My "Late Life Crisis"!
 

I will call you tonight, Joe :)

Yup, sounds just like a stock 300hp 350 to me :naughty:

Looks & sounds nice Joe. :burnout:

No rush...tonight is a good time :)

So, a little over 2 years ago, it seemed like the existing engine was growing tired, kinda like me!! I thought it would be neat to build a completely different engine, and keep the numbers matching one on a stand. I approached my local guy and had only 3 requests, that it had 500 horsepower, build it like it's your own and no hurry. The no hurry, in my mind, meant that in about 6-8 months I'd have a new motor.

It actually took over 2 years, but in those years I was able to address a lot of other stuff that needed attention. One guy that got me thinking of even doing any of this was Wayne Scraba. When he did his Nova, he mentioned that everything he was doing was reversible. I said to myself, hey, I can do that!!

Where to start.....here was where the car would sit for those 2+ years.

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It might be hard to see in this picture, but the existing engine compartment hasn't changed much, as you will see down the road!!
(Whoops, I guess the video already showed you that!!)
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Good eye (ear?) Bill. Yeah, I'm not trying to fool anyone, well maybe some guys, but it is lying a little bit!! I'm going to tell everyone that it's an LS, you know Looks Stock!! :dunno:

Looks amazing!




Also, Wayne is good people, just like you, Joe!!:headbang:

Looks and sounds great!!

Well done! Now go and enjoy the heck out of it!

So, first things first, out with the "old".....

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The original M20 Muncie....
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I really didn't know it was that "dirty" under all the "components"! It's kind of embarrassing!!
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Now it's beginning to get real.....
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So, a few of the things I was going to provide for the engine were, new AFR heads #1040, 195cc, 65cc chambers with angle plugs, new Doug's headers #D323B (this is before I had them coated), the existing Comp stainless roller rockers, the existing MSD distributor, the existing Holley 750 double pumper carb and other miscellaneous parts.

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I decided too not reinstall the smog pump this time around but thought I would have the alternator refurbished by Ken Bruno.

Before.......

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And after....

He did an amazing job and it looks great!!

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While the engine was out I had other things to contend with. I thought, if I was going to have 500 horsepower, I’d better refresh/upgrade a few things. I went with solid aluminum body mounts from Global West (#800) along with their tubular upper (#CT-79A) and lower (#CT79L) control arms and subframe connectors from Competition Engineering (#C3116).

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Just read the whole thread Joe.Looks like you're doing her right.Keep up the good work and good luck! Following!!

Control arms going in.....


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I even took on the task of “rebuilding” and detailing the calipers, which, after a bath in Evaporust, turning out looking pretty good!!

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One thing that was brought to my attention about the lower control arms was that they might not have a “bump stop” to prevent the steering from going too far. After bolting everything up, that was exactly the case!! When moving the wheel to full lock, the tire would hit the frame!! I called Global West and was told that, sure, I could just drill and tap the lower arm to accept some sort of stop!! Since I really didn’t want to do that, I asked my neighbor for some help. We came up with the solution of drilling and tapping the steering arm instead and it worked perfectly.

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Since everything was looking better, I thought I’m now committed to detailing most everything!! I ended up painting the springs a few times before I was okay with the color!!

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Ended up with this....It might not be the "correct" color, but I like it!!

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The steering box was seeping oil for some reason, so I had that rebuilt also!!

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I guess I got a little “out of sequence” with the pictures!! Here are the spindles before, during prep and after painting, along with the steering arms.

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Also notice the new Hotchkis sway bar....

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I had the backing plates and caliper brackets replated also.

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Here are the subframe connectors going in. I made the mistake of undoing both sides at the front leaf-spring location and had a heck of a time getting them back together!!! Notice the "come-a-long" around the rear axle tube !!!!

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Back to the engine. I had the block cleaned, masked off and painted good old Chevy Orange and then received a text message, with a picture and nothing else, from my engine builder. Who can guess what this is, why it’s bad and whose block it is?? No points for guessing correctly, just know that you’re knowledgeable in things mechanical....

