From a Nova to a Skylark..

Discussion in 'The "X" bodies' started by LSxBody, Mar 19, 2017.

  1. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the support! And yes I have the turbo bug just have to be patient!! Haha hoping I can get this road worthy to enjoy a little bit of summer
     
  2. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Finally got the transmission in! It was a pain to get the single bolt th350 crossmember to line up with the energy suspension mount. It was about 1/2" off pointing at the drivers side. Made quick work of that by using a ratchet strap on the tailshaft and pulled it over. The tightest part of fitting the 4l80e is the trans cooler lines. I had to hammer the tunnel a bit and they may still hit. We shall see.
     
  3. 2001ws6

    2001ws6 last of the v8 interceptors

    Awesome project!
     
  4. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Here's some more pics! Drivetrain is fully bolted in! The next task will be figuring out the lokar linkage to make it work with my factory column shifter. I still need to pull the harness out of the nova and transfer it over. It's getting closer!


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  5. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Appreciate it!!
     
  6. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Got the lokar shift linkage in to maintain use of the factory column. It was kind of a pain to install and BARELY works because there is such little steering column between the firewall and shift linkage for the billet piece to bolt on to. It wasn't made to fit a 4l80e with a long shift shaft so I reused parts off the b&m hammer shifter I had in my Nova. I'm able to shift P-R-N-OD-D-2. So there is just barely too short of a throw to get it into 1st. That's fine as I only use D or OD. 1st is lame because it will still shift into 2nd before you can wind it out haha


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    Then I shifted focus (lol) to getting the water pump in shape. I routed my steam line from the 4 corners of the heads to the upper radiator hose using a little coupler with a tapped fitting. It wasn't pretty at all. So I decided to tap into the water pump near the outlet to tap the steam line into. Lots have done it with no issues. It's really a 50/50 whether it works or not. Factory it went to the upper corner of the radiator end tank. This eliminates the coupler and about 2 ft of extra hose in the front of the engine bay. Then I pulled out the pressed in fittings for the heater since I am running no heat or ac. I need 1/2 and 3/8 npt taps and some plugs to finish it up!


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  7. SteeveeDee

    SteeveeDee Orange Acres

    Love all that shiny paint on the new suspension parts! One thing to note. When you leave the Navy, be careful where you go to live. California takes a really dim view on putting older parts on the '76 and newer vehicles (as in illegal). Lots of other states (like Washington) don't care. Too much granola is sold in this state, I guess. My eldest son has an arsenal locked in my safe (I had to buy it because he's currently in Japan, in the USAF, and can't have it there). When he gets out next year (that's up in the air, he really enjoys it), he won't be living in California, because he doesn't like the "gun law crap" that flies around here. Which I can't figure out- everything he has is legal in all 50 states.
     
  8. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Yeah! I actually had my Nova down in California for about a year but just maintained my Oregon plates. I plan to come back up to the Pacific Northwest once I get out. I did think the emissions requirement was based off the year of the engine. So a ls swapped car would say have to be up to the same standard as a 2003 5.3L. I could be wrong though. I sure do enjoy some big 3" exhaust and no cats!!

    I'm contemplating which inner fenders to use. I have nice semi gloss ones and I have crusty ones. Do I use the crusty ones for more sleeper look or clean ones lol I have a ways before I put them in as it's so much easier to work without them in.
     
  9. 300sbb_overkill

    300sbb_overkill WWG1WGA. MAGA

    On a sleeper type vehicle when you open the hood is when you reveal its has something there. With or without nice inner fenders anyone that knows cars will know what you have once you open the hood.

    Now if in you had a small block chebby in there you could paint one head chebby corporate blue with chrome high rise valve cover and the other head black with a high rise center bolt valve cover with a high rise S/P intake bolted on top with spacers on the center holes to make it look like those are on a different angle! That's how you get them guessing on the engine. All the while there is CNC Dart heads with shaft roller rockers under those mismatched valve covers. You just tell them it runs so good because of the intake. LOL

    With an LS under the hood when a car guy sees that they would know right away what the engine is and capable of so might as well make it look sweet when you open the hood.


    Derek
     
    SteeveeDee likes this.
  10. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Finished up the waterpump! Got the heater ports blocked off and gave it a scrub and a new coat of paint. Got the alternator bracket on the car as well. Front accessories are done! One step closer!


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    Very simple ALT/PS bracket modification to delete the PS. Literally just chopped it in half lol maintains 3 mounting bolts in the head and is very secure.

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  11. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Tinkered on the nova today. Pulled out my fuse/relay board to swap into the skylark.

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    Then I threw in my aluminum radiator. I will upgrade to a nicer unit with dual fans and a shroud but it will do for now. Was going to paint it nice and black but I like the crusty aluminum.

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    Got the harness all pulled out from the nova and ready to go into the skylark. I will probably de-pin the connectors to feed through a hole in the firewall when that time comes. I need to order my new cluster so I can install the senders for it before I start putting too many parts back on.

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  12. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    My intellitronix digital cluster arrived today! I ordered the blue led version to match my interior. Went ahead and installed it. It went in so easy I forgot to take pics until the end! I used a 1/4" thick plexiglass sheet to mount the gauges to. Painted the backside black and it matches so well. I haven't wired it in yet of course.


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  13. TheSilverBuick

    TheSilverBuick In the Middle of No Where

    Oh, that is a nice cluster install. I look forward to seeing it lit up.
     
  14. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    I cannot wait! It's motivating to get some power to this car! I still have to transfer over the rear mounted battery and 0 gauge wiring.
     
  15. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Wireharness is in! Well the engine side is haha threw the intake and coils on the route the harness nice and hidden. Took some pics of header clearance. These are modified 4th gen camaro stainless headers. Egr holes filled, o2 relocated, and the drivers collector shifted about 15 degrees back to straight. I'm currently sorting through the factory wiring. Deleting all unnecessary circuits. I don't want to have a mess of unused wires under the dash. So it all must go! This weekend I may even be able to put power to the car if I can get the battery relocation in!


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  16. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    Looks like it's going together nicely. I notice the fuel pressure gauge on the fuel log and wonder if you use a liquid filled gauge spec'd for high temperature use? We used to put a gauge like that in our turbo regals and, unless they were quality hi temp gauges, they sometimes would become inaccurate pretty quickly and on occasion they would leak fuel. Just a thought.
     
  17. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    I'm using a aeromotive brand 0-100psi gauge. I've had it since 2010 and has kept a pretty accurate reading of the ~60psi operating pressure. I believe it has a equalizing pin that "restores" its accuracy if it's reading incorrectly. Basically equalizes pressure between the gauge and atmosphere.
     
  18. TheSilverBuick

    TheSilverBuick In the Middle of No Where

    I have cheap (summit?) oil filled one on my engine and it drifts when it gets hot, though the oil started leaking out of it slowly in the last year and from what I heard, if you drain the oil out they'll maintain their accuracy as temperature changes. But it's probably at the expense of their overall accuracy. But I set it to 50psi at idle six years ago and it still reads 50psi when the engine is cold.
     
  19. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Battery relocation is in! PCM is mounted using a GM mount. I believe it's a S10 piece. It clips the pcm in nice and secure. Also mounted the relay board up high in the dash. In my Nova you could see the pcm and relay board by your feet. I didn't want that this time around. I still have more wiring to do that's why it's a mess still. Slowly but surely!!


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  20. LSxBody

    LSxBody Well-Known Member

    Got the intellitronix digital cluster up and going! Got a few wires to finish up and then tidy it all up under the dash! Very happy everything worked the first try haha
     

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