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Old 06-12-04, 07:57 PM
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RA40
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Default SS Nova

Saw this thing cruising down the street and got these pics:
Attached Thumbnails SS Nova-nova2.jpg  
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Old 06-12-04, 07:58 PM
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This tiny little motor is barley enough for this car: He mentioned "Demon" and "Muncie" along with adjustable coil-overs. One touch I thought was cool were the stainless fasteners that secure the fenders... thay have the Chevy bow tie emblem and each of the fasteners are oriented in the same direction.
Attached Thumbnails SS Nova-nova1.jpg  

Last edited by RA40; 06-12-04 at 08:04 PM.
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Old 06-12-04, 08:05 PM
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Interior shot
Attached Thumbnails SS Nova-nova3.jpg  
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Old 06-12-04, 08:08 PM
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Mustang front suspension riding on 17" American Racing wheels.
Attached Thumbnails SS Nova-nova4.jpg  

Last edited by RA40; 06-12-04 at 08:10 PM.
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Old 06-13-04, 03:02 AM
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Richie
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I love those old american muscle cars.
This one has a lot of nice touches.
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Old 06-14-04, 05:26 AM
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if you spilled a bottle of heinz, could you tell?
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Old 06-14-04, 09:28 AM
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mmarshall
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Question 283?

Looks like a reworked 283 c.i. V8 with a semi-racing fan assembly, but hard to tell for sure....the 265, 283, 303, and 327 V8's all had pretty much the same small block.

The Nova SS was never as popular in the early-to-mid 60's as the Impala SS, which sold in huge numbers, so this car is probably very exclusive...especially as a convertible.
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Old 06-14-04, 09:32 AM
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Exclamation oops!

Sorry,.........I meant the 307 V8, not a 303
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Old 06-14-04, 09:38 AM
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Question Front brakes?

Originally posted by RA40
Mustang front suspension riding on 17" American Racing wheels.
Are those Mustang front brakes too? If my memory is correct, the mid-60's Nova did not have a factory disc brake option...only drums front and rear. Some Fords had optional power front disc brakes....as did the Corvette.
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Old 06-14-04, 09:44 AM
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Nova has a lot less weight than either an Impala or Chevelle. Probably why so many wound up on the drag strip relative to Impala's. Small block with siamesed cylinders could easily be over 400ci. M22 might be there to handle the power but that air cleaner doesn't exactly look like a high flow setup. Hard to tell about the front suspension and chassis mods but at least he did try to add some bracing. 60s convertible doesn't exactly peg the rigidity meter.

For a relatively clean setup, wonder why the belt is coming off the crank pulley soooo wrong?

Last edited by RON430; 06-14-04 at 09:46 AM.
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Old 06-14-04, 10:44 AM
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Very Nice! I am not a huge fan of older cars but this is a beaut!

-Anthony
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Old 06-14-04, 11:57 AM
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This one has a 383CI motor, don't remember the intake manifold or the size of the Demon carb. The electric water pump and billet overflow catch were nice accents. The water pump has a bit of whine and my first thought was that it was blown when I heard it driving down the street.

The Mustang front end (90's vintage) is a cut and weld deal and it has the stock calipers for that assembly. Notice the shock towers are gone and replaced with bracing. That made the 383 look tiny as there is lots of room in the engine bay.

One lacking part was the drum rear end. I would have liked to have seen Willwoods all around and the back be a multi-link coil-over instead of the leaf.

Nice car and he mentioned it was for sale.
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Old 06-14-04, 01:22 PM
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Originally posted by RA40
This one has a 383CI motor, don't remember the intake manifold or the size of the Demon carb. The electric water pump and billet overflow catch were nice accents. The water pump has a bit of whine and my first thought was that it was blown when I heard it driving down the street.

The Mustang front end (90's vintage) is a cut and weld deal and it has the stock calipers for that assembly. Notice the shock towers are gone and replaced with bracing. That made the 383 look tiny as there is lots of room in the engine bay.

One lacking part was the drum rear end. I would have liked to have seen Willwoods all around and the back be a multi-link coil-over instead of the leaf.

Nice car and he mentioned it was for sale.
Cool. 383 is a fairly easy increase on a 350 with I think the crank from the 401ci mouse that they made. As for the front end, I don't think there were shock towers on the original Nova. Pretty sure it had unequal length upper and lower a arms with the spring and shock between the arms like almost all the GM products at the time. Whatever he did, you are right that he made a lot of room up there. Still not crazy about whatever is being driven by that belt on the crank pulley, that isn't going to stay on for very long - maybe that's where the whine is coming from? And while he probably has a stack of bills, it was still a lot more reasonable compared to getting in to any Lexus, BMW, Merc, etc., motor.

Last edited by RON430; 06-14-04 at 01:33 PM.
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Old 06-14-04, 06:10 PM
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The only thing I can think of being driven by the belt is the alternator. I suppose one good pedal to the metal can spin the thing up and off possibly. I'm not familiar with the suspension layout on that vintage Chevy.

It is a nice car and it is not a garage queen, it has signs of being driven: rock chips, dirt into the wheel well recesses and a thin layer of grime on the under carriage.
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