68 Nova LS1 mini-makeover, T56 conversion and season prep
 

Hello all- I've been nusy getting the Nova ready for the coming season. My gang is heading down to Del Mar again and after last year's fiasco (loose converter and a bunch of gear meant 55 mph freeway speeds for 44 miles) I sprung for the T56 swap. My tunnel was already cut for a TKO600 so it was an easy deal for the most part. I'm trying to get it in the 10s this year N/A. Other changes I made:

-ported and milled heads and ARP hardware
-notched the pistons for PTV clearance
-Katech rod bolts
-7.375 pushrods
-LS7 lifters and trays
-Monster stage 3 clutch system
-ATS firewall bracket
-ATS hyd system
-Quicktime scattershield
-Strange Eng. 3rd memeber with 4.33s
-custom shifter assy.

Notching tool installed:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...27/notcher.jpg

In process:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...7/notches2.jpg

cleaned up and ready for heads:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...27/notches.jpg

head porting by PRC- they flowed just over 300cfm at .600
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...7/portwork.jpg

LS7 lifter on the right:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...27/lifters.jpg

scattershield:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p.../qtscatter.jpg

notching the edge-a couple LSX guys recommended I do this as the bleeder hole is pretty tight. I'm sure glad I did. It made getting the tools up in there during the bleeding process much easier:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p.../notchscat.jpg

ATS bracket (super nice people at Speedtech BTW):
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...atsbracket.jpg

ATS hyd stuff welded up and ready to install:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...427/atshyd.jpg

Monster stage 3 clutch all set up:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...27/monster.jpg

A buddy at 3Am prepping for install (for no good reason other than killing a case of beer and some Guns and Roses CDs):
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...mostreaddy.jpg

In the car with all the gingerbread on it:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/ls1rtsde.jpg

I'm so stoked and ready to see what it'll do. The swap should also make the Del Mar trip a blast. Hopefully I don't get into too much trouble at the autocross for the drag radials again. Thanks for looking, Dave

Nice set up. Looks a lot like mine. What brand catch can are you using?

Thanks, I think it's a Steff's.

Sweet ! It looks great in there.

wow nice clean install:thumbsup:
is that a 5.0 shifter?

Yeah it's the Pro 5.0 power tower deal. Have not driven with it yet but it feels pretty good.

Very nice!! Intrested in cover that you used for wiring harness on the firewall..

Looks great Dave!! I think for the first time - I will be making it down there this year!

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...e/ls1rtsde.jpg



Sweeet!!!:drool:


--

that's a little bulkhead a buddy machined for me that has a snout that holds the harness through the firewall. It's a two piece design that clamshells around the harness.

Good times Brent. We'll have to kill a beer together. Del Mar was one of my favorite events I attended last year.

Very nice clean install. :yes: Got any pics of the entire car??

Let me know how you like the shifter.:cheers:

Thanks for the kind words- here you go:
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...front3qtr1.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p.../rear3qtr1.jpg

will do- I'm doing a wierd pistol grip deal in billet so it might be funky but we'll see.

Wow, that Nova looks awesome. Well done, really like everything you've done on it. :thumbsup:

Sweet motor! :thumbsup:

thanks dude. I'm trying to get my RW close to yours. I think you have PRC heads as well?

Nope, ET Performance 215's. I'm sure you'll get there with the carb intake.

Nice car. Looks great.:thumbsup:

Well, first track outing with the T56 was interesting. I didn't know how much grip the track had so I tried a small burnout and staged. I softly let the clutch out at 2500 RPM, the tires dead hooked, it rolled out 10 feet and nearly shut the engine off. I managed to keep it running, threw it back into gear and ran out a 13.0 @ 118. After another short burnout to clean up the tires I staged again. This time I dumped the clutch at 4500 and the car didn't move. It made a hell of a racket out back and rolled a foot. Turns out the bearing support in my stock 9 inch case snapped off sending the pinion walking up the ring gear and ripped the housing apart. After disassembly, I found a broken case, chipped ring gear, bent splines on the axles (Currie 31 spline) , and all of the studs bent (Strange 1/2-20s). The housing, locker, and yoke were all fine.

So...I ordered all new Moser 35 spline axles, new locker, Strange Pro-G case, new 4.33s, 5/8 studs, and billet pinion support. It might be overkill, but I also braced the hell out of the housing yesterday so it'll be ready for the next bullet I put in the engine bay. Lesson learned- stock 9 inch Ford third members don't like big launches on big drag radials. Pics:

Calm before the carnage
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p.../novatrack.jpg

broken case
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...splitcase1.jpg

new vs old
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...ngevsstock.jpg

braced rear ready for hell
http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...bracedrear.jpg

Should be back on the road next week.

Yep you sure did some damage. That new housing should handle the extra power. Tha car looks great.

Impressive carnage :) . Is that the Magnum T56 or an aftermarket build-up?

No just a stock T56 with 70k on it. So far so good. I've got a couple buddies in the 9s with stock T56s so I'll just plan on upgrading it when it gets grumpy.

Dang! Gonna be stout now bro! Can't wait to hook up sometime this year at Sacramento. Trying to finish my BBC swap right now.

Nice carnage Dave! I doubt you'll ever have that problem again!

Let's do it! I had so much fun at this last grudge even though my car sat on a trailer. I tuned a buddy's car and ended up shaving 7 tenths. Let me know when you go and I'll do my best to be there.

Thanks Brent! Wouldn't be the start of a season without a destroyed part to kick it off right.

Along with everyone else!! Nice job Dave!!!

Hey all. After saving and saving I finally got the chunk assembled and the housing, brakes, and axles together. It's back on the road now and getting broken in. I safety wired all of the ARP hardware and used a Strange Pro-G case so this won't happen again. I did find it noteworthy though that the Moser axles while ordered the same length as my Currie units, are about 1/4 inch longer. It looks like the difference is in the collar area near the bearing. I had to raise the rear of the car a tiny bit to keep it from rubbing in and out of driveways.

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...afetyfirst.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...f/thechunk.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/p...ff/newdiff.jpg

Looks beefy!!!

Awesome! Can't wait to see what she does at the track!

Me too. Got a couple of little things to tidy up and it'll be ready to try again. Gotta change my whole launch style with the T56 so it's a steep learning curve. Thanks for looking.

Mine should be done in a couple of weeks. But man I dont wanna hit the track in the summer heat. Most likley wont go until the fall air.