1963 Nova - Pro Touring - L99 w/ 6spd
My Client acquired this car as a project, no motor or transmission. It had fresh paint and the rear suspension had been upgraded to a Ford 9" with a coil-over and 4 link. The front has a Mustang II style setup.
Our plan for the car was an LS swap. We found a package deal on Ebay for a 2013 Camaro L99 with a 6 speed auto trans. In the package we also got the steering wheel, center console with shifter, radiator, gauges, brake master, fuel tank, wire harness, pedals and air box. We decided to try and use everything we could from the Camaro.
Here is the project complete less the final interior
Our plan for the car was an LS swap. We found a package deal on Ebay for a 2013 Camaro L99 with a 6 speed auto trans. In the package we also got the steering wheel, center console with shifter, radiator, gauges, brake master, fuel tank, wire harness, pedals and air box. We decided to try and use everything we could from the Camaro.
Here is the project complete less the final interior
And the Build begins
While waiting for the motor to arrive I started prepping the car, one if the first items was the steering rack the previous owner installed was hung down to supposedly clear a big block oil pan, and the geometry was way off. We were also swapping the old manual rack for a power one. Had to cut off the lowering tabs and install some custom spacers to get the new rack to clear the a-arm bolts and still keep good geometry.
Here is the new motor. 50,000 mile unit out of a wrecked Camaro. It looked good and really clean. I added some new headers and an new oil pan that would clear the front cross member. That is just part of the wiring harness we got.
Fitting the motor in the car. The 6 speed was a lot larger than we thought so had to keep cutting the tunnel out.
With the headers and the tight distance between the front frame rails, the motor was pretty much going right where it fit.
I fabricated motor mounts that tied into the front cross member. Everything was tight clearances, to oil pan, firewall, frame rails, upper control arms. Luckily I could get the headers off and on when the motor was bolted up.
Modified the front frame rails to fit the Camaro radiator in place. I was able to use the stock Camaro mounts and rubber grommets. This is cool cause the ECU will control the fans.
I modified the inner fender to accept the Camaro fuse box and the wiring fit with the motor, about right where it would be in the 2013 Camaro. Used some universal remote battery posts which is very similar to the Camaro, as the Camaro has the battery located in the trunk. We are trying to mimic the Camaro as much as possible.
The original camaro fuel tank is located under the rear seats. It was such an odd shape no way we could use it. So I decided to modify the stock Nova tank to accept the Camaro fuel pump. The fuel pump also has a sending unit in it, and we were using the Camaro gauges, so all this should make everything talka nd act like the Camaro. With the big hole I cut in the Nova tank, I was able to Install some baffles.