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I wish he would have waited until after he was working on the block to have me paint it, but that sometimes happens in the world of engine building?????? He just happened to have another small block laying around from the ‘70’s, had already sent it off to have it machined, and we were back in “business!”

Stroker clearancing in the block that got into water passage?

I gotta admit I did not see this thread. Neat car! As one may assume, I am drawn to a build like this:hmmm:

How bid in terms of C.I. was you engine builder going? What was that block? I may be living under a rock, but I sure do not hear of guys getting into the water jackets doing a 383 all that often.

I have seen and heard Joe's Nova and it sounds so good with the headers going through the single original style crossover muffler. He does really nice work because he loves that car and will never sell it. There is something about this car that will never be duplicated and that makes both the owner and the car real special.

It's gonna be killer Joe!!!

Guess…I believe that’s the notch he was attempting to grind for reciprocating component clearance with a long stroke crank…looks got a little bit carried away :)

Yep, I knew most of you would know the answer!!

He was building me a 383, like you said. I'm not sure what block he was using? He has built a lot of different engines over the years and I have no clue why he ruined that one??

Thanks for the kind words Mark!! I like the sound a lot and some even said it sounds like a big block!!!

It's a completely different "animal" now for sure!!!

Absolutely Wayne!!!

Kick butt car and a stellar job Joe! Congrats!!!

That block could be repaired, but it would have been easier if he had noticed the hole long before it got that big. If it isn't your original, then no big deal to you.

Thanks so much Wayne!!

Yeah, I'm no engine builder, but I thought the same thing?? I'm kind of glad we went with another block though, because the first one had a "spot" on one of the bores that, to my untrained eye, didn't look too good?? It wasn't the original block so there's that!!

Another thought that just came to me was, couldn't it have been used for a race only motor and then filled up with "concrete" (or whatever they use for quarter-mile stuff)??

Well, I know this might be a little boring, compared with engine stuff, but I’ve been without a heater for many years now. You wouldn’t know it to look at the hoses because I blocked them off but left them connected. I mean why would I need a heater in California, anyway??!! But, like my son said, you’ll really appreciate it when you’re headed to the Donut Shop at 5:05 in the morning. And, in case you don’t know what Donut Shop I’m referring to, just do a quick google search for Donut Derelicts and you’ll find out. It’s one of my most favorite places to go to see a bunch of old guys, with old cars!! They start showing up around 5:30 and most everyone is gone by 9:30. We’ve been known to get there around 5:30ish and leave around 7:30 to head down the coast (PCH) to join the other Saturday morning “cruise in”, Cars and Coffee in San Clemente.

So, I asked around to see if anyone would want to tackle replacing the heater core. I mean, who in their right mind would want to do that??!! So, after a “bath” in Naval Jelly (or something like that?), I painted up the box, added some new interior baffles, found an aluminum heater core that needed a lot of “fabrication” to make it work and it was looking pretty good. It was really a hassle to get it to fit through the firewall though, but with the help of my son (who volunteered to watch from the engine compartment), I was able to finally get it pushed through!! No more cold mornings for me!!!

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Looks good ! Pulling the heater box out of these cars without A/C is a piece of cake. Especially compared to anything built in the last 20 years with climate controlled A/C ...may as well sell the vehicle and let someone else deal with/pay for the repair.

Then, in August of last year (2024), I got a call from my engine guy who said he had some parts and would I like to see them? Uh, yeah, I’ll be right over!! The pictures of the crank, rod and piston were taken in August, but the painted block picture was from December and the partially assembled short block was from January 2025!! I did say it was almost 2 years to get the motor, right??!! But things were looking up!!

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Donut Derelicts...is so cool! I think we went in your Nova....once? I know we went to the cruise off Seventeenth Ave for sure :)

Sometimes the pride in the car, comes from the details that nobody can see:biggthumpup:

amen!!