1979 Nova G-Rated Suspension Question

[TXVTX]

Thanks. My goal is to keep this looking factory original as possible on the outside...think stealth. I found the link on the G-28 buildup, ref: http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/index2.html
I'll read through this for idea's.

Thanks again,
Big Al

[69Nova]

Wow that car is perfect. What are you going to do with those wheels?

[JayR]

Originally Posted by TXVTX

Thanks. My goal is to keep this looking factory original as possible on the outside...think stealth. I found the link on the G-28 buildup, ref: http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tech/index2.html
I'll read through this for idea's.

Thanks again,
Big Al

It would still look factory original, just factory original round headlights.

[TXVTX]

Originally Posted by 69Nova

Wow that car is perfect. What are you going to do with those wheels?

Thanks. We're keeping the wheels and pretty much everything else (in storage). Never know when you'll want a numbers matching capability.

[Slow Ride]

I'm also building up a 4th gen X-body. I had a '78 Nova back in college and regretted selling it the first day after it was gone. Sooo, I finally bought a '77 Pontiac Ventura the other day to start a pro-touring type build to go with my drag race inspired 454 BBC powered S-10 Blazer.

[Marcus SC&C]

Hey nice clean Nova! It reminds me of the `75 Nova my Mom had many years ago. It was the luxo version with the small 1/4 windows,thick padded half top and deluxe interior. Sounds gross today but it was pretty nice back then. Had a factory 350 too.

At any rate the front subframe and suspension parts are identical to `70-`78 2nd gen F body (Camaro,Firebird), `79-`81 parts will also fit but the body mounts on the subframe are in a different location. Things like the big WS6 Trans Am sway bar and fast ratio steering box will bolt right on. The geometry of these cars is fairly decent out of the box so you have a good foundation to start on. The rear of the car is the same as `67-`69 Camaro/Firebird. So you know where to get parts for that end.

Now I`ll take a stab at your list.

*Tubular arms are okay but make sure you`re getting them for the right reasons. Do a bunch of research here and on other sites before you part with your hard earned money. We have some packages for them that improve the geometry and let you run more modern alignment specs.

*Again,do some reading up on this. Drop spindles have several downsides and no real upside. You`re better off dropping it with a set of good performance springs. You`ll get better geometry,the same low stance and higher wheel rate for flatter cornering too.

*This chassis doesn`t lend itself well at all to the *proper* installation of a rack and pinion. The short answer is that you have to reconfigure the whole subframe to make it work properly. They actually have a pretty good steering setup that works quite well with a good fast ratio box.

*Everything else on the list is a great idea. 1st thing,a good set of subframe connectors!

Mark SC&C

[TXVTX]

Mark, really appreciate the feedback, this is a tremendous help to me!

Originally Posted by Marcus SC&C

Hey nice clean Nova! It reminds me of the `75 Nova my Mom had many years ago. It was the luxo version with the small 1/4 windows,thick padded half top and deluxe interior. Sounds gross today but it was pretty nice back then. Had a factory 350 too.

At any rate the front subframe and suspension parts are identical to `70-`78 2nd gen F body (Camaro,Firebird), `79-`81 parts will also fit but the body mounts on the subframe are in a different location. Things like the big WS6 Trans Am sway bar and fast ratio steering box will bolt right on. The geometry of these cars is fairly decent out of the box so you have a good foundation to start on. The rear of the car is the same as `67-`69 Camaro/Firebird. So you know where to get parts for that end.

Now I`ll take a stab at your list.

*Tubular arms are okay but make sure you`re getting them for the right reasons. Do a bunch of research here and on other sites before you part with your hard earned money. We have some packages for them that improve the geometry and let you run more modern alignment specs.

*Again,do some reading up on this. Drop spindles have several downsides and no real upside. You`re better off dropping it with a set of good performance springs. You`ll get better geometry,the same low stance and higher wheel rate for flatter cornering too.

*This chassis doesn`t lend itself well at all to the *proper* installation of a rack and pinion. The short answer is that you have to reconfigure the whole subframe to make it work properly. They actually have a pretty good steering setup that works quite well with a good fast ratio box.

*Everything else on the list is a great idea. 1st thing,a good set of subframe connectors!

Mark SC&C

[andy]

Hi, I know that I can help you out here. I have a 1977 Nova Concours. Ihave the interior gutted, for my cage install. I got the 2" front coils from Hotchkis and the 1.5" leafs from them also. They are all for the 70-81 Camaro. I went full Energy Suspension bushings. The subframe bushings were also replaced with aluminum pieces from Moroso. The only problem that I encountered was the spring plate holes on the rear end need to be drilled out a little. Also, the front sat a little higher than the rear so I cut exactly 1 coil from the tops of the coil springs. I do have the motor in and it has been sitting for about a month. It is not too low with the 15" rally's on it. If anyone would like to see pics, let me know how to post them and I will do so. I hope this is some help to you. Later, Andy

[jmarsa]

Pics are always good.

--JMarsa

[andy]

I'll get the pics posted on here tomorrow. It may be late because I race dirt latemodels and we race tomorrow night.