Before I get into this, I want to mention that I have almost all of the receipts and information about the parts purchased for the motor, and some for other parts as well. I will provide all of that to the buyer.
I purchased this car while in High School back in 1998. It became a project for me and my father. First we removed the 350 that was in the car, and dropped in a 400 small block. It has 6-inch eagle rods with ARP rod bolts, Kieth Black Hyperutectic aluminum flat top pistons. We used Albert $ Childs chrome rings/zero gap rings. The heads are somewhat stock 2.02/1.60 heads with roller rockers, hardened push rods, and anti pump up lifters. Final compression ratio was 10.25/1. The rotating assembly was all balanced. Bottom end is very strong. I believe the block was also decked a bit, but I'm not 100% certain on that. We used a mild street cam from Comp Cams, lift is .510. I do have the cam spec card and can email a copy if interested. It also has Headman headers, an aluminum intake, and an Accel Blueprint Electronic distributor. The carb was nothing special, just some Holley 650 we had laying around the shop. We cooled it with an aluminum radiator, a makeshift oil cooler, and a 7 quart Moroso oil pan. I believe the motor has a lot of potential in the right hands, and doesn't have many miles on it.
The drivetrain includes a Powerglide rebuilt with a very aggressive manual valve body, transmission break, improved clutchs (and more of them) and a hardened input shaft (after we twisted the original in half). We also installed a stall converter from TCI, I believe the stall is around 3,000rpm or slightly less. It has heavy duty U-joints and a Ford rear end with posi-track. We also installed bucket seats in the front to make room for the Hurst shifter. The tranny break is operated with a button on top of the shifter. These old Novas had a Uni-body, so Competition Engineering chassis braces and leaf spring hangars were installed, which stiffened up the chassis and relocated the leaf spring mounts inward slightly. This allows for the use of a bigger tire/wheel if desired, although the wheel wells would need to be cut to go much bigger than 10 inches, but that is pretty easy.
To add a bit more about the History of the car, I am not sure how many owners it had before me, but the body/interior was definitely in a lot better condition back in 1998 than it is now. I went to away to college in 2001 and left the car with my father, who left it sitting in his front yard. He lives in Carlsbad, NM which is pretty dry desert. The nice paint job was literally sand blasted and the interior took it's share of the beating as well. My father is a High School teacher, and is also friends with the Auto shop teacher. Last year he let the auto shop teacher pick the car up, and the students did a lot of work on it. They removed the gas tank and cleaned it out, kitted the carb, and did some work on the front end. They replaced a lot of bushings and parts in the front end, and did a break job. They removed the steering wheel to install a new turn signal switch and didn't put the wheel back on straight, which is slightly annoying but only cosmetic. They also installed the rear end described above along with the Competition Engineering chassis braces and leaf spring hangars. After this, I decided to go rescue it from the desert. I live in Plano, TX so it was quite an exciting drive to say the least. I made it home, but I also learned a lot about the current condition of the car along the way.
The best thing about this car is probably the motor. As I said above, it runs strong and has a lot of potential given the right tuning. It would become a real monster with a better set of heads/intake/carb. The mileage on the car itself is not correct, as it was reset when the motor was rebuilt. Even though that was 16 years ago, the motor only has about 5000 miles on it. The worst thing about the car is that it does need a lot of work and cleaning up, granted a lot of it is small/easy things. Imagine what happens to a car sitting in the desert for that long. The trim around the windows needs replacing, that kind of stuff. There is a short somewhere, likely something simple, which requires the battery to be unhooked when parking the car for long periods. Also, I believe the transmission is due for a rebuild soon. We were a bit naive when installing such an aggressive manual valve body. It was likely a little to strong for daily street use. It has started to wear on the clutches. This has only become noticeable in the last few days. It's not bad yet and will remain driveable for some time. The only time there is slippage is when under power and shifting, so it's easily maintained at the moment. If you are an interested buyer and planning to race or drive it a lot, it will need a rebuild soon. There's no sugar coating that. As for the rest of the car, the body is in pretty good shape considering what it has been through, there's a few small cancer spots low on the doors but very easy to fix. I am limited with the pictures that I can post here, but I will email any picture you desire. Just request it and I will send within 12 hours (likely less).
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Sun, Feb 5 2023
LOS ANGELES — Netflix has unveiled a new star for some of its upcoming programming: electric vehicles from General Motors and other automakers. The streaming service announced an agreement on Thursday to feature vehicles including the Chevrolet Bolt, the electric GMC Hummer pickup and the Cadillac Lyriq in TV series and films "where relevant." The companies will highlight the partnership in a commercial featuring Will Ferrell that will air during the Feb. 12 Super Bowl. Netflix and GM called the agreement "part of a commitment to a more sustainable future." Financial terms were not disclosed. Netflix said it will help creators "better understand how EVs can complement and enhance their stories." Shows that will feature GM's electric vehicles include "Love is Blind," "Queer Eye" and "Unstable." Netflix productions also will include electric vehicles made by other automakers, the company said. Â Marketing/Advertising TV/Movies Chevrolet GM GMC Hummer
Thu, Feb 12 2015
Chevrolet spent its Chicago Auto Show introducing a pair of fullsize pickups that promise image-conscious buyers a truck experience that goes beyond the standard range, with the murdered-out Midnight Edition and the um, not murdered-out, Custom. Let's start with the Custom, which adds 20-inch alloys, as well as chrome bumpers, mirror caps and door handles to the Silverado LS. Available in both V6 and V8 varieties, and with the customer's choice of two- or four-wheel drive, the Silverado Custom is the decidedly mellower example of Chevy's special edition styling. The Midnight Edition, meanwhile, throws subtlety out the window with a menacing set of visual upgrades. Based on the Z71, the Midnight adds 18-inch wheels, a spray-in bedliner and unique Z71 and Bowtie badges, all in black, of course. The front and rear bumpers, headlamp bezels, tow hooks, mirror caps and door handles, are also finished in the stealthy shade. Check out our live images of both special edition trucks, and let us know what you think down in Comments.
Fri, Sep 9 2016
The Basics: General Motors is recalling 3.64 million vehicles across its lineup for an airbag-related issue. The recall covers the 2014-2015 Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet SS, and Spark EV; 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Trax, Caprice PPV, Silverado 1500, Buick Encore, and GMC Sierra 1500; and 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado HD, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Sierra HD, Cadillac Escalade, and Escalade ESV. The Problem: Affected vehicles have a sensing and diagnostic module that controls the airbags and seat-belt pretensioners. The software it uses has a defect that can prompt the module to run a diagnostic test under specific driving conditions, which will also deactivate the front airbags and pretensioners. This means that it would be possible for those safety systems to not activate in a crash, potentially leading to injury or death. Injuries/Deaths: General Motors began an investigation that led to the recall after a 2014 Silverado was involved in a crash in which the airbags did not deploy. No information was given as to injuries or deaths. The Fix: Owners can bring their vehicles to a local General Motors dealer where a software update will be installed to fix the issue. The fix will be free of charge. If you own one: General Motors will contact owners of affected cars, and owners can check whether their vehicles are affected by visiting entering their vehicle identification numbers at either the GM Owner Center website or the NHTSA website. Owners can then schedule a time to have the update installed. Related Video: