MY 1975 NOVA PAGE -- THE FIRST ENGINE SWAP
When I was contemplating swapping out the stock six cylinder, there were
numerous events that intervened. On February 25, 1990, I was broadsided
by a Plymouth Horizon TC3, and the body damage was a crooked door and a
totaled fender. From March -- April 1990, I was in the process of
swapping the six cylinder for the 350 that I purchased for $100 from a
friend. Here is the rest of the chronology, in pictures:
The RH fender, after I pulled it off the car (March 1990)
A shot without the fender in place. The RH door was swapped out,
and the salvage door came off a 1979 Phoenix. Note the welded hinges,
which is typical of GM's spending cuts in the early 1970s. My word
of warning to owners of GMs with weld-on hinges is when the hinges are
worn out or if replacing the door assembly due to collision damage, replace
the hinges with ones that bolt on. The X-car must have the A-pillar
section welded to the body (there are no provisions for aftermarket bolts
and backing plates), and the door side half retained with nuts and bolts.
Here's a shot of the front end again, with the six cylinder motor seen.
This motor would later disappear by the end of March 1990. And the
paz-de-resistance:
The engine that was swapped in around April 1990. I spent $100 for
the motor, but exchanged the heads. Chevrolet vehicles manufactured
after 1972 will have the sandwich cushions on the frame rails, and a block
bracket is needed if swapping from a 250 six cylinder to a Chevrolet small
or big block V8. A 350 with dished pistons, and parts house cylinder
heads, casting # 462624. From May 1990 -- April 7, 1995, this motor
has logged 74,000 miles. I abused the motor, by replacing the crankshaft
after an unfortunate accident when the harmonic balancer slipped from the
front of the crankshaft, becuase of a broken bolt. This occured in
February 1993. Later, I drove the Nova across state lines to visit
my grandfather, and the end result was a 100 mile/qt nightmare that finally
sent this 350 to its early death on April 7, 1995, at 10:30 a.m CST.
The exhaust setup was a fabricated true dual exhaust system with Flowmaster
#42551 (3-chamber) mufflers. Tubular headers were used in place,
since I didn't locate a set of OEM manifolds.
The original motor (pic taken in 1992). I pulled the head off, and
noticed that there were ridges on top of the cylinders. The cylinder
head is the integral type, with the intake manifold casted with the head
(like the 170-200-250 Ford sixes). Currently, the motor is sitting
in the backyard, and there are no future plans for it.
Here's the motor after it was dropped in. This pic was snapped in
1992, when the motor had 35,000 miles. The open-element air cleaner
and chrome fan shroud cover would be later replaced, with a closed-element
air cleaner and V8 fan shroud. This was several months before the
mishap with the harmonic balancer, and a replacement crank. This
pic reveals that the car cannot be registered and inspected in the state
of California, since the aftermarket equipment is illegal and wouldn't
meet their emission control regulations for 1975 model year vehicles sold
in the Golden State.
There were improvments during the five years that this motor was under
the hood. The first upgrade was a battery tray from a junkyard disco
Nova, and a fan shroud from a factory disco V8 Nova. But one thing
was overlooked -- the radiator.
The radiator was the OEM six cylinder setup, with 2 rows, for use with
A/C. I noticed that the underhood heat was extreme, like I was inside
an oven, and this was the cause of the 100 mile/qt habit and a grenaded
#6 piston.
Originally, my parents were against my idea of doing the engine swap,
and becuase of my machismo, I had what I wished to do before I graduated
high school. I wanted to be like my gang-banging buddies, showing
off your ride and being macho towards the opposite gender. To this
day, I hadn't reconciled with my parents, and often felt ostracised, after
my dad said "I don't love you anymore." An aspiring football player
would use anabolic steroids to be stronger, which is like swapping a small
block when your parents say NO.
"First things learned are the hardest
to forget. Traditions pass from one generation to another.
We need to change."
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The Early Years
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The Second Chance
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RIP?
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My 1975 Nova Page
