Project OVERdos: LSA powered 66 chevy II.
 

well while my personal build (the pendejo) is being dragged out by my struggle to finish the interior, i figured id show you guys my father and I's newest project, a 66 nova for our toughest critic, Mom.

we've had the car for about three years, progress started slow because of finishing my car, and many changes to dads chevelle. we bought the car thinking it was pretty solid, the quarters were patched, and needed slight attention, the floor had some pinholes and the trunk floor was starting to rot. no big deal.....

we found out that the previous owner, was michael angelo is his previous life, the quarters were indeed patched, he welded new quarters right over top the old ones! im pretty sure the car was slid into a ditch, we found ripples and lots of filler in the roof, the entire left side of the car was sculpted in about an inch of filler, no lie.

so we went on to replace the roof, rockers, floor, trunk floor, driver side wheelwell, and make many patches to the firewall. we also minitubbed it to fit a 315, althought we may stick to a 295 of 285.

so far we got the sheetmetal 90percent done, suspension done, engine in, most of the trans tunnel enlarged (had to move engine back for rad clearance, so we had to cut some back out, subframe connectors done. now we get to mock up all the little stuff before we get into mud work.

onto to the goodies,
the car will feature the new lsa crate with 4l85e with gm controller for the trans and engine
c and r racing radiator module (amazing people to work with.
martz chassis front and rear suspension, inner panels to go with as well
wilwood brakes all around
ricks vaporworx tank with ctsv pump
paint will be gm glacier blue metallic off a ctsv
interior will be navy blue
mom hasnt settled on wheels yet but she is leaning towards budniks.
car will look alot like the 66 nova that johnsons hot rod shop recently finished, pretty much stock body on the outside with emblems and all with a nice interior and trick engine.

onto the pictures:

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ps54d016f6.jpg



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more to come soon, hopefully after the weekend. let me know what you think guys!

Looking damn good to me. It'll scoot right along with the LSA pushing it too. :drive: I wanna see more.:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

yea, i cant imagine what this engine will do in a car thats a thousand pounds lighter. the ctsv are 0-60 in like 4.2? i think, that much less weight ought to make it interesting. especially with my mothers right foot.:D :D :D

Awesome project. This should be a wild ride.

sorry about the postponed update, just havent been able to get around to it like i should. got our c&r radiator, fit is amazing, the welds and shroud are fantastic. i have to thank paul hammond(formally of dse) for his help with everything. besides helping us with the radiator, he basically gave us a rundown of everything else we'll need for the ls swap. we also got our vaporworx/ricks tank in, i dont have pictures but anybody else that has one knows the quality of work they do.
we had to cut the frame mounts off and move them two inches back for radiator clearance, the mounts that bolt to the block wouldve allowed us to move the engine back, but our a/c bracket wouldnt let us. the ctsv accessory drive is the only one i know of for the lsa, so we didnt have anywhere else to go to get one. its still a very tight fit. i also moved the brake booster over 2 inches to give the engine cover a little space, it just didnt look right. (not shown in these photos though)


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ven/002-40.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ven/001-44.jpg

this week ill be doing the trans tunnel and some exhaust work. so hopefully ill have another update come the weekend.

Street & Performance makes 3 diiferent types of accessory drives for the LSA. See here...... http://hotrodlane.cc/lsasetups.jpg. Give Mark (the owner) a call @ 479-394-5711.

well a lot has been going on with this bad boy that I haven't updated. we're about 90 percent done with the fab work on it and soon ready to tear it all down.

got our new shoes: budnik shotgun g's, continental tires
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...02530215_o.jpg


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...xseven/067.jpg

engine bay is pretty much wrapped up. save a few details. note in this picture the ac condenser and heat exchanger squeeze up front, and the new hood latch (from a cavalier) that we had to utilize to make it all fit and be pretty( more pretty work will happen before its all torn down)
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...52826659_o.jpg

we decided to move the fill neck behind the liscence plate, I absolutely hate the big chrome gas cap stuck in the middle of the quarter, it just looks so out of place. so I got a cts v gas neck and cap, and welded a new neck on the ricks tank and made it all work, had to cut a little of the bumper too. we will use a flip down plate bracket like a chevelle had to finish it all up.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...xseven/059.jpg


