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I have a 78 Nova now with a pretty radical 355 with Fitech injection, turbo 350 and 3:73 Ford 8.8. Its quick and very fun to drive but as far as going to out of town shows or cruise ins the high RPM highway gets old fast. I was going to swap in an overdrive tranny and stay with the SBC but frankly I'm tired of the normal SBC oil leaks and aggravation. So I just purchased a complete 2001 Yukon Denali with a 6.0 and 4L65E tranny. I have searched and read on here and Steve's Nova until my head is about to explode, so I would like to confirm a few things. I plan on a cam and trunion swap as well as new seals and gaskets in the engine. I am planning on either plate mounts or Dirty Dingo sliders. I was looking at the F body pan but wondered if its feasible to shorten the LQ4 pan. I work at a major emergency vehicle manufacturer and can tig or mig aluminum so the welding is easy. Is there a pick up that would work with the shortened pan or should I just go F body? I have a friend that has a nice two wheel drive 4L60E that wants to swap me for my 4X4 4l65, will the 4L60 work with my harness and computer? And then for the intake, I could use the truck intake from what I have read but for cosmetic reasons if I purchase a car intake will my throttle body work with that intake. Sorry for the long post but id rather ask than waste money. I plan to sue the truck front drive and hope to keep my factory AC it the engine will clear the AC box on the firewall.
Is a 78 nova the same as a gbody?
The 60e will work with your harness, same thing you can say..
Most people who cut the truck pan, modify the truck pickup tube by cutting it shorter and tign it back together...
Yes the truck tb will work on an ls1/6 or certain fast intakes that are 3 bolt flanged...
You may have to put the ac on the passenger head to work, but on some holly ls swaps you can use the lower passenger stock setup, if I recall.
I’d see if holly hooker makes a swap kit for your nova, I don’t know if a 1978 is on their list...
I plan to sue the truck front drive and hope to keep my factory AC it the engine will clear the AC box on the firewall.
I hope you have a good lawyer for that, although I don't think they're going to be able to help you much!
All jokes aside, I wouldn't try and shorten the truck pan. People have done it, but it's a lot of work to end up with a diminished oil capacity oil pan. If you don't want to get an aftermarket pan, like the Holley, I would use an F body pan and notch the back of the crossmember a bit, like an inch or so. That's basically what I did in my car, although I'm using a '77 Camaro subframe, they are dimensionally the same, but the '77 Nova has bigger front frame horns. Long story as to why I went that route.....
As for the engine clearing the factory A/C box, you will probably need to notch it a bit, but can be made to work.
I have a shadow of a memory tickling my brain that's saying that the mid-late 1970's Novas share a lot with the 2nd-generation Camaros, although I don't remember the specifics now (It's been a while since I've thought about that...). It might be worthwhile to pursue that line of thought, & see what Camaro/Firebird parts might be available that might help...
The G body has a full frame, as Cheese said the Nova uses a very similar sub frame as the Camaro, only difference is the ends where the bumper mounts. I've pretty much decided on dirty dingos since they offer a lot of adjustment. I plan to keep AC but may have to use an aftermarket top mount AS bracket. Still trying to decide on headers, I understand that the LS 98-02 Camaro headers usually fit the fourth gen Novas with an LS. I'm going to rework my factory harness and likely buy a F body pan. Still trying to decide on the intake, whether to smooth the truck intake or use an engine cover. Lots of decisions.
Parts are rolling in, so far an almost new set of 799 heads, LS6 intake with the fuel rails and injectors, WS6 Store ASA high lift cam, lifters, springs and push rods ordered today. Rings, bearings, oil pump and gaskets also on the way, the engine ran great but for my peace of mind a refresh will not hurt. Already have my swap mounts. When I get the engine back together I'll rework my harness and get the tranny changed over to two wheel drive. Excited.
If it has the same basic frame as a second gen Camaro, I would look at the Holley system for 2nd gen Camaros. Much better installation than generic mounts and not much more money.
If it has the same basic frame as a second gen Camaro, I would look at the Holley system for 2nd gen Camaros. Much better installation than generic mounts and not much more money.
Andrew
Actually the '68-'72 Novas share more with the '67-'69 Camaros than the '70-up Camaros. I learned this while looking up suspension parts.
My bad Toddoky! Just re-read the and saw mid-late '70s ! Somehow I hallucinated and saw mid-late '60s.... OOOPPPSSS!
Which also means the '78 Nova should have WAY better front geometry than the previous generation, like the '70-on up Camaro.
Yes same subframe as the second gen Camaro which means front steer and much more room for oil pans and headers. And to be a 70's car it handles really good. I have dropped it about 1.5" poly bushings everywhere and four wheel disc brakes help. If it wasn't for the AC/heat box Id have loads of room.
Well the engine is ready and I started it on the stand yesterday. It sounds like a beast. I have a cruise in next weekend that I promised Id go to and then I start pulling the 355.
So I got my tranny back from the builder and all of my parts are here and lined up. I have a parade Saturday morning and then as soon as its cooled down the 355 comes out. I just purchased a 4 post lift so that will help the swap greatly.
Its funny how life gets in the way when you have a "plan", I had to have a minor surgery that held me up but its back on. I pulled the 355/TH350 this week and dropped the 6.0 in last night for a test fit. It dropped right in thanks to this site and all of your previous work. I did searches and read all summer while getting parts together and so far everything fit first try and the engine fired on the stand first try. Right now its in the stock SBC location but I would love to go forward an inch but it looks like the PS pulley would hit the steering box. I marked the locations for my wiring to pass through the firewall and should be able to drop it in permanently Saturday. I'll get pics Saturday.
Question for you 4th gen Nova guys. Where did you mount your computers? I had planned behind the glove box but I'm not finding enough space for a decent sized grommet to pass through the firewall. I still full AC and heat.
03-17-2018, 05:59 PM
78 Nova LQ4 swap 
