67 Nova Project "Resurrection"

[Gmachine1911]

Yeah, I’ve been looking at both C&R and PRC units with the integrated trans cooler. I’ve not found anything with both EOC and TOC for the Novas which makes sense given they’re relatively small radiators so I’ll do my best to maintain the factory EOC that came on the engine and just do the trans cooler in the radiator.

I spoke with Church Boys Racing about their LT1 headers and I intend to call Ultimate as well. I think Stainless Works makes the headers for CBR. I’ve ordered everything that I THINK I’ll need to get the engine mounted in the front clip. I ordered the Dirty Dingo sliders as well as some Billet Specialties adjustable mounts to see which ones I like/fit better. I also got some DSE LS frame stands and Prothane poly mounts and some ARP hardware so once it all arrives, I’ll be ready to play. Here’s what the DSE mounts and DD sliders look like. The DD mounts are bigger then I expected but the quality is very nice. I’ll definitely have to ditch the PCV system that hooks into the pass side of the LT1 oil pan in order for any motor mount to work but I have a feeling I may have to swap the pan before it’s all said and done...we’ll see!

Lastly, I got the car scheduled For the end of this month to go to the body shop and get bead blasted, put in epoxy primer and I’m gonna have them jam it out in single stage to get a feel for the color we chose so stay tuned!

[Gmachine1911]

Took some time to get the engine set into the front clip yesterday and thought I’d share some info for anybody planning to do a Gen V LT1 swap in a 66-67 Nova. Not much info out there that I’ve been able to find in the way of motor plates, mounts, etc. For reference, I’m using the DSE front clip, factory core support and DSE’s inner fenders on the car. The body’s off getting media blasted and put in epoxy so all of this was done just to get a feel for what I’d need to about the engine mount offset, headers, cooling package, cold air intake, etc. while it was easy to get to it from all angles and see what was not gonna fit. I’ll apologize in advance for the long post but trying to pack as much info in here as I can for the next guy!

Just for the sake of information, I’ll give a quick rundown on a few things that are pertinent in how the engine comes equipped. So the crate motor comes shipped with the Camaro exhaust manifolds, water pump setup and oil pan with integrated oil cooler. On the back of the water pump on the passenger side is a black plastic housing that is the engine oil separator for the PCV vent system. Part of that system is a steel drain tube that goes back to the passenger side of the oil pan and runs right “thru” the engine mount plate area. Since the water pump is offset completely to the passenger side of the engine and with the catch can on the back of it, you can imagine this creates some clearance issues. In short, the water pump and factory PCV catch can, drain and oil separator will have to be removed and another setup used due to the water pump outlet hitting the forward side of the passenger A-arm. Interestingly, pretty much all of the vehicles that come from the factory with the Gen V LT1 have electric steering so there’s no sourcing a “Camaro drive system” to complete the pkg as it wouldn’t give you any more then an alternator and an an AC compressor so you’ll need to either buy GM’s kit or one from any of the other usual places. I’m going with the Holley Mid-Mount system because it’s by far the most compact, tidy and well-engineered kits out there. I’ve got it on my 68 Camaro and it works flawlessly. What Holley does is utilize the same kit as the LS engines by giving you a water pump adapter and a throttle body plate to change the angle from the down (factory) to up like the LS motors to clear the accessories and water pump...remember, you’re going from an offset water pump to one that’s mounted in the center. Here’s some pics of the clearance issues on the factory water pump. You can see it won’t allow the pump to bolt on all the way.

The next issue I ran into was the factory Camaro exhaust manifolds, the driver side actually bolts up and fits quite well leaving what appears to be enough room for the steering shaft but the passenger side has too much interference with the area where the front clip bolts to the body. The square exhaust flange is hits the frame rail and even if it were trimmed down, the outlet is in such a place that short of cutting an expensive subframe, you’d never be able to plumb the system. DSE doesn’t currently offer headers for the LT1 but my plan is go with Church Boys as they offer a long tube setup. Here’s a few pics but I know it might be difficult to make anything out of them.

