Go Back   The Supercar Registry > General Discussion > Supercar/Musclecar Discussion


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 02-14-2023, 12:16 AM
CamaroNOS CamaroNOS is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,121
Thanks: 113
Thanked 426 Times in 173 Posts
Default

This is a little piece of artwork. Just love your detail.

Paul
Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to CamaroNOS For This Useful Post:
Arrowsmith (02-14-2023)
  #2  
Old 02-14-2023, 01:19 PM
Andy Andy is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Cleveland, Georgia
Posts: 403
Thanks: 147
Thanked 201 Times in 63 Posts
Default

Very clean build! Look forward to seeing more of the progress! Seeing this car makes me REALLY miss my old 72 Nova.
Attached Images
 
__________________
Andy
1967 Camaro 406 4 speed
1969 C/10 383 5 speed
1969 D300 318 4 speed
1969 Super Bee 383 4 speed
1972 K/5 350 Turbo 350
1972 Duster 340 727
1974 'Cuda 340 4 speed
Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Andy For This Useful Post:
Arrowsmith (02-14-2023), Stihl (01-26-2025)
  #3  
Old 02-15-2023, 12:24 AM
Arrowsmith Arrowsmith is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 581
Thanks: 673
Thanked 707 Times in 182 Posts
Smile

When I was planning this car, one thing I wanted to try and stay away from was a traction bar on the rear springs. In another life, I was a Direct Connection dealer (remember them?). It occurred to me I could use a Chrysler Super Stock Spring on the back and not use a traction device. Essentially, that's what many of the FAST guys do with they stock appearing cars. Trouble is, you can't easily adpat a Chrysler SS spring to a Chevy. Fortunately, AFCO offers a pretty good replica of the spring for circle track applications. I bought a pair. Here's a look:

This is the basic spring:



The front segment is heavily biased, with more full and partial leafs in the spring pack:



Meanwhile, the rear has few:



This is the arch of the out-of-the-box spring (which happens to be just about right for my Nova):



So how do they work? Simple. When under heavy acceleration load, a typical leaf spring will bend in the front segment. That's why you get wheel hop. This doesn't happen with an SS spring like this.

To compliment the springs, I swapped out the OE-style front bushing for a Detroit Speed composite Delrin/aluminum example. The backs of the springs use a conventional Chevy rubber bushing along with a stock shackle. The reason for this is, the rear of the spring in this application is just along for the ride.



I wanted a means to adjust the rear suspension (aside from the shocks which I'll show you down the road). To get there, I bought a rear sway bar kit from Hotchkiss and threw away pretty much everything except the front adjuster mounts and the actual bar. From there, I used a couple of adjustable links from Summit Racing along with four Aurora Teflon lined rod ends. I made up the actual (super heavy duty) housing mounts from pieces sourced from Summit. Also, those are 1/2-inch Calvert Racing u-bolts on the axle housing (no t-bolts). Here's what it looks like from the back:



This is a side view. The links can be adjusted for preload. It is possible with this setup to actually change ride height (jack it) from side-to-side. As a result, it can be used to help plant a tire:



On the bottom side, the subframe was tied to the car spring pocket by way of Competition Engineering frame connectors. The pair of photos attached are recent (today!). You can see I used stainless brake lines along with stainless park brake cables. The exhaust is a modified Hooker 3-inch stainless steel setup for an LS swap. You can see I use V-band clamps to attach the exhaust to the slip on header collectors. Although it might look low in this photo, the exhaust is actually very tight to the floor pan. The lowest part is the 4-inch header collector (necessary for the 2-25-inch primary tubes, but that's another story). These photos should give you a pretty good idea of what the car is like underneath... it's fun working on a car like this...




The following YouTube link (short video) will give you a bit more insight into the basic rear suspension setup:

https://youtu.be/ngqqkQz8PDk

More to come....

Last edited by Arrowsmith; 02-15-2023 at 01:00 PM.
Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Arrowsmith For This Useful Post:
69M22Z (02-15-2023), big gear head (02-15-2023), BJCHEV396 (02-15-2023), dustinm (02-16-2023), L78_Nova (02-15-2023), markinnaples (02-15-2023), scuncio (02-15-2023)
  #4  
Old 02-15-2023, 02:50 AM
WILMASBOYL78's Avatar
WILMASBOYL78 WILMASBOYL78 is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: new york
Posts: 8,349
Thanks: 1
Thanked 2,132 Times in 580 Posts
Default Nova Project...

Great thread...outstanding detail on the build. As a Nova guy I think it is very cool.

Regarding the rear springs...have you considered using the "Dick Harrell Style" spring clamps??? They worked really well...and eliminated the need for traditional traction bars. They were cheap and easy to fabricate...and the results were very good.

old thread where this is discussed along with other stuff...

https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71829

-wilma
Attached Images
 
__________________
02 Berger 380hp #95
Lots of L78 Novas
Join National Nostalgic Nova!
70 Orange Cooler
69 Camaro
Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to WILMASBOYL78 For This Useful Post:
Arrowsmith (02-15-2023), BJCHEV396 (02-15-2023), dustinm (02-16-2023)
  #5  
Old 02-15-2023, 12:54 PM
Arrowsmith Arrowsmith is offline
Yenko Contributing Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 581
Thanks: 673
Thanked 707 Times in 182 Posts
Smile

Quote:
Originally Posted by WILMASBOYL78 View Post
Great thread...outstanding detail on the build. As a Nova guy I think it is very cool.

Regarding the rear springs...have you considered using the "Dick Harrell Style" spring clamps??? They worked really well...and eliminated the need for traditional traction bars. They were cheap and easy to fabricate...and the results were very good.

old thread where this is discussed along with other stuff...

https://www.yenko.net/forum/showthread.php?t=71829

-wilma
Yes, that’s a great idea. If the SS springs need help, that’s what I’ll do. I have a set Calvert split mono leaf springs along with a set of Smith Assassin traction bars (a better design and better quality than CalTracs I believe) waiting in the wings…But I don’t want to use them if I don’t have to. I just like the “vibe” of the car without traction bars… And thx for the link!
Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:41 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

O Garage vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.