65 Nova subframe
 

A friend of mine has a 65 and want's a new subframe. I was looking around and the aftermarket subframes have about $20 of metal in them.

Can someone provide me with the dimensions of an aftermarket unit? I want to build it myself.

Rich

ill see what I can do, My buddy here pleasanton built one for his nova.

stay away from the mustang 2 kits if you want it to handle great.

Thank you, we would appreciate anything you can help out with. If needed we can stop by and take dimensions ourselves

Andrew,
It looks like most of the kits available for the early novas are the mustang 2, this is what he doesn't want to have.

the whole ackerman toe changing in hard corner makes it crappy for handling. a friend of mine made the mistake of puting a mustang 2 kit in a 66 mustang made the car handle worse.most of the bolt in subframes out there for that nova are ment for drag racing and use the mustang 2 parts.good luck on making one you gonna use c5 parts on it.

My friend has the C4 ( I think ) suspension arms but needs a subframe that utilizes them.

[QUOTE=andrewmp6]most of the bolt in subframes out there for that nova are ment for drag racing and use the mustang 2 parts.


Good luck building your own, you are more ambitious than I am!
Tim

would be very dificult to use C5 in a nova of that year model as they are not very wide it wouldnt leave much room for the engine custom headers would be a must

It can be done but you're going to have to move the engine back but even with that the LCA pivot points are going to be REALLY close to the engine so custom headers will be mandatory. You'll also probably have to fab your own UCA's along with working on attach points that will clear the engine. In a nutshell, it ain't easy!!!:lol:

Rodger put it best when he said it's like putting 10 lb of crap in a 5 lb bag!:rofl:

John

i said most not all and yes anything will fit with enough money and time.theres a guy on here building a early nova with alot of c5 parts.

<-------------C4 checking in



While were on the subject, did anyone buy the Wayne Due C4 frame jig for the Nova's?

That would be novanutcase who has chimed in on this thread that has the hybred c5/nova. it would be a good idea to look at his build to see just how awesome that machine is.

My friend and I both follow novanutcase's build. It's inspiring to say the least.
It wont be easy to build but I have the facilities and my friend has the time.

Two pieces of many fabricating machines in our shop

http://eastbayerectors.com/PA040954.JPG

http://eastbayerectors.com/PA040957.JPG

Buck and Rich!

Thanks for the compliments!

So you want to use C5 parts. My guess is you want it to handle like a 'Vette? You have the gear to fab it. Now you just need to go measure the 'Vette of your choice. You'll need to transfer those measurements to your friends car and start deciding what you'll have to change and where you'll need to compromise. I would say that if you are going to design your own front end you probably want to start at the spindle and design from there. Track width will have to be narrowed. Since you're doing custom fab are you going to lengthen the wheelbase? What ride height are you going to go with. Airbags? If you don't want to go to all that trouble then I would suggest you find a car with a Chris Alston or Morrison clip and and take all the measurements you can from there. Analyze it and change whatever you think you can make better. I hope you know suspension engineering because for you to optimize it you'll need to know. Even a 1/4" off somewhere will make the car drive differently.

Good Luck!:cheers:

John

P.S. You should look at Jasons(slow4dr) build too! He's using a C4 'Vette front end! Lot's of good info and engineering going on there!

I have c4 front and rear in my 67 which i believe is the same width as earlier models. I built my own clip for it and although the fabrication was easy it took a lot of setup time in the first place and it has blockhugger headers and a smallblock motor, there is about a quarter of an inch between the header and the upper arm alignment bolts, i laid a steel sheet on the floor and rolled the car over it and set it on jackstands, then tacked some square tube to steel sheet and chassis so it wouldnt move when unbolting parts, then very carefully marked centerlines and wheel centers on plate with a large set square so i knew i would still have clearance for wheels and fenderlips then made up two stands from flat plate like an upside down tee that had the wheel bolt pattern drilled to the vertical face at ride height so i could bolt the c4 hubs to and tacked these down to plate once on alignment marks. then made a small fixture to mount the rad support to and tacked it down to the plate also, these are the main reference points so need to be good , i then mocked up where the steering rack needed to be and tacked a frame down again, then its a case of routing steel between these points, i took anti dive angles etc from a stock vette before starting framework, if i can find any pics of the frame i will post them, hope this helps.

c4 front in nova
 

some pics of the front end.

Thanks for the pics!

Every little bit helps. We brought the car into the shop this week and plan on starting the jig this weekend.

cheers!

Getting a hold of someone with a Wayne Due C4 subframe may be a big help to you. I have a bunch of pics I could send you of my old car, but can't measure it of course. The track width on mine was brought in about 1.5" on each side in order to run a wider wheel/tire combo, but it required a custom rack to be built. The C4 setup did not require engine set-back like the C5 either. Shoot me a PM with your email if you'd like some pics...

Ryan

That reminds me of a story...

An engineer left the nuclear power plant after thirty years to start his long awaited retirement. A few months later he received a frantic phone call asking him for help. It seems that the reactor was on the verge of a melt-down and no one could figure out what was happening. :_paranoid

The engineer showed up at the plant and walked around an listened to the sounds, read the gauges. After about an hour he walked over to a piece of monitoring equipment and drew a bid "X" on it with chalk and told them to look there and he left. The crew took his advice and not too long later, they found the problem and fixed the reactor.

A week later, the plant received a bill from the retired engineer for $10,000. :wow: Startled, the plant manager returned the bill with a note saying that $10,000 dollars was a lot of money for a chalk mark and that he would need more detail before he would consider paying. The engineer returned the bill with his clarification: $1.00 for the chalk - $9,999 for knowing where to put it! :bow:

Engineers love that story. ;)

That's a good one!

John

Rodger put it best when he said it's like putting 10 lb of crap in a 5 lb bag!:rofl:

John



The technical term is Blivet. 10 lbs of Duce in a 5 lb bag.

FYI :D

Better yet, Diez libras de caca en una bolsa de cinco libras!

John

Yea, that too!!

I've got a Wayne Due C4 clip for my 65 Chevy II that hasn't been installed yet. If you want to come to the Pacific Northwest you are welcome to take measurements or what have ya. :D

In general is the Chassisworks the best for a no-fab ?? What about the TCI new pro-touring clip ??