Although autocrossing has been around awhile, thanks to shows such as the Goodguys and others featuring them, the idea has really taken off recently. We love speed and competition, whether it’s drag or road course racing, but since we can’t afford a race-only car, we figured that transforming this ‘64 Chevy Nova into a competition-ready ride is just as good. Better even, as most race cars can’t be cruised around town and to shows. It even has a nice stereo system; but make no mistake, this car is being built to drive hard and fast.
That’s why it was decided that TCI’s latest offering, the new Pro-Touring IFS system for the 1962-67 Novas, would be the perfect choice for a front suspension system. One of racing’s biggest enemies is weight, and since the TCI unit is a reported 70 pounds lighter than the stock setup, it’s already ahead of the game. Add in that the TCI Pro-Touring IFS has modern geometry, is available with adjustable coil-over shocks, rack-and-pinion steering and huge Wilwood disc brakes, well, we already have that first turn in our heads.
This is the fist installment of the three or four part series on turning a show and cruise Nova into an autocrossing, show and cruise car. The first is installing the TCI Pro-Touring unit and assorted items such as Wilwood disc brakes. The second part will cover plumbing the brakes, as well as new fuel lines. We’ll be using Classic Tube stainless steel lines and Phenix Industries fittings. We’ll also be replacing the body panels and lining them up.
The third part will cover the installation of a TCI torque arm Pro-Touring-style rear suspension system, and then we’ll balance the car. There’s an old racing axiom that smooth is fast, and these last items, balancing and set up, are hugely important to getting the car through the corners quickly and smoothly. Luckily, we have Jim Sleeper of Pomona Valley Customs to handle everything for us. Sleeper is doing the install as well as the set up. He’s the longtime crew chief for “Uncle Joe” Benson’s racing team and is something of a suspension guru. We’ve know Sleeper for a long time, and thanks to him we used to have a ‘93 Chevy extended cab pickup that would dog Corvettes through tight canyons.
We say “three to four” installments because the set up might merit an article of its own. It certainly is worth one, because having the proper set up can take a limited suspension to its best, and the best suspension to its limit. We’ll see how things play out over the next few months.
We hope that you find this series interesting and informative, and that we spur you to think about getting your own ride out there turning a few laps at the next autocross event.
SOURCES
TCI Engineering
1416 W. Brooks St.
Ontario, CA 91764
800.984.6259
www.totalcostinvolved.com (http://www NULL.totalcostinvolved NULL.com)
Wilwood
805.388.1188
www.wilwood.com (http://www NULL.wilwood NULL.com)
Embee Performance Coatings
2100 Ritchey St.
Santa Ana, CA 92705
714.546.6907
www.embeeperformance.com (http://www NULL.embeeperformance NULL.com)
Phenix Industries
1164 Cannon Rd.
Riverside, CA 92506
951.780.9330
www.phenixindustries.com (http://www NULL.phenixindustries NULL.com)
Pomona Valley Customs
4081 W. Holt Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
909.621.3570
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- Total Cost Involved’s new Chevy Nova Pro-Touring IFS is made from U.S. DOM steel right here in the USA. The system comes with (or TCI offers) everything that you will need to turn a Nova into a corner-carver.
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- Total Cost Involved’s new Chevy Nova Pro-Touring IFS is made from U.S. DOM steel right here in the USA. The system comes with (or TCI offers) everything that you will need to turn a Nova into a corner-carver.
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- TCI supplies the pieces raw, so the first step is to have them powder coated. We went to Embee Performance Coatings in Santa Ana, CA, for this job. The pieces are media blasted to prep the steel for the powder.
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- The blasted pieces are thoroughly cleaned to remove any errant media material.
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- Care is taken to tape over any area not to be covered. Rubber plugs are used to ensure any holes will be powder free.
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- Then it’s on to the powder coating itself. The pieces are hung from a rack and a gun electrostatically discharges the powder onto the pieces. The rack has been grounded and the gun has a positive charge, so the powder is magnetically attracted to the steel.
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- Once the piece has been sprayed, it goes into an oven. This will bake the coating onto the suspension pieces.
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- The Nova that receives the TCI system is not in bad shape considering that it was a daily driver and cruiser. It features a built small-block with Dart heads and other goodies.
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- The Nova had been previously equipped with a Classic Performance Products mini sub-frame suspension kit and a big brake system. The mini sub system is great for everyday cruising, and for its price, it’s light years ahead of stock, but it isn’t the best setup for autocrossing or road course driving. The CPP big brakes stop well and look great, but unfortunately they aren’t compatible with the new TCI suspension setup, so they too will be replaced.