In the pic above, on the passenger side, you can see the steel tube with the yellow tape on the end...that’s the PCV drain tube that goes to the oil pan. I’d tried to remove it while it was still on the wooden crate but they filled the engine with oil oddly enough so it was draining out and I couldn’t get to the drain plug because of the crate and I also couldn’t get the motor mount plates attached because of the tube so I just turned it around for now to get it out of the way. You wouldn’t thing you’d need a drain that large for a PCV system.

Anyway, onto the oil pan. I love the oil pan on this thing. It includes an oil to water cooler that’s attached to the driver side of the pan with a steel line that plugs into the factory water pump and another one that would get routed to the radiator or radiator hose. I was really hoping to keep this setup in tact despite not using the factory water pump. I’m happy to report that the oil pan will clear the DSE crossmember easily (at least with the mounts in their current position) and it appears to have decent ground clearance but I won’t know for sure until I get everything in the car. The Holley swap pan does have a lower profile and has the cooler fittings (just not the cooler) so I may have to change it at a later date but for now I’m letting it ride. It’s hard to distinguish in the pic below but you can see there’s about 2” of clearance from the front of the sump to the back of the crossmember.


For the engine mounts, I wasn’t sure what I’d need so I bought a few different ones including the Dirty Dingo sliders.The DD mounts are made quite well but I wasn’t crazy about having an adjustable mount and all the extra hardware “clutter” that comes with it. The mounts I tried first were the Billet Specialties pn: 11630. These mounts have multiple bolt locations that allow you to have the engine in a neutral position as well as move it three different positions rearward. They use a standard GM 3-bolt motor mount sold separately and were only approx $55 for the plates. The position I used was the third bolt hole back from the front on the top bolt, whatever that was. I looked like it’d put the front of the sump back far enough from the crossmember while not putting the back of the motor too far rearward. These engines have a high pressure fuel pump that’s camshaft driven that boosts the fuel pump pressure to over 2,100 psi before it’s directly injected into the cylinders adjacent from the spark plugs. So in addition to being mindful of the forward placement, you need to watch the rearward placement to maintain clearance from the high pressure pump to the firewall. I won’t know for sure until I put everything on the body but the initial place,ent I think will be spot on...if not, I have enough room for the sump that I can move it forward buteven now, things will be very tight up front by the time i add a radiator and fans and the cold air intake tube so I need to keep it tight to the firewall. I may end up recessing a pocket in the firewall just to keep the engine to the back for that reason along with weight distribution. Here’s some pics to see where it’s oriented in relation to the support bars and frame mounts which would give you an idea of where the firewall would be.



For the frame stands, I just ordered upa pair of DSE’s LS frame mounts andI used Prothane poly motor mounts with the 2 5/8” spread between the ears and 1 3/4” tall (pn: 7-504-BL). I found a perfect original GM flat hood for a great price that I’m gonna be running and the top of the intake sits 3.5” below the tops of the fenders so I’ve got plenty of room. In the last pics above, you can see the high pressure pump sticking off the back. In reality the actual pump housing only sticks out 1” from the bell housing flange, the rest is a foam sound insulator that can be trimmed down.

I think that about covers it for now. Since I suck at inserting the pictures within the text here, they’re all piled up at the bottom but you get the idea!

Thanks for looking!

[bkswede]

Looks fantastic! Feels like real progress when you see it all one color, even if only primer. Have been meaning to respond to your post from last week - I really like how clean that LT1 looks mocked up in the subframe! I also was going to mention that I noticed that Speed Tech came out with an Extreme front subframe for Chevy IIs, and they have LT and LS motor mount options for it. Not sure whether it’s something that could work for your LT1 (including, possibly, headers), but thought I would pass along the info. Looks awesome..

Brian


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[64G-lark]

I have been watching your build for a while Shane. Its hard to believe that's the same car you started with. Your fabrication skills are amazing. The LT1 is a great engine but the swap components are still a challenge to figure out. Looks like you are getting it figured out. My guess is the the headers will be the biggest challenge. Other than the flange at the head being different from the LS are ports in the same place?

[Gmachine1911]

Originally Posted by Sonar Chief

Great job Shane It does look good in one color even epoxy primer

Thank you, Sonar Chief...one of these days it’ll be as far along as your Camaro! You’re doing great work!

Originally Posted by bkswede

Looks fantastic! Feels like real progress when you see it all one color, even if only primer. Have been meaning to respond to your post from last week - I really like how clean that LT1 looks mocked up in the subframe! I also was going to mention that I noticed that Speed Tech came out with an Extreme front subframe for Chevy IIs, and they have LT and LS motor mount options for it. Not sure whether it’s something that could work for your LT1 (including, possibly, headers), but thought I would pass along the info. Looks awesome..

Brian


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Hey Brian, thanks for the heads up! I had actually called SpeedTech before buying a front clip just to see what they had to offer as an option. They wouldn’t say much except that they had something in development. Sounds like they beat Holley to the punch with a complete suite of LT1 components for Second Gen Novas!

It’s funny how you have goals in your head that are milestones. I always tell myself I’ll be content upon reaching the next one but yet find myself chasing the one after about as quickly as I reach the one before. Now that it’s one color, I really wanna see it off the rotisserie and sitting on its own suspension!

Originally Posted by 64G-lark

I have been watching your build for a while Shane. Its hard to believe that's the same car you started with. You fabrication skills are amazing. The LT1 is a great engine but the swap components are still a challenge to figure out. Looks like you are getting it figured out. My guess is the the headers will be the biggest challenge. Other than the flange at the head being different from the LS are ports in the same place?

Mark, thank you for the compliments, it’s definitely changed a lot in the last 15 months. The engine has been a bit of an unknown for sure but oddly enough, one of the biggest challenges at this point is getting the AC vents figured out. There’s no good spot to put the vents so it’s gonna take some effort (more to come on that). As far as the port design, the intake ports have been raised to accommodate the direct injection but I’m not sure if the exhaust ports have been raised. There’s basically nothing that’ll interchange between the LS and LT engines so it does make for some unknowns, however, they’re similar enough in their physical dimensions that it’s not totally unpredictable. I think at the end of the day I’ll have at least two and, thanks to bkswede for the SpeedTech tip, sounds like three choices in headers so I’m hoping to find one that meets my needs. Thanks for tuning in!

[64G-lark]

Shane the reason I asked about the similarities between the LT1 vs LS1 Header is Speedway Motors has LS Headers cheap for the 62-67 Nova with their sub frame if it’s just a matter of changing the flanges. They are on close out for less than half price. They have 1 7/8” primary tubes , O2 bungs and good clearance for the steering shaft. They are not stainless but at this price you can modify them and have them coated. I have a set that I changed the collectors to V-band style and had coated. They only have a few pairs, I can tell you that story another day. Let’s just say I’m the reason they have them. Here’s a link.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/G-Com...sh,205590.html

If you need any dimensions I can help.

[Gmachine1911]

Originally Posted by 64G-lark

Shane the reason I asked about the similarities between the LT1 vs LS1 Header is Speedway Motors has LS Headers cheap for the 62-67 Nova with their sub frame if it’s just a matter of changing the flanges. They are on close out for less than half price. They have 1 7/8” primary tubes , O2 bungs and good clearance for the steering shaft. They are not stainless but at this price you can modify them and have them coated. I have a set that I changed the collectors to V-band style and had coated. They only have a few pairs, I can tell you that story another day. Let’s just say I’m the reason they have them. Here’s a link.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/G-Com...sh,205590.html

If you need any dimensions I can help.

Oh, cool, good information...I’ll check it out. The price is inexpensive for sure! Sounds like you were part of the development?

[bkswede]

Looks great Shane - you made the right choice to modify the dash - will look so much better when it is finished. I, too, struggled with what to do with the vents and ended up doing something similar. Firewall looks awesome, too!


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[Gmachine1911]

I got the Nova back from the body shop today. Excited about how it turned out. I’m ready to get movin’ on this thing. I was playing around with some green tape to map out the fuel and brake line routing. I also wanted to see what the dash was gonna look like with some of the pretty stuff on it so I played with that a little. Up next is to seam seal the bottom, scuff it down and paint it then get the bedliner sprayed on. I can also get the battery mount and fuel tank vent mocked up. I plan to make a bulkhead to separate the trunk and back seat areas and I can get some of the interior stuff put together since the interior’s been painted. Here’s some pics...

[jarhead]

WOW, that looks nice Shane!