.


and now i have carpet. 2 yards of black 'pile cut'. laid out pretty nice. couple little wrinkles in the back that might not be visible with the seats in, and a spot in the front. not bad for never doing this before and it being bulk flat carpet.... im ok with it.

ok all this took me forever.


started tracing out door panels, or maybe i'll do the console next. also need to fix/figure out the LF window regulator....

i havent decided on color, fabric, pattern...any of that yet for the door panels... i kinda want to do a fake leather something on the side of the console and outside of the door panel, with a suede/microfiber center in the panel/armrest/top console and dash.... probably all in black maybe dark gray in the centers to match the seats?... oh, i was also thinking of putting some of my left over carpet (or other material i pickout) to extend the door card over the lower painted piece of the door??