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- Everything from engine oil to coolant must be drained.
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- All of the sheet metal must be removed, so the hood is first to go.
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- The fenders are removed next.
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- The suspension components are removed.
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- With the coolant drained, the radiator is pulled, followed by the core support. We’ll either paint the core support or have it blasted and powder coated.
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- Here is where Sleeper deviates slightly from the instructions. Nobody really wanted to pull the engine, and he figured that we could still get at everything that we’d need to without pulling it. A bottle jack and a wooden 4 x 4 are used to hold the engine up while the motor mounts are removed. Note that the steering box is also removed at this time.
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- There are four bolts holding the stock cradle in place. The outer two are easy to reach. The inner two, not so much, but it is possible to get at them using a long extension on the impact driver. With the hardware out, the cradle is removed.
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- A stock Nova oil pan is actually a front sump unit, while the TCI suspension setup requires the standard rear sump. Since we had to change it anyway, we figured we would go with a Melling high-volume oil pump.
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- By the way, we got the pan from Bill Richman at RRC. Thanks, Bill!
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- As the suspension components had to be broken down for the powder coating, it’s time to reassemble them. The bushings are installed into the lower A-arm.
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- A good coating of grease is applied to the inside of the bushing and the inner sleeve is installed.
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- More grease is applied to the edges of the bushing.
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- The ball joint actually screws into place. It will be tightened with a pneumatic impact gun.
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- A Zerk fitting goes into the joint for easy future greasing. It should go without saying that keeping all of the components greased in the future is important.
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- The lower arm is assembled in much the same way; with the pivot in place, the bushings are installed.
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- Lots of grease is used on the bushings.
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- The inner sleeves are installed and the end nuts are tightened.
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- Using the supplied hardware, the firewall down tube and the hood hinge support bracket are installed.
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- A new Wilwood master cylinder is installed. It’s not only beautiful, it’s valved to work with the disc brakes that will be installed.
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- The Total Cost Involved Pro-Touring clip is set into place and bolted on using the supplied hardware.
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- The bolts will be torqued to 75 ft-lbs.
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- Prior to installation, the rod ends are bottoming out the tube and the upper end is attached to the bracket. The lower rod end is held and the tube is spun back out so that the ends are equally spaced, and only then is the lower portion of the tube bolted to the clip.
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- See, it is possible to install a TCI clip without pulling the engine first! It’s not easy to get to the inner bolts, but it’s not easy to pull an engine either.
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- The lower A-arms are installed onto the clip. The washers aren’t easy to get in between the two pieces, but it’s necessary.
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- Using the supplied hardware, the upper arms are bolted in place. Note that there are two sets of holes in the clip. The upper one is for cruising and drag racing. The lower holes are for autocross and performance driving. We’ll be using the lower ones, for sure.
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- The All American coil-over shock has dampening adjustment to allow the action to be fine-tuned.
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- With the Wilwood brake assembly attached, the 2-inch dropped spindle is installed.
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- We’ll be using Phenix fittings on this project, and this “T” will be one of many used. New Classic Tube stainless steel tubing will be used to plumb the system.
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- Wilwood offers these braided steel brake lines, which are installed now.
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- TCI also offers these power-assisted rack-and-pinion systems. Sure, we want to go fast on the course, but for everyday driving, power-assist steering is convenient.
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- The rack-and-pinion unit is bolted to the clip
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- To get them close, both tie rod ends are spun to bottom and then turned out three turns. The car will be aligned after the install is complete.
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- Prepping the TCI sway bar is as easy as greasing the bushings.
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- It’s then bolted to the clip using the supplied hardware.
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- In keeping with the performance aspect, the end links are adjustable and attach the clip to the bar with Heim joints.
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- A little reality is setting in. Although the headers are the only type that will fit a stock Nova, they will need to changed out. The guys at Doug’s Headers have been working with TCI on this and have units that work with the rack-and-pinion steering.
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- We’ll stop here. Part II will chronicle plumbing the brakes, reattaching the bodywork, and maybe we’ll add some other upgrades along the way!
Tags: Chevy Nova
i would like to see a mustang ii tci frontend clip installation on a 1966 or 1967 nova like you have done on the protouring clip
i can not find part 2 or 3 through motortopia under tech