I managed to buy front and back seats from a 2011 regal( the same car my mom drives daily). the fit is pretty close in the back, just have to make some brackets and a snip or two here and there, and the fronts all but fall right in. these seats are so nice we debated not even recovering them, but I think the headrests got to go, I hate it when seats are too tall in these cars.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ven/008-32.jpg

you can kinda see in this picture, our one remaining issue with the engine bay, the down bars hit the hood hinge shocks, I got new bars made and will be putting them in to fix it up and we'll be good to go. if you look closely you can also see where I moved the master cylinder over two inches to better clear the engine cover, and blended it all back in with the stock firewall.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...xseven/057.jpg

this picture shows that the seats are just a little tall with the headrests, you can also see the hump in the trunk floor from relocating the fill neck, the notch in the floor for the rear shock bar, and a mess I have yet to clean up.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...xseven/069.jpg

not the best pic but you can see that 285 continental sitting real nice in there.
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...xseven/068.jpg

that's all for now, hopefully we can keep on moving on this thing and get it bodywork soon, just a little fab work (mostly on the interior) to go. :cheers:

Wow!
I am building a LSA 67 nova and also have the budnik shot gun g's
Would like to talk to you sometime!

What's the trick to upload some photos from an iPad?

Same as the PC, just download the photobucket app, add the pictures you want to the app, copy the link and paste it into the post here and wala.

May take a little practice... took me a few tries but one you figure it out it's easy. Can do it from you smart phone too.

Great build by the way... love the shoebox. That will be my next project if not a C10.

Lets see if this works

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...zr/image-2.jpg



http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...zr/image-1.jpg

A few more

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Looks awesome man! If you have any questions ask. There's a lot of packaging issues with these cars and these engines. Lots of stuff in a small space. Looks like you started with a much better car than we dis Wheels look killer, we almost went colored centers on ours, wimped out though.

Thanks! It was a very nice car to start with.

I would love to see some detailed pics of your tunnel work. Thats my next step.

Cool! Two great looking Novas being built. Both of you guys are doing great work. Good job Mitch.



catmanzr, be sure to start a thread on your car too.

as far as the tunnel, i cut it the whole way back from the firewall to the rise in the the floor for the rear seats. you dont have to but for me it was easier to do, are you going with a 4L80? the biggest issue you have to get around with them is clearance for the fittings and where the bellhousing comes down to the mainbody on the trans at the top is considerably taller than the stock powerglide sized tunnel. those are your two main hurdles, i also raised and widened the driveshaft tunnel for a little more comfort room, i plan on running something a little bigger than the stock broomstick for a driveshaft.

I'm putting in a viper spec t56 manual. I like to shift!

Do you have any pics of the tunnel you can share? Trying to figure out how I'm going to tackle.

Thanks for you time......Dan

Nice work guys. I'm also doing a 67 coupe with an LS. TCI front clip & 3 link. But no LSA.. Just a 398ci LQ9 with twin 72's and a T56.

nice work on both of these cars,really one of my favorite cars:thumbsup:

I agree both excellent builds.

Any updates on the progress?

Yea I got some updates to post. Everything's been mocked up, I'm onto bodywork and even have a little color on a few parts.

sorry ive been slacking on updates. holidays had me ultra busy at work, and ive been busting my butt on this car in all my spare time.

everythings been mocked up. car is torn apart and back on the rotisserie having the exterior bodywork done. ill update you on a bunch of the things weve done.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ven/016-10.jpg

down bars became a problem with the shocks for the hood hinges, so i made some new bars using a jegs outrigger kit.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...58040964_n.jpg

in my opinion the new bars are much cleaner then the old ones and they clear everything, most importantly.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...52826659_n.jpg

here is the engine bay all mocked up, minus the aftly mentioned down bars. the tank in the passenger side front is the 1 gallon coolant reservoir for the supercharger.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...12693167_n.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...499896_n-1.jpg

here it is outside, with all the panels minus the trunk. i got all the panels fitting pretty good, and theyll be perfected in the body work stage.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...97757709_n.jpg

exhaust all tacked together

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...241322_n-1.jpg

with the heat exchanger and a/c condenser in front of the radiator, the stock hood latch wasnt going to work. we found out my daily driver, a cobalt ss, had the exact hood latch we needed, so we went to the junkyard and plucked a cavalier latch (same thing). i made a new latch for the hood side, and a frame to mount the latch on the bottom, and after much head scratching and a few failed attempts, we have a functioning latch. it will be operated by a cable release from lokar that will mount by the kick panel.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...32706312_n.jpg

we purchased front a rear seats from a crashed 2011 regal for the car. the front seats are the right height (which we found to be difficult to find and have the right look and size, i hate too tall of a seat in a muscle car, they just dont work) the back seat took a lot of work. its built to fit the regal floor, which wouldve been way to low in the nova. so i cut the bottom out of the seat to fit a 4 inch chunk of foam in it to build it back up, and built a wooden frame to mount the seat. the back of the seat didnt take much, just a little cutting down. coincidently, my moms daily is a 2011 regal, so she should feel right at home in the nova.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...82096792_n.jpg

after the engine was pulled, i went to work bending up brake lines. did them in all stainless, using my new rigid flare tool. i couldnt have done this without that tool, ive got tools that cost three times as much and cant do the job this one does.

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back on the rotisserie, i seam sealed, and smoothed the bottom.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...04794557_n.jpg

after a ton of discussion with the boss, we picked a color. i was hesistant with it being purple. i didnt want the car to look like a box of fruit loops. i prefer more subtle, richer colors and this is step in the wrong direction. im starting to get used to it now. in fact i think its gunna be pretty awesome.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...53000893_n.jpg

after i got the bottom all smoothed out and sealed up. i decided it was time to spray the bedliner and color on the bottom. sorry the picture sucks, the lighting and glare in the garage isnt so condusive to professional photos.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...84526261_n.jpg

a better shot.

so now the car is in bodywork, the fresh paint on the bottom is tightly wrapped up in plastic to protect it. while im doing body work on the body im also smoothing and painting small parts, so ill have some updates again fairly soon. im shooting to have the body in paint by the end of march.

That car is super nice,really like these novas:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Very nice. Interesting color choice. Will be awesome I'm sure. Subscribing to follow along.

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so the cars been body worked and painted. im really happy with the outcome. i like the color, and the bodywork is right on. i have the car mostly buffed out, but ill go over it again after were done crawling over it wiring and plumbing. ill update as often as i can now, wasnt much to show with the 500 hours of sanding i put in.

Nice job it looks great.

500 hours...nice! :thumbsup:

alot to update on this one! were really close to rockin and rolling.
most of the assembly is done, some small items to go after it gets back from upholstery. Interior is being done by Bux Customs in Pottstown, Pa. super talented guy who you will be seeing some big things from coming up!!!

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...ven/nova10.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova4.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova6.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova9.jpg
http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova8.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova7.jpg

this is one of the things you can see so well. the intercooler lines and pump, ac and heat lines are all hidden under the passenger side fender. ive seen alot of lsa and ls9 builds and most of them have alot of hoses all over the engine bay. it took alot of work to keep the engine bay as clean as possible, i really wanted the engine to be the centerpiece.

interior preview.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...seven/nova.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...even/nova3.jpg

Nice looks great!! Love the interior. :thumbsup:

Its looking sweet! The interior is coming together nice. I love that motor.

You're doing a fantastic job! Love these cars... So much so this has to be my next build.

Great job and love that it will be your mom's. That's awesome!

thanks fellas! im happy the way its turning out. this body style has grown on me alot as ive been working on it, although i really hate some of the original gm engineering in the car. the door hinges with phillips head bolts that are impossible to ever get tight enough, the floorboards dont let you tuck exhaust up with cutting, and the lumpy firewall..... despite all that, i really love this car! its fun building it for mom, although she is my toughest critic, she pushes me to do my best work, and this car is the best ive ever done. too good, now i have to get my impala up too snuff. Im pretty sure she'll be faster than me. :waveflag:

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well we have the car back in our garage for final assembly, our minds are absolutely blown by our BUX customs interior. Chris is a nova guy and he really let loose on this build, hes up and coming and he is going places. absolutely great guy and a great product!! i dont have too many photos of whats going on now with the car because its boring stuff (brake lines, exhaust, a few electrical connections, realigning and rebuffing the car.) our plan is to have it done for Cruisin Ocean City in the middle of May, the car is definetly fighting us a little bit, and were a little stressed on time ( i have a 3 month old now).

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...19822790_n.jpg

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Looking really good.
That interior looks great.

Awesome across the board
 

The door panels are ART! The car turned out amazing

That dash, Good LAWD!

you nailed that interior!!

This car is gorgeous! Beautiful job.