So got most of the Quadralink installed. Still some brackets and some welding to finish up but it’s a good start. Had a good helper as well who’s eager to learn some skills!

More progress today! I’m glad this is checked off the list. Just have the lower link brackets tacked in place so I’ll weld them in permanently once the rear end comes back out and clean up some welds on the underside of the car.

Looks great!


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How many hours to complete the DSE Quadralink install?

I’d say I had a couple of days in it altogether. I welded the torque boxes welded in when I did the subframe connectors so that saved a little time during the Quadralink install.

So this thing of beauty showed up today for the Nova...

LT1?

Keep up the great work!

Yes sir...Thank you!

Niiiiiice!!

Is it wrong for me to say I like your rear end ???


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Looks great Shane!

Lol!...Talk to Teddy Bear!:unibrow:

Thank you, Joe!

I like that you’re doing something different with the LT1... will be a great motor in the Nova! Does DSE have motor mounts now for the LT1 or are you using something like the adjustable Dingo mounts? Curious, too, what you’re thinking for headers? Ultimate Headers used to have several variations for Chevy IIs on their website, including an LT1 header for CBR subframes, but doesn’t show up anymore. Will be cool for sure! Are you going to do any mods to the motor or keep it stock?


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Thank you, I like the idea of something different as well. I’ve gotten a lot of inspiration from your build which is just outstanding, BTW. I’ve been trying to switch it up from my Camaro in a few ways, partly just for the sake of being different but also for getting some experience with different parts ie: auto vs T56, LT1 vs LS3, 9 inch vs 12 bolt, Z51 brakes instead of Baer 6 piston units, etc. I’m debating doing a completely stock looking interior with original steering wheel and maybe even a modified bench seat or, at most, some aftermarket front seats made to look original as well as redlines on the tires (if I can figure out how to get redlines vulcanized onto some modern tires in the sizes I want especially).

DSE doesn’t offer any engine mounts For the Chevy II but I’ve looked at the Dirty Dingo mounts and I may end up combining DSE’s first gen Camaro LT1 block plates with Dirty Dingo’s mounts for something non-sliding, however, I REALLY like the idea of keeping the factory oil cooler that came on the crate engine so I might go with the sliding mounts. It’s a compromise because the LT1’s have the high pressure fuel pump on the back of the engine that sticks out slightly while the oil pan with cooler might require the engine to go back to fit so I may end up recessing the firewall so I can have my cake and eat it too!

As far as headers, I looked at the Ultimate headers and only saw where they offered the exhaust flanges so I’ll have to figure that out. CBR’s website says they offer LT1 headers but you have to call for pricing so I’m gonna check that out. I’m entertaining using the factory shorty headers that came on the engine and cutting off the heat cover mounts and having them coated but that depends on if they’ll fit the front subframe.

I’ll probably only do a few cosmetic things to the motor. Since I’m not a very patient person and I wanna keep the build moving at a good pace and (most importantly) to continue cash-flowing it, I’m trying to keep it “simple” in some areas, especially since this thing will need a paint job...an expense my Camaro didn’t have. I’ve got other areas such as suspension, driveline, body/paint, wheels/tires and some creature comforts that I’m not willing to compromise on but at the same time, on stuff like headers, brakes, etc. that I could always upgrade later on, I felt like that was an area where I could have nice, functional components and upgrade later if I chose to but at least I could have a nice, running family cruiser sooner. These are all famous last words, of course!

Your plan makes a lot of sense based on your current goals/objectives! Not sure what you’re thinking for a radiator, but C&R builds a radiator for Chevy IIs that includes an integrated oil cooler (unless your crate LT-1 actually came with the factory oil cooler). I bet Ultimate still offers the LT-1 headers for CBR frames, you just need to call them. When I was looking for headers, I spoke with Jim, the owner of Ultimate Headers, and he was a great guy - very helpful and responsive. I’m really happy with the fit of their headers on mine - they don’t hang down too low and look awesome (and should flow really well with the 1 7/8” tubes). Look forward to more updates!

Brian


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Yeah, I’ve been looking at both C&R and PRC units with the integrated trans cooler. I’ve not found anything with both EOC and TOC for the Novas which makes sense given they’re relatively small radiators so I’ll do my best to maintain the factory EOC that came on the engine and just do the trans cooler in the radiator.

I spoke with Church Boys Racing about their LT1 headers and I intend to call Ultimate as well. I think Stainless Works makes the headers for CBR. I’ve ordered everything that I THINK I’ll need to get the engine mounted in the front clip. I ordered the Dirty Dingo sliders as well as some Billet Specialties adjustable mounts to see which ones I like/fit better. I also got some DSE LS frame stands and Prothane poly mounts and some ARP hardware so once it all arrives, I’ll be ready to play. Here’s what the DSE mounts and DD sliders look like. The DD mounts are bigger then I expected but the quality is very nice. I’ll definitely have to ditch the PCV system that hooks into the pass side of the LT1 oil pan in order for any motor mount to work but I have a feeling I may have to swap the pan before it’s all said and done...we’ll see!

Lastly, I got the car scheduled For the end of this month to go to the body shop and get bead blasted, put in epoxy primer and I’m gonna have them jam it out in single stage to get a feel for the color we chose so stay tuned!

Took some time to get the engine set into the front clip yesterday and thought I’d share some info for anybody planning to do a Gen V LT1 swap in a 66-67 Nova. Not much info out there that I’ve been able to find in the way of motor plates, mounts, etc. For reference, I’m using the DSE front clip, factory core support and DSE’s inner fenders on the car. The body’s off getting media blasted and put in epoxy so all of this was done just to get a feel for what I’d need to about the engine mount offset, headers, cooling package, cold air intake, etc. while it was easy to get to it from all angles and see what was not gonna fit. I’ll apologize in advance for the long post but trying to pack as much info in here as I can for the next guy!

Just for the sake of information, I’ll give a quick rundown on a few things that are pertinent in how the engine comes equipped. So the crate motor comes shipped with the Camaro exhaust manifolds, water pump setup and oil pan with integrated oil cooler. On the back of the water pump on the passenger side is a black plastic housing that is the engine oil separator for the PCV vent system. Part of that system is a steel drain tube that goes back to the passenger side of the oil pan and runs right “thru” the engine mount plate area. Since the water pump is offset completely to the passenger side of the engine and with the catch can on the back of it, you can imagine this creates some clearance issues. In short, the water pump and factory PCV catch can, drain and oil separator will have to be removed and another setup used due to the water pump outlet hitting the forward side of the passenger A-arm. Interestingly, pretty much all of the vehicles that come from the factory with the Gen V LT1 have electric steering so there’s no sourcing a “Camaro drive system” to complete the pkg as it wouldn’t give you any more then an alternator and an an AC compressor so you’ll need to either buy GM’s kit or one from any of the other usual places. I’m going with the Holley Mid-Mount system because it’s by far the most compact, tidy and well-engineered kits out there. I’ve got it on my 68 Camaro and it works flawlessly. What Holley does is utilize the same kit as the LS engines by giving you a water pump adapter and a throttle body plate to change the angle from the down (factory) to up like the LS motors to clear the accessories and water pump...remember, you’re going from an offset water pump to one that’s mounted in the center. Here’s some pics of the clearance issues on the factory water pump. You can see it won’t allow the pump to bolt on all the way.

The next issue I ran into was the factory Camaro exhaust manifolds, the driver side actually bolts up and fits quite well leaving what appears to be enough room for the steering shaft but the passenger side has too much interference with the area where the front clip bolts to the body. The square exhaust flange is hits the frame rail and even if it were trimmed down, the outlet is in such a place that short of cutting an expensive subframe, you’d never be able to plumb the system. DSE doesn’t currently offer headers for the LT1 but my plan is go with Church Boys as they offer a long tube setup. Here’s a few pics but I know it might be difficult to make anything out of them.

In the pic above, on the passenger side, you can see the steel tube with the yellow tape on the end...that’s the PCV drain tube that goes to the oil pan. I’d tried to remove it while it was still on the wooden crate but they filled the engine with oil oddly enough so it was draining out and I couldn’t get to the drain plug because of the crate and I also couldn’t get the motor mount plates attached because of the tube so I just turned it around for now to get it out of the way. You wouldn’t thing you’d need a drain that large for a PCV system.

Anyway, onto the oil pan. I love the oil pan on this thing. It includes an oil to water cooler that’s attached to the driver side of the pan with a steel line that plugs into the factory water pump and another one that would get routed to the radiator or radiator hose. I was really hoping to keep this setup in tact despite not using the factory water pump. I’m happy to report that the oil pan will clear the DSE crossmember easily (at least with the mounts in their current position) and it appears to have decent ground clearance but I won’t know for sure until I get everything in the car. The Holley swap pan does have a lower profile and has the cooler fittings (just not the cooler) so I may have to change it at a later date but for now I’m letting it ride. It’s hard to distinguish in the pic below but you can see there’s about 2” of clearance from the front of the sump to the back of the crossmember.


For the engine mounts, I wasn’t sure what I’d need so I bought a few different ones including the Dirty Dingo sliders.The DD mounts are made quite well but I wasn’t crazy about having an adjustable mount and all the extra hardware “clutter” that comes with it. The mounts I tried first were the Billet Specialties pn: 11630. These mounts have multiple bolt locations that allow you to have the engine in a neutral position as well as move it three different positions rearward. They use a standard GM 3-bolt motor mount sold separately and were only approx $55 for the plates. The position I used was the third bolt hole back from the front on the top bolt, whatever that was. I looked like it’d put the front of the sump back far enough from the crossmember while not putting the back of the motor too far rearward. These engines have a high pressure fuel pump that’s camshaft driven that boosts the fuel pump pressure to over 2,100 psi before it’s directly injected into the cylinders adjacent from the spark plugs. So in addition to being mindful of the forward placement, you need to watch the rearward placement to maintain clearance from the high pressure pump to the firewall. I won’t know for sure until I put everything on the body but the initial place,ent I think will be spot on...if not, I have enough room for the sump that I can move it forward buteven now, things will be very tight up front by the time i add a radiator and fans and the cold air intake tube so I need to keep it tight to the firewall. I may end up recessing a pocket in the firewall just to keep the engine to the back for that reason along with weight distribution. Here’s some pics to see where it’s oriented in relation to the support bars and frame mounts which would give you an idea of where the firewall would be.



For the frame stands, I just ordered upa pair of DSE’s LS frame mounts andI used Prothane poly motor mounts with the 2 5/8” spread between the ears and 1 3/4” tall (pn: 7-504-BL). I found a perfect original GM flat hood for a great price that I’m gonna be running and the top of the intake sits 3.5” below the tops of the fenders so I’ve got plenty of room. In the last pics above, you can see the high pressure pump sticking off the back. In reality the actual pump housing only sticks out 1” from the bell housing flange, the rest is a foam sound insulator that can be trimmed down.

I think that about covers it for now. Since I suck at inserting the pictures within the text here, they’re all piled up at the bottom but you get the idea!

Thanks for looking!

Here’s some more random pics...I’m liking the clean looks of the LT sitting in there. Been thinking of putting some of the engine covers on it and maybe 3D printing some “Chevy II” lettering and milling off off the Corvette lettering. Not sure...

Well, it’s finally one color...Even if it is primer! It’s come a long way but still a long way to go! I put some pics at the bottom just to show what it looked like when we picked it up last year...

