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V8 Engine Swap
First there is a couple of things to be aware of
1. If this is not a Nova block and you plan on using a manual transmission you'll need to get
a kit to use the Z-bar. J&W Nova Parts has one.
2. Late model Chevy small blocks (81 and newer) have the dip
stick on the passanger side. The Nova pan is made for the drivers side. There are suppliers that address this problem.
Many Nova parts suppliers have V8 swap kits. The
V8 swap kits also include V8 frame mounts. They angle toward the back of the car and the shorter
one goes on the passanger side. The early Nova's have a rear-steer setup that requires a front
sump oil pan. The front sump pan also requires a special oil pump, shaft and a long oil pickup
tube that mounts to a main cap. I have heard that there is a rear sump pan available but
will only work on cars without power steering. I have also heard of people using a piece of wood
and a hammer on the stock rear sump pans to gain clearance, again no power steering. That will
get the engine in the car, but there is more to think about. The Nova V8 had special exhaust
manifolds. This can be solved in a couple ways, find stock ones (good luck), headers or Chevy
rams horn that exit in the middle.
Stock Nova's had driver side alternators with external voltage regulators, you may
want to get a bracket that will allow the alternator to be mounted on the drivers side and a
V8 wiring harness. You can get a harness to use with the internally regulated alternator also.
To get the linkage from the firewall to the carb.Chevy2Only sells the accelerator arm at the
firewall (PN 01010 62-67) and the rod from the accelerator arm to the carb (PN 01010-1).
ONE THING TO REMEMBER: I would install the arm on the firewall before you put the engine in the car! I learned the hard way that after the engine goes in the
clearance behind the engine is tight. If you do not get that arm tightened down properly the part that grips onto the rod coming through the firewall will bend and
distort. The outcome of this is either the linkage comes apart and you have no throttle or it becomes so sloppy that you cannot get the linkage adjusted to give you full
throttle. Make sure it is tight!
Thanks to Travis Newhouse for the accelerator arm info and John T for the installation tip
chevy2only.
HEI Distributor swap, V8 or L6
The problem here is not installing the distributor, it's the wiring. Nova's used a resistor wire
also known as spagetti wire. You need to eliminate this wire. First remove the old distributor
and coil. Install the new distributer. Run a 12-gauge wire from one of the accessory spade
terminals on the fuse box to the distributor. Make sure it's HOT only when the ignition is on.
Use a volt-ohm meter to make sure it's getting a full 12 volts. If you want to retain the stock
look you can convert your stock distributor to solid state unit. Pertronix Ignitor is one
way to go.
Pertronix.
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TH350 Swap
Transmission:
There are two different versions, a short shaft and a long shaft. Bolting the TH350 Transmission to the engine is the easy part. I bolted it to an inline 6.
Flexplate:
Originally I used the stock flexplate (153 teeth) and starter (with straight across bolt pattern)
, however I had to put spacers between the torque converter and the flexplate to get the torque converter to engage the pump. See Torque converters. If you have one of these torque converters you will need to replace the torque converter. Later model Novas with the 6 cyl came with the TH350. I have now replaced the stock flexplate with one for a 74 Nova with a TH350.
I would get one of these flexplates. See below for additional flexplate information.
Starter:
Your block may have the diagonal, straight or both bolt pattern. The diagnal starter uses the 168 tooth flexplate. The straight uses the 153 flexplate.
Torque converter:
My 62 torque coverter has cooling fins, the 62 powerglide is air cooled. I had to replace the torque converter. The new torque converter would not engage the front pump.I believe this is due to the fact that my 62 Powerglide was air cooled and the stock torque converter has cooling fins on it. The torque converter for the newer powerglides should work with the TH350.
Transmission cross member:
The trans mount will line up with the crossmember, but you will need to modify the cross member to clear the pan and possibly drill the mounting holes to a larger size. You need to remove the cross member to get to the
pan bolts, or you can buy a cross member for this application from one of the Nova parts supplier.
This would make things a lot cleaner.
Drive Shaft:
The stock drive shaft needs no modification if you are using the short shaft transmission. The drive shaft needs to be cut if you are using the long shaft transmission.
Trans Cooler:
You need to add a trans
cooler. I went to the junk yard and bought the lines from a later model Nova 6 cyl, cut them
at the front of the car and then used high pressure rubber line to connect to the trans cooler.
Shift Linkage:
The shift linkage will need to be redone. I have a column shift and bought a Vari-Angle shift
kit from Kugal Komponents in La Habra Ca., with some tweeking this worked well. There are other companies that sell the same type product,
Lokar is one of them. The gear indicator will not match but can be adjusted to be close.
Kick down linkage:
The final hassel will be the throttle and kick-down linkage.
You can modify the stock firewall swivel with a universal linkage rod with a pivot on one end
and a ball socket on the other. For the kick-down you can buy universal brackets and cables or
modify stock bracket from Novas with TH350's from the factory. LoKar also sells kits. I have not
presonnaly delt with this problem as my 6 cyl has a Offenhauser manifold with a Holly 4 bbl. I
have talked to Lokar and they told me they could make a cable the length I need.
I am looking into a solinoid setup. The kick-down cable would hook to the solinoid with a switch
connected to the throttle.
Flex plate info (thanks to Paul Wright) for small blocks except 400:
168 tooth flex plate (#471598) is 14" diameter and uses starter nose (#1984098) with offset bolt holes
153 tooth flex plate (#4715??) is 12 3/4" diameter and uses starter nose (#1968122) with the bolt holes straight across.
700R4
Here is a link to Bow Tie Overdrives , they specialize in 700R4 conversions
Bow Tie Overdrives
6 Cyl Info
Stovebolt Engine Company and Clifford Enginreering is a good source for 6 cylinder parts.
Stovebolt has told me to use a plate that mounts to the bottom of the manifold and is then
plumbed with hot water. The cost is about $20. This heats the floor of the manifould much like the
original.
Stovebolt Engine Company
Clifford Engineering
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