9 second suspenion mods on a 69nova
9 second suspenion mods on a 69nova Hi my car is a 69 nova with monoleaf springs and i plan on going into the 9's with car. For a motor it has 434 smallblock plus 250 shot of juice with 8.5 10bolt with 410 gears and 4000 converter with a 350 tranny my question is it better to keep it mono leaf or should i get multi. Iwill have caltracs for shure but was wondering on what else will i need and what should i get, i know sub frame connectors are must, that i know. But will a 28x10.5 slick fit on my car with out having to cut or move the springs in board and does anybody know what back spacing is needed for 15x8 and a 15x10. I know i have alot of questions but your info is greatly apreciated. thankyou
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From: Gainesville, Florida # of drag strips runs: ?!?!?
We've got two Novas running 9's in our group, and my 383 with a 120 hp shots isn't too far behind at 10.50. Here's what we use:
Caltracs
Use either Rancho shocks (bare minimum adj. shock which we all use and it works great) or another adjustable shock. Don't use C/E shocks, John Calvert will tell you he doesn't like them either.
Mon-leaf over the multi-leaf, less wrap-up, less stiff and they work better. All 3 of our cars have mono-leafs, the 2 nine second cars running stock replacement Eaton Detriot springs and I'm running Landrums, but if we ever need to replace them we'll go for Calvert's Split-monos. Used them on a 10 second Camaro and they work awesome.
a 28 x 10.5 x 15 slick will fit fine, but you'll need to roll the quarter panel out lip, as well as make a little clearance with the BFH mod to the inner wheelhouse. 15 x 8 rim with 5" backspacing if using a stock width rear-end.
Derek
Caltracs
Use either Rancho shocks (bare minimum adj. shock which we all use and it works great) or another adjustable shock. Don't use C/E shocks, John Calvert will tell you he doesn't like them either.Mon-leaf over the multi-leaf, less wrap-up, less stiff and they work better. All 3 of our cars have mono-leafs, the 2 nine second cars running stock replacement Eaton Detriot springs and I'm running Landrums, but if we ever need to replace them we'll go for Calvert's Split-monos. Used them on a 10 second Camaro and they work awesome.
a 28 x 10.5 x 15 slick will fit fine, but you'll need to roll the quarter panel out lip, as well as make a little clearance with the BFH mod to the inner wheelhouse. 15 x 8 rim with 5" backspacing if using a stock width rear-end.
Derek
I also have a '69 street Nova. It has a 10 bolt 8.5" rear with stock posi and Moser axles, plus an aluminum girdle cover. I use split mono leafs from Calvert, the CalTrac bars, and Rancho adjustable shocks. Currently I run small 235-60 15" M/T drag radials or 26"x9" Hoosier slicks on 15x7" ralley wheels. My best 60' times are 1.43 with the slicks, and high 1.5s with the radials. It runs 7.3 on motor and 6.5 @ 104 on spray. After adding the caltrac bars it pulls the wheels just a few inches off the ground.
I am debating mini tubbing it since the car is currently in primer. My problem is that I want to keep the 3" full exhaust and the fuel tank in the stock location (I like having a useable trunk). There just isn't much room left to move the shocks inboard and relocate the leafs. Do any of you guys have your Nova mini tubbed?
I am heading out to a street car heads up drag race tonight. I plan to run the radial class, but these little tires are kind of sketchy...
I am debating mini tubbing it since the car is currently in primer. My problem is that I want to keep the 3" full exhaust and the fuel tank in the stock location (I like having a useable trunk). There just isn't much room left to move the shocks inboard and relocate the leafs. Do any of you guys have your Nova mini tubbed?
I am heading out to a street car heads up drag race tonight. I plan to run the radial class, but these little tires are kind of sketchy...
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From: Gainesville, Florida # of drag strips runs: ?!?!?
Originally Posted by Chevy406
I am debating mini tubbing it since the car is currently in primer. My problem is that I want to keep the 3" full exhaust and the fuel tank in the stock location (I like having a useable trunk). There just isn't much room left to move the shocks inboard and relocate the leafs. Do any of you guys have your Nova mini tubbed?
Derek
I appreciate your input. That leads me to another question then. I have 3.73 gears, and so I have always stuck with 26" tall tires. Do you think that the taller 28" tires will hurt my ET?
By the way, I raced in a radial tire class Friday night. The first two test passes I was blowing the tires badly when the nitrous kicked in at .4 seconds. I then increased tire pressure (M/T drag radials) from 14 psi to 20 psi, and delayed the nitrous to .8 seconds. That got my 60' down to 1.58 - 1.61 with 175 hp nitrous. I was able to qualify top of the 18 car field, and work my way down to the final round. I ran out of nitrous in the final. That will get you hooked on heads-up racing real quick.
I am not sure what the proper tire pressure for my combination is. Most everyone else was dropping their pressure in the radial tires, but it seemed to work better for me with higher pressure. Or it could have been the added delay in the nitrous timer.
By the way, I raced in a radial tire class Friday night. The first two test passes I was blowing the tires badly when the nitrous kicked in at .4 seconds. I then increased tire pressure (M/T drag radials) from 14 psi to 20 psi, and delayed the nitrous to .8 seconds. That got my 60' down to 1.58 - 1.61 with 175 hp nitrous. I was able to qualify top of the 18 car field, and work my way down to the final round. I ran out of nitrous in the final. That will get you hooked on heads-up racing real quick.
I am not sure what the proper tire pressure for my combination is. Most everyone else was dropping their pressure in the radial tires, but it seemed to work better for me with higher pressure. Or it could have been the added delay in the nitrous timer.
Last edited by Chevy406; Aug 13, 2007 at 07:29 AM. Reason: added more detail
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From: Gainesville, Florida # of drag strips runs: ?!?!?
The taller tires may hurt your e.t. due to the effect on overall gear ratio, but they provide a "longer footprint" and a little more cushion when launching the car. I ran 26" tall tires for 6 years, and when I went to 28" my 60 foots were about .01-.02 slower and the overall e.t. dropped about .05 but the car seemed more stable and I could hit the bottle sooner off the launch without spinning.
Congrats on the final round showing, I agree heads-up or pro-tree racing can be addictive! Bring a spare bottle next time!
Derek
Congrats on the final round showing, I agree heads-up or pro-tree racing can be addictive! Bring a spare bottle next time!
Derek