Great job Shane :) It does look good in one color even epoxy primer :goggles:

Looks fantastic! Feels like real progress when you see it all one color, even if only primer. Have been meaning to respond to your post from last week - I really like how clean that LT1 looks mocked up in the subframe! I also was going to mention that I noticed that Speed Tech came out with an Extreme front subframe for Chevy IIs, and they have LT and LS motor mount options for it. Not sure whether it’s something that could work for your LT1 (including, possibly, headers), but thought I would pass along the info. Looks awesome..

Brian


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I have been watching your build for a while Shane. Its hard to believe that's the same car you started with. Your fabrication skills are amazing. The LT1 is a great engine but the swap components are still a challenge to figure out. Looks like you are getting it figured out. My guess is the the headers will be the biggest challenge. Other than the flange at the head being different from the LS are ports in the same place?

Thank you, Sonar Chief...one of these days it’ll be as far along as your Camaro! You’re doing great work!


Hey Brian, thanks for the heads up! I had actually called SpeedTech before buying a front clip just to see what they had to offer as an option. They wouldn’t say much except that they had something in development. Sounds like they beat Holley to the punch with a complete suite of LT1 components for Second Gen Novas!

It’s funny how you have goals in your head that are milestones. I always tell myself I’ll be content upon reaching the next one but yet find myself chasing the one after about as quickly as I reach the one before. Now that it’s one color, I really wanna see it off the rotisserie and sitting on its own suspension!


Mark, thank you for the compliments, it’s definitely changed a lot in the last 15 months. The engine has been a bit of an unknown for sure but oddly enough, one of the biggest challenges at this point is getting the AC vents figured out. There’s no good spot to put the vents so it’s gonna take some effort (more to come on that). As far as the port design, the intake ports have been raised to accommodate the direct injection but I’m not sure if the exhaust ports have been raised. There’s basically nothing that’ll interchange between the LS and LT engines so it does make for some unknowns, however, they’re similar enough in their physical dimensions that it’s not totally unpredictable. I think at the end of the day I’ll have at least two and, thanks to bkswede for the SpeedTech tip, sounds like three choices in headers so I’m hoping to find one that meets my needs. Thanks for tuning in!

Shane the reason I asked about the similarities between the LT1 vs LS1 Header is Speedway Motors has LS Headers cheap for the 62-67 Nova with their sub frame if it’s just a matter of changing the flanges. They are on close out for less than half price. They have 1 7/8” primary tubes , O2 bungs and good clearance for the steering shaft. They are not stainless but at this price you can modify them and have them coated. I have a set that I changed the collectors to V-band style and had coated. They only have a few pairs, I can tell you that story another day. Let’s just say I’m the reason they have them. Here’s a link.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/G-Com...sh,205590.html

If you need any dimensions I can help.

Oh, cool, good information...I’ll check it out. The price is inexpensive for sure! Sounds like you were part of the development?

Not part of any development LOL. See post 22 in my build thread. After spending a decent amount of money on their products and originally being told they were on backorder, only to find out they were discontinuing production I was not a happy camper. I pushed them to have some more made.

Dash & Firewall Modifications
 

So, once the blasting and epoxy was complete, the plan was to bring it home and get the dash AC vents figured out, attach the drive by wire throttle pedal mount, fabricate the AC evaporator mounting brackets and get the firewall and dash ready for paint - basically, complete all welding on the dash and firewall so they could be painted. Since the body shop already had the car and since I wasn’t super happy with my patch job on the heater motor hole and since I also didn’t feel I had the skills to do the AC vents to the level they needed to be, I went ahead and had them handle those items for me. This will save some back and forth, give me a real boost on getting the car back to a rolling chassis faster and the quality will be much better, especially on the firewall and dash work.

