|
|
This is page 3 of Nova Project. Return to my Home Page
Horror stories:
Well first the nova didn't start - turned out I had the cam 180 degrees off. I fixed that and re-adjusted the valves using a better - more precise method. Put it all back together, and I had gas leaking all over the blower and intake because of it not starting and the gas vapors just flooding everything. When I removed the new carb and put the old carb back ontop the blower, the gas leaks went away and I was able to start her up without the fear of gas all over. So, I ran her for a couple minutes (2 exactly) reving high to break in the cam, when I noticed liquid spashing against the windshield. I had the hood up, but couldn't see what was going on. I stopped the engine to take a look and found a mess of coolant and oil all over the intake. The fan was blowing it back over the engine. I thought I really messed it up, but everyone assured me that no damage was done. I think the oil came from the bad valve cover gaskets and that I never tightened them well. The coolant was coming from under the intake manifold. I think, after talking with 100s of other people, that I did not have an even surface for the gaskets to seal the coolant out properly. I was trying to follow the directions in the Hayne's guide which says to put sealant around the coolant ports and to use contact cement to hold the gaskets on. This may have caused the gaskets to be uneven enough that they did not seal - especially under the blower's extra strain.
So, I ripped off the top half again, and rebored 2 holes in the heads so that I could get a proper 30# torque out of them (which may have also helped cause the leak) and this time I took out the exhaust port seals from the original gaskets that I had tried and put them into the other gaskets that came with the blower (they did not have the block off plates)and just placed the new gaskets on the heads with NOTHING on them on either side. I used a couple strips of tape in places where the gasket is not covered by the intake to hold them steady as I put the intake back on and carefully found the holes and torqued em up using the pattern of tightening. I bought new valve cover gaskets and tack to install the new rubber gaskets. After putting them on and hooking up the throttle cable again, I'm going to test starting her up again for a few seconds.
So, here it is - the middle of August and I still don't have her running. I guess that's the way it goes with this hobby. It is tougher now. I have no electricty, or room. The only way I have extra room is if I open the garage door and put my stuff outside in front of the car. Thank goodness for cordless tools. I had to "borrow" a 1/2" cordless drill to bore anew hole in the head. It would have costed $250 to buy. I am going to use it to drill holes in the frame and hood for the mounting pins.
Got hood mounted but still won't start. Got a new battery (replaced by PepBoys for free), and still no go...
AND NOW.......11/11/99: VROOOOM! I did nothing but Pray She would Start, and... Hip, Hip, She Started! There is hope once again!
11/11/99 Hey , she FINALLY started up and ran without major problems! Hope is in site! I got her running with the old 600 holley still on top of the blower. Now, I've got to break in the cam and check for problems. Unfortunately, its winter now, and it hit the teens in temp today, and its tough to get any work done now. At least she started up so I could drive her out of the garage on her own power to make way for my more expensive summer car, The Lil Demon. Let's see $1,200 vs $12,000... If you had only one garage, which would you put inside? Sorry Nova. Maybe next year, Daddy will have that big multicar heated garage that he dreams about so he can work on you all year 'round.
11/27/99 Tried to ck timing to break in the cam, but it stalled. Once it turns off, it will never start again without waiting a day. So, I Installed the new electronic gauge cluster for oil pressure, volts, & temp. (Electronic guages) under the dash.
12/99 I adjusted the timing by guessing and it started up better and ran better. I broke in the cam for a good 20 minutes revving between 2000-3500 rpm. If we get another "Indian Summer", maybe I'll adjust the initial timing and finallize the install on the new gauges. Otherwise, I'll wait till spring.