Project "Green Bean" update 1-16-11
 

so with all of the novas i have been working on lately i have found a soft spot for them, when we found out we were having Hallie (our daughter) i decided that i wanted a street car again, something that Ashley, Hallie and I could all get in and take a cruise to a car show, or a trip like power tour. Since this isnt all that practical in my racecar I figured since i have a good connection with a very reputable nova guru this may be a good choice for the project. He had a sedan 2 door post that i got from him and started gathering parts for. after having the car about a year and not making much headway due to the amount of work entailed I became more focused at work and figured maybe i would have time for it this winter. Well that all changed a few weeks ago when i was sitting at home and my phone rang. It was a number that i did not recognize and as most of you know i rarely answer my cell after about 6pm. Well im glad i answered this call, man on the phone ask for me, said he was calling me about the note i left on his car a few months back, that was when he told me what car it was, and that he was considering selling it now. I had been eyein this car for 3-4 years and had even tried buying it once before. I didnt waste any time and went to his house first thing in the morning to check it out. this is what i found

(no givin me crap about the picture quality... they are all off my phone!!! LOL)

an all original 77k mile 3 owner NO RUST car, he bought the car in 94 with 22k miles on it and in 95 had the interior redone.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01001-0942.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01001-0942.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01001-0944.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01002-1524.jpg

the man was torn up over selling this car... you could tell this was his baby. But as i said before i have tried buying this car befoer and after seeing how perfect the car is i had to have it.....
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01002-1208.jpg

when i picked this car up he gave me ALL of the original paperwork (down to the protection plate), the stock steel wheels and dog dish hub caps, and not to mention other items like spare parts and interior material.


So the plans for this car are now the plans i had for the 2 door car i had got from a buddy.

-decent "street car" power
-A/C, pwr steering
-manual trans
-boost of some sort
-a car that will handle with a new vette
-braking of a new vette
- and most of all a fun car that can be driven anywhere and parked in a lot or diven down the highway worried to death about getting a rock chip or door ding.

Seeing that we have done ALOT with the LSx based stuff, i decided to try something different and Chris our efi tuner and i have been wanting to play with an Ecotec sooooo...
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01022-1553.jpg
Yup, 2007 ecotec...
mated to a 2009 pontiac Solstice trans
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01025-1816.jpg
compaired to a ls and t56
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01025-1819.jpg
I couldnt handle the 4x4 front so i lowered it with a temporary snip of the front springs
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01015-1727.jpg
and then swapped out the chrome moonies for the steelies and hubs
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01020-1721.jpg
Then for my B-day Ash got me a carpet kit
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01022-1907.jpg
had some wheels laying around (yes they are BMW wheels) that we had been using for mock up on another project so i decided to see if they would fit, and after seeing them on there i think they are staying. fronts are an 8 with a 245-40-18, rears are a 9 with a 275-40-19, fronts will most likely get a 255-35-18 when done. car still needs to be lowered more ;)
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01029-1721.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01031-1205.jpg
The front suspension is 90% done. I built this for the first project and decided to use it on this car instead. when i designed it i had everything at ride height and used very similar suspension geometry as a new Z06. All the arms ar C4 corvette and the rack is an 04 mustang cobra. I still have a few more bars to weld in and mounts to build also since it was originally designed for an ls motor.
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...00120-0806.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...00116-1450.jpg
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...00116-1450.jpg

Got the rear calipers, they are from a 06 CTS-V. Fronts should be here in the next week or so.

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...01129-1427.jpg

Well a few weeks went by and i kept telling myself i wasnt going to take this thing apart until my race car was back togheter.... but......................... i am impatient :lol:


Hood off
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1242.jpg
Motor on its way out (You know you like the fender covers!!!!LOL cant get greasy finger prints on that patina!!!)
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1402.jpg
Fenders off...
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1556.jpg
front end all unbolted and off the car
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1622.jpg
417 front sub bolted on
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1634.jpg
Corvette A arms, spindles, and coilovers mounted
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1724.jpg
proposed front ride height
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1728.jpg
Just getting a feel for how much of the trans tunned will need trimmed
http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/m...10102-1738.jpg

All in all im really happy with the way everything is going so far. I will get some temporary upper strut/downbars fabbed this week and make it stable enough to get some motor and trans mounts built and then i will get the rack and bumpsteer kit bolted on.

I will update this in the days to come as we get more of the fun stuff done!!!

OH YA seats are ordered also and will be here mon-tues

Cheers!

Blake

Nice find !
I did the exact same thing. Found this low milage 4dr a mile away.
Picked it up for my wife who was pregnant at the time and completely redid the entire car in time for the kid to be born. So now she had a cool little hot rod to take the kid to shows with. That way she could leave when she wanted and I got to stay with my car.

So glad you went with the Ecotec like i proposed and not the I-5. Looks good man give me a call if you want an extra hand

Nice project! That will be a very cool family cruiser when she's all done.

I like it. Looking forward to more updates. :thumbsup:

Nice project, I'm looking forward to seeing more.

this is a sweet build.

Awesome! I've informed my wife that our next car will be a Nova Wagon restomod. :unibrow:

Awesome build!!! Glad he did not lost ur number. Looking forward to more progress photos. Cheers!!!!