'66 nova project
 

Hey guys, been lurking for a while before I signed up and thought it's the right time to share my new project. I found this 66 chevy II a few months back and have been scraping together some coins and have placed my order for a detroit speed front clip. I have a lot more saving to do and even more work ahead of me. The clip won't be here for 4-5 weeks but I figured I'd share some pictures of the car for now.

Plans for the car consist of ls1 or ls2 backed by a t56
Mild interior
churchboy's LS headers and radiator
17 or 18's
corvette brakes
9" ford rear end 3:70 gears
Undecided on rear suspension
American autowire
Dakota digital dash
DSE mini tubs
DSE wiper motor (purchased)
Rick's stainless efi tank

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...5.jpg~original

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...w.jpg~original

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...b.jpg~original

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...3.jpg~original

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...v.jpg~original

The front end I am waiting on...
http://www.detroitspeed.com/images/032031-001-lg.jpg

Love the look of a patina'd pro touring car!!!!!!!

Congrats!
 

Congrats Kevin on such a nice find and beginning your project. I look forward to the updates. These Chevy II's look sweet when they are low:

Welcome Kevin.:thumbsup:

I like your idea of a pro-touring car underneath a patina look. :cool:

How will the Nova be used?

It looks like a nice starting point. Keep us posted on the progress. The '66 and '67 are one of my favorites!

Me too, there is just something about an original car with modern drive train and suspension. :evil:
They gotta be LOW, that car you pictured is probably bagged. Mine will just be coil overs but I am hoping to tuck just a little wheel up front.
Thanks, the plans as of now are to have a reliable fun driver. I am not building a monster motor right now, just want a 350-400ish horse ls six speed that I can rip on for a while.

Will do, it's going to be slow going for a while. We just had our first kid last dec and garage time is limited!

Welcome to the board Kevin. Sweet start for a project. Great choice on the front subframe too. I'll be watching the one. :tv_happy:

Congrats on the little one. We have 2 and my garage time has been extremely limited since kids --- Kids put it all in perspective though. The garage time becomes a little less important. Granted, I still get frustrated at how long it takes to get things done. Good luck on finding that balance.

Thanks, it took me months to decide which subframe was right for me. I wanted the dse from the start but didn't want to pay that much. After a small discount it wasn't much more than a optioned out chassiswork clip.

I am pretty nervous about finding enough time for hobbies and family. I work shift work so that may help some. Right now, I am just saving and collecting parts for the build. Haven't had any real time since we came home from the hospital. :confused18:

Great project, can't wait to see more.

But I do have to say its going to be tough getting 300 out of that LS. You may have to leave a plug wire or two disconnected.

Hey I said 350-400, I should able to leave all plug wires connected, but maybe pull 1 or 2 when the wife wants to drive :)

I want to get one of these. I'll be following along.

Very cool ! What's the story on the car ? Definatly not a northeast car

Nice project, it should be fun to watch it come together.

Thanks, hope I have something to show soon.

I was told it was a California car but haven't confirmed it. The guy I bought is from was in Indiana and he is just a nova cars/parts dealer. He didn't know much about it.

Cool, it will be a slow build but hope I can keep it moving forward.

Got some front stopping power coming from ebay

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...8.jpg~original

Definitely a good starting point.
This DSE wiper motor, is this a slick unit ?
I'm currently working on a 67 nova also
Have a ls2/6mn in front of it
Just about have funds saved up for art Morrison frame, getting excited.
Good luck on the project, I'll be watching it close.

Kevin this is one of my favorite cars of all time.Looks like a super nice car to start with.You will be impressed with it when finished,great start.:thumbsup:

The dse unit looks nice and comes with high quality parts, I don't have it installed yet so I can't say how it works. I placed my order before the price increase so I got it from summit at 375 shipped. I debated on going to a full frame but this car is solid so I am just doing the clip, and some type of rear (unsure yet) plus sub frame connectors. I like the ground clearance with a full frame though. Do you have a thread going for the 67? I'd love to check it out! I really understand saving part to part, that's what I am doing too. I find myself missing out on deals though but I really don't want any debt building a car either.

Thank you, it took me some time to find the "right" car. Not too many left that are mostly original. Plus I didn't want a v8 or ss car as to not upset the purist type. I often question if it was the right thing to drop that much coin on the front end but I figured it's one less thing to worry about. And I didn't want MII geometry. The only other front end I considered was the chris alston and I actually got the dse unit cheaper. :excited:


What's your guys thoughts on CCW wheels? I am looking at these LM16 in 18x9.5 and 18x11

http://www.ccwheel.com/img/wheels-di...LM16/photo.jpg

those wheels look good Kevin

I think so too, the only thing I am not crazy about is the fact that their wheel faces run 15.4" no matter what size the wheel is. That means I'd have 1.8" tall lip for an 18" wheel.

example of a 18" ccw

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/t...e/e92aef12.jpg

that may not look real good if you go 17" or bigger,too much lip

Yeah, I have to run 18's with the z51 brakes.

