Nova 1.0 Turbo Budget Build
01-21-2018, 06:43 PM
#1
Nova 1.0 Turbo Budget Build I'm trying my luck at putting a turbo on this old dog I picked up about 6 months ago. I'm pretty new to the boost game, so any help would be appreciated!
I'm putting this on a small block 350 with th350 Trans. Patient is a 1974 Chevy Nova. I picked up a eBay turbo kit from a guy about an hour from me. Traded him a tool box for the kit.
Started with pulling my existing headers off and mocking up the turbo headers. Already we have problems!! Now I need to decide, do I give up on these shenanigans or do I continue my way down money pit lane.
Issues I had on drivers side was headers would not clear the steering gear box, not even close! And on the passenger side the downpipe hit the starter, which could have easily been fixed, but also had clearance issues with valve covers. Also would have had to move the alternator to be able to mount the turbo. So... more work than I wanted to deal with.
So stupid me, I chose to pass go and head directly to money pit lane, lol.
My thoughts are, I will surely end up blowing the 350 to pieces, then that will give me a good reason to LS swap this old dog.
So I ended up ordering some forward facing headers, which are great quality and will do exactly what I need!
I got those installed this weekend, and also removed my inner fenders to gain some more clearance for my hot side.
The intercooler that came with the kit is a little on the big side, and will probably require cutting up the front bumper to get it to fit. I really don't want to do that though! Does anyone have an idea on a semi cheap intercooler that will fit better between the bumper and radiator support?
This is how the car looked when I purchased it this summer. And how it looks currently.
I'm putting this on a small block 350 with th350 Trans. Patient is a 1974 Chevy Nova. I picked up a eBay turbo kit from a guy about an hour from me. Traded him a tool box for the kit.
Started with pulling my existing headers off and mocking up the turbo headers. Already we have problems!! Now I need to decide, do I give up on these shenanigans or do I continue my way down money pit lane.
Issues I had on drivers side was headers would not clear the steering gear box, not even close! And on the passenger side the downpipe hit the starter, which could have easily been fixed, but also had clearance issues with valve covers. Also would have had to move the alternator to be able to mount the turbo. So... more work than I wanted to deal with.
So stupid me, I chose to pass go and head directly to money pit lane, lol.
My thoughts are, I will surely end up blowing the 350 to pieces, then that will give me a good reason to LS swap this old dog.
So I ended up ordering some forward facing headers, which are great quality and will do exactly what I need!
I got those installed this weekend, and also removed my inner fenders to gain some more clearance for my hot side.
The intercooler that came with the kit is a little on the big side, and will probably require cutting up the front bumper to get it to fit. I really don't want to do that though! Does anyone have an idea on a semi cheap intercooler that will fit better between the bumper and radiator support?
This is how the car looked when I purchased it this summer. And how it looks currently.
Last edited by onesloGTO; 01-21-2018 at 06:50 PM.
01-21-2018, 07:53 PM
#3
what' the details on lower end of 350? sbc's stock blocks don' take nearly the boost a ls based motor will.
honestly I'd sell the sbc while its' still good and get a junkyard LS and you will be ahead of the game.....
honestly I'd sell the sbc while its' still good and get a junkyard LS and you will be ahead of the game.....
01-21-2018, 08:10 PM
#4
What do you think I could get out of it? What does an LS run?
Keeping this as cheap as possible so didn't really want to buy another engine and have to fully build it too.
01-21-2018, 08:43 PM
#5
TECH Resident
Plenty of well built badass Novas around here. What are your goals? That would help determine what to recommend. I'd say for a goal over about 450whp on a cast bottom end SBC, go LS and save yourself time and money. Keep it cheap. Go LS, blow-through carb and MSD 6010 for ignition control. Keep the TH350 and be nice to it till you can upgrade to TH400 or 4L80E. If it's a forged bottom end and isn't high-compression, plod on and see what she can do. Good looking car btw!
01-21-2018, 09:01 PM
#6
Plenty of well built badass Novas around here. What are your goals? That would help determine what to recommend. I'd say for a goal over about 450whp on a cast bottom end SBC, go LS and save yourself time and money. Keep it cheap. Go LS, blow-through carb and MSD 6010 for ignition control. Keep the TH350 and be nice to it till you can upgrade to TH400 or 4L80E. If it's a forged bottom end and isn't high-compression, plod on and see what she can do. Good looking car btw!
I'm going to purchase a demon blow- through carb at some point towards the end of this build.
By all means I wouldn't mind selling this sbc, but no clue how to price it without pulling apart and seeing what it has for internals. More work than its worth in my opinion.
If I went LS id have to get a bunch of the other external parts to make it work, that all adds up.
Thanks, it's amazing what a little plasti dip can do for an old turd!
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01-22-2018, 07:37 AM
#12
Your motor has patriot aluminum heads, some type of after-market rockers and a big single plane intake. There is a decent chance the short block is decent. How does it feel right now?