I was really torn about what to do with the dash vent situation. I knew I didn’t like the look of the under-dash mounting that comes with the VA evap kit and I’ve seen other threads where oval vents were used on 67’s but my dash, for whatever reason, didn’t have the same available space between the raised areas for the switches and the sides of the dash (on the driver side). It’s frustrating and I searched high and low for a small vent that had a diameter that’d fit within the flat area of the lower dash. The only thing I could find were The “Nano vents” from Restomod Air. They use a small hole about 1.62” and the finished diameter of the vent is not much bigger then the switch bezels. They would definitely fit, however, they use a 1.5” diameter duct hose or an adapter to fit Restomod’s standard 2” duct hose. Vintage Air uses 2.5” hose as standard. I didn’t feel I could “shrink” the Vintage Air hoses down effectively 1/2” without making them leak and I was also afraid that these small vents would whistle when the airflow was on high which would be annoying. I was also concerned about the look of such a small vent and it’s ability to provide enough airflow as air will always take the path of least resistance unless you direct it completely (hence the possibility of leaking and/or whistling). Anyway, on top of all that, the vents are $185 each so I’d have about $800 in parts that I might not be happy with at the end of the day. So long story short, since I’ll have to look at this dash for a while, I opted to go the more expensive route and get the dash modified to accept a standard size (2.5” hole) vent. I think this will provide the best finished product and be the most functional at the end of the day. It was necessary to fill the ash tray location but I think it cleans up the dash nicely and to those who aren’t familiar with the dash of a Second Gen Nova, it may not even be noticeable.

Now that the metal work is complete, they’ll do the body work on the dash and firewall and apply some paint. When it comes home, I can finish some detail work, apply the bedliner, get the brake and fuel lines bent, and get the car off the rotisserie and get the front and rear suspension back under it and ready to move to the next stage. Anyway, here’s some progress pics

This is the firewall with all the holes filled. The fuse panel hole was relocated behind the inner fender and enlarged for the AAW harness that’ll be going in. The did a great job getting the passenger area super flat and smooth. The area around the steering column will be body-worked leaving an indention of the original hole...I like the shape of the firewall and wanted to keep as much of the character as possible

Here’s the DSE wiper motor mocked up to help position the evaporator. DSE’s instructions say to remove/close off the upper ducts from the evap due to interference with the wiper linkage - definitely Not an option!

Once the evap unit was relocated, we put attachment studs on the inside of the cowl area and firewall so nothing is seen from the outside. I hate putting screws into stuff that can leak, strip and look like crap. We test fitted to be sure to leave room for the duct hoses and I have enough room to mount the LT1 ECM in there as well.

Here’s after the ash tray was filled in and the vent locations were laid out with pilot holes. I wanted to keep a somewhat stock-appearing AC/heater control because it’s not my intention to completely redesign the dash. The GM designers did a great job in 67 in my opinion-I just want to add a bit of modern to it

Finally, here’s the dash after vent holes were added. They blend in quite well to the bottom side of the dash due to the naturally downward angle.

Dash looks great Shane. I like the vent locations. Did they make them from scratch or did you have something to start with?

Thanks, man! I’m very happy with everything. They were made from scratch, each made out of two pieces.

Looks great Shane - you made the right choice to modify the dash - will look so much better when it is finished. I, too, struggled with what to do with the vents and ended up doing something similar. Firewall looks awesome, too!


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I got the Nova back from the body shop today. Excited about how it turned out. I’m ready to get movin’ on this thing. I was playing around with some green tape to map out the fuel and brake line routing. I also wanted to see what the dash was gonna look like with some of the pretty stuff on it so I played with that a little. Up next is to seam seal the bottom, scuff it down and paint it then get the bedliner sprayed on. I can also get the battery mount and fuel tank vent mocked up. I plan to make a bulkhead to separate the trunk and back seat areas and I can get some of the interior stuff put together since the interior’s been painted. Here’s some pics...

WOW, that looks nice Shane!

A little update...Got the underside bedlined, brake and fuel lines bent, started on the Dynamat in a few areas while it was easier being on the rotisserie. Then got the Quadralink reinstalled, got the the body off the rotisserie, subframe mounted and temporarily hung the front sheet metal to see how it looked in the shape of a car! Here’s some pics...thanks for looking!

VERY nice, congrats on the progress!!

Shane the car looks great and I am looking forward to more progress pictures.