I like them but you need to give CCW a call. Do not think they will clear your brakes. The "Classics" that they make, I believe, will clear brakes if you are going to stay with the ones pictured and have the same look. If you go with a big brake package like Wilwood, etc, the Classics will not work either.

Nice build you have going there, but I'd pass on those rims. I don't think you will like that smaller inner section and how it looks on your car.

I talked to John there are few days ago and he said the 18's will clear. He said these wheels fit on the c6 cars so brake clearance would be the same on mine.

The only other 18's I found that are in my budget, that I think would work on the car are vintage wheel works v40. I haven't found many companies that make 18x9.5 and 18x11

Not sure if you have seen these or like the style, but I think they are about $1400 a set made to your specs and color.

http://www.forgestar.com/v2/wheelsf14.php

Wish I would have considered these when I bought wheels for my car... http://www.team3wheels.com/lt_iii.html

I dig your plans though

Dave

These are cool, but I really wanted the 3 piece wheels. 1400 is a bargain!

Thanks, I am not sure these will fit the look I am after.

Re:67 nova
 

I will definitely start a thread Kevin , if my car was as sound as yours looks, I would go clip and connectors as well.
I'll check out the DSE unit thanks
Have fun building !!!

Well, I bucked up and placed an order for the dse quadralink, mini tubs, subframe connectors and their ford 9" housing with axles. They told me the front end is about 2-3 weeks out. Really looking forward to starting this build but the wife is seeing how much money I've dropped already this year is is starting to get nervous already. :waveflag:

http://www.detroitspeed.com/images/041707-001-lg.jpg

Hide all receipts from the wife,lol.You are building a very nice car and I think DSE parts are the way to go:G-Dub: :ups:

Heck, she's pretty cool with it really but she does get some sticker shock now and then. Haha. This build will probably take me 3 years with the new born girl here. But some things are worth the wait. I tried to make smart choices, do it once right the first time and buy quality parts. The dse stuff is pricey but when comparing apples to apple I think their priced closer to they're competitors than people think

It's worth the wait I am going on my 3rd and hopefully final year on mine to and wife is very cool about the car stuff to,just not crazy about the roll bar I just installed.

Nice! I don't think you will regret the DSE purchase. I'll be running all of their stuff on my '67. I'm still in the figuring out how many body panels I need to replace (pretty much all of them)... You shouldn't be spending as much time on that since your car looks to be pretty solid.

Keep the updates coming!

I have been debating a 6 point cage myself. Just something simple and clean. I'd like to keep the interior looking mostly stock with a touch of race car :D

I'll do my best to keep you guys coming back! I'm sure it will be slow as money allows. I wanted DSE form the start but was considering cheaper options. I felt like I'd be settling if I cheaped out on something else. Then I'd always wonder what it could have been like. My biggest fear was spending 7500 on cheaper stuff and hating it, I'd rather spend 12k and know it's going to be awesome.

My car is pretty solid but it does have some bad spots. I paid too much for it but I was having a really difficult time finding a mostly unmolested Chevy II.

I struggled with the same problem. I ended up finding a rusty (what appears to be an old worn out drag car) for cheap and just replacing everything. The only nice thing is that most of its sins were visible, so I knew what I was getting. I have the benefit of my Dad having a really solid mostly stock car that I can take measurements off of if I need to.

That's a big plus having a car to measure from. I wanted mostly original stock and worn paint for the "look" I am after. Someday down the road I may paint the car, it drives my wife crazy that I don't want to paint it. Especially since I know how to do paint and body work and still have all the tools. :wacko:

On I side note I did place an order for the dse ford 9" housing and axles today. So more waiting.... :ups:

Ding Ding Ding we have a winner this is exactly how you build a vehicle.

You are making some great choices on this project. I can't wait to see it transform and her is a tip that will allow you to spend more time in the garage. Get a baby swing and hang it from the ceiling so she can be out in the garage with you and give your wife some free time which will allow you to work on your car.

ps for now hang a chain with a hook so you can just put her in the baby seat and every so often give it a push and you will be amazed how happy she will be.

Thanks, I may just have to find a swing for the garage. At least before we get into this Missouri summer!