|
I haven't done any "real" work to the car for about 10 years, so this was a good day. My theory on car building is that the
stance of the car should be the first consideration. I have decided to start with the stance on the Nova for two reasons:
It will get all new suspension anyway and even an ugly car can look good if it sits right.
After doing a lot of research, I am going to use the stock configuration (leaf springs in the rear and coil springs in the
front). Although 4 links and coil over packages are "neat" and are the ultimate in performance, parts are easily available
for stock suspension set ups. My plan is to drive this car and if I am broke down on the side of the road in Indiana, I want
to be able to go to the local parts store or GM dealer and purchase replacement parts.
All of my suspension components were purchased from Detroit Speed. The company is owned by Stacy and Kyle Tucker. Kyle graduated from the same college as I and both him and Stacy are former
GM Engineers. They put a lot of design and research into their products.
|
| Pre Disassembly |
|
| Rear Speed Kit |
I started removing the rear leaf springs and shocks. Some of these parts have not been removed for over 30 years and it showed!
I ran into a problem when I tried to remove the bolt that holds the front of the leaf spring to the bracket. In order to
get this bolt out, the bracket must be removed. The bracket is bolted to the body with 3 bolts. The bolts attach to J-nuts,
which are notorious for breaking during disassembly. Consequently, I broke 3 of the 6 nuts, even though they were soaked
with penetrating oil for 2 days. *sigh* To remove the brackets, the bolt heads were ground off.
The leaf springs and shocks are removed:
Unfortunately, I had to stop for the day, because I did not have replacement J-nuts for the front leaf springs brackets.
Hopefully, I can locate a set this week.
For Sale: Missouri gravel and fill dirt. Aged for 30 years. Cheap!
|