I'm not trying to sway you from it but an LS swap isn't as cheap as a $300 junkyard motor like sometimes it seems. There are a lot of little things that add up. Plus you've got to get into a computer ans sensors etc. And if you aren't tuning yourself you're gonna spend big money right there. Around $600 bucks to buy tuner software if you DO know what you're doing.
There are a couple of guys on here that I have seen running a blow through setup. My vote is for you to keep what you have and be veeeery conservative tune wise. I'd invest in a wideband regardless of what motor you're going with.
I'm not trying to sway you from it but an LS swap isn't as cheap as a $300 junkyard motor like sometimes it seems. There are a lot of little things that add up. Plus you've got to get into a computer ans sensors etc. And if you aren't tuning yourself you're gonna spend big money right there. Around $600 bucks to buy tuner software if you DO know what you're doing.
There are a couple of guys on here that I have seen running a blow through setup. My vote is for you to keep what you have and be veeeery conservative tune wise. I'd invest in a wideband regardless of what motor you're going with.
01-22-2018, 11:40 AM
#14
Your motor has patriot aluminum heads, some type of after-market rockers and a big single plane intake. There is a decent chance the short block is decent. How does it feel right now?
I'm not trying to sway you from it but an LS swap isn't as cheap as a $300 junkyard motor like sometimes it seems. There are a lot of little things that add up. Plus you've got to get into a computer ans sensors etc. And if you aren't tuning yourself you're gonna spend big money right there. Around $600 bucks to buy tuner software if you DO know what you're doing.
There are a couple of guys on here that I have seen running a blow through setup. My vote is for you to keep what you have and be veeeery conservative tune wise. I'd invest in a wideband regardless of what motor you're going with.
I'm not trying to sway you from it but an LS swap isn't as cheap as a $300 junkyard motor like sometimes it seems. There are a lot of little things that add up. Plus you've got to get into a computer ans sensors etc. And if you aren't tuning yourself you're gonna spend big money right there. Around $600 bucks to buy tuner software if you DO know what you're doing.
There are a couple of guys on here that I have seen running a blow through setup. My vote is for you to keep what you have and be veeeery conservative tune wise. I'd invest in a wideband regardless of what motor you're going with.
Most of my knowledge is with the LS platform, as I've had several of them. One of them had a turbo on a 5.3 and 4.8
I know all that stuff gets expensive, which is what I'm trying to avoid.
We are pulling a 5.3 out of a 2011 Chevy at the shop with 85,000 miles on it, spit out a lifter and destroyed the cam. So going with a new engine. I thought about buying the core, but it's $600 and an aluminum block, which I dont want for boost.
01-22-2018, 12:39 PM
#16
As far as the decent parts, Patriot heads were cheap china heads that were a crap shoot, Some were fine out of the box and others needed work.
quite a few people bought them to put on stock short blocks because they were a cheaper way of getting compression up because of their small combustion chamber.
01-22-2018, 02:41 PM
#17
Yeah it has some decent parts, just not sure on internals. It will almost pull the front wheels off the ground from a dig and mashing it to the floor.
Most of my knowledge is with the LS platform, as I've had several of them. One of them had a turbo on a 5.3 and 4.8
I know all that stuff gets expensive, which is what I'm trying to avoid.
We are pulling a 5.3 out of a 2011 Chevy at the shop with 85,000 miles on it, spit out a lifter and destroyed the cam. So going with a new engine. I thought about buying the core, but it's $600 and an aluminum block, which I dont want for boost.
Most of my knowledge is with the LS platform, as I've had several of them. One of them had a turbo on a 5.3 and 4.8
I know all that stuff gets expensive, which is what I'm trying to avoid.
We are pulling a 5.3 out of a 2011 Chevy at the shop with 85,000 miles on it, spit out a lifter and destroyed the cam. So going with a new engine. I thought about buying the core, but it's $600 and an aluminum block, which I dont want for boost.
01-22-2018, 05:19 PM
#19
TECH Resident
Almost pulling the front wheels off the ground worries me. The only way I can see it having that kind of power out a small block is higher compression, That's not going to mesh well with boost. Not knowing what rotating assembly is would worry me, I've seen many stock parts fail at less than 8lbs of boost with a good tune.
As far as the decent parts, Patriot heads were cheap china heads that were a crap shoot, Some were fine out of the box and others needed work.
quite a few people bought them to put on stock short blocks because they were a cheaper way of getting compression up because of their small combustion chamber.
As far as the decent parts, Patriot heads were cheap china heads that were a crap shoot, Some were fine out of the box and others needed work.
quite a few people bought them to put on stock short blocks because they were a cheaper way of getting compression up because of their small combustion chamber.
Holley or C&S. C&S could probably get you in the ballpark tuning wise quicker unless you're good with carbs.
Good luck! Looking forward to the